[Bob Zelin]

Michael –
Sony has worked very hard to make sure that people who want full editing features cannot use their more inexpensive products. This is not the responsibily of AVID, Blackmagic, AJA, Aurora, or others to make a miracle happen, that Sony has worked very hard to insure that customers must purchase the more expensive VTR.

The RS232 port on these VTR’s was designed for Audio/visual applications, like playback in conference and board rooms, or at convention centers, using controllers from companies like AMX and Crestron, that write specific software that uses a PC’s RS232 COMM port to talk to products like the UVW1400.

Sony wants you to buy the professional editing series, like the UVW1600 and 1800 for full editing capabilities. There are companies like Addenda and Keyspan that make generic RS232 to RS422 adaptors, but there is no guarantee that these will work with Sony VTR”s, as they are generic RS232 to RS422 adaptors – not Sony VTR miracle boxes.

You will soon see the same thing as you go towards “cheap” HD VTR’s. People can’t understand why the Panasonic AJ-HD1200A ($25,000) doesn’t have full editing capability as the more expensive AJ-HD1700. People can’t understand why the Sony HDV cameras and VTR’s don’t work like the expensive Sony HD Cam products. SONY DOES THIS ON PURPOSE. THEY WANT TO SELL THE MORE EXPENSIVE MACHINES. They have only ONE concern – to get your money.

This dates back to the days of 3/4″ VTR’s from Sony – where the BVU series of 3/4″ VTR’s had Time Code, and the VO series did not have Time Code (but cost about half of a BVU series). Everyone came out with these horrible adaptors to try to get the VO series (VO5850, etc.) to have Time Code. But they were all crap, and plenty of people complained – how come it don’t work ? BECAUSE SONY WANTED YOU TO BUY THE BUV800 at TWICE THE PRICE. It was that way 20 years ago, it’s that way today.

Cry to Sony, not the manufacturers of these editing products.

Bob Zelin

[Bob Zelin]

I’ve installed the most recent version of the drivers for the ATTO card but I’m still seeing the same problem in FCP: playback is flawless for a while, then I get some dropped (black) frames on the monitor and then a little later, the monitor goes black and FCP displays a terminal beachball.

Michael –
When FCP with AJA or Blackmagic hardware can’t respond fast enough, you get the classis “Dropped Frames” error message on the screen – not the terminal spinning beachball. Something else is going on there – I have no idea of the condition or age of your SCSI drives. We can sit here and diagnose your old SCSI array, but for $259, you can have a 250 Gig Firewire 800 drive tomorrow, and your problems will be gone. If this is not an acceptable answer, then do the following – reinitialize your drives using Apple Disk Utility, and set them up in a dual buss configuration, 2 drives per ATTO buss. Make sure that you are using the correct U160 or U320 terminators.
I ASSUME that these are at least U160 drives, and not some antique AVID 9 gig drives that you had lying around.

If you want more help with this, tell me EXACTLY what drive array you have, what enclosure, and how you have it wired up. Are they old AVID drives, Rorke DATA drives, or some homebrew Mac Guru’s piece of crap?

OR – you can buy a single FW800 drive, and be done with it.

Bob Zelin

[Bob Zelin]

the only person in the world who will be able to give you accurate answers to your problem is Bruce at http://www.addenda.com. No NLE manufacturer supports the UVW1400a. Your only chance is to speak with Bruce.

Bob Zelin

[Bob Zelin]

The AVID Xpress DV application does not work with the Blackmagic product line. No video companies card works with AVID Xpress DV other than the external AVID Mojo product.

Bob Zelin

[Bob Zelin]

Rick states –
The tascam patch panel has no controls and no power. I have zero-ed out all channels and balance. It just seems like it needs some additional trim and the eurorack just doesn’t provide.

REPLY –
I have two suggestions –
1) you stated above that you “zeroed out all the channels and balance”. If this means that you have zeroed out the AJA, the Mixer and the Beta 1800 to read zero on your meters (with tone), but when you play your program material from the FCP system, the meters on the Beta 1800 look low – THIS IS NORMAL. The Beta 1800 has averaging meters, and the average program level (of mixed normal program material) ALWAYS LOOKS LOW on the meters of the Beta 1800. If you put ZERO TONE into it, the 1800 meters look correct, but when you play your actual audio (not tone), it looks low. THEY ALL DO IT !

2) you state that you have a Eurorack mixer, but do not state what model, nor do you state what outputs you are using. I own a Behringer UB2442FXPro, and the ZERO output of the UB2442 is 0 dBu, where the Beta 1800 zero is calibrated for +4dBu, so there is a 4 db difference between the Behringer and the Beta (and AJA). Zero on your mixer may be where it says “4” (2 yellow LED’s up).

3) you have not stated what model mixer you have, nor have you stated what outputs you are using. If you are using the TRS (phone plug) outputs you are ok, but if you are using an RCA jack output, you are taking a -10dBu output to feed your Beta VTR, so ZERO on your mixer would be -14dB lower than zero on your Beta VTR.

4) you state that you are going thru a Tascam patch bay. Tascam DOES NOT MAKE a balanced 1/4″ patch bay – they ONLY make unbalanced patch bays. And I don’t know what model Tascam bay you are using. Older Tascam bays used UNBALANCED RCA JACKS on the rear of the bay. YOU CANNOT USE THIS with your system. Want a cheap patch bay with 1/4″ balanced jacks – get a Behringer PX3000 for $49.95. This has BALANCED 1/4″ phone plugs on the front AND rear. All of your cables must be 1/4″ BALANCED TRS cables, not unbalanced cables. God only knows if you have cabling errors. For example – if someone lifted up the black (low) wire in wiring up your cables, and you are only plugging in tip sleeve, leaving the black (low) wire floating, you WILL GET LOW LEVELS.

Bob Zelin

[Bob Zelin]

Hello Michael –
I bet this is your problem. In the last 3 weeks, I installed a new “super fast” SCSI drive array on an AVID Meridian system with an ATTO UL3D card, and the picture stuttered. “How could this be”.

This is what the problem was, and I bet this is what your problem is. The ATTO UL3D card (and UL4D card) has drivers that are specific to the MAC operating system – and the version of MAC OS that you are running. If you simply go to http://www.attotech.com, go to support – first download the ATTO Disk Configuration Utility – run it and observe what version driver you have, and THEN, download the CORRECT UL3D driver for OS-X 10.3.x – I bet your problem goes away.

Of course, you can forget all of this, and buy a $279 Firewire 800 drive, and do 8 bit uncompressed with no issues.

Everyone that owns old SCSI products crys, that they spent so much money on this stuff, and they MUST keep it working – no matter how cheap the new, improved technology is.

Bob Zelin

[Bob Zelin]

Mr. Mody is a child. Blackmagic makes excellent products, but the Blackmagic Multibridge HD is a converter box that must be used in conjunction with the Blackmagic Decklink HD card, which is a stand alone
HD card. The Multibridge HD will up and downconvert anything to HD so that it may go into the Decklink HD card. The Multibridge HD can even be used to go in and out of the AJA Kona 2’s HD ports. To give the impression that the Multibridge HD is a stand alone unit is simply ignorant. Blackmagic’s eventual release of the Multibridge with PCI Express will replace the need for the Decklink HD card (or a Kona 2 for that matter if you choose to use it in this fashion) – but the Blackmagic Multibridge HD is NOT an alternative to the AJA Kona 2 (or the Blackmagic Decklink HD for that matter).

From the mouth’s of babes.

Bob Zelin

[Bob Zelin]

I am still amazed, in this day of cheap IO cards, cheap storage, cheap display monitors, etc. that NO ONE is making a cheap scope – I think that there would be a HUGE market for a $2000 – $4000 HD scope that used a VGA monitor for it’s display, but no one is doing it.

Bob Zelin

[Bob Zelin]

I just had this happen yesterday. Reload your AJA drivers, and your control panel.
Once you restart, open your IO Control Panel, and select component video input, and pass your Beta VTR thru the IO -monitor the IO output on your TV monitor. I bet you see a picture. (Don’t even run FCP to try this – just reload your drivers and control panel, and open up the control panel -not FCP – it will work !).

Bob Zelin

[Bob Zelin]

Adrenaline software V2.1.5 and 2.1.6 handles embedded audio for SDI only, not HD SDI.
Makes it kind of hard to use a Panasonic AJ-HD1200A with an AVID Adrenaline HD.

I guess you COULD use analog audio with your HD video !

Bob Zelin