Bob Zelin
7
COW Coins
Forum Replies Created
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Hi BrAd,
I normally recommend AJA products, but I think that even AJA might approve the following recommendation. You obviously have a system that supports the Kona SD (Kona 1), and you could seemlessly migrate to a current Blackmagic Decklink SD card for $295 list price. Tell management that you want $295 for a Blackmagic Decklink SD card, that would bring your system into the current world – JUST LIKE THEIR ACCOUNTING AND BILLING SYSTEMS. If they say no, that they can’t justify this expense, then QUIT TODAY, because if your department can’t make back $295 by lunchtime, then something is wrong. However – if they say “no problem – is $295 all you need to upgrade? ” – then say “wait a minute, I’ll be right back”, and spec out a nice AJA Kona 2, an AJA I/O LA, an I/O, or some full featured product that will make you and your department happy. Everything I mentioned is not that expensive.PS – isn’t BrAd spelled BraD ?
Bob Zelin
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They suck with AVID products, so I don’t know why it should be any better with the Blackmagic products. AVID and Blackmagic use HP at their trade shows. Dell computers are a pain to work with when you are dealing with expansion boards (they work very nicely as office desktops, for sending emails and using Microsoft Word). When you want to load up a computer with Decklink cards, as well as SCSI cards, SATA cards, etc., the Dell 650 is a poor choice.
Bob Zelin
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For sanity reasons – play a tape from your VTR into this monitor. Now, digitize the footage from this tape into the Decklink, and play it back thru the computer and Decklink card. Does it appear to be “more green” from the Decklink, than from the straight playback from the tape? I bet it does not – I bet the VTR playback is just as green (when you do this, make sure that you are not switching from composite to component – if you are using a Beta tape, monitor in component, recable into the Decklink, and observe the Decklink in component). If everything looks green, then your company that did the calibration did not do a very good job. However, if it’s just the Decklink – well, I will be very surprised. The Sony PVM-14M2U is prone to the “green” problem, which is due to uncalibration in the BIAS adjustment (RGB) which affects the black balance of the monitor.
Bob Zelin
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you state PVM series monitor, but do not state which model. The PVM-1954Q, PVM-20M2U and PVM-20M4U had a “greenish tint” in the component input in the blacks (bias) from the factory. Sony’s response was “this is not a Broadcast Monitor – perhaps you should consider a BMV series”. This issue is not present in the more current Sony PVM-20L5/1 monitor.
When you say “greenish tint” – I assume you mean that this is a “subtle” greenish look, particularly in darker areas. If you have a GREEN IMAGE where people look like Martians, than this is a different problem. Nothing like having an external scope to see what is going on .
Bob Zelin
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Walter is completely correct, and you should follow this advice (God, I hate myself for saying that !).
Bob Zelin
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To repeat, and emphasize what has already been said – AJA makes the K-Box for the AJA Kona 2 (for $299) that specifically has RCA unbalanced analog audio outputs, that are designed to go into your Behringer Analog mixer. You take an RCA to 1/4″ TRS stereo phone plug cable, and plug that into your Behringer mixer line inputs (you can also use a RCA to 1/4″ mono Tip Sleeve phone plug). This is ideal and inexpensive for monitoring purposes. All the other suggestions (the assorted D-A’s all work), but the “AJA designed solution” is to use the K-Box.
Bob Zelin
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Hi Walter –
You are scaring the crap out of me, since I know your feedback is reliable. I have multiple installs out there, with almost identical gear to what you own – G5, OS-X 10.4.2, FCP 5.0.2, Kona 2, and Panasonic AJ-HD1200A, being used at DVCProHD resolution, and using the HD-SDI path with RS422 VTR control – not HD via Firewire capture. I have not seen or heard any of my clients express the issues that you are having. This still makes me nervous, as you know what you are doing.I think that it might be appropriate for AJA to make a public comment on this forum about any possible known issues relating to Walters observation.
And I agree with other users here Walter – I know it seems crazy, since everything else is working, but a clean install (which I know takes hours, and is a pain in the ass) might be a good idea.
Bob Zelin
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Donato writes –
>>>I still don’t understand why you can’t take the RCA outputs of the K Box into your mixer
You don’t know my engineer!REPLY –
But I do know your engineer. He is the same engineer that can’t deal with BNC AES/EBU audio when everything else is XLR (I never used to need those Canare transformers). He is the same engineer that insists on using XLR to XLR cables to plug into the Mackie XLR inputs (and gets the distorted input), and then says “in the old days (when they charged $10,000 for a mixer), they used to use XLR’s for audio inputs on mixers, not those stupid 1/4″ TRS plugs”. He is the same engineer that wants zero audio level to say zero, and not -14, -18, -20, and doesn’t want 0 PPL to mean distortion (“hey, I like those VU meters with the +3VU readings on them”). He is the same old school engineer who is only new school in the fact that he forgot how to use a soldering iron. I know him well.Bob Zelin
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you are the man ! Thanks –
Bob Zelin -
Donato –
Don’t use AVID as an excuse. AVID, to this day, does not support embedded SDI audio with the AVID Adrenaline HD (makes it kind of tough to use a Panasonic AJ-HD1200A VTR with an AVID !). The AVID DS (Softimage DS) was the first product to recommend the M-Audio Flying Cow, way before the original Digital Voodoo card, so there is NOTHING WRONG with the Flying Cow, even to this day. For $289, it is an excellent product, and you can get what you want right now. AVID eventually tied in with Merging Technologies who made the Sphynx, which was an ADAT to Analog or AES converter. This was AVID’s answer for a long time, until the Nitris box came out.
I still don’t understand why you can’t take the RCA outputs of the K Box into your mixer, and take the balanced outputs of the mixer, and feed whatever you want.
I just had a conversation with Nick at AJA about using the AJA HD10AM audio embedders and de embedders, specifically for the AVID Adrenaline HD, so I can use the Panasonic AJ-HD1200A VTR.
Bob Zelin