[Chris Clephane]

Data rates are key.

QUICK ANSWER: it probably depends a LOT on the machine you are working with.

Keeping the data transfer on the PCI bus is the main reason for this spec.

The PCI bus in older machines had the greatest ability to move data efficiently from the storage drives to and from the Media100 boardset.

A SCSI card on the PCI bus was much more efficient at handling the data in multiple simultaneous transactions than the onboard PATA/IDE/SCSI controller.

—

ON OLDER MACHINES:
The “built-in” drive interfaces were not set up with as much bandwidth (as the PCI bus) and did not handle the attachment of multiple drives (4+) as easily…if at all.

A 4+ drive raid attached to a SCSI interface on the PCI bus (NuBus bus) was for (15+ years) the most reliable method of transferring data for Media100 systems.

—
That stated..if you are working with low data rates and simple A/B edits on an older Media100 system….say in a dual 1.25 G4. If you put a single FAST PATA drive on the 100mhz PATA bus and used it only for media (keeping the startup drive and CD/DVDrom on the 66mhz PATA bus.) You should be able to edit most projects with few issues until the drive reaches about 70%/80% capacity.
(Interestingly…the Dual 1.25 G4 has 3 internal PATA busses to choose from 33/66/100…even though you are supposed to only be able to use two simultaneously. Each bus can handle 2 drives. Yes, go look…there are 3 PATA connectors on the motherboards of these machines…)

Conversely…if you were working on a Blue& White G3 (400mhz) that only has one internal 33mhz IDE/PATA bus…..a second internal media drive would not fare as well. I would not expect great data rates..or the ability to put a very large drive on thais machine due to bios limitations.

Additional drives on a SCSI card or PATA card ON the PCI bus…should work just fine… See the difference? We ran an OS9 version of Media100 on a BWG3 400 with 4 internal PATA drives on a Sonnet PCI/PATA adapter card after the SCSI drives failed. Worked great. It took 3 different cards to find one that was compatible with the OS version though….

Anything older than a G3 you are REALLY looking at compatibility issues. We had problems finding cards and hardware that worked with OS versions earlier than 9.1….and that was over 5 years ago. I can’t imagine what it would be like today….

——

ALSO note:
An internal drive on a 66mhz or higher ATA bus will always work faster the an external firewire drive in older machines. (B&W G3/G4, etc) Forget trying to use external USB drives for anything other than SHUFFLING media on older systems…the interface is just NOT fast enough.

Thoughts?

I edit video. I post sometimes.
I fix things. I eat marshmallows.
I play drums. I drink scotch.
I like TV.

Done typing now.

[Chris Clephane]

(empty post)

[Chris Clephane]

If you are hooked up analog component….
……but the preferences on the hardware are set to output Y/C…..
….your output will be blue.

I edit video. I post sometimes.
I fix things. I eat marshmallows.
I play drums. I drink scotch.
I like TV.

Done typing now.

[Chris Clephane]

2 HVX cameras. Never had inconsistent color issues. Indoor & Outdoor sports, boats on water, Green screen, mixed lighting, bright sunny days, dusk outdoors, studio shots, airborne shots from airplanes,

All types of shoots…all types of situations…no issues with color inconsistencies across the frame.

-C

I edit video. I post sometimes.
I fix things. I eat marshmallows.
I play drums. I drink scotch.
I like TV.

Done typing now.

[Chris Clephane]

1) As per my directions….this the only thing you should have placed in the plugins/format folder
——> AE_XML_Project_Importer.bundle

2) This is for AE 6.5 only !!REMOVE IT from your CS3 folder!!
—–> Media 100 XML Project Importer

3) Don’t mess with this.
—–>(this was already in there) MediaIO Folder > MediaIO2.plugin

4) This has nothing to do with Media100 AE imports don’t mess with it.
—–>MediaIO2.plugin ( I tried to move this from the MediaIO Folder directly in the Plug in Folder AE3 crashed.)

You should have only dragged one file.
EXAMPLE:
https://www.digitalsupercast.com/cow/path.jpg

Once installed correctly, you can confirm correct installation by creating a new project, and then under the IMPORT dialog (I believe I said OPEN earlier) selecting one of your XML files. Single click on the XML file and you shoudl see the following response from AECS3.

https://www.digitalsupercast.com/cow/import_dialog.jpg

Any other result means you added something extra, inadvertently removed something or accidentally put something in the wrong spot.

Good luck.
-C

I edit video. I post sometimes.
I fix things. I eat marshmallows.
I play drums. I drink scotch.
I like TV.

Done typing now.

[Chris Clephane]

You need to put the AE importer plugin into the MacintoshHd/Applications/Adobe After Effects CS3/Plugins/Format folder.

Restart AE and create a new Project.
You should be able to OPEN the M100 generated XML file at that point. The AE import dialog (once you single-click on the XML file) will show (Media100 Composition) as the filetype.

“Open” and AE creates a folder with all the media elements and a compsition with your edit/timeline in it.

I edit video. I post sometimes.
I fix things. I eat marshmallows.
I play drums. I drink scotch.
I like TV.

Done typing now.

[Chris Clephane]

We gave up on using the on-camera mics on our HVX’s quite a while ago.

For documentation type shoots:
We run a 2 track recording (stereo pair) from the back of the room. 48khz DAT/ADAT/DA-88 works great. Run 2 or 3 cameras and re-sync everything in post. Use freerun TC or pop a camera flash at a few points in the evening for a down and dirty quick sync point for the video tracks. 48khz audio is key. The HVX records at 48…if you “uprez” a 2 track recording from 44.1 you will have problems. REcord it always in 48 and it keeps the issues to a minimum.

LIVE SHOOT (When the band is better funded:)
We run a second audio console—using a transformer based splitter–to split all of the mic signals from onstage into two consoles. One console runs the FOH (front of house) sound and the second console is used to create a decent 2 track mix/feed. The FOH signal (what is sent to the PA) is not a good signal to use. That mix is set up to balance the onstage sound to the room. Most PA mixes contain mostly vocals and and minimal levels of the other instruments. (A 1500+ seat venue would most likely have a “fuller” mix). We often ALSO run a multitrack recording of the show (one track for every mic onstage) which allows us to create a final mix in the studio later. Not everyone can afford a rental rack of ADAT’s or DA-88’s for an evening, but they are usually much more reliable than using a PC/laptop with a multi-channel audio interface.

From my past experience with these types of events….Most sound guys in their desire to please will tell you that they can create a separate feed for you off of their console. As a professional musican and a TV producer I can tell you the reality is even the best sound guys only have one set of ears……. A bands sound can be very dynamic and can change over the course of an evening…unless that mix is monitored constantly…it may fall apart quickly.
POINT BEING: FOH is that guy’s primary job for the evening. Its why he is there…its what he is being paid to be there for. Your video shoot (and audio quality) is secondary to him….SO when the audio quality REALLY matters for the client…hire a second sound guy and run a second board. You will get much, much better results.

I edit video. I post sometimes.
I fix things. I eat marshmallows.
I play drums. I drink scotch.
I like TV.

Done typing now.

[Chris Clephane]

– Mac Pro dual dual 2.66 (4 proc)
– 9GB Ram
– ATTO SCSI UL5D
— 10 drive RAID-0 SCSI array (external)
— 3 drive RAID0 SATA (internal)
— Atto Express Stripe
– OSX 10.5.3
– AJA Kona 3
– NVIDIA GeForce7300 GT
——
We have also used Pro-res (HQ) as our production codec for quite some time.

No issues on this system however.
We uninstalled 12.5 and installed 12.6 according to the directions.
FCP Studio (FCP 6.0.3) is installed. Everything works (GREAT!)

Sorry to say…no issues.

P.S. Wick/M100 you can probably remove the “dual boot” instructions from the install guide at this point.

I edit video. I post sometimes.
I fix things. I eat marshmallows.
I play drums. I drink scotch.
I like TV.

Done typing now.

[Chris Clephane]

Tell us more about the footage you are working with…. (CODEC/NTSC or PAL, etc.)

We use producer on a G4 1.67 laptop with a similar configuration and no issues.
(Maxtor 1 TB Raid 0 on the FW 800 and a Canopus ADVC 110 on the FW400)

-C

I edit video. I post sometimes.
I fix things. I eat marshmallows.
I play drums. I drink scotch.
I like TV.

Done typing now.

[Chris Clephane]

Which mac do you have?

It was my understanding that virtually every mac made in the past few years has Optical SPDIF (TOSLINK) sound output. Based on that…in my humble opinion (not criticizing, just explaining) ….nobody who owns a mac really needs a 3rd party sound card unless they are trying to record multiple channels at once…or unless they really think they can hear the difference on a 96khz DVD/CD. (Trust me…blind tests prove you can’t.)

All of our G5 dual 2.0’s, the new intel Quad and dual Quad….heck…even my G4 1.67 17″ laptop has an optical out port…… The desktops have a separate port.

The Lower end macs have a dual-function port. (Mac Mini, some laptops, etc.)

You CAN get an optical (TOSLINK) to SPDIF (electrical) converter box for about $20.
Just check online. I believe http://www.partsexpress.com has them as well. Use SPDIF OPTICAL ELECTRICAL and TOSLINK as keywords and you can find all of these parts CHEAP on the internet.

FYI- many (ALL at this point?) of the sound out ports on later macs have this dual function. They operate as a standard sound out port (plug in you headphones OR little cheapo’ computer speakers)……
…….OR with the appropriate adapter….(its long and skinny…it fits over the end of a standard TOSLINK optical cable…and it fits right into the audio out socket just like a standard 1/8″ headphone plug.) You use that …and VOILA! you have 24-bit digital audio out of your mac.
Use an OPTICAL to ELECTRICAL SPDIF converter and you can interface with most home stereo units that support SPDIF in. (heck…some home units have optical in as well….)
FYI-Using the DVD player application, it is my understanding that the built in digital connection on macs can also output 5.1 to a digital receiver. I am guessing that this is why there is not much of a 3rd party market for consumer/low end audio cards on macs…..you just don’t need ’em…they are redundant.

Good luck.

So which mac do you have anyways?

I edit video. I post sometimes.
I fix things. I eat marshmallows.
I play drums. I drink scotch.
I like TV.

Done typing now.