[Chris Clephane]

Let me stress that–regardless of end product chosen—the best route is to use an HD monitor. HD shooting with the HVX (and ALL HD cameras) requires a level of detail for focusing that standard field production tubes and small SD field LCDs just can’t provide.

Compared to the HDCAM’s and Varicams, the viewfinders & built in LCDs on most lower end HD cameras(HVX/Sony XDCAM, etc.) are useless for all but framing.
When shooting HD, checking focus always REQUIRES a (zoom -in/focus) and a good HD field monitor. You just can’t trust it.

(FYI–Even with good viewfinder resolution and detail assist on the high-end cameras….we still use our compact Panasonic HDfield monitor or even a high end HD 20″ Panasonic “portable” when logistics allow…….even with the Varicam and HDCam cameras.)

——————
All that stated…

Portability/price/size/power are all factors you need to consider. Price usually seems to be the deciding factor in most cases.

Most people shooting the HVX as their primary camera seem to be using a Marshall V-R70P-HDA 7″ LCD Monitor

The Marshall has Component/S-Video/Composite inputs with loopthrough and can be outfitted with and Anton Bauer or V battery mounts. 800×480 resolution is good enough to check critical focus on HD stuff. Its still reasonably lightweight (most use an “Israeli Arm” to hang it from the camera.) Its metal case IS rugged and feels very “industrial solid”.

The Marshall retails (BHPhotovideo and others) for about $1350. This seems to be a reasonable price point for people who can pay $7k-10k for an HD camera system.

——
Panasonic makes two portable monitors as well.

The BT-LH900A is designed for the Varicam and is beyond stellar!….and so is the price at $4k. It does everything but wash your car. But the price puts it out of reach for most people.

The BT-LH80W is new and we have not used it, so I can offer no opinion on it..other than if it had been available when I bought the Marshall…I would have bought it instead. Panasonic makes some fantastic displays and I trust that this is probably an excellent product that fits right between the Marshall and Panasonic LH900A in all aspects: price point/features/brightness/color rendition/build quality.

The Marshall we use is no comparison to the 900A, but we would never expect it to be. It is dim and washed out by comparison (the 900A POPS! Its so bright!). But again, this is like comparing the wow factor of a new Ferarri to a new Honda coupe. They just don’t compare….at all.

If you buy the Marshall, the sunshade is a MUST for shooting outdoors.

SUMM IT UP:
Again, if the HVX is your primary camera…based on price and features…I would suggest the Marshall. For shooting with higher-end cameras definitely look to the Panasonic units.

Good Luck
-C

PS. On the lower end of the price range IKAN introduced an HD monitor with specs similar to the Marshall. This unit (which we viewed at NAB) was priced around $700, but we deemed it to be (way, way, way!) too fragile for regular field use. It might be a good low cost option if you never leave the studio.

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]

Ebay experiences….

The Vincent 601 goes for about $90-$175 on Ebay. They pop up now and then. Having software/dongle/and BOB really helps sell them, but does not seem to help the sale value $+ or $-.

The P6000 Lossless w. DV —IF you have the SDI option and both BOB’s…it can fetch up to $550-$625.

The P6000 DV usually runs about $300-400 with BOB.

Again, this all assumes Version 8.2.x and OS9 versions of the software, SW install CD’s and a valid system key.

Boardsets without SW/license key or BOB go for much, much, much less.

—-
OBSERVATION:

Ironically the older Media100 cardsets (…and this seems to hold true with almost any other high-end edit system as well…AVID, ProTools, etc.) seem to negatively affect the system value of a configured system still installed a PC/MAC. If you have a configured system, it almost (strangely) seems more profitable to “part it out”.
(POINT: Often the whole “SUM” is worth less on Ebay than the individual parts listed separately.)

EXAMPLE: A configured Media100 P6000 Lossless/DV/SDI in a Dual G4 1.25 only seems to fetch $750-900 (On the less and less frequent event that they sell as a system.)…
….whereas the Dual G4 1.25 Apple computer (by itself) still seems to fetch $650-700-ish on a good day.

Its no reflection on the Media100 in terms of resale, just really the general odd deal-seeking nature of Ebay buyers. And in the case of the Media100…most people still shopping for used boardsets are (producers/companies) looking for replacements or spares as their primary systems age, as they aren’t ready to invest/upgrade yet in newer technologies.

….And the rest seem to be those super-frugal-do-it-your-selfers trying to “build” a 6-7+ year old Media100 system “on the cheap.”

——

If you can…hold onto it and use it to trade-up to a new system. Its much more convenient. (( And I am guessing that most post houses got rid of their 601’s the second the P6000 was introduced. The P6000 ran circles around the 601.)) So your market for selling a used 601 is probably very small…

And…for the hassle of dealing with E-bayers/shipping, etc…..don’t ever forget how much YOUR time is worth.

——-

Dem’s my unsolicited (Scotch-Swilling Chicken-Wing-Eating) thoughts for the evening….

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]

Very strange indeed…or is it?

Last year Apple had a fantastic booth at NAB.

Myself and several-hundred-thousand other Apple-worshipping technophile-video-edit-groupie-producer-types wandered through the booth and saw the demos of the new FCP release.

And we were pleased.
And for the most part…we promptly bought (or upgraded).

OH WAIT! Ok…now I get it.

This must be Apple’s way of saying
“We have nothing new to introduce this year.”

…And, yes, they would be hard-pressed to top last year’s software rollout.

(sigh) That means at NAB I won’t be getting any cool Apple SWAG this year to carry around in my big red “Artbeats” bag…

(If you were there…you know about the bags…)

—-

See you all in the COW booth. I am ready for more hot sauce.
Or the Media100 booth. (Is M100/Boris going to be there again?)

-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]

Does the K-Tek boom-pole have INTERNAL routing?

The internally routed poles utilize a tightly coiled internal coil (bad for RF interference and stray magnetic fields) that tends break down and wear out a LOT quicker than a standard cable. (We have worn out 3 internally routed booms in the past 4 years.)

So….if it is internally routed..has been used a LOT…AND the boom is carbon fiber… (an aluminum pole would offer an appreciable amount of shielding)…that could be your problem.

Again…this is really pushing the boundries of potential causes…but it is possible.

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]

Thanks Rennie for clarifying….

That was really my point.

Unbalanced cables (being 2 conductor) are more suceptable to interference…and for production, you should use quality shielded/balanced (XLR) cables (that are in good shape) whenever possible.

Back to my “story”….
FYI-guitar cables are 2 conductor UNBALANCED…and are therefore PRONE to RF interference by nature of the design. The cable manufacturers try to shield them really well…but do to the nature of the regular use (abuse) they endure…the shielding breaks down quickly.

FINAL POINT – So sometimes on location….we have to resort to extreme mesaures (foil) to counter RF problems.

-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]

Eeesh!

This is the first I have hear of this with a video camera.

The quality of the cables would definitely make a difference.

Just FYI- as a musician for over 20 years…I have found that this IS a common problem with unbalanced cabling. (The type usually used to connect guitars to amplifiers and such.) Balanced cabling is supposed to be less succeptible.

Anyways…enough with the ramble…as I get to my point….
Two years ago I played a show in a band at a local college campus. The campus had a relatively high wattage AM station on campus…and the second we plugged in the guitar amplifiers onstage in the student union building…you could CLEARLY hear the broadcast through the amps. Our final solution was to WRAP the amp heads in aluminum foil (shielding) and plug-in THROUGH the aluminim foil. Creative contact between the foil/cable and grounded parts of the amp cabinet created an effective soak that shielded all the signal. IT was fun watching my guitar players perform without being able to fiddle with their amps between every song.

So anyways…better cables usually means better shielding. Worst case…be prepared to get creative with aluminum foil. (Effectively creating a small faraday cage around the offending unit/device.)
-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]

All,

In the areas/markets we distribute to,
SEVERAL stations and cable companies have attempted the FTP spot delivery route.

Long story short, the quality and overall experience has been miserable.
(We still send Betas).

I personally feel there are two main reasons for this:

1) MPEG-2 and DV seem to be the most often requested standards. 4:2:0 and 4:1:1….so quality already suffers a hit. Don’t argue with me..it does. Especially in light of the fact that the received files are often then re-encoded or converted AGAIN to meet the final spec of the playback system.
Ironically, nobody ever seems to request or specify bitrates or field orders…they simply say MPEG-2 or DV.

This –more often than not– results in the most common problem I see with FTP delivered spots: improper field order (usually a reversal which results in unnatural motion and severe flicker.). Depending on final delivery (cable/direct TV…which often use MPEG-2) macroblocking and mosquito noise are magnified through the delivery re-compression.

2) This lack of standards creates a problem that is amplified by (in my opinion) the staffing of those assigned to receive these files.
From my experience….most of the people involved in this process are IT people…not video people. They often know nothing about the files/formats that they are dealing with.
(Oh they know how to rip DVD’s…and make the clock on the VCR stop flashing…and maybe even capture some DV video through a firewire port.) But by and large (from my experience) they know nothing about video PRODUCTION….and that is a serious problem.
Again, not to beat a dead horse…Field orders get reversed. Audio is often non-syncronous. LEVELS…oh..don’t even take me there. 0IRE vs. 7.5 IRE setup. Mention simple video concepts like that and most IT guys look at you like you are from Mars.
Even our beta tapes suffer at the hands of IT people who administer playback systems for regional cable companies. Most often they dont even have a waveform monitor to check levels. They just hit play and encode right into their (Osprey, Firewire DV or other) video card to MPEG-2 and roll it from the playback system. Again, with no attention paid to setup levels, the calibration of their deck or chroma levels…. This lack of proper setup/prep-work shows when the spots hit the air.

Not to get on my soapbox…but we (as the producers/content creators) are fighting a LOSING battle right now in this arena. And in my opinion, it is because IT people are handling playback of our spots.

Sorry this was more of a rant than an answer, but I really wanted to bring to light some of the issues that have significantly affected us (negatively) in the past few years due to IT based workflows and spot delivery.

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]

Ok. I have been enduring this as well.

I tried to bring it up a few months ago–but some very prompt replies from Media100 (you guys rock!) prompted me to quickly retreat to “double check my facts” before grumbling further.((I try to be careful about public grumblings.))

After double checking my facts & relative sanity I never got around to posting a follow-up on this topic….So thanks for starting this thread again.

———
The simple fact is:

What we want to happen upon launching the Media100 application…most often does not happen.

The following scenarios can be reproduced with 100% repeatability on my system with no variation.

In the spirit of fun and the frustration that—undoubtedly many of us share with these quirks— I have included my own personal “Rage-O-Meter” rating for each particular quirk.

—————–

SCENARIO A:

Launch Media100 application directly from Icon in dock.
(“Remember last project” is NOT SELECTED in preferences.)

RESULT: Presented with dialog to “Save New Project As.”

RAGE-O-Meter: No pain. Acts exactly as expected. Gold star.

—————–

SCENARIO B:
Double Click on previously created “Project A” icon to launch application.
(“Remember last project” is NOT SELECTED in preferences.)

RESULT: Presented with dialog to “Save New Project As.”

RAGE-O-Meter: This is maddening.

I must then use directories/dialogs to open “Project A”from within the Media100 application. This in spite of the fact that I initiated the OPEN process by double-clicking on the desired project’s icon…..

—————–

SCENARIO C:
Launch Media100 application directly from Icon in dock.
(Remember last project IS SELECTED in preferences.)
Opens last project opened.
RAGE-O-Meter: No negativity reported. Blood pressure fine.

—————–

SCENARIO D:
Double click “Project A” program icon.
(“Project B” was the last project worked on in the Media 100 application. Remember last project IS Selected in the preferences.)
RESULT: Project B opens in the Media 100 Application, but I am presented with the dialog “Could Not Complete Your Request Because There Is Already An Open Project: Close the currently open project and try again.”

RAGE-O-Meter: Quietly Maddening.
Why does the application not realize I was trying to open a different project? Not the last one it had open?

—————–

SCENARIO E:
Double click “Project A” program icon.
(“Project A” was the last project worked on in the Media 100 application. “Remember last project” IS Selected in the preferences.)
RESULT: Project A opens in the Media 100 Application, but I am presented with the dialog “Could Not Complete Your Request Because There Is Already An Open Project: Close the currently open project and try again.”

RAGE-O-METER: KING-KONG-ON THE LOOSE!.
I can’t open Project A because Project A is already open?
Come on. (Swatting at biplanes!)

———-

Ok that’s it.
Hopefully there was a laugh in there for someone–and hopefully a nugget or two of useful info for the code-jockeys.
(To me it seems like some of the procedures/calls/checks are out of temporal order.)

Each of these SCENARIOS was performed after exiting the Media100 application. Once the application is open and a project has been opened…everything behaves as expected.
Its upon application launch that things are sketchy.

Thoughts? Replies?

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]

After playing with setting unique ID numbers on each machine…I realized that it wasn’t that difficult to set up the rest of the network “properly” with the OSX server. Each machine now logs into directory services (LADP) and obtains a list of users/UID’s etc. and all is good.

Thanks again…I implemented a final solution that took us beyond your fix….but it was your FIX that jarred me into realizing that as we had grown, I had not taken the time to set up our internal network properly. (We had been using an OSX server…but simply had not taken advantage of full workgroup features.)

-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]

Just a few thoughts…..

1. Sync issues. Look up LOCKED vs. UNLOCKED audio in reference to DV recording (see following link).
This may be where your problem is.

QUICK ARTICLE ANSWER: If you are transferring unlocked DV audio over firewire and processing the audio clips independently of the video…there may be the potential for some drift issues on long sequences/clips.

https://www.dvformat.com/htm/features/2000/8_00/dv_format_faq.htm

Based on that (and having experienced similar problems in the past) I would be SHOCKED to discover your hard drives (in ANY configuration) were causing sync issues. Ususally ANY type of driv e problem triggers messages from the Media100 application. Media100 has ALWAYS been good about self-reporting drive speed issues and the like. (APPLICATION ERROR: source drive too slow, etc.)

One way TEST your setup (in relation to the aforementioned article). Redigitize your footage ANALOG. (Use the composite with analog audio.) I bet good money that your “drift” problem goes away when you work with THAT footage.
***Ok I just re-read your configuration and I see you have no M100 hardware on your macpro. TEST it by digitizing the footage analog into your Vincent 8.2 system and bring it into the producer SW. I would venture to guess that the sync problem goes away. At this point you would need to adjust the record settings in your camera (switching to a locked audio format) and your firewire transferred footage into Producer should then be fine as well.

2. We use Maxtor (1TB) external FW drives with M100Producer on our laptop. The Maxtor unit has 2 500gb drives in it that can be striped RAID 0. This provides a pretty consistent 60MB/second which is just fine for most laptop work. It is significantly faster than the single drive firewire drives..most of which deliver a consistent 25-35MB/second.
We use a firewire converter on the FW400 port for monitoring to an external tube (tv/monitor) and put the Maxtor drive on the FW800 port. Its a great setup on the road.

Good luck.

PS. (SHAMELESS SALES WARNING!) FYI-We have several Media100 8.2 P6000 lossless (and non-lossless) with DV cardsets with SDI and BOB’s that we could sell you for (not much) if you want to upgrade the Vincent system…..

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

Done typing now.