[Connie Simmons]

I just got off the phone with Sony to make sure I understood how we should copy the clips from the Sony PMW200 camera to our hard drives.

You will have to download the following software in the following sequence for it to all work properly. You may have already done this, but here it is:

IMPORTANT NOTE: Sony said that it is best to use this method to copy the footage so that you can have the software confirm the footage. DO NOT SIMPLY COPY THE CONTENTS OF THE CARD ONTO THE HARD DRIVE BECAUSE YOU WILL NOT KNOW IF THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE DOWNLOAD. If you use this method, then when you see the thumbnails in the top window and the bottom window, and you can play back the clips from the bottom window then you will know that the clips have been properly copied.

1. You need to register for a FREE serial number, which you will use to download the CONTENT BROWSER, which is used with the UDF 422 mode (NOT the XDCAM Browser or XDCAM Clip Browser used with the EX-1 or 3). Apparently in 30 days you will receive a notice saying that your serial number has expired, but Sony said that is only for other peripheral things, not for the Content Browser, so don’t worry and just ignore that notice.
Here is the address for the FREE serial number: https://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/campaign/contentbrowser

2. You then need to go to the Sony XDCAM Download page, and download TWO separate things: 1) the Content Browser and 2)

SxS Card and iLink FAM Device Drivers (for either pc or mac). This includes the SXS driver and the SXS UDF driver Version 2.00 for MAc OSX. We will only record UDF 422, but we now have both. Once you are on the page that I refer to below, you have to click on Applications, Plugins and Device Drivers.

Address for XDCAM Download page for Sony PMW200 – https://pro.sony.com/bbsc/ssr/micro-xdcam/resource.downloads.bbsccms-assets-micro-xdcam-downloads-XDCAMSoftwareDownload.shtml

3. a. When you have the Sony reader hooked up to the computer, a large dark window opens, with the card reader on the top.

b. In the BOTTOM Browser window, you will need to create a folder in which to copy the contents of the card. You click on the destination drive, then click the little folder+ button. If you have not specified a drive, the little folder+ button is greyed out. Our folders will be on the external hard drive, and I named mine XDCAM UDF Folders. I will create a new folder for each card and the date of our shoot. If the reader sees the shots, you will see thumbnails in the top window. (Good sign!)

You then highlight the clips in the top window and then drag the clips down to the bottom window, and you will see a prompt window asking if you should copy the clip. Yes. I just copied 3 clips, 35 minutes, 90 minutes and 2 minutes – in 12 minutes. Seems too fast – I’m not complaining, but I will recheck this.

4. When you have checked everything, and we have exchanged cards so that we have a back up, we will need to delete the clips from the cards. Sony said to delete the clips from the TOP Browser window, which of course deletes it from the card. When you reinsert the Card into the camera, the camera DOES NOT NEED to reformat the card, it just starts recording. Sony said that will prolong the life of the media.

Good luck!

[Connie Simmons]

What an excellent video, Ty! I really appreciate it. The differences in sound were incredible.

Best, Connie

[Connie Simmons]

HI. I am looking at the same cameras. I have used the AJA Ki Pro with the Sony Ex1R for the (I think it was) 50 Mbps and 422 colorspace.

Just curious – What did you end up with?

Thanks, Connie

[Connie Simmons]

HI. I recently shot in France and faced many of the same issues.

I also have worked with a wonderful American woman who lives in Florence and has been a location manager/assistant producer for many big projects. She of course speaks fluent Italian. Please contact me if you would like to speak to her. She was helping me get different permits for historic sites in Italy as well.

Good luck on your production.

Best, Connie

[Connie Simmons]

Hi. I have been selling the DVDs of my PBS series and another series that I produced using in-house resources, and it was taking too much time – taking it away from what I really need to be doing.
I just started using Lynx Fulfillment in Oleans, NY, and I think that they will be a good partner. I had searched for a fulfillment house who could deal with a smaller number of orders – many had daily minimums far exceeding my current sales. The owner at Lynx told me that they like working with small companies.
I gave them my inventory (currently 18 different DVDs), we both get the orders from my shopping cart, they send them out that day, and my company doesn’t have to do it anymore!
If anyone wants to know more information, please feel free to contact me.
Best,Connie Simmons

[Connie Simmons]

Dear Walter – Thanks for the tip on the article. Interesting. Is your FCP7 slower that 6 – mine is really haveing problems.
BEst, Connie

[Connie Simmons]

Hi, Walter! Happy New Year – sounds like you’ve been busy! The strange thing is – for the past 2 years I had been editing my entire series the way I described using Pro Res HQ for the HD footage and I had never had this problem. When I upgraded to FCP7 it occurred.

I thought that Pro Res HQ was designed for your basic HD 1920 x 1080i footage. For what formats have you used it?
BEst, Connie

[Connie Simmons]

HI. I have a series shot on a Sony F900 and edited in uncompressed HD and also Prores HQ. I have had the footage encoded using Sonic hardware encode with Scenarist, and software encodes with CinemaCraftMP, BitVice and Compressor. While they all give decent encodes – the Scenarist hardware encode seemed to my eye to be the best, I am still searching for a better result. I’ve read that Studio movies are encoded using a Toshiba priority encoding system, and I wonder if any post house has this kind of encoding system?

Any thoughts?

Best, Connie

[Connie Simmons]

HI. I had this issue when I was capturing HDCAM footage from a Sony F-900 using a Sony JH-3, a KONA 3 card, an AJA Gen Lock and capturing using the ProRes HQ codec. There were lots of broken timecodes – sometimes after 3 secs.

Apple kept saying it might be a problem with ProRes.

I bought an AJA IOHD, same drill, and the footage captured perfectly. AJA was great, BTW. Good luck. Very frustrating.

Best, Connie

[Connie Simmons]

Sorry it took awhile to respond.
I started with a 40 gig ProRes HQ Quick Time movie. We then output the program to HDCAM tape for HD for delivery to the television station. This HDCAM tape was used as the master for my DVDs. (We also delivered an SD digibeta tape which was created doing a hardware downconvert from the HDCAM master.)

I ended up preferring the hardware downconvert from HDCAM tape to SD which was then encoded using the encoder in Sonic Scenarist (“Final Encode”), which my very very excellent post house Pillar to Post completed for me.

I also tried this encoded by Digital Rapids transcoder, and the following software encoders: Bit Vice, CCE MP Encoder, and Compressor. I did not try the Cinema Craft Pro Hardware encoder.

The main difference for me was: the text on my opening segment was jagged on everything but my Final Encode, the resolution was MUCH clearer – by a big factor, and there was less trailing during motion shots.

So that was my experience.

Best, Connie