[David Reynolds]

Bob,
You continue to be an asset to the community.
I think I will bite the bullet on one of my other machines first and trial by fire scenario.
In the mean time my main system will just eat lunch without the help of the IO HD.
It will survive I will survive and eventually we will figure it all out.

Thanks again for your insight it is very helpful.

:Changing the World Frame by Frame: ~Å~

[David Reynolds]

Bob,
First let me start by thanking you for your feedback, as that is the reason I came to CC to begin with.

Now let me go ahead and start fresh because listening to your last two posts I get the feeling your not quite on the same page as me.

To start with I am in no way attacking AJA, the IO HD or anything like that. I have worked with AJA products and people for years as a customer and working with a dealer, I have loved them for years. Their support is top notch and what you may call too nice I see as a great company willing to put out the extra mile, and the warranty covers that as well.

As I stated in my original post I had used the very same IO HD I had problems with on getting video in with, before. The first go around was simple and sweet and worked flawlessly on all 3 machine, yes that’s 3. = 2 mac pros and 1 mac book pro as mentioned before.
After running through the usual run down of potential problems and solutions myself and then with AJA it was determined we would switch out the unit. Note that the video-in problem was on all 3 machines.

Once the replacement unit arrived, it needed a firmware update and then was ready to rock n roll. My main machine saw the video-in (like it should) instantly. There were no issues up to this point. After capturing about 15 minutes of footage from an XH A1 through the analog component input, it froze FCP and then the system resulting in a forced power down. Once restarted I went through it all again noting that the firewire connection led on the front of the IO HD was flickering, would go off come back on randomly. So I tried other firewire cables, yes the total was 4, in none of this was I implying that the cable supplied to me by AJA was a junk cable, the point was that I tried multiple cables with the same result. So I tried the unit with the now abundance of cables on both other machines I have, that would be the other mac pro and mac book pro previously mentioned, all of which as mentioned in the original post are up to date on FCP the OS as well as drivers, software etc.

The result, they all had the same reaction with the system freezing random times on each. The last one gave me the you must hold down your power button etc message. So after “messing” with it further I realized I could make the led on the IO HD for FW connection turn off and on by a small touch or wiggle of the cable, not at the computer side but at the IO HD side. That is where my question came from, it wasn’t the IO HD is junk, it was a legitimate question for AJA IO HD users who may have at some point come across this or a similar problem. In hopes that I would be able to solve it.

I’m not interested in the comparisons of the MX02 and the IO HD, as I have tried both and prefer one over the other, as previously stated, I already know AJA is a good company with quality products and support, my message was to reach out to other users, that’s it.

“The customer finally called me. I forced him to stick the “original” problem unit on his Mac Book Pro, and guess what – NO PROBLEMS. ”

and thus I wouldn’t limit myself to just testing a unit on one machine as stated before.

“to their credit, and then issue, AJA is TOO NICE sometimes. I had a client who had an AJA I/O HD, that developed a bizarre problem, where we would have to trash the preferences constantly because of “bizarre green lines”. AJA sent TWO replacement units.”

Yes indeed AJA support is great, but I have to ask was this during the warranty period? And did the customer set it up or did the dealer set it up for the customer?

“So I then forced him to let me do a GROUND ZERO REINTALL of the OS operating system, and full reinstall of FCP, and guess what – NO MORE PROBLEMS. ”

Oh yes ground zero while it may work it may not, and until I have down time to try that long process out I think I should examine every other possibility first don’t you? Ground Zero is kind of a last resort and I’m not at my last resort yet.

I do appreciate your feedback, I really do, but again I think perhaps we were not on the same wave link, I’m not attacking AJA or their products, if anything I am fully supporting them as a company. I was looking for other options and experiences from other users. The more input the better, whether you think it’s my macs fault, the cable, the connection on the IO, driver issues, ground zero I am more than open for discussion, opinion, feedback, lectures etc. I appreciate you and any one else taking time out to listen, and write back. Just understand I am not attacking AJA.

Thanks again
-David

:Changing the World Frame by Frame: ~Å~

[David Reynolds]

Thanks for the reply.
As far as the Demoing goes it is a matter of trying out different scenarios in our studio after our daily shows have completed Of course it’s not an all day hour after hour trial. It is a few hours here in there over the course of a week. It would be a faster try out if it wasn’t given issues, the point is to show it to the powers that be up stairs for possible purchase. I wanted to ensure that it was properly running before showing it’s potential to them. As far as the Matrox goes, it is indeed another choice, all though I was not particularly happy with it my first time out. Perhaps I will try to get it again for a test run. So maybe test run is a better choice of words over demoing. I will try again Monday and remove all prefs etc and reinstall to see if it is happier. I eft it at the studio because i will be out of town later today.

:Changing the World Frame by Frame: ~Å~