[David Smith]

[carlos castro] “I was able to check my sequence VS easy set up and they were accurate. “

Carlos,

It’s not the sequence versus your easy set up you need to check, it’s the sequence setting compared to the format of your clips. (apologies if I didn’t understand your sentence above correctly).

When you drop a clip into the sequence…. does a colored render bar appear above it? What color?

Regards,
David

[David Smith]

[Rennie Klymyk] “Basically it was an extension cable to allow some slack so it doesn’t pull out. Apparently
firmtek suggested crimping the end with pliers (slightly) so it has a bit of friction to keep it in.”

well, the extra slack might indeed help, but my suggestion about the extension cable was made because I broke a pin on the connector in the field and had to have Firmtek overnight a new power supply, just for the silly pin! I had taped the connector in place to try and alleviate the problem of it popping out if anyone moved the drive or even brushed up against the cable. Good theory, but the result was someone moving the cable, the tape held ONE side of the plug in place, and the pin got bent and then broke off.

$60 later I had a new power supply with the same potential to break. The extension cable would simply allow you to replace an $8 cable instead of $40 for a new power supply, and having an extra cable in my kit would allow a quick resolution of the problem and avoid overnight shipping charges.

I’m going to try the “slight crimp” idea, but again, I’d much rather try that on a replaceable, inexpensive extension cable than on the end of the power supply. That particular 5 pin mini DIN connector is hard to find.

Ironically, I had written Firmtek the month before about this loose connector problem and suggested they offer a lockable connector as an upgrade for those that need it. An externally mounted 4 pin xlr would be just the ticket. I got no reply.

[David Smith]

[Michael Pierre] “I wonder… is it possible to “network” the esata drives together somehow ? “

I suppose you could network the computers together as they have Gigabit ethernet…. but I’m not sure the transfer times would be fast enough. The workflow is going to depend on how often the director wants to see a rough cut. You wouldn’t be able to record and transfer at the same time.

You could use hot swappable drive cases, and possibly a third computer to edit and play back from. Then you could sneakernet the drives around as needed.

[David Smith]

Michael,

Allow me to make an alternative suggestion.

Two laptops or towers (I use Powerbook G4 1.67 machines which are pretty cheap these days, but DON’T use the last “HR” version)

Two MOTU V3HD Firewire converters.

Two eSATA to PCMCIA cards (If you go with Powerbooks. The Firmtek models are a good choice, and of course you’d need Expresscards instead if you go with Macbook Pros)

Two eSATA hard drive cases, or a dual bay case with separate inputs

I use this setup to record two HD-SDI sources as DVCPro-HD. You could use AJA io HD boxes instead of the V3HD, but you’ll need intel macs and more drive space for the Pro Res files.

You’ll have “instant” playback capability, but of course for your assembly you’d need to move one of the drives to the other machine. The V3HD (or io HD) will allow you to connect to SD or HD monitors. I’d be happy to talk with you about the workflow, and if you’re anywhere near New York City you can come see how it works if you’d like.

Regards,
David

[David Smith]

sounds like your sequence settings don’t match the format of your clips.

Choose an Easy Setup that matches your clip format.

Open a NEW SEQUENCE (any existing sequence won’t be affected by the Easy Setup switch)

Import some clips…. you should be good to go without needing to render all the time.

[David Smith]

[Warren Eig] “Only could resize and manipulate the TCR on an individual clip. Weird.
“

That is weird. As a workaround, perhaps you could get it to the size and place you want on an individual clip, copy the clip, then paste attributes>filters into the nested sequence. The size and position should come over with the pasted filter.

[David Smith]

Add the Timecode Reader filter to the clip. You can then resize it, put it wherever you like in the frame, remove the TCR title that precedes it by default, make the box behind the code translucent, etc.

Regards,
David

[David Smith]

Gary,

What kind of hard drive system are you playing this media from, and how full is it?

[David Smith]

I have two Firmtek boxes and use a four bay with an older Sonnett card (PCI-X). I’ve not encountered any software/firmware issues. I like the build and design of the Firmtek boxes except for one very important issue…. I HATE the cheesy five pin mini-DIN connector they use to attach the external power supply to the box. Don’t know if any of their competitors have a better solution.

I use the two bay Firmtek in the field and the mini-DIN is just awful. This is becoming a bigger issue now that “IT” equipment is more and more being used in field production environments. The IT design folks just don’t seem to understand field conditions. Their answer when told the plug comes out if the box is moved is…… don’t move the box. I guess that works in the lab.

For now I tape the connectors best I can, but it’s not a good solution. About two months ago I wrote Firmtek and suggested they offer an option for a locking xlr connector. I’d gladly pay for the upgrade. No reply. Then just last month, disaster. A taped in connector got moved and instead of popping out (which would have been bad enough) I snapped off one of the pins. No power. Now here’s the thing that really got me mad. When I called Firmtek support, obviously in a panic, the support person said to me before I even mentioned the issue… “Let me guess, you need a new power supply”. Obviously this is a common problem, and at $50 a pop, a nice profit center. I’ve since ordered an extension cable I found online, and hopefully it won’t be too long a run for the DC power. If it works I’ll keep it plugged and taped into the power supply all the time. If I should ever break a pin again I will be able to simply take off the $9 cable and replace it. I ordered two.

I know this only addresses a small part of your question, so thanks for letting me rant. Other than the power input they are very well made units.

Regards,
David

[David Smith]

I’ve had a minixpress buss powered drive for almost two years and it’s been very reliable. They come with different interfaces. The one I have is FW 800, 400 and USB2. Their latest has eSata as well.

https://www.transintl.com/store/category.cfm?category=2643

I have a 160GB 5400rpm Hitachi drive in it and have had no problems. I’ve even in a pinch recorded and played back DV, HDV and DVCPro HD files without dropping frames.