Don Greening
Forum Replies Created
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[Navarro Parker] “I should be able to turn on a factory fresh EX1, push the record button and get noise free footage, right?”
Correct, as long as you haven’t pushed the magic button (full auto) and the EX is dialing in picture gain all by itself.
[Navarro Parker] “There’s not any special setting ‘reduce noise’ function that isn’t active by default, right? “
Again, you are correct. There is no “reduce noise” button or similar menu item. When my replacement EX showed up a week or so ago I took it out of the box, changed from 1080i to 1080p, set my manual knee point to 80% IN PP1, manual gain to -3 and got noise free footage first time out. I’m using the first version of the Sony Transfer Tool, FCP v.6.0.2 on a MacPro tower running OS 10.4.11.
– Don
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[Craig Seeman] “The only place I’ve found it is on Sony Canada’s site.”
We Canucks are always trying to stay ahead of the curve………eh?
– Don
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Something like this?
https://www.digital-heaven.co.uk/bigtime/
– Don
edited post: never mind. Shane beat me to it. Again.
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[John Aufderheide] “For a 20 minute capture, the file size was over 4 gigs. “
4 Gbytes for 20 min. of DV NTSC is about bang on for files that contain both audio AND video tracks. Things to check:
– After logging a clip but before batch capture make sure the logged clip name in the Browser has a “speaker” icon and not a video icon.
– Make sure your log and capture viewer window says “audio capture only – video preview disabled”.
20 min. of .aif audio should only amount to a couple hundred megabytes.
If everything checks out and it’s still a problem then trash the FCP preference files and try another audio only capture.
And please post back with your results, because the solution doesn’t just help you, it helps to solve similar issues for others.
– Don
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[rich krysz] “people recommend for external drive be set to OS Extended and not journaled…why?”
Because journaling is basically an index for the hard drive that the OS uses to find things faster when you use the search function. The OS will update this index automatically whenever it thinks it’s necessary. It’s generally accepted that this index updating process will interfere with log and capture and other things that require media drives to be under the strict control of FCP and not the operating system.
– Don
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Try Control – V. If nothing is selected in the timeline that keyboard shortcut will cut everything. If you select something it will just cut that.
– Don
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[Navarro Parker] “I want to point the finger at the XDCAM Quicktime codec that the Transfer app installs. It seems like the weak link and not ready for prime time”
Well, it’s certainly not the weak link here. Keep in mind that the SDI signal is coming straight off the camera head before any camera compression is applied. So, like you’ve suggested, there’s a problem afterwards, either in-camera during compression or during the transfer process. Although I can’t pin down your problem from here I can say that there’s an awful lot of people using the Sony Transfer Tool every day to convert their XDCAM EX .mp4 files to .mov files and they’re not seeing excessive picture noise issues. The internet is littered with noise-free EX footage.
You’ll need to track down the cause by doing some tests.
– Transfer the files recorded by your camera to someone else’s Mac.
– Borrow another EX and transfer those files to your Mac.It won’t be long before you’ve isolated the cause. If it turns out to be a camera issue then Sony will help you and either fix your camera or give you a new one. This last statement is from personal experience.
– Don
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[Warren Morningstar] “I now make sure I’ve laid down 5 seconds of tape before starting the action…) “
Consider making it 15 seconds. With a TC break most NLEs need a 10 second handle for batch capturing otherwise it loses TC (rewinds too far) before running the tape forward again. A 15 second leeder on the tape adds just a little extra insurance generally making things easier to work with.
If you need to review things all the time during a shoot just record another 10 sec. before you shut off and do the review. When it’s time to position the tape again for more recording make sure you’re at least 5 seconds into the tail of the last clip. That should solve it for you.
– Don
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[Jim Davis] ” I suppose I would get it fixed twice, first the port, then capture the video, then have the alignment fixed (if that’s what the problem is).”
Yes, the alignment most likely what the problem is. You’ve also seen the logic on how to schedule your repairs. First the FW port overhaul and then the alignment. If your HV30 has composite or component out you could to do a transfer to another camera using those same connections.
– Don
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[Kevin Bacon] ” I refuse to rent a Panasonic camera just to capture some tapes.”
Well you might have to. Or rent that same XL2 you shot the tapes with and use it to transfer your footage, because the tape heads on that rental are misaligned. That’s why your tape’s audio won’t play on most other cameras because their tape heads ARE aligned. You just got lucky with that Panny, believe me. Canons are a bit funky that way. More often than not it’s the GL2s that suffer from this more than the other models.
– Don