[Eric Hansen]

thanks for all your help guys

Rodney wrote: The H4 allows you to set levels on the inputs independently

this might be an area where the H4n and H4 differ. in Stereo mode, the Zoom doesn’t allow you to change the levels of the channels independently. in 4 channel mode, you still can’t adjust the levels independently, but you can go into the Mixer and adjust the pan. so if i use 4 channel mode, i’m gonna end up recording 2 blank tracks (3 and 4) and end up with half the card space. i don’t know if i’m missing something, but this is what i’m seeing.

i saw this in the manual –

Inputs
INPUT [1] [2]
XLR (balanced input) / standard phone (unbalanced input) combo jack
Input impedance
(using balanced input) 1 kΩ balanced, pin 2 hot
(using unbalanced input) 480 kΩ unbalanced
Input level
(using balanced input) −10 dBm _ −42 dBm
(using unbalanced input) +2 dBm _ −32 dBm

so i guess it’s not an XLR/TRS combo jack like i thought.

Rodney wrote: If you use the MixPre, then you will plug the mic into one of the input channels and set the pan for that input to center. This will give you an output on both the L and R XLR outputs of the mixer, no need for a split.

my thinking was i didn’t want to use a MixPre for just one channel, since its a 2 channel mixer. if i have one microphone and want 2 XLR outs, it would be half as much money to get a MP-1 with a splitter. i was thinking MixPre so i could have 2 sources and split them out to 4 tracks, if this is even possible.

Rodney wrote: I use my H4 for lots of recordings using the mic level XLR inputs. I use it with my SD 442 and set the outputs to mic level. Yes I know I’m using the mic pres on both units, but for the stuff I’m recording you’ll never hear the difference

so with the Zoom and SD mixer, this is the setup that you would recommend? when would you not recommend this?

Rodney wrote: As for the MixPre, your best bet is to pad the outputs with line level attenuators (from memory, I think the Shure attenuator has switches for -10, -15 and -20) and use female XLR to male mono 1/4″ adapter cables to go into the line level inputs of the H4n.

so this is to bring the high line level of the MixPre down to the consumer line level of the 1/4″ unbalanced inputs on the H4n? I’m sorry if this question seems obvious, i always get confused by the different audio levels

one final question: the H4n has a 1/8″ stereo mic input for channels 3 and 4 which take over from the built-in microphones. has anyone tried to use this input? i’m wondering if i can use this as tracks 3 and 4 from a mixer, using something as simple as a stereo RCA to 1/8″ cable. here are the specs from the manual:

EXT MIC Input impedance　 2 kΩ
Input level　 −7 dBm _ −47 dBm

i wonder how clean it would be. i looks like i would have to have the mixer outs set to Mic level. but is the impedance too high?

thanks

e

Eric Hansen – http://www.erichansen.tv

[Eric Hansen]

Erik wrote: On what machines are you getting network disconnects?
I have a number of Nehalem 3GHz machines and none of them have issues with it.
ProTools is a beast, and the main reason that we still run a standard server setup together with “sneakernet” rather than a proper SAN model.

hey Erik. can you be more specific with “standard server setup”? the disconnects are a speed issue. if you are using the default connection settings, ie, no Jumbo Frames, then you probably won’t break the speed threshold that causes the disconnects. it actually took a few weeks after installation for this problem to show up. we were hitting the server pretty hard and it only occasionally disconnected. so i don’t think it happens EVERY TIME. but with my clients, who are used to Xsan, once is too many. according to Small Tree, the newest dev release of 10.6.3 has this bug fixed. hopefully the fix makes it to the release version.

to close this thread –

we have gone with 2 1TB drives in our Pro Tools Mac Pro. one is the Pro Tools scratch, and the other is a daily backup (Carbon Copy Cloner) of the scratch. any transfers with the SAN are done over the regular office network since all the PCIe slots have Pro Tools cards in them. we are thinking about getting a PCIe expander so we can add a video capture card for HD playback in the tracking room, and a Small-Tree card. but i bought a USB to DVI adapter to test video playback in the tracking room. so if that works, and a fix comes with 10.6.3, we probably wont get the PCIe expander.

e

Eric Hansen – The Audio Visual Plumber – http://www.avplumber.com

[Eric Hansen]

thanks for all the advice Dave

i’ve been trying a few different solutions. surprisingly, iPhoto sharing works, and the search feature is really fast on a client system. it works just like iTunes sharing. but you can’t access all the metadata in iPhoto the way to can with Aperture, Bridge, et al. i do like with Bridge that you can have keyword categories. we would need to bulk-apply keywords like person, place, etc. i also want to apply things like Copyright and photographer, and only the ‘bigger’ programs let me do that. iPhoto just doesnt have enough tagging ability. but it nails the sharing thing, so it really bugs me that it won’t work. i have Bridge CS3 because i use After Effects CS3. do you know if there’s a difference between CS3 and CS4 with Bridge?

i know that eventually we’re going to have to switch our SAN server over to OS X Server when we add more client systems. maybe i’ll have to make that jump earlier than i thought. it looks like your solution of using Bridge with Spotlight is the best of the inexpensive solutions.

but i still don’t know how well Final Cut Server will work with photos. i’m spilling over all the reading material now. hopefully i’ll kludge something together soon.

thanks

e

Eric Hansen – The Audio Visual Plumber – http://www.avplumber.com

[Eric Hansen]

thanks dave

your mention of Open Directory and ACLs made me cringe. flashbacks to an old Xsan installation i tried to over-manage.

you mention Spotlight. on our SAN setup, i was advised to turn off Spotlight on the SAN volumes. i forget the reason for that. Mr Modica? maybe its the invisible index files that Spotlight creates at the root of the volume. maybe that doesnt work in a shared environment. anyway, Spotlight will see all the metadata you add to the images in Bridge? that’s pretty slick. maybe i should look closer at Bridge.

searching around i found Extensis Portfolio Server. I couldn’t find a price, i’m gonna call them today, but i’m guessing its a few thousand. i don’t know how much i want to spend on this. we do have Final Cut Server, but i haven’t integrated it yet. i’ve been waiting for Peachpit’s book on version 1.5 to come out. it was supposed to be Nov, then Dec, then Feb, now April. i think it can handle images, but i don’t know how well. i guess its time to turn it on and find out. i just ordered Peachpit’s “Getting Started” book.

after i figure out images, i’m moving onto music. i’m thinking iTunes sharing. i like how there’s extra tagging fields so i can add things like Label, Publisher, rights, etc. that’s always been a big hang up for editors i’ve worked with – not knowing what songs are cleared for their edit.

i’ve worked at a lot of production companies where they needed to share this stuff, but never got a system in place. now that i’m working for a company that’s pretty much starting from scratch, i’m implementing the big thing i’ve always wanted – asset management for video, images and audio.

thanks

e

Eric Hansen – The Audio Visual Plumber – http://www.avplumber.com

[Eric Hansen]

does anyone have any suggestions? i’m basically looking for a way to centralize our image collection and allow it to be shared and searched among different users/computers in our office.

Richard, i was hoping to hear from you. i’ve been reading your book Video Made On A Mac and it suggests Aperture and Bridge for organizing images for a production workflow. but you don’t address how to share those libraries/databases with other users and computers. one of my favorite features of Lightroom, is the ability to keep thumbnails and metadata on your laptop, while the RAW and full size images reside in another location. it would be great if we could have that ability with a shared system too, but its not required.

thanks

e

Eric Hansen – The Audio Visual Plumber – http://www.avplumber.com

[Eric Hansen]

thanks matt

but this isnt a bandwidth issue. when we’re logging footage on the Mac Minis, they’re only playing a single stream of ProResHQ. all the footage resides on the SAN volume. it’s not getting transferred anywhere. when we actually transfer footage into the system off external drives, they are just hooked up directly to the SAN server. 10G ethernet wouldn’t help in this situation.

i’m just looking for a way to centralize our photo database. i’ve reached out to a few pro photographer friends, but they are all one-man-bands and don’t have to deal with sharing their libraries among different computers.

any other ideas out there?

thanks

e

Eric Hansen – The Audio Visual Plumber – http://www.avplumber.com

[Eric Hansen]

hey Dave

thanks for the suggestion on Carbon Copy Cloner. i think that’s the way we’re going to go. we’re going to access the SAN through the regular office ethernet, which is still gigabit but only 1500 MTU. hopefully that will slow it down enough to keep the ethernet port from disconnecting. since these guys are an island more or less, there wont be much file transferring going on.

thanks

e

Eric Hansen – The Audio Visual Plumber – http://www.avplumber.com

[Eric Hansen]

thanks for all the responses bob

i didnt know if the reason Pro Tools didn’t work with “our” SAN was because of bandwidth – that’s why i was thinking 4 drives in a RAID-0. i’m now thinking 2 drives in the Mac Pro in a RAID-1 could work. i’m worried about media redundancy since the files won’t be on the RAID-5 SAN. if FW400 drives work, this should work fine.

regarding the 60MB/s speed limit on the Nehalem Mac Pro – would a system connected using the “Automatic” settings (no flow control, no jumbo frames) stay below the 60MB/s speed limit? that’s why i was thinking about using the office network connection. the Pro Tools computer’s Port 1 would be configured as “Automatic”, as is the server’s connection to the office network (using Port 1, while the PEG6 card runs the 6 port agg). transferring files back to the SAN is important because the Pro Tools system will be used for sound design for the Final Cut editors. thus the sound designer will be constantly uploading new cuts to the SAN for editors to drop in. so the sound designer won’t be working from the SAN, but he will need to post up his cuts when he’s done. i can’t believe i’m trying to find a way to SLOW DOWN an ethernet network. maybe a USB ethernet adapter?

as far as video monitoring. would something like Matrox’s Dualhead2go work? it looks like Pro Tools will play video in a floating window, and we could move that floating window to the “third monitor” using a Dualhead2go. we have the standard Nvidia card in this Mac Pro.

thanks bob, as always

e

Eric Hansen – The Audio Visual Plumber – http://www.avplumber.com

[Eric Hansen]

hey matthew

thanks so much for this How To. i also have to convert stuff for DG and that’s how i found this post.

thanks

e

Eric Hansen – The Audio Visual Plumber – http://www.avplumber.com

[Eric Hansen]

Graeme wrote: I ran sample footage from a 5D and footage from a f900R onto a HD monitor, side by side. Shot the same day, same subject.

were you playing this live via the HDMI output on the 5D, or were you playing back from the CF card? if it was live, then you were bypassing the H.264 compression.

the artifacting can be minimized if you shoot objects with a shallow depth of field, or things that don’t have straight lines. interviews work well if you throw the background out of focus. if you play to the cameras strengths, you can get it past the broadcasters. just give them a ProRes HQ file (or HDCAM tape) and tell them you shot an F900 with a Macro lens and challenge them to prove you otherwise.

btw, i’ve heard the 50Mb “rule” too and it confuses the heck out of me. using an extreme example, that would mean footage from a Sony F35 delivered on a 45Mb Blu-Ray is unacceptable, but Uncompressed SD from a Umatic tape is acceptable. the bitrate means nothing. its just something that they can quantify, and thus accept or reject based on a number. whereas the quality of the cinematography can’t be quantified.

e

Eric Hansen – The Audio Visual Plumber – http://www.avplumber.com