[Floh Peters]

I am not really sure what you are seeing. Do you import HD clips which are fine, and downconvert them in Media 100 HD? Or do you try to import HD clips directly as SD files?
In our experiences the Media 100 up- and downconversion inside the application (both via hardware and via the conform commands) is great. I have to admit that we only tested with PAL footage, but I would expect NTSC to be good also.

[Floh Peters]

You definitely should download the Trial version of Media 100 Producer (the software-only version of the current Media 100 applications) and open a copy of your Project and Timeline with it. Then try an export and look what happens. If it still fails then there is something wrong with your media files.

[Floh Peters]

You should set up your systems to work in DF mode. All DV cameras record 29.97 NTSC as far as I can say; so you also should work in 29.97 in Producer (as far as I know you cannot work in NDF anyway, but since we work in PAL all the time I am not sure about this}.
You should have a look at your drive performance; I could imagine the system dropping frames if your drives don

[Floh Peters]

[Juanjo Mora] “a. Are you using the apple video monitors or another brand? In which configuration: one head two heads? Which video card?”

We use mostly 23″ Apple Cinema displays in a 2 screen config. And we use the X1900XT cards on all our Intel systems.

[Juanjo Mora] “b. What kind of disks are you using for HD recording and playback?”

Various FibreChannel drives. XServe RAIDs and Infortrend Arrays.

[Floh Peters]

[Juanjo Mora] “1. It seems that for the US$700 difference between the 4-core and the 8-core machine, it’s a no brainer: I should buy the 8-core machine, right?”

This depends on what you want to do with the system. Currently the benefits of the 8core vs 4core are not that huge, since partially the OS and the developer tools are slowing some things down. OSX 10.5 is said to make better use of more CPUs, and should result in speed gains. Additionally I would expect V12 to also get more multi-CPU optimization. Don

[Floh Peters]

Media 100 does not include an own MPEG2 encoding routine, but it can use all QuickTime conversions.
The best way to do your MPEG2-encoding would be to export a By-Reference QuickTime file from Media 100, and then do the MPEG2-encoding in one of the available MPEG2 encoders, like BitVice, Compressor, Episode, Cleaner or one of the other tools out there.

[Floh Peters]

It sounds a lot like a hardware problem, most likely to your Harddrive or SCSI connection. Check your cables and make sure that they are seated correctly. And check your SCSI termination. Maybe you should try to digitize some clips (in a lower resolution) to your internal harddrive to see if you get the same problem there

[Floh Peters]

If you have a Media 100 i system (P6000 hardware) you are completely out of luck with using this hardware on a MacPro.
But what I highly would suggest is looking into an Aja-based Media 100 system. The Aja hardware that is sold with the new Media 100 systems can be used both with Media 100 and with FinalCut; and with getting the Media 100 software for the Aja hardware you are able to open all your legacy projects, Media files and timelines without problems. It will give you the best of both worlds; you will be able to work both in FCP and in Media 100 depending on the requirements of the actual project.
If you already bought an Aja-board for your MacPro to use with FCP, you also can get a software license from Media 100 to work with your Aja hardware. Definitely get in touch with Media 100 sales about that.

Floh

[Floh Peters]

[David Issko] “How much experience have you had with ProRes, if any?
“

I have finished some projects in ProRes, which except the AE problem seems to be a pretty nice codec.

[Floh Peters]

[David Issko] “Now how do I install Apple ProRes 422 (after I buy FCS2) without interfering with M100HDe and AJA hardware?
Thanks David Issko “

You can install the full FCS2 on your Media 100 system without any problem. You should not install the Aja Kona drivers, though, which would conflict with the Aja drivers Media 100 uses. Or if you have installed FCS2 somewhere else you can copy the ProRes component from the Library->QuickTime folder of the drive to your Media 100 Library->Quicktime folder.

You should be aware that ProRes produces unexpected results when used e.g. with AE; there is a levels- and colorshift when decompressing ProRes footage. Rendering into ProRes codec is fine.