Harryd
Forum Replies Created
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Hi, Bill,
I had a similar problem for the first time a couple of weeks ago; it was the first tome I had used the HVX200, but was shooting DV to tape via firewire to a JVC DV3000.
In FCP5, I played around with the sequence’s audio setting (changing 48K to 32K) and that fixed it. I don’t know how, because I’m sure I shot in 48K and the file’s info tells me that it’s 48K. I have no answer, but it worked for me.
good luck,
HarryD
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[gary adcock] “the max RAM in that machine with a current OS is 4 gigs, the 1.5G limit was lifted in 2001.”
Apple has other ideas about the max RAM in this machine:
https://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=42686From the aforementioned article:
” You can expand your computer’s DRAM to a maximum of 1536 megabytes (1.5 gigabytes).”[gary adcock] “don’t you think it is in your own best interest to upgrade your hardware? You have a new tapeless camera but that old tired g4 is lagging behind, way behind.”
I thought I said that my plans are to decommission this machine later this year once Apple releases an intel-mac tower and I can see what we’re working with (I might have said that in another thread; if so, forgive me). But that’s the plan – I’m waiting on Apple. I have been working handily with DV in this box and haven’t had reason to upgrade until now; my HVX purchase has been quite recent. and also as I said, I’m not complaining, just reporting my experience. I’m actually grateful – the images that i get are great.
[gary adcock] “IF your going tapeless– how are you going to handle content from others or deliver it to your clients? No one I know wants to deliver a P2 card and I do not know of any source that does not want some sort of tape.
How do you plan to monitor and properly color correct your content?”For me, some of these questions have yet to be worked out as my studio is obviously in the process of an overhaul for HD. as for the P2 question: I no longer work in broadcast and am 99% solo as an independant producer, and therefore have a closed shop. VERY rarely do I bring in outside editing jobs, and I’ll wait and see how that work plays out before I invest in any HD studio equipment. I believe i also said that once the machine thing is determioned, then an output card will be selcted, either Kona or Decklink.
I currently work with no one who shoots/delivers in HD tape; most are working in DV, HDV, Super16 and 16mm. I deliver in SD DVD, very occasionally in VHS. My clients – all still in SD – are happy. Actually, considering what many of my cohorts are doing I have more reason to include HDV than anything else.
But the question you ask about tapeless seems to me much larger than what my little studio will do in the short term – how is anyone going to deal with it? Is tapeless really the wave of the future, as Panasonic hopes it will be? How are freelance shooters going to deliver P2-acquired footage to their clients (I assume on hard disk, or possibly copied to DVD, or HD-DVD, or BluRay), and then how are those producers going to deliver that same footage to editors (I assume they will supply the post house with the same HDD they were given by the shooter)? Some of my editing clients who work in film bring in a HDD that has their digitized footage on it already, and I assume this would be a close model for tapeless.
But this is a new way of working, certianly to me it is, and I’m hearing all sorts of answers, many of which work, some don’t.
Using HD on tape is of course another matter, and to my way of thinking isn’t really so revolutionary as evolutionary – it’s still tape, just a damned good-looking one with really high datarate. So one figures out what is required of that medium and adjusts. But it’s still a tape deliverable, which is the same model as we’ve had for quite awhile now. Of course, P2 and tapeless are a whole different thing, even if the codec may be the same.
In my mind, HD and SDI are similar to what we went through when component came online many years ago, and what we did to our studios to convert from composite to component.
HarryD
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I’ll tell you what I do (and would do again) and works like a charm:
P2 card to Toshiba Windows laptop running P2 Genie. Then, back at the ranch, copy P2 files to Mac over LAN. Then import to FCP.
Very inexpensive (laptop was in the $650 range);
P2 Genie is a must – it automates the ingest to laptop process, and can reformat the P2 card for you after ingest. it will do all this automatically on card insertion, and will save the data anywhere you like – even to 2 locations (like local and external HDDs) if you like. It also creates unique reel numbers (folders) for each new card inserted.
I hotrodded my laptop a little bit with a 7200rpm Hitachi local drive, which is extremely fast. I keep the computer free of junk, and the drive defragged. basically, i treat it like a piece of video gear, not for e-mail or games or even editing. just production work. I also use DVRack on it, BTW.
Mac laptops and notebooks are just too expensive for field work IMO, especially considering the low relative cost and ease of use and featureset of windows machines. Heck, when the PA drops it (you know it’ll happen sooner or later) I can call my wife to bring her laptop (my backup, but she doesn’t know it), or go to Staples or Best Buy or Walmart or whatever and buy a replacement, and I haven’t blown the shoot. Or use another one that happens to be in someone’s car. You get the picture.
YMMV!
HarryD
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I’d think this would be a good practice in any shooting situation. the zebras work, and no production monitor can be trusted – remeber the acronym for NTSC? Never The Same Color?
Back in the analog days, i’d never shoot to 100%, and that was even knowing that if something was “blown out,” you maybe get back a bit of it because analog could go to maybe 120%. not so with digital. when the signal hits 100%, that means 255 in 8-bit, and that’s it (unless the cameras are calibrated for 100% to equal 235, of which I’m not aware). no bringing it back from white. which is why i try to shoot no greater than 80-90%. It looks great than way, gives me some latiude to play with it in post, and I keep headroom.
didn’t i hear a rule of thumb somewhere for digital video to shoot 1 stop under?
hd
HarryD
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Hi, Shane.
Jan seems to share your opinion that the system should work with DVCPRO HD, but it really doesn’t. as i said, it works, but it’s slow and stutterey and really feels like it’s not up to the task. the system is maxed at 1.5 GB RAM.
I’m not complaining – I’ve gotten good service out of this thing, and we’re talking a new format here with tons more data to process. But it’s too bad i can’t use it, it kills me to lose that 2 minutes recording time on a 4GB P2 card, when using a lower format like DVCPRO50 vs HD 720p24pn.
However, as for the rest of the system i was set up to work in DV, so i have a JVC DV3000 deck that I’m using as a bridge to my glass monitor. works very well for that format, actually, and works well when i have to tape really long things, and can use the large shell cassettes.
but you’re right – if working in HD, then it has to be HD all the way through. And because I’m going tapeless these days, i have no plans to get an HD deck. so on the horizon for the new machine will probably be a Kona or Decklink card. not sure which one, though; i like bang for the buck, and i have no need for SDI.
and I agree with your assessment to wait a few days or a couple of weeks. i want to see what apple will announce for towers at the Dev show.
thanks again,
hd
HarryD
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I have a quicksilver 2002 with dual 1GHz and 1.5GB Ram. DVCPRO HD coming from P2 will ingest OK, but editing HD – 720 or 1080 – on this machine with FCP 5.0.4 is a no go – it works (no crashes or other nonsense), but runs so slowly as to be unusable. There’s also no way to monitor it – I’m using firewire video out, and the footage won’t play in realtime there. It will play, though, on a second computer monitor when configured to do so. Which does no good.
The footage is on a local drive on the IDE channel, so external Firewire is not at play here. Note also that this machine will also not run Motion (GFX card not on the list).
Simply put, it seems the computer is just too slow to work with HD footage. If anyone can tell me I’m wrong and how to reconfigure to make it work, I’ll be happy to hear it!
DV and DVCPRO 50 from an HVX200 via P2 look awesome, however. Very chroma keyable with dvMattePro and nice, smooth fleshtones.
I don’t know if a new graphics card will help the situation, but for my money I’d rather put it towards a new G5 or intellomac when the come out, and be sure that it works.
HarryD
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Yeah, i know that about the 1/3″ chips. I’m just saying that someone I know (whom you probably also know, here in B-more) told me awhile back the thing about the feeds. maybe they were BS’ing him, I’m just repeating what i was told and of course now seem to be adding fuel to more mythology. sorry about that, thanks for setting the record straight. And as we all know, technology marches on.
But back on the chips – what is the pixel density of the varicam? same as HVX? Denser? I know varicam is bigger, which has other advantages than resolution (such as sensitivity and DOF).
Talking about quality, I’m sitting here looking at DVCPRO 50 footage shot about an hour ago on my beloved HVX, ingested from P2, edited with FCP5, chroma keyed using dvmatte Pro, and displayed on my cheap HDTV. Lots of high-contrast angles there, but not one jagged edge in sight. Keyed hair is good, skin tone is excellent, and it’s just a beautiful image. And even though things like the Varicam are definitely better, those of us paying attention find it truly amazing that we can afford equipment this good. If Discovery wants to bitch about this kind of image, IMO they have damned little to do.
On another front, we can’t tell stories with closeups? I won’t even breach this subject now, but we’ll have a discussion about it the next time i see you at a show. 🙂
thx mucho,
h
HarryD
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Well, Shane, I saw your name in the creds on one of the Discovery shows, and as I recall it was good (sorry, can’t recall which one). So here we have it firsthand.
And jan’s comments are very reasonable; at least that makes sense to me. However, i was told at some point that it had something to do with the sat feeds. maybe that’s no longer true.
thx,
HarryD
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Whoops – don’t misread that – it really hadn’t ocurred to me and the “duh” was for me. sheesh, this e-mail thing…
HarryD
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Hmmm…. using media Manager for this… there’s a though that hadn’t ocurred to me. Duh.
thanks,
HarryD