[Jarvis Smerd]

Just wanted to follow-up and say that the upgrade to the new firmware rev (as described above) went smoothly.

So far the system seems more stable — I was previously getting sporadic hard lock-ups during heavy read activity from the RAID-6 volume on the 3522. Since the firmware upgrade, that hasn’t happened, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the issue is resolved…

[Jarvis Smerd]

HighPoint tech support did get back with me (so my comment about “leaving a lot to be desired” was a little harsh in retrospect!) I asked when a Mac compatible update with the newer firmware would be available. Here was their reply:

The PC update can also be used with your card.

Download the update (,zip format), and extract it to a new folder (desktop may be the easiest to locate).

Open the Web interface, and select Manage – Devices.

Towards the bottom of this screen, you will see a Firmware Update option.
Use browse to locate the new folder.
Update using all three .blf files, in this order:

loader
BIOS
firmware

Then, reboot the system.

I also asked the ReadMe indicating that the PC BIOS did not have the EFI BIOS and they said:

the EFI version is only necessary if you intend to boot from the card.

So I intend to give it a whirl in the next day or two…

[Jarvis Smerd]

I tried. But HighPoint’s support leaves a lot to be desired.

It seemed like some of the folks who were previously active in this topic had “other connections” that might be able to provide some details since I can’t get them from HighPoint.

[Jarvis Smerd]

Anybody know when HighPoint will update the Mac-side (hptmac.com) with a newer version of the EFI bios? (1.2.16.21 is in the .zip file on the “PC” side, but I don’t want to risk using that and making the card not work the my Mac!)

[Jarvis Smerd]

I downloaded “RR3522-1.2.16.21.zip” from the HighPoint web site… can I install just the “rr3522-firmware.blf” file via the in-band management software, or do I really need to take the card of out my Mac and put it in a PC so I can run ‘flashelf.exe’ from a pure DOS environment?

I’m hesitant to even think about updating the BIOS since it says “EFI binaries removed in standard BIOS release … EFI support will be released in a separate package.”

But I’m also weary of problems that may be caused by the firmware rev not matching the BIOS?

Also, any idea what “rr3522-loader.blf” is? “rr3522-bios.blf” is obviously the BIOS and “rr3522-firmware.blf” is obviously the firmware, just not sure what the loader file is for (and the Readme file doesn’t provide any help.)

Any suggestions or assistance is greatly appreciated!

J

[Jarvis Smerd]

As a 3522 user, I’ve been very interested in this thread.

Has the new firmware been officially released by HighPoint or is it available on the net anywhere?

If not, any idea when it will be available?

In the mean time, any chance you could mail it to me as well? jarvis (dot) smerd -at- gmail [dot] com.

[Jarvis Smerd]

[David Roth Weiss] “Richard gave you the answer, but now you’re questioning his respose as though you doubt him?”

My apologies to Richard if the tone of my reply came off the wrong way; that certainly wasn’t my intention. I submitted my original post when I was in a frustrated state of mind… but the real intention of my post was to hopefully get me to understand the issues at hand, and your explanation about FCP being “a professional non-linear editor for those creating broadcast video” helps a lot. I was under the (apparently incorrect) assumption that the FCP timeline could also be configured for and used to create and edit content in non-broadcast-video formats (such as straight, 640×480 30p stuff designed for “multimedia”, like podcasts and web-based training videos) and still take advantage of the Extreme RT engine for real-time previews.

So I guess now my question becomes:

What can I do in FCP to make this photo montage project easier? Is there an “Easy Setup” I can use to start a new project where I can drop stills (and mattes created by the “Color Solid” generator) onto the timeline and not have to render them? I’m still hoping that there is some setup that will allow the RT Extreme engine and my Mac Pro deal with (what I perceive to be “simple”) stills and solid color mattes without having to resort to rendering everything all the time.

Thanks in advance for any insight!

P.S. Rich, I checked and the JPEG files are indeed standard RGB and not CMYK. 🙁

[Jarvis Smerd]

[Richard Harrington] “There is NO such setup in FCP…

DO NOT DO NOT Roll your own setups… “

Why? The montage is not intended to be exported out to video — it is meant for computer display.

I understand that “Easy Setups” are there for “common formats”, but FCP6 does let you create your own Easy Setups… are there “official” warnings about not creating your own Easy Setups?

If creating my own Easy Setup is that wrong, then my bad! What Easy Setup should I start with so that I can drop stills on the timeline (in .tif format, if that’s what it takes) such that they won’t need to be rendered and that I’ll be able to export a correct-looking (non-distorted) 640×480 file?

I do appreciate the insight.

(And for what it’s worth, the stills are not on the System drive — I do have a separate RAID volume for FCP data…)