[Jim Blokland]

Wow, those are definitely compelling reasons. Thanks again Jeremy for your knowledgeable replies. I’ll give it a go!

Best, JIM.

Snow Leopard 10.6.4
Mac Pro Octo Westmere
14 GB RAM
ATI Radeon 5870
Matrox MX02 Mini
Seritek 4 TB RAID
AVID MEDIA COMPOSER 5 // FCS3

[Jim Blokland]

Hey Jeremy:

Thanks for your quick response. One question: what exactly is the ‘dreaded conform’ process? I’m cutting full-res XDCAM EX (with some ProRes elements in the same timeline), and at the end of the day I will either a) output to 444 ProRes QT for colour correct, or do that after I do the CC myself in Color. What issues am I looking at?

Thanks in advance.

Best, JIM.

Snow Leopard 10.6.4
Mac Pro Octo Westmere
14 GB RAM
ATI Radeon 5870
Matrox MX02 Mini
Seritek 4 TB RAID
AVID MEDIA COMPOSER 5 // FCS3

[Jim Blokland]

I’ve also been experiencing similar issues on an XDCAM feature I’m cutting. At first I thought it might have something to do with the Matrox MX02 mini drivers, but now I’m thinking it’s the same thing you’re experiencing.

I did find a noticeable improvement by trashing the Thumbnail and Waveform caches. Seems to help to do it periodically. (BTW, I’m running on a Westmere Octo…)

If I copy/paste into a ProRes timeline, will I have to render all the ‘RT’ green bar stuff on output? (I already have FCP set to render in ProRes for any FX, anyway…)

Thanks for any advice.

Best, JIM.

Snow Leopard 10.6.4
Mac Pro Octo Westmere
14 GB RAM
ATI Radeon 5870
Matrox MX02 Mini
Seritek 4 TB RAID
AVID MEDIA COMPOSER 5 // FCS3

[Jim Blokland]

Hi, thanks for your response.

I’m starting to think it’s an issue with the Matrox MX02 mini, because when I set the playback option to none — not using the MX02 — the timeline functions perfectly. So somehow, the Matrox may be causing the computer to bog down. I’ve posted on the Matrox COW forum to see if I can get any advice there.

Thanks again.

Best, JIM.

Snow Leopard 10.6.4
Mac Pro Octo Westmere
14 GB RAM
ATI Radeon 5870
Matrox MX02 Mini
Seritek 4 TB RAID
AVID MEDIA COMPOSER 5 // FCS3

[Jim Blokland]

Hi guys:

Yes, the thought of 24 virtual cores is pretty compelling, but I agree with Craig — I suspect this is the last iteration of the current design, with a new design (or at least some new major technology) coming next. Of course, when that will happen is anyone’s guess. Given that it took Apple such a long time to refresh the current Mac Pro, it’s questionable how long that will be.

So I think I’m looking at an 18 month purchase. And then maybe a top-of-the-line new Mac Pro in 2012! : > )

Best, JIM.

OSX.5.6
Dual 2.7 G5
5.5 GB RAM
Radeon X800 XT
Kona 2 / K-Box
Seritek 1.5 TB RAID
AVID XPRESS PRO/MOJO

[Jim Blokland]

Hi guys:

Thanks for the prompt replies. I figured the Octo would make a huge difference. The Kona 2 card is a full HD I/O card, but the Dual 2.7 is a PPC…obviously I am getting progressively hamstrung using this machine. I bought Avid MC5 and can’t run it, same with FCS 3. Sounds like it’s time to pull the trigger.

I had mostly been waiting to see if I could get away without having to also buy a Kona 3, and I’m considering using and MX02 Mini for monitoring, for the time being, and then maybe if the Kona 4 or a revamped Kona LHi comes out after NAB, I’ll purchase it then.

Thanks again for your reponses. Very much appreciated.

Best, JIM.

OSX.5.6
Dual 2.7 G5
5.5 GB RAM
Radeon X800 XT
Kona 2 / K-Box
Seritek 1.5 TB RAID
AVID XPRESS PRO/MOJO

[Jim Blokland]

Hi Carsten:

It’s been awhile since I’ve done this, but if memory serves correct what you need to do is copy the audio from your sequence (or reels) and paste it into a new sequence with a 30 NDF timeline. Then export a CinemaTools audio EDL from there, and you should be good to go. You’ll notice that FCP does a bit of acrobatic trimming with the clips sometimes to make them conform, but you’ll be a great deal closer to having a good EDL for your sound guys to conform with.

Hope this makes sense/suits your situation.

Best, JIM.

OSX.5.6
Dual 2.7 G5
5.5 GB RAM
Radeon X800 XT
Kona 2 / K-Box
Seritek 1.5 TB RAID
AVID XPRESS PRO/MOJO

[Jim Blokland]

I’ve noticed the same thing. I suspect there’s some kind of gamma difference between the 2 codecs, and I was waiting to see if the ingest tool Canon is bringing to FCP would clear this up or perpetuate it. The concern, of course, is are you losing any detail in the conversion process.

Best, JIM

OSX.5.6
Dual 2.7 G5
5.5 GB RAM
Radeon X800 XT
Kona 2 / K-Box
Seritek 1.5 TB RAID
AVID XPRESS PRO/MOJO

[Jim Blokland]

To add to Arnie’s response, each reel countdown normally starts at the appropriate hour mark, ie: Reel 2 countdown leader starts at 2:00:00:00, the 2-Pop is at 2:00:06:00 and program starts at 2:00:08:00. You also need to put a tail leader at the end of each reel, and the same thing applies in reverse. 2-Pop 2 seconds after last frame of picture, followed by a reverse count — up to 8 seconds.

Hope this helps. Good luck with the film.

Best, JIM.

OSX.5.6
Dual 2.7 G5
5.5 GB RAM
Radeon X800 XT
Kona 2 / K-Box
Seritek 1.5 TB RAID
AVID XPRESS PRO/MOJO

[Jim Blokland]

Hey folks:

Did a quick test and AJA was right. Plays back perfectly fine on my machine — and down-converts to SD in realtime. Ready to cut!

Thanks AJA.

Best, JIM.

OSX.5.6
Dual 2.7 G5
5.5 GB RAM
Radeon X800 XT
Kona 2 / K-Box
Seritek 1.5 TB RAID
AVID XPRESS PRO/MOJO