Joel Hufford
Forum Replies Created
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Hi George,
have you tried out https://www.keepvid.com to capture YouTube videos?
the website runs a java applet that allows you to download a video from YouTube at many different resolutions.
I use it frequently and have had great success.
I hope that helps
joel
Corporate and Special Event Staging Services
http://www.pacificstaging.com -
Hi Rachel,
I’m not sure how large an area you’re talking about covering here, but one solution you might look into is an HDMI wireless extender from Gefen ($400). The transmitter unit is about the size of a thumb drive and bus powered, so it’s nice and compact and is rated to transmit approximately 80′ feet line of sight.
In order to use this, you’re going to need a camera with HDMI out. While neither of the JVC units you mentioned have HDMI out, the Panasonic camera has an SDI output that could be converted to HDMI using Blackmagic Design’s battery powered mini converters (about $300). It can be velcroed or taped to the back of the camera. The unit is rated to last two hours on a charge, and so depending on the length of the event, you might need an additional unit so you could swap out.
I realize this isn’t an “ideal” solution as you have to replace your JVC camera and there’s a conversion step, but it is a potential solution and not having to worry about cable in a high traffic area is certainly a positive.
Good Luck!
joel
Corporate and Special Event Staging Services
http://www.pacificstaging.com -
Hi Jose,
While the setup your suggesting would potentially work for your situation, I don’t think it’s the best way to go about engineering it.
Have you looked into something like the Panasonic HVS-450? This switcher is fairly common, which means it shouldn’t be hard to source from a local rental house. It has 16 inputs, which should be more than fine for your setup and most importantly, it has an AUX bus that can be transitioned.
Whether it’s a Panasonic 450 or something else, I would suggest you get a single switcher that is capable of two independent outputs. It will make setting up and running your show much more hassle free.
Hope that helps!
Good Luckjoel
Corporate and Special Event Staging Services
http://www.pacificstaging.com -
Hi James,
have a look at this thread, I think it has some great info that will help
https://forums.creativecow.net/thread/269/422
If you’re shooting with the Sony D5x camera, are you using a something like the TX7 CCU? I ask because if you are, the back of the CCU has two component outputs. You could eliminate the component DA and simply utilize these ports, one to the mixer, the other to the ISO decks.
Good luck!
joel
Corporate and Special Event Staging Services
http://www.pacificstaging.com -
Hi Rich,
I believe the general consensus is that both RG59 and RG6 would be acceptable types of cable for your use. If there is a chance that you will be upgrading your system to support HD-SDI signals in the future, I would suggest spending the money on the RG6 cable. It won’t be as flexible as the RG59, which may be a concern for you, but it is rated for HD-SDI signals, so it will still be useful if you ever upgrade.
If you think you’re going to be living in the composite video world for the foreseeable future, the RG59 cable will do just fine.
The Belden 1694A (RG-6 Type) or Belden 1505A (RG-59 Type) are generally regarded as some of the highest quality cables that money can buy. Canare also makes a really nice cable.
Just remember, not all cables are made equal! I suppose you could argue that this is less of an issue with a standard def composite video signal, but cheap cables won’t be worth the savings if they make your final product look like crap… not that I’m telling you anything you don’t already know!
Good Luck!
joel
Corporate and Special Event Staging Services
http://www.pacificstaging.com -
I just finished demoing a unit and was disappointed to learn that the device does not allow you to select between analog or embedded digital audio when recording an HDMI or HD-SDI stream.
Also, when capturing an analog component signal (like from a DVCAM deck) the unit captures and digitizes the entire video signal, meaning the active and “inactive” portions of the signal. This produces an h.264 video with black borders around the active portion of the video signal. This was also the case with BMD first h.264 recorder, however, that model allow you to crop out portions of the signal so all that was captured was the active video. This is not the case with Media Express and the h.264 Pro Recorder. I spoke with BMD Support and was told that this was the case and there was nothing that could be done about it. To me, this is a huge drawback.
All in all I really wanted this box to work, it seemed like it would be a great tool, especially for the price. However I don’t think that we’re going to be able to use them for our workflow. Perhaps in a year or so BMD will make some improvements that will change my mind.
joel
Corporate and Special Event Staging Services
http://www.pacificstaging.com -
How long are we talking? less than 50 feet and you could get away with using a single high quality cable HDMI cable. There are also converters (or more properly, baluns) that will convert the HDMI signal and allow you to transmit over Cat5 or Cat6 cable, there are more expensive systems that will allow you to do the same thing using fiber optic cable. try googling “HDMI extender” If you’ve contacted a local AV company, give them a call and see what they have available.
however, I think the chances that you’re going to run into HDCP issues are fairly high, so I would still recommend using the analog component signal. Also, Walters suggestion of running tape in each of the cameras as a back up is a good one – actually, a really good one and I would strongly consider doing.
also you want to think about where this cable is going to live. Is it on stage by the talent, or out in the audience? Is there going to be a tripping hazard? should you get cable ramps to secure the cables in? should there be someone to page the cable? Cat 5 can be pretty easy to manage, but it and fiber optic cable are not as durable as the RG6 or RG59 cable you’d find in component video cable.
Good luck!
joel
Corporate and Special Event Staging Services
http://www.pacificstaging.com -
Hi Michael,
I know you said you have very little money to go out and buy new equipment, but have you considered contacting a local staging or AV company to rent equipment for the night?
I would suggest renting a true HD video switcher for the day, (something like an MX70 from Panasonic or an ATEM from Blackmagic Design) ditching the firewire interface and using the component or HDMI outputs from the camera. You may run into HDCP issues using the HDMI outputs, so something like the MX70 and analog component HD may be your best bet. Don’t forget to arrange for monitors with the switcher, and some adpaters to go from RCA to BNC connectors.
You would also need to rent something to record the output of the switcher, I think the KiPro from AJA would be most ideal, but there are also many IO devices that would integrate with your MacBook Pro, either over PCI Express or Thunderbolt, such as the AJA IoHD, the Matrox MXO2 and the Blackmagic Design Intensity Extreme.
Seeing as how you’re dealing with high school students in a media class, you might even be able to get the rental company to allow you to keep the equipment for a few extra days to allow your students the opportunity to play with it and learn and see what it does.
The problem with recording live events is that rarely do you get a second chance if something goes wrong. I think you’re going to save yourself a lot of headaches and reduce your stress if you aren’t having to fight with your gear every step of the way!
I know you don’t have very much time, but I hope at least some of this was helpful!
Good Luck!
joel
Corporate and Special Event Staging Services
http://www.pacificstaging.com -
Actually,
I believe that after all of the Final Cut X backlash Apple silently made Final Cut Studio available again. I remember reading something about how it was available through Apple, but you had to call Apple directly to order it. And the price tag remains at $999.joel
Corporate and Special Event Staging Services
http://www.pacificstaging.com -
Speaking strictly of situations where you’re interfacing with the internal SATA hard drive yes, that is where your bottleneck will be.
But Thunderbolt also has the advantage of being daisy-chainable, (I don’t think that’s word!) and, technically speaking, eSATA even in it’s newest incarnation tops out at a theoretical maximum of 6Gbps and Thunderbolt comes in at 10Gbps. Again, these aren’t actual achievable speeds, but the theoretical maximum works for comparison.
Hope that clarifies things, at least a bit!
joel
Corporate and Special Event Staging Services
http://www.pacificstaging.com