Marco Solorio
Forum Replies Created
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Did you download the latest Transfer app? You need it in order to import XDCAM footage into FCP 6.0.2
https://bssc.sel.sony.com/BroadcastandBusiness/markets/10014/xdcamDownload.shtml
Marco Solorio | CreativeCow Host | OneRiver Media | Codec Resource Site | Cinesoft | Media Batch
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Ooph! You’re teasing me, Steve! My wallet is open and ready to spend $200 on such a device! Hope you find out who it was… I just can’t seem to find anything.
Thanks!
Marco Solorio | CreativeCow Host | OneRiver Media | Codec Resource Site | Cinesoft | Media Batch
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Not the three you requested, but I found this on Philip Bloom’s website by accident last week…
Might be fun to try out at the least (I’ll be giving it a shot).
Of course every scene has it’s own characteristics, so I wouldn’t imaging there would be a single preset solution anyway. It’s something you really need to tweak for each unique scene. Presets like the above are a good “guide” or “starting point”.
Marco Solorio | CreativeCow Host | OneRiver Media | Codec Resource Site | Cinesoft | Media Batch
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Thanks everyone for the replies. I guess it looks like Sony’s reader is the only viable one at the moment. Bleh. Was hoping someone would have experimented with the Syncrotech USB device by now.
Gary, I did in fact see your earlier post on the internal reader. Might be a problem for those of us that use Macs though since there isn’t a standard 5-1/4″ slot. A USB reader would really be ideal for us though so we could swap it from station to station.
Thanks,
Marco Solorio | CreativeCow Host | OneRiver Media | Codec Resource Site | Cinesoft | Media Batch
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Actually, not difficult but time-consuming to develop since it would require an entirely new architecture that’s different than the FLV version. I’d really like to see where H.264 goes with FLV support. And yes, now I understand the root of your question.
Truth is though, I may very well make a dedicated QuickTime viewer like the FLV version once some other new major features are out the door. There are some really cool things coming up! =)
Marco Solorio | CreativeCow Host | OneRiver Media | Codec Resource Site | Cinesoft | Media Batch
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This can exactly be done with Media Batch. It’s as simplified as you want it to be for your clients *but* with greater control, password logins and tracking on your end as the admin. It’s extremely customizable for you and your clients’ needs.
Marco Solorio | CreativeCow Host | OneRiver Media | Codec Resource Site | Cinesoft | Media Batch
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Sounds great! Again, contact me offline and we’ll see if we can work out a cross-grade offer.
Thanks!
Marco Solorio | CreativeCow Host | OneRiver Media | Codec Resource Site | Cinesoft | Media Batch
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[Chad Briggs] “So if the qt player in your application could be codec agnostic, i’d def take a hard look at it.”
Hi Chad! Yup, it’s completely agnostic. It’ll play whatever your system has installed. For example if you’re on a Mac, it’ll play any QuickTime-wrapped codec that’s native to it, like Sorenson, Sorenson 3, Cinepak, H.264, DV25, PNG, Animation, you name it (if you can encode it, Media Batch can play it… just make sure your client can support the codec too). Furthermore, it’ll support DivX, Real, AVI, WMV, MPEG-1 and anything else so long as it’s on your local system. And it’ll play back a bunch of audio formats as well; MP3, AIFF, WMA, Real Audio, etc. Image formats include JPEG, GIF, TIFF, PNG, BMP, etc.
And yes, there are some gamma issues with H.264, but I just can’t help using it… such nice quality and low file sizes! With Media Batch though, I do prefer On2 VP6 FLV for the timecode features.
=)
Marco Solorio | CreativeCow Host | OneRiver Media | Codec Resource Site | Cinesoft | Media Batch
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1. [beenyweenies] “1. Clients are rarely willing to sign off on a file via an online system, much less leave notes. In my experience, people are so used to email and phone communication that they were hesitant to use these tools. This may be partially due to the fact that they are spending large sums of money and really want that personal level of customer care, rather than using automated web forms for everything.”
I agree and disagree. I think it all depends on the client and the type of project. We recently completed a very technical medical 3D animation for a new heart device. The clients literally told me they don’t know how they would have gotten the project done as accurately as we did without Media Batch in the mix. They used the note system liberally and it *really* helped everyone on the team know what to do. The note system was definitely a huge component to the (huge) success of the final product. They’re ready to do three more medical 3D animation projects!
[beenyweenies] “2. When doing work for outside producers, online systems like this make it more difficult for them to share the file with their client.”
I actually completely disagree. We have outside producers hire us for the actual production work and they run the show. Some of these producers have their own copy of Media Batch on their sites and some do not have websites at all (I know, amazing but true). Either way, they can upload files (to either our system or theirs) if they need to. It really works out well for them and the bottom line, their clients love it.
[beenyweenies] “3. Many clients are tucked behind a corporate firewall with strict access rules. This makes online review systems even more tricky because it MUST conform to the client’s needs. Using Flash is great for many things, but it will immediately render your review system useless to about 10% of your clients.”
The Media Batch system doesn’t rely on Flash. The portals, lists and viewers are all parsed as standard HTML from the PHP source. The only Flash components are the Media Batch FLV Viewer and the SWF Viewer. Everything runs though HTTP protocols on port 80, so if they can view eBay or Yahoo, they can use Media Batch and all it’s features. It’s *extremely* corporate friendly. I wouldn’t have created it if it couldn’t meet that requirement as we have countless corporate clients, including Cisco, Informatica, Quest, blah, blah, blah.
[beenyweenies] “4. We built our system to simplify the review process. Clients merely type in a user name and password and they are taken to a secure page that lists current files up for review. They click a file and the video plays, with a box for notes and a checkbox to approve that version of the video. Very simple. Even still, some clients are so computer-challenged that even this system has required explanation and hand-holding.”
Hoesntly, I’ve never had an experience with clients that required them to understand how the interface works. You send them the link and it’s all laid out clearly. In fact, as the Media Batch admin, you can completely hide columns and re-name column titles for your clients. So for instance, you can just have a file name column, a date column and a download column. If the client can’t figure that out, they need a brain transplant!
[beenyweenies] “After all the work of building and maintaining this system, we have found that simply uploading the file via ftp to our server, emailing the client a link and discussing by email or phone is the easiest and least complex method for reviewing with clients.”
I think if you used Media Batch, you’d think otherwise and your clients would love you to death. The integrated Media Batch Uploader (used for both admin and optionally for users) is extremely powerful. You’ll never have to use FTP again.
[beenyweenies] “That said, the Media Batch system DOES include certain features that I believe are much better than our system, that clients would be more willing to use them and that it is a worthwhile investment.”
I agree! As mentioned in the other post, email me offline and we’ll see if we can set you up with a cross-grade offer.
Thanks,
Marco Solorio | CreativeCow Host | OneRiver Media | Codec Resource Site | Cinesoft | Media Batch
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Hi George,
You might want to read this post in which I talk about the pitfalls with http://FTP...
https://forums.creativecow.net/readpost/17/858550
In short, this is a few of them:
1. Many corporate clients hate FTP or cannot use FTP due to their network structure. Media Batch uses the standard HTTP protocol on port 80. If you can view eBay or Yahoo, you can view Media Batch.
2. FTP can be a pain to set up if you have many clients/logins to create to access it. Creating logins for lists is easy to do in Media Batch.
3. FTP only allows you to download files and not actually view them right then and there. Media Batch natively “sees” almost 200 file formats. It can view, inline, all the major ones (QuickTime, FLV, WMV, AVI, Real, MP3, PNG, TIFF, XML, EDL, so on and so on). You can even view the contents of a ZIP file *before* downloading it… try that with FTP!
4. Standard FTP doesn’t allow you to track file activity. Media Batch tracks login name, IP address, activity (download, view, etc.). You can know for a fact when your clients are looking at your files.
5. FTP apps are usually a pain for clients (if they don’t have IE or Firefox FTP integration). With Media Batch they only need the web browser they’re accustomed to.
6. FTP doesn’t offer a notation system for each file. Media Batch does!
7. FTP doesn’t have an integrated approval system with notes. Media Batch does!
8. FTP offers no custom tools for media viewability specific to our industry, e.g., the Media Batch timecode based FLV Viewer with notation and drawing capabilities.
I could go on and on. The differences are astronomical once you really start using Media Batch. But most importantly, your clients will like it *much* better than FTP.
Marco Solorio | CreativeCow Host | OneRiver Media | Codec Resource Site | Cinesoft | Media Batch