Mark Raudonis
3
COW Coins
Forum Replies Created
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No. This is not a good idea. Will it work? Maybe. But is an iPod a substitute for a full sized, fan cooled firewire drive? No way.
If you’re using your system to make money, then open up your wallet and buy the right tool for the job. If you’re just fooling around and want to see if it can be done, then go ahead and experiment. I’ve heard tales of HD played off of an iPod… but I wouldn’t want to rely on it day in and day out.
Mark
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[Mike Most] “the Avid Unity system is complete, established and proven, whereas any SAN solutions for Final Cut have, at least to this point, been provided by third parties not necessarily dedicated specifically to video work. That’s not to say they don’t work, but you will likely need to be much more involved in the design and implementation, as opposed to Avid’s essentially off the shelf solution.
“Mr. Most, your information is way out of date! Click on the Apple site and search for X-SAN.
We now have close to one hundred (Yes, one hundred!) FCP systems all networked, sharing common storage (over 45 terrabytes) using Apple’s X-san/X-raid combination. While this set up is not for amateurs, it’s no more complicated or elaborate than a Unity set up. I know, ’cause we just threw the Unity out the door!
As a company we were at this decision point (Avid vs FCP) over a year ago. We happily chose FCP for many of the reasons covered above. Here’s one thing to keep in mind. Everyone talks about saving money, but no one has mentioned “added capacity”. Sure, we’re as interested in saving money as the next person, but what if you took some of that savings and bought three FCP systems instead of one adrenaline? What if you trippled your storage compared to what a Unity could provide at a similar cost. You now have a competive edge over that “heavy iron” post house down the street. You now have a different workflow where more people can work on the media. You now have something that Avid can NOT provide at a reasonable cost… a fully networked company where every creative person in the company can access everything from work in progress to original media right at their desktops.
mark
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Over on the Avid-l there’s a one word response for these FAQs. It’s: RTFM
Mark
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You may also want to look at Diana Weynand’s book, “Final Cut Pro for Avid editors”.
Using screen grabs from both an AVid and and FCP, she makes direct comparisons between what you know (AVID) and what you’re trying to learn (FCP). We used this book and actually Diana herself to help transition over 45 veteran Avid editors over to FCP. Don’t expect to be up to speed overnight… it’s gonna take a few weeks before you’re comfortable on this new platform.
Mark
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Nevo,
Anyone who attended NAB in April saw this competition played out in the “Booth Wars” as Avid and Apple were literally across the aisles from each other. I think it’s safe to say that Apple kicked Avid’s butt at the show. However, AVID has been working overtime since NAB to make up lost ground (at least here in LA). They’re doing more focused marketing to industry players than I can ever remember. Avid’s message kinda feels like “remember who brought you to the dance”. Whereas Apple’s feature set delivers all the excitement of a couple of teenagers sneaking out of the dance to go makeout in the car.
AVID lost me with their botched release of Adrenaline 1.0. We’re now an all FCP/X-SAN shop with close to a hundred seats. Yes. One hundred.
mark
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Having worked with “Time of Day” code for all of my career, I can tell you that 9 times out of ten, it just doesn’t sync up!
I know that’s not what you want to hear, but that’s the cold truth. There are too many reasons why the cameras will drift apart. My best advice is to use the “Show waveforms” and manually “walk in” the tracks. Drop frame/non drop has nothing to do with it as long as all sources are using the same flavor of code.
I can tell you what to do for your next production (broadcast common TC for all cameras), but that won’t help you today. I’m afraid you’re stuck with a manual sync job.
Good luck.
Mark
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Dear Cameracad,
We’re using the Tapco’s on approximately 40 of our edit systems. Speakers are rather subjective, so I’m sure you can get into audiophile geek speak about subtle nuances, but for us, in an off-line environment they work just fine. They provide enough clarity and punch for the relatively small rooms that they live in. Any louder and the neighbors complain.
They’re a good value for the price.
Mark
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Try looking up “Final touch HD”. It’s like Color Finesse but more comprehensive. If this program can’t do what you want I’d be surprised. Of course it’s expensive! But, you do get what you pay for.
Mark
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google “Audio test tones”. You’ll see pages of sources for exactly what you’re looking for.
Mark
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Two thumbs down on La Cie from me. We’ve bought probably ten of the smaller drives and four of the terrabyte drives over the past year.Failure rate has been around 40%. That’s high!
Now that we’re on X-san with a ton of x-raid storage, our La Cie days are behind us. As for the Promax drives, we’ve still got of few of their older models gaffer taped together that have literally been around the world and still work.
mark