[Steve Kownacki]

If you’re a PC guy, Datavideo has a free video playout util, I haven’t tried it yet.

I personally wouldn’t use the SE2200 additional audio ins, but the outs could be nice. I imagine you could route de-embedded audio to a mixer. Example, you could take ambient sound (or a mic plugged into a camera) from a remote camera location, pull it from the SDI signal and route it to an audio out. No need for a separate de-embedder. Hmm, that’s may be worthy of looking into. Also SDI can pass 12 channels of audio. I record on an Atomos Samuri Blade via SDI and could record the 4 audio ins individually right off the switcher; gives more flexibility in post. Although I record multitrack right on the mixer for that purpose. These setups can get crazy-flexible with some thought! I’m always about backup to the backup. I do more recording than IMAG without recording. I’m a fan of the Apollo recorder for multicam recording, otherwise is ISO record in each camera. This is actually a cool switcher too, but too much latency for LIVE use.

Steve

[Steve Kownacki]

Software-based will always add huge amounts of latency.

I own a SE-1200 and love it. I have not officially spec’d the latency but around 1 frame. Most times latency is not crippling below 3-4 frames. The SE-2200 also acts like a matrix switcher for feeding multiple outputs. I can’t speak for the other gear, but any convertor such as HDMI>SDI will add up to 1 frame, then 1 frame in the switcher, and possible 1 frame if sending SDI to projector and converting back to HDMI and if the projectors/walls are displaying non-native resolutions, you might be adding 1 more. So there’s possible a 4-frame delay in this setup. I also read that PTZ cameras may have 1-2 frame delay even if using their SDI. You may save a partial frame with a genlocked system. The key is to look at your entire system and quality of the components. Sometimes we’ll put in a consumer camcorder for a wide shot thru an HDMI>SDI convertor because any latency is undetectable. I don’t believe any of the switchers you mention are scalers, so all inputs need to be the same flavor.

The SE-1200 has 2 SDI outs, each selectable source, typically SDI1 is to my master record, SDI2 through a DA to multiple screens. 2 HDMI outs, 1 is selectable but typically preview multiview, 2 is only PGM out. (That may change with a firmware update.) So how many differing video outputs do you need?

I do feed the master audio mix back to the switcher so my master record has a completely switched program. You can choose which video outputs contain the embedded signal so you don’t accidentally send sound to a projector. The SE-1200 has 2x XLR in, no audio outputs.

For video playback, I use PlaybackPro on a mac via HDMI. For sound I convert the headphone to TRS for sound. Typically the audio mixer is on the same table.

And, of course, either a PC or MAC via HDMI for presentation slides.

Steve

[Steve Kownacki]

Many of the stock companies will have an account person assigned to you do perform just those services. I’d start by calling a few of them and ask their specialists how they can help you. Maybe start with the big guys like Getty Images and work down to smaller sources once you know the exact terminology you are looking for.

I know in the music world there the Harry Fox Agency for music clearances.

Steve

[Steve Kownacki]

Agree with Wayne – make it work for you.
This guy wants the benefits of an employee, but only willing to pay when you work. Personally, I would walk away unless he can have a mature conversation with you and set parameters.

I have a few guys that do for me what he is requesting – work a few hours here and there, especially once a project is wrapping up and it’s minor changes. Unless it’s an on-location shoot, the editors set their schedules; if they need to work on my gear, it’s on their schedule at their convenience; with that trade they bill me hourly. Setting project rates with a written scope of work that you both develop seems best. But you can’t be on-call at his office. It’s all about communication and relationships. He doesn’t seem to want that.

Steve

[Steve Kownacki]

Thanks, Jerzy. Agree with all you’ve said. Ah, the days of $12 blank DVDs…

Friend has a client with 4.5GB of data, and when the antipiracy is written for the content, it takes it about 200MB over the 4.7GB limit and it seems to be hosing up on the layer break with data for some reason. He can write blocks to fill the first layer as you suggested, with no luck with the copy protection. So being able to move “some” data to the 2nd layer without spanning it would be great.

I then inquired about what file types were being copied and it turns out to be a bunch of CAD stuff with associated HUGE JPG files. I suggested they compress they graphics files and you could easily save the file space needed. It worked.

Thanks for teaching me some new stuff about optical media.

Steve

[Steve Kownacki]

[Ty Ford] “OK, here goes. In the series “House Of Cards” they do a very neat trick. They don’t use lavs.
The stand ins come in for lighting. When lighting is done, the set is emptied of people. The camera rolls X number of frames with no one on the set.

Talent comes on set. The boom ops are also on set and in the shot. They roll, allowing the booms to get plenty close. At no point can the talent walk in front or behind the boomers. In post, they bring up that first footage of the empty set and use it to mask out the boomers. “

Doh! Thanks, Ty. We mask out stuff in post all the time but I NEVER thought to do it specifically for removing booms. Brilliant!

Steve

[Steve Kownacki]

Are you only using the on-camera mic, or do you have them mic’d with hidden lavs, or blooming the sound?

Can you shoot the audio a second time, and dub it in?

Steve

[Steve Kownacki]

The last time I got an x-ray, a lower wage technician took the pictures, and then a remote team of radiologists read the pictures and forwarded the information to my doctor. When I recently went for a new pair of glasses, a lower wage technician used the machines to test my eyes, but an offsite ophthalmologist read all the pictures for the diagnosis and corresponded with me via Skype. I think it is these efficiencies that intrigue me the most in the near-term. Rather than each facility having an ophthalmologist or optometrist, it’s very quick to use the machines, and extremely efficient for an ophthalmologist to simply be reading pictures all day rather than doing too much manual labor.

Steve

[Steve Kownacki]

This is an interesting article and the video has me even more confused. Certainly some “radical” ideas, but what we’re doing today were radical 50 years, even 25 years ago. For those of you that create jobs, or are responsible jobs, or increasing profits for shareholders, what say you? How does all this translate with an ever-growing population? Are we in for a commune society? Will we be going back to bartering? I have roughly 435,894,003 questions that come to mind.

Thanks for introducing me to BigThink, Ron. My mind is absolutely never at rest now. 🙂

Steve

[Steve Kownacki]

I have seen the phrase “Link in bio.” in many posts; what they are doing is updating the weblink available in your bio section and updating it each time you post. Not really a problem because I’m told most viewers seem to look at your most recent post, click the link (to fb, blog or wherever) to see the new content, then move on. In my case, I DO get people looking at my older content so having a single link is a bugger. I’m just sending them to facebook for now and hope they scroll down to older content they may be looking for.

My real need was to post videos longer than :60. I’m trying IGTV to see if my viewers even see the content.

https://www.instagram.com/trustffp/

Steve