[Tom Brooks]

Same thing here. I’m on Tiger 10.4.11, FCS 6.0.2, Kona Control Panel 5.1.
/Applications:
MISSING! – AJA KONA ControlPanel.app

/Applications/AJA Kona Utilities:
No Files Found

/System/Library/Extensions:
5.1 – AJAKONALH.kext

/Library/StartupItems/AJAKonaStartupD:
MISSING! – AJAKonaStartupD
MISSING! – StartupParameters.plist

[Tom Brooks]

Gamma shifts were a problem with earlier versions of Compressor. Which version are you using?

[Tom Brooks]

Chris, that is good info about the refresh rate. Can you (or others watching the thread) answer a question for me?

My manual for the TH37PH9UK shows a “vertical frequency” of 47.92 for an input signal of 1080 24sf. Does this mean that it “displays 24psf properly at 48hz refresh” as you mentioned in your post?

I’m also curious as to why it lists the “vertical frequency” for 480 60i as 59.94 but for 720 60p and 1080 60i it’s 60. Why isn’t it 59.94 across the board?

[Tom Brooks]

It’s an HD display??? Like I said, it looks like cratp with the SD.
There are monitors that claim to display 720 23.976p however. Look at the Ikegami (V-R171P-AFHD). The Kona 3 also lists 23.98p in its spec (as an intermediate format only). I s’pose there are people using that, no?

[Tom Brooks]

Nick,
I think the manual should be available online in the support and documents area. Look in the specs section for scanning formats. My TH37PH9UK (a year old or so) does NOT support 24P in 480 or 720–only 1080.

To view 480 24p DV on it, I have to set my Kona output to NTSC 29.97. It works, but it does not look great. Basically, the Kona has to add pulldown to make it 60i and then the monitor deinterlaces it again for display. I have not tried to view 720 24p, but the specs say it only accepts 720 60p, so the Kona will have to convert to that. I’ve only used it for 720 60p myself.

Download that manual and see if you can get knowledgeable help from a Panasonic rep. Maybe the new models do more 24p modes than mine does.
-Tom

[Tom Brooks]

If I understand your goal properly, my solution would be to do the still animations in a Motion project at the full, final resolution. Export SD movies to cut into the offline. Once the video is up-rezzed, edit in the full-rez still animation sequences. Oops, I see Rich has suggested pretty much the same thing using After Effects.

[Tom Brooks]

What’s your sequence preset?

[Tom Brooks]

Sean,
If you’re still getting feedback on this thread, I’m building something similar to this. I would like to be able to compare notes with you on your experience. My Enhancebox E8-ML enclosure is on order, so the parts should be here soon and I need to get it built. Could you email me? tom at image-stream dot com. Thanks.
-Tom
Highpoint RR 2322
Enhancebox E8-ML (multilane connections)
Highpoint cables
8-Seagate ST3750640AS drives

Final Cut Studio, FCP 5.1.4, Mac OS-X 10.4.11, Quicktime 7.3,After Effects 6.5 Pro, G5 Quad 2.5, Kona-LHe V3.4, 4.5GB RAM, Nvidia GeForce 7800-GT 256MB, G-RAID 2x1TB FW800, Panasonic P2.

[Tom Brooks]

I’ve had good luck with both Hitachi and Seagate Barracuda SATA drives. Less experience with Western Digital, but they, Maxtor and others can be good too. If Addonics has a list of compatible drives, choose one of those. If you Google the model number of the drive, you can usually find good sources and prices. I’ve enjoyed working with OWC at Mac-Sales.com, NewEgg and Zipzoomfly.

[Tom Brooks]

[Robin Probyn] “So what is the best way to shoot 16-9,with a 4-3 camera?”

I’m assuming we’re talking about a standard-def 16:9 sequence.

If the editor drops your 4:3 shots into a 16:9 sequence, your shots will normally center in the frame with black pillarboxes on the sides. Editor will then scale the image up 133% until the width is filled and the top and bottom of the 4:3 footage are cropped to the height of the sequence. This 133% scale can easily be placed onto all of the clips from your camera.

But, as you can see, all your 4:3 shots will be scaled up 133% and will look somewhat jaggy and soft because of it. Anamorphic lens would eliminate the scaling up, but it will be hard to shoot with your image squished in the viewfinder.

If you can tolerate the scaling and don’t shoot with the anamorphic lens, I’d put your action in the center and try to create a good mask for the viewfinder. It will not only be easier for the editor to get a handle on it, but he could also adjust the crop in post if needed. Also, most lenses are sharper in the center and less so at the edges, aren’t they?