[Tom Matthies]

I needed to do a firmware update on my Firmtek ESATA enclosure to get it to work on my Mac Pro running Leopard. After the update, it’s been solid as a rock. Check with support at Firmtek for info.
Tom

[Tom Matthies]

Render Manager Tool
Tom

[Tom Matthies]

Control Click in the gray area between the green “speaker” icon and the audio track indicators in the audio portion on the left of the timeline. You will get the option to “reset panel”. This should fix your missing patch source problem.
Tom

[Tom Matthies]

Sorry, I disagree with the last statement.
We are still running VVW, PVW, BVW and DNW series decks here. Some have many thousands of hours on them. I’ve replaced the heads, capstans, pinch rollers, etc. many time over but the decks are still pretty solid after years of use. We are a production house and we don’t abuse the decks like a TV station might, but they have still been very reliable.
30 hours? Not chance unless you got a lemon deck.
Tom

[Tom Matthies]

It sounds like you are doing an Assemble edit to the tape and what you may be seeing is the point at which the recording stops and before the deck mutes the output to black. Either pre-black your tape and do an Insert edit yp lay off your show or manually do another assemble edit at the end of your program to add more black/track to the end.
You could also add Slug to the end of your program causing it to record additional black after the program material ends.
Tom

[Tom Matthies]

Chris, also make sure that on the back of the deck that the component inputs are set to “see” the BNC inputs (labeled Component 2) and not the “dub” multi-pin input (labeled Component 1). If the switch on the back of the deck is flipped, it won’t see the inputs from your Kona board and you will have no picture.
Just a thought
Tom

[Tom Matthies]

The lines are too close together to be EQ or banding problems with the tape. Anyone consider good old microphonics getting into the camera tubes. A really loud noise (ie: rock concert)) will physically shake the tubes in a camera. I’ve seen it many times while shooting years ago with tube cameras and it looks just like the still of the footage. Does the video noise change in time with the music?
Just a thought
Tom

[Tom Matthies]

The trick is to output as Animation+ and DO NOT RENDER the sequence. If you render, the alpha will not work.
Tom

[Tom Matthies]

A simpler way would be to just take the elements into Photoshop and create elements as graphic pieces. To highlight a section of a graphic, simply take that element, add a glow to it for instance and , while in your timeline cut or dissolve to that element from the non-effected element. The result is that section will appear to glow and highlight itself. Make each piece of the graphic with both a glow and without. By simply editing in the different pieces as your timeline progresses, you can “highlight” any section of it. Much quicker and simpler that the traveling matte route.
Tom

[Tom Matthies]

Amen Charlie.
I sat in my edit room yesterday trying to explain to a confused producer what the differences could be when delivering content in 4×3 or 16×9 depending on just what here end users required. She was totally baffled while I tried, in vein, to explain how her anamorphic 4×3 video could be displayed either as a letterboxed picture on a 4×3 monitor, as an anamorphic picture on a 4×3 monitor or as a wide screen picture on a 16×9 monitor…all depending on how I author the DVD she would deliver and on how the DVD players are set up. Here eyes were glazed over near the end. I simply asked her what the most common use would be for the video and told here to just sit back, let me author the DVD and to relax. She was getting a bit uptight at this point. “Too many choices” she muttered. Very true I thought. Someone please explain just how the transition to digital video is going to make things sooo much easier?

As for the original poster and the original question, go to this website for answers to all things digital in the video world. I’ve found it invaluable for information. But then…I’m a video geek.

Try:

https://www.tek.com/Measurement/applications/video/sd.html

BTW, I’m entering my 35th year in this business and I also cut my teeth on Quad machines, Editec editors, TEP editors, setting all those damn oscillators on the VR-2000 and VR-1200 decks, SCH/Phase and all of the other necessary evils of the NTSC world. Remember trying to flatten the RF envelopes on a Quad. Getting the EQ set correctly for all four heads. Trying to get rid of the damn banding on an out of house tape. Running live shows with 5 or 7 second prerolls on the tapes. RCA TS-51 switcher with those little “non-sync” buttons built right into the control panel for when the quads just refused to lock up to house sync and you had to revert to some other reference, usually “vertical” just to get the darn thing to play back without breaking up. Ah, but the smell of a new roll of Scotch tape when the cover was removed. The sound of the heads hitting the tape when the guides pulled in for playback. The good feeling you got when you managed to get that solid, perfect edit where there was absolutely no playback problems…and on the right frame as well. Ah, good times…good times.

Actually, we have it pretty easy these days. Put a tape in a deck and hit “play”. How hard is that? Same old business. Just a new set of problems to deal with. That’s how it’s always worked. Always will too. Just a matter of paying attention and trying to keep up.
Tom