[Tony]

Hi Walter,

Keep in mind the default setting only apply to those who don’t have to deal with rental gear in which the setting are subject to change constantly due to all the rental applications.

I just programmed four 1200A for a rental house and every single one of them was different.

Regarding the power off sequence it is better to be safe than sorry which is why I recommend powering off both the vtr and mac as the first step. In a rental environment the easier the install steps are to remember the less likely it will be to create problems.

Some other menus I forgot to mention are the 600 series menu which deal with video.

600 video in sel set to 1394 (allows recording back to the 1200A via the firewire. Other options are HDSDI and internal signal generator.)

620 downconvert mode- FIT HV for anamorphic downconverting. This selection affects the firewire output in addition to the analog and SD SDI outputs. Other options are for letterbox or side cut.

615- V Com Sel- Cmpst – if you want to view the 1200A menus on a composite NTSC monitor

890- DIF Auo out- CH 1 &2 if you want to output ch 1,2 from the 1200A other option is Ch 3-4.

899- DIF Super – OFF (unless you want to super the menus over the firewire output. Useful if you dont’t have an external monitor and need to see the vtr setup menus.

BASIC menu

005- Super – Cmpst – will output vtr menus via the composite analog output. Other options include SD SDI, HDSDI, component.
etc

I spent so much time with the 1200A over the last weekend that I now have every setup menu captured for a quick review via pdf or preview to set up the deck for multiple applications quickly.

Tony Salgado

[Tony]

Wayne,

The tech support at AJA has never been slow to respond to any of my needs. I generally have always been able to speak directly to Rudy and/or Clark for over the phone support.

Considering my personal experience dealing with the poor quality of tech support from other companies I consider AJA tech support to be the peak of customer service.

Tony Salgado

[Tony]

Walter,

Another important menu under the DIF settings is 880 which is the speed of the firewire transfer.

It must be sent to S400 when outputting dvcpro HD.

If you leave it at S400 you can output dvcpro HD as well as everything else.

In addition you need to make sure you have selected the proper capture setting in FCP.

Deck control will always be dvcpro hd firewire but the proper codec (dvcpro 50, dv or dvcpro hd must correspond to what you have chosen to do under menu 894 which will output dvcpro hd, dvcpro 50 dvcpro or dv). If you do not have the proper settings you will get deck control via firewire but will not see the video output in the capture window.

Also always reboot FCP when you change the codec settings in the capture window so that FCP and the 1200A do their “handshake” properly.

Lastly do not connect or disconnect the firewire cable between the 1200A and mac or else you may fry the 1200A firewire board. The proper procedure is as follows

1)Power off mac and 1200A
2)Connect firewire cable between 1200A and mac
3)Turn on power on 1200A
4)Turn on and boot up Mac
5)Fire up FCP

The 1200A and mac must be hooked up 1:1 (do not daisy chain between other firewire devices).

Tony Salgado

[Tony]

John,

The 1200A had menus regarding the embedded tc within the HDSDI signal.

Did you check these menus?

Also check the 800 series menus which affect the firewire output.

Tony Salgado

[Tony]

Kat,

Unless you intend on making money by renting out the Iriver don’t waste your money on electronic toys.

If you are a freelancer you need to learn how to save up your money so you can reinvest in your business with equipment and products that will help build your business and increase income in the long run.

Tony Salgado

[Tony]

Well part of the issue is you took way to long to deliver the product.

Did you expect the client to wait forever because of your personal and business problems?

But since the client has already paid you and you are actually delivering a product they have to be willing to receive the product and then refuse it on other grounds such as it is unprofessional, does not stand up to what was promised in the contract etc etc.

In small claims court you will have to show that you actually have a product to delivery and offer it as evidence that you have complied with the verbal contract to deliver a finished product.

I hate to say it but the manner in which you delayed delivery of the product would have pissed me off too as a client except I would have never given you as much time as your clients did. You have damaged your reputation as a professional because you cannot deliver within a timely manner. You need to develop a workflow in which you can spit out the products much faster even if that means you have to hire an editor to get the work done.

Good luck in Court – just state the facts and let the judge decide.

Tony Salgado

[Tony]

Jan,

Does the self insured coverage also cover “loss of income” by the client for a lost or stolen camera which was delivered by Panasonic to the client.

In the past I have made Panasonic executives aware of the UPS delivery problem and am disappointed that such a lax procedure is allowed given the high value of the equipment.

FYI to all Tom the LA repair tech is an excellent engineer who I highly respect and recommend having dealt with him personally in the past. He is quite an asset at the Panasonic service center in LA.

Tony Salgado

[Tony]

Andy,

Consider the following option.

If you final output will be 1280×720 60i you will be going out to dvcproHD not HDCAM which is 1080i.

So why not edit in the dvcproHD codec and recapture all the dv material via a kona 2 or use one of panasonic’s decks to uprez the footage on the fly to HD.

Then capture the HDCAM material while capturing to dvcpro HD codec. If you don’t want use the dvcproHD codec then use the same workflow but capture to HD uncompressed.

I am not sure if the Kona 2 or panasonic decks will do any aspect ratio conversion for the SD 4×3 to HD 16×9 upconvert. IF not you may need to get a aspect ratio converter in the loop to do the aspect conversion on the fly.

Tony Salgado

[Tony]

Steve,

I got baby video (I mean stock footage of my lil cat who thinks he is a wanna be movie star).

If I can get his agent to agree upon a fee I can set up a deal for the exclusive rights to use his images which have been captured on 24P HDCAM for your use.

Is it for a commercial, movie or other?

Would alot of footage of him sleeping on the ground, yawning and sneaking up on small insects in our backyard jungle ok for your needs?

Tony Salgado

[Tony]

The bug was actually created by you when you failed to either to capture the original clip with anamorphic checked or did not open a new sequence with anamorphic selected.

Basically you have confused FCP.

Sorry dude but it is operator error which created this bug.

I would recommend testing in advance prior to digitizing such a large amount of footage in the future to avoid the pains of learning some of the workflow requirements of FCP.

Tony Salgado