Serious Magic DVRack

Albert Baier · May 11th, 2006, 11:54 AM

David,

I'm not sure whats going on with your audio channels, but I can address the laptop screen question.

All LCD panels whether on a laptop, desktop, or LCD television have native resolutions. This means that at that resolution the images, video, text, etc will be at its finest. This is because the laptops have a defined number of pixels that turn on and off to display the image. They are stationary and part of the panel.

Its likely your laptop's native resolution is 1280 x 1024 if you're saying the image looks good at 1280.

Once you start resizing the resolution on your laptop to anything less, i.e. 1024x768, 800x600, etc. you are basically telling it 'fake' those other resolutions by playing games with the pixels thus getting a blockier / grainier image.

I would recommend leaving it at 1280 for maximum image quality - but as you correctly state - it doesnt affect the video being captured so it doesnt really matter.

David Stoneburner · May 11th, 2006, 03:08 PM

Thanks. I keep forgetting about the native resolution of LCD screens. Now if I can figure out the audio thing.

Beau Leland · May 25th, 2006, 10:54 AM

Very Good question. I'm trying to figure out the same solution, although I don't use an HVX. It is a pain working between ultra2 and FCP.

May 25th, 2006, 11:20 AM

I like Serious Magic and their products, but decided that the above work flow was too long for my own taste. I'm now editing greenscreened footage using a ReflecMedia screen with a blue light ring and Mattennee. I have been happy with that process.

Karl Soule · May 25th, 2006, 02:18 PM

sorry I didn't respond earlier - I was waiting for some important data regarding DVCProHD and how we want to support it for ULTRA on the PC. I still don't have an exact answer on that, but did want to comment on the above workflow.

Since right now the DVCProHD codec is not universally readable by all editors and compositors, it typically does need to be transcoded to another format before you can bring it into ULTRA. I wouldn't recommend H.264 as an intermediary codec. We mostly see Apple Animation codec being used, but this does result in very large files that are difficult to transfer back and forth.

Keep an eye on ULTRA for the future - we are looking at ways of improving the FCP workflow for the future.

Ashley Cooper · June 2nd, 2006, 04:33 AM

Never used DV Rack but have been reading about it for a couple years now. Just bought a DVX100b and would like to use it with this software, but am concerned about having a laptop on set and the noise it might generate.
I've spent way too much time trying to clean up audio from crappy environments to ever want to introduce more noise to a set. But, I haven't really used a laptop in years and years. So, I was wondering if people here find laptops today sufficiently quiet for field use and if y'all find any restrictions with regards to audio.
Also, are there any other recommendations for getting a quiet laptop? Such as, is a 7200 drive generally more quiet than say a 5400 drive? Really, any advice is greatly appreciated and thanks ahead of time for any insight!

Robert Shaver · June 4th, 2006, 12:54 AM

I know that I have to lock the camera down for shots that will be composited onto the virtual sets. I see that your examples show what appear to be camera pans and dollies. I assume this is done in software but I'm not sure how.

Do you have a tutorial that demonstrates this in sufficient detail so that I understand what the limitations of these methods are? This has been preventing me from making the decision to buy Ultra.

I would like to use this in our theatrical shoots. We often shoot with two cameras to get two over-the-sholder shots in one take. (We shoot a 30 page script in 6 to 8 hours twice a month.)

What would I need to do to build my own virtual sets? What if I use a 3d package such as Lightwave, build the virtual room with flat walls and then apply still photos to the walls? Do you supply details about how to build my own virtual sets?

Does Ultra require the camera to be locked off for all chroma key work or just for the virtual set work?

All your products look very intriguing. I'm sure that I will at least be buying DV Rack soon.

Rob:-]

Karl Soule · June 5th, 2006, 11:07 AM

We do have multiple tutorials on making sets available on our support site here: http://www.seriousmagic.com/help/tuts/tutorials.cfm?p=2 This should give you a good idea how most sets are created.

Right now, you can do a lot with your own sets. You can create sets with B-source monitors, foreground and background layers, and even add in certain camera motion using ULTRA's built-in Pan/Zoom tool.

Our VirtualTrak shots are a special feature of the Master Set Libraries, and cannot be replicated at this time. Right now to create these, we use a combination of 3D Studio Max and some custom tools that are in an early phase of development. We do want to release some kind of set creation toolkit, but that is at least 6-9 months away.

Christopher Glaeser · June 6th, 2006, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Karl Soule

We do want to release some kind of set creation toolkit, but that is at least 6-9 months away.

Excellent! Looking forward to the release.

Best,
Christopher

Chris Owen · June 9th, 2006, 09:09 AM

I'm a little curious abou this as well. I don't have DV Rack yet, nor do I have a laptop yet, but that was my plan for field recording.

Robert Kirkpatrick · June 9th, 2006, 10:31 AM

I'm working a shoot right now with DV Rack (with HDV Power Pak) and a Z1U, downconverting to DV. I'm using it with an external harddrive (Seagate). Both the laptop and the external harddrive are nice and quiet, and make just about as much noise as the camera. I'm not really that versed in laptops and drive speeds, so I don't have any real recommendations -- but most of the laptops I use at work (about a year old Dell's and HP's) are real quiet. On the set, we get more noise from the boom operator's fingers moving than the laptop.

If you don't have a production monitor, DV Rack is a godsend.

John Sullivan · June 22nd, 2006, 11:20 PM

I just downloaded DV Rack which sounds like a brilliant solution to monitoring and quality control on location. However I can not see any video from my Z1P (or Z1U) at all on my Toshiba P30 laptop.
Anyone had experience with a similar issue

Seth Bloombaum · June 23rd, 2006, 12:04 AM

There are 3 versions of DVRack, I'm not sure what's available for preview.

For HDV you want the "HDV Powerpack" version of DVRack. Perhaps there is a preview version.

You could try just outputting DV from your Z1 and see if that works.

I've been pretty happy with the HDV version, except that it doesn't pick up camera time code in HDV (all clips begin at TC 0:00). There is some latency that makes it fine for checking shots & lighting, but not quite right as a a complete replacement for an on-set monitor, especially for action. It does do most of what I need a monitor for. I LOVE having the waveform monitor.

***edit***
BTW, check out this forum http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/forumdisp...s=&forumid=107

Heath McKnight · July 9th, 2006, 07:28 AM

I moved this to the DV/HDV Rack forum.

heath

Trevor Allin · July 15th, 2006, 02:43 PM

Hi

Its great that DV Rack will be supporting the HVX200 however, it leaves us JVC HD100 folk a little envious!

Now we have component output at 8bit 422 from the camera. Could we have an update to DV Rack that would allow us to capture analogue? Or even SDI I suppose, but analogue would be preferred!

Thanks

Trevor

May 11th, 2006, 11:54 AM	#286
Albert Baier Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 56	David, I'm not sure whats going on with your audio channels, but I can address the laptop screen question. All LCD panels whether on a laptop, desktop, or LCD television have native resolutions. This means that at that resolution the images, video, text, etc will be at its finest. This is because the laptops have a defined number of pixels that turn on and off to display the image. They are stationary and part of the panel. Its likely your laptop's native resolution is 1280 x 1024 if you're saying the image looks good at 1280. Once you start resizing the resolution on your laptop to anything less, i.e. 1024x768, 800x600, etc. you are basically telling it 'fake' those other resolutions by playing games with the pixels thus getting a blockier / grainier image. I would recommend leaving it at 1280 for maximum image quality - but as you correctly state - it doesnt affect the video being captured so it doesnt really matter. __________________ www.digitaldreamzstudios.com

May 25th, 2006, 02:18 PM	#290
Karl Soule Serious Magic Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Folsom, CA Posts: 106	sorry I didn't respond earlier - I was waiting for some important data regarding DVCProHD and how we want to support it for ULTRA on the PC. I still don't have an exact answer on that, but did want to comment on the above workflow. Since right now the DVCProHD codec is not universally readable by all editors and compositors, it typically does need to be transcoded to another format before you can bring it into ULTRA. I wouldn't recommend H.264 as an intermediary codec. We mostly see Apple Animation codec being used, but this does result in very large files that are difficult to transfer back and forth. Keep an eye on ULTRA for the future - we are looking at ways of improving the FCP workflow for the future. __________________ Karl Soule' Product Marketing Manager, Serious Magic Professional Products Group. ksoule@seriousmagic.com

June 2nd, 2006, 04:33 AM	#291
Ashley Cooper Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Birmingham, AL Posts: 85	DV Rack and laptop noise (audio concern) Never used DV Rack but have been reading about it for a couple years now. Just bought a DVX100b and would like to use it with this software, but am concerned about having a laptop on set and the noise it might generate. I've spent way too much time trying to clean up audio from crappy environments to ever want to introduce more noise to a set. But, I haven't really used a laptop in years and years. So, I was wondering if people here find laptops today sufficiently quiet for field use and if y'all find any restrictions with regards to audio. Also, are there any other recommendations for getting a quiet laptop? Such as, is a 7200 drive generally more quiet than say a 5400 drive? Really, any advice is greatly appreciated and thanks ahead of time for any insight!

June 4th, 2006, 12:54 AM	#292
Robert Shaver New Boot Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 15	Ultra 2: How do you do the tracking shots? I know that I have to lock the camera down for shots that will be composited onto the virtual sets. I see that your examples show what appear to be camera pans and dollies. I assume this is done in software but I'm not sure how. Do you have a tutorial that demonstrates this in sufficient detail so that I understand what the limitations of these methods are? This has been preventing me from making the decision to buy Ultra. I would like to use this in our theatrical shoots. We often shoot with two cameras to get two over-the-sholder shots in one take. (We shoot a 30 page script in 6 to 8 hours twice a month.) What would I need to do to build my own virtual sets? What if I use a 3d package such as Lightwave, build the virtual room with flat walls and then apply still photos to the walls? Do you supply details about how to build my own virtual sets? Does Ultra require the camera to be locked off for all chroma key work or just for the virtual set work? All your products look very intriguing. I'm sure that I will at least be buying DV Rack soon. Rob:-] __________________ Peace, Love, Laughter, Rob:-]

June 5th, 2006, 11:07 AM	#293
Karl Soule Serious Magic Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Folsom, CA Posts: 106	We do have multiple tutorials on making sets available on our support site here: http://www.seriousmagic.com/help/tuts/tutorials.cfm?p=2 This should give you a good idea how most sets are created. Right now, you can do a lot with your own sets. You can create sets with B-source monitors, foreground and background layers, and even add in certain camera motion using ULTRA's built-in Pan/Zoom tool. Our VirtualTrak shots are a special feature of the Master Set Libraries, and cannot be replicated at this time. Right now to create these, we use a combination of 3D Studio Max and some custom tools that are in an early phase of development. We do want to release some kind of set creation toolkit, but that is at least 6-9 months away. __________________ Karl Soule' Product Marketing Manager, Serious Magic Professional Products Group. ksoule@seriousmagic.com

May 11th, 2006, 03:08 PM	#287
David Stoneburner Major Player Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 494	Thanks. I keep forgetting about the native resolution of LCD screens. Now if I can figure out the audio thing.

May 25th, 2006, 10:54 AM	#288
Beau Leland Tourist Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: oklahoma city Posts: 1	Very Good question. I'm trying to figure out the same solution, although I don't use an HVX. It is a pain working between ultra2 and FCP.

May 25th, 2006, 11:20 AM	#289
Guest Posts: n/a	I like Serious Magic and their products, but decided that the above work flow was too long for my own taste. I'm now editing greenscreened footage using a ReflecMedia screen with a blue light ring and Mattennee. I have been happy with that process.

June 9th, 2006, 09:09 AM	#295
Chris Owen Regular Crew Join Date: May 2006 Location: Monroeville, AL Posts: 68	I'm a little curious abou this as well. I don't have DV Rack yet, nor do I have a laptop yet, but that was my plan for field recording. __________________ Achtung! Das camera ist nicht fur der fingerpoken und mittengrabben. Ist easy schnappen der springenwerk, blowenfusen und popencorken mit spitzen sparken. Das camera ist diggen by experten only. Ist nicht fur gerwerken by das dummkopfen. Das rubbernecken sightseeren keepen das cottenpiken hands in das pockets. Relaxen und watchen das blinkenlights.

June 9th, 2006, 10:31 AM	#296
Robert Kirkpatrick Regular Crew Join Date: May 2004 Location: Little Rock, AR Posts: 199	I'm working a shoot right now with DV Rack (with HDV Power Pak) and a Z1U, downconverting to DV. I'm using it with an external harddrive (Seagate). Both the laptop and the external harddrive are nice and quiet, and make just about as much noise as the camera. I'm not really that versed in laptops and drive speeds, so I don't have any real recommendations -- but most of the laptops I use at work (about a year old Dell's and HP's) are real quiet. On the set, we get more noise from the boom operator's fingers moving than the laptop. If you don't have a production monitor, DV Rack is a godsend.

June 22nd, 2006, 11:20 PM	#297
John Sullivan New Boot Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 17	DV Rack Problems I just downloaded DV Rack which sounds like a brilliant solution to monitoring and quality control on location. However I can not see any video from my Z1P (or Z1U) at all on my Toshiba P30 laptop. Anyone had experience with a similar issue

June 23rd, 2006, 12:04 AM	#298
Seth Bloombaum Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 3,420	There are 3 versions of DVRack, I'm not sure what's available for preview. For HDV you want the "HDV Powerpack" version of DVRack. Perhaps there is a preview version. You could try just outputting DV from your Z1 and see if that works. I've been pretty happy with the HDV version, except that it doesn't pick up camera time code in HDV (all clips begin at TC 0:00). There is some latency that makes it fine for checking shots & lighting, but not quite right as a a complete replacement for an on-set monitor, especially for action. It does do most of what I need a monitor for. I LOVE having the waveform monitor. *edit* BTW, check out this forum http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/forumdisp...s=&forumid=107 Last edited by Seth Bloombaum; June 23rd, 2006 at 10:24 AM.

July 9th, 2006, 07:28 AM	#299
Heath McKnight MPS Digital Studios Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Palm Beach County, Florida Posts: 8,531	I moved this to the DV/HDV Rack forum. heath __________________ My Final Cut Pro X blog

July 15th, 2006, 02:43 PM	#300
Trevor Allin Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 152	Analogue input Hi Its great that DV Rack will be supporting the HVX200 however, it leaves us JVC HD100 folk a little envious! Now we have component output at 8bit 422 from the camera. Could we have an update to DV Rack that would allow us to capture analogue? Or even SDI I suppose, but analogue would be preferred! Thanks Trevor