Hi Bruce,

Does this unit have version 1.0.1 software? You can download it at the Focus support website. It fixed some Canon XL2 related bugs, but I have not heard of issues with the GL1... I'll request the lab takes another look at it in the morning.

Hope that helps,

Matt

Hi Jeff,

FS-4 will work with a 4-pin to 6-pin or a 6-pin to 6-pin FireWire cable when connecting to a computer.

Give tech support a call though, you should not be seeing "no disk detected".

Hope that helps,

Matt

matt,
It did have the new software. The strange thing was that the first one I got worked with both cams, except it wouldn't consistenetly capture from tape on the xl2(It did, however, capture consistently from the gl1!). The second had the same tape capture problem, but wouldn'twork in synchro salve on the gl1.
Have you tested the fs4 with the xl2 in tape capture mode?
Thanks
Bruce Yarock

Thanks Matt, when I call techical support the person I talked with was not sure if the FS-4 would work with 6 to 6 pin firewire. I did get one of mine to connect with another PC in a test with the 6 to 4 pin cable before the "No Disk Detected" message.

I sent one FS-4 back to the vendor and sent the other one in for repair to Focus Enhancements. Given what happened and costs of each unit, I need to see how dependable they will be "in the field" with an XL2 before I get more of them. These were recent production models with s/n's over 5400.

I'm in the same boat you're in - I just returned my second unit in for repair/replacement since I've started using the FS4Pro in June. The first one worked ok for a while, then wouldn't power up at all. The replacement unit I got worked fine until I used it in a shoot - locked up and went into endless reboot cycle.

I really hope this can be repaired. I'm looking into the nNovia untis if I end up having to return the FS4Pro a THIRD time.


Todd

Todd,
What camera are you using?
Bruce S. Yarock

Todd,
What camera are you using?
Bruce S. Yarock


Sony HVR-Z1 , downconverting the output to DV.
Waiting for the HDV upgrade, but don't know when I'll be able to install the upgrade, since I keep having to send the unit in for repair.

Todd

If anyone has any experience at all with the new FS-4 PRO and comment on this, it would be appreciated. My FS-4 will record sometimes and other times it will give almost every indication it is recording, but it really isn't. For example, when I set up with my XL2 the camera's viewfinder will say recording, the status light on the FS-4 is in record state, the LCD on the FS-4 says recording, but the counter on the LCD doesn't move. When I hit stop on the FS-4 it goes through the same motions it would if something had actually recorded. When I hook up the FS-4 to my Mac after no counter movement (to see if anything recorded) there is nothing. I know when there has been footage recorded to the FS-4 if the counter moves on the LCD. I've made sure I have upgraded the firmware on the FS-4 and my problem seems to arise randomly. By random I mean I could turn the FS-4 on and it will work fine, then after recording something hook it up to my Mac and get the footage. Then I could hook it back up to my camera and it won't work or soemtimes it does work fine. I've also turned the device on and got set up, then shut it off, and have experienced the device not working properly. It's been very frustrating, and Focus Enhancements hasn't been that helpful.

Tom,

I don't think that you are alone with your problems. It appears that the FS-4, although more reliable than other D2D devices on the market at the moment, is not 100% reliable. As long as you use your FS-4 I would suggest that you look at the counter on the LCD as the absolute indication of wether the FS-4 is recording or not. If the numbers don't move, you are not recording. You might also consider returning the unit for a new one, maybe it is an issue with your specific unit (but I kind of doubt it, at this point).

I used my FS-4 last night to shoot a football game. All went well, although I did experience the FS-4 not working properly right away. What happens is that if I turn the FS-4 off then sometimes when I turn it back on it doesn't want to record. This is totally random so I'm not able to pinpoint what the problem is exactly. However, the fix seems to be this: I disconnect the FS-4 from my camera, go to the menu where I can select "hard drive" mode. I don't actually enable "hard drive" mode, but then I exit out and select "record" mode. This has proven to get my FS-4 working properly each time since I've started using this method. It's odd and quirky but so far it's all I got. I did record the entire game and all the clips came through just fine.

Hello,
when a "no disk detected" error occurs on a FS-4 unit, it means that the internal hard disk on the FS-4 is not detected by the firmware when the FS-4 is trying to complete a Power on Reset and boot from the software on the hard disk. This error does not have anything to do with whether a 4-pin or 6-pin firewire cable is connected to the unit. We use durable hard disks, but they still can be susceptible to shock damage during shipping or if dropped or handled in a way that causes g forces that the internal hard disk can't handle. Overall we don't have many problems with them, but the HD and the fan are the two mechanical assemblies that actually have to move correctly for the unit to work properly.

Hope this helps --

Jim at Focus

As Matt said, the FS-4 will function either with a 6-pin-to-4-pin cable installed, or a 6-pin-to-6-pin cable installed. The main requirement is that the Firewire port on the other end is also a DV IEEE1394-compatible Firewire port at 400Mbps.

Thanks,
Jim at Focus

Just arrived from the UK suppliers is a letter telling me that the external charger for the FS4 will ship at the end of the month. It will consist of "an empty FS4 shell with the charging circuit left inside" and cost £140 incl tax (about $237 US). Er, excuse me? It seems the designers have taken the easy way out and given us an unnecessarily large charger which will still have to have a clunky cable and power supply to load down our gear bags. AND we have to pay a high price for a box full of fresh air.

Surely it should be a wall-wart with a battery connector that can be strapped on with velcro? Small and neat (and cheaper) - that's what we need.

What a shame

Hello,

I forwarded your comment to give feedback to Focus product management. An external charger is certainly needed. I think this was the quickest, if perhaps not the most elegantly engineered, solution that we could offer.

Thanks,

Jim at Focus

Jim

Thanks for your comment.

Have to say, though, that my mobile phone has an Lithium Ion battery, charges from a wall-wart (included in the price) and cost me £15 brand new ($25).

OK, the phone is 4v and the FS4 is 12v but that shouldn't make a charger on its own cost ten times as much.

If Nokia can charge my phone from a wall-wart then I'm sure Focus can manage it for the FS-4.

When you talk to the Focus management can you check if this present charger is just a stop-gap? If it is I'll wait for the real thing (even a deluxe wall-wart shouldn't be more than $50).

Ray Liffen

I now have an FS-4 that works. What setup and procedure works best from experience for continous recording of an event with a FS-4/tape combination without stopping the recording on the FS-4 to change tapes in the XL2?

From my experience with the PD170 you have to put the FS4 into manual mode (ie start the recording on the fs4 by pressing the record key twice(once puts it in record pause I think).

That way if you change tapes on the camera the fs4 will carry on recording, however you will need to be careful of camera noise picked up by the camera whilst you are chaging tapes. I used this method during the church service of weddings which can tend to be longer than a tapes worth.

Regards

Mark

Hi, a fellow videographer had me do some editing on my g5 from an FS4, my first opportunity. Final Cut hd express... It was his first try using the fs4. I was shocked he would use this drive without testing it first. I ran it through the paces, the unit wouldn't work without a battery attached and the files all had to be rendered and were in pieces; short cuts. We had to export each audio track separtely or the video would drop frames. We had to reimport the audio and if we did not follow this proceedure we dropped frames. Also save didn't work and we lost all our changes (we cleared prefs to get video to output to camera). We have accounted this (not saving correctly and audio problems) to the weird format that FS4 put the files in. I think we had a DV download format. Working with Mac systems perhaps we should have gone with Quickstream?

Thanks Mark for your advice. I usually record from off camera mic sources or a feed from a house sound mixer board to avoid noise around the camera (like audience noise) but your point is good about tape changing noise (like the sound the transport makes when it ejects the tape.

Regards also, JeffM

What file type did he set the FS-4 to record?
What do you mean the files were in pieces? Each shot should be in a separate file until the FAT32 limit is reached, then a new file continues the existing shot.
I don't understand what "DV download format" is?

I fail to see how the NLE not saving can have anything to do with the FS-4 or its files. Did you copy all the files off to your A/V drives or were you trying to edit on the FS-4?

The FS-4 doesn't use weird file types, it is compatible with macs & pc's, that's why it uses FAT32 but you must set the type according to what edit system you will be using. Check that the FS-4 is set to .mov.

I'm not familiar with Macs so I'm sorry I can't be any more help than this, but if you provide a bit more specific information I'm sure some FCP experts will be able to help you.

I am sorry I don't have more info on this. I did not record the footage and did not set the fs4 myself. I was only the recipient of improper settings it seems. Perhaps the breaking up of the video was due to an improper setting. Whatever the error in settings was, it played havoc with our attempts to edit and save.

Thank you very much for your comments, I will relay them to my friend and see if they help!

do not go with the quickstream... your problems should be simple to solve.

you should have probably recorded in the raw dv(.dv) format, because that is what quicktime is supposed to be compatible with... of course the fs-4 won't run without a battery, just plug it at the "computer i/o" port, and it will look just like another hard drive on your mac... copy all of the files over to your local hard drive for editing, it sounds like there were some issues with your firewire bus connection that could have contributed to the dropped frames(?)

I understand that the Firestore is not quite ready for HDV acquisition (and as I haven't purchased the camera yet, neither am I), but we are currently using a PD-170, and going tapeless would be a real timesaver for me. We plan on making the leap to the JVC around the first of the year. My question is - will the update to the FS-4 be a downloaded firmware update, or should I wait until the HDV capable unit is ready?

The upgrade is supposed to be a software update. But it is way overdue, so it may be vaporware.

I have been trying to get my FS-4 to record in manual mode from the firewire connect to a XL2 with a tape backup. What setup and settings are necessary before you press the record button twice. With everything I try, the counter doesn't move from all zeros. Thanks for any help. It works fine from sync with camera.

Jeff,

Make sure that the Firewire cable is in the DV I/O jack and not the Computer I/O.

And you are pushing the Record key on the FS-4 (not the camera) twice to start recording in LOCAL (manual) mode right?

I finally figured out how to get my FS-4 to work correctly in both sync and manual modes. It really is a simple device and I think I was making it too complicated by not using the sync soft key to change from local control to sync control. I was trying to change all of the settings by going through the menus.

My question now is -- is there a way to keep the FS-4 running in manual mode while you change tapes in the XL2 for continuous coverage of an event like a wedding or musical event? When you stop an XL2 to change tapes while the FS-4 in manual mode, the FS-4 will also stop just like in sync mode.

i am thinking of getting an FS4 to capture video. This will be mostly for now from an XL2 camera

How does the FS4 handle the four audio channels on the XL2 ? Do i need to do something special to get the four channels or will they just be there

Who is in charge of timecode ? Does the FS4 use the cameras timecode or generate its own ? If it generates its own does it have free run time code as the XL2 ?

Can the FS4 be controlled via firewire just like a camera or tape deck ? reason for asking this is that i would like to be able to simply dub directly from the FS4 to DVD using my decks. My DVD recorder deck has automated dubbing via firewire from any firewire deck and it will control the other deck via firewire commands.

SEARCH mode is your friend, the 4-channel audio situation has been covered in detail out here.

the fs-4 is controllable by video cameras that are capable of dv device control, but i don't know about dvd burners... so far i have been unable to get a video signal from the fs-4 into my sony gv-d900 minidv deck via the firewire port :-/ the fs-4 will play all of it's clips back as one unbroken stream, so it would nice to use as a source deck for dubbing directly onto tape... or dvd, in your case.

Dan

yes i did do some reading but havent seen any final answer on the audio subject. A lot of testing (actually i did download that test video off of your site as well) but i guess no real news from focus or did they give any definitive answer ?

i did find about the timecode. Looks like the XL2 timecode can only be used if there is tape in the camera (is this correct ?) and the timecode from the FS4 can only do free run if you get the PRO version.

can you dub from the FS4 to a tape in the camera ? if a camera can control the FS4 then my DVD deck should be able to as well as that is all it does. It works well with other cameras as well as with my MiniDV deck so i would dare to guess it would work with the FS4 too.

sometimes i just need to burn DVD's directly without any post so this would be much nicer. Use the same setup for going to VHS and if i dont have to go via PC it is simply a waste of time.

thanks for the info

the fix to get 4-channel audio into a pc to edit with seems pretty clear to me, although i haven't tested it extensively... you'll need to shoot in raw dv mode, then use software to extract the second pair of audio tracks, and also change the file format while copying.

have you checked out the focus software that we were talking about? it has an option that claims to add premiere timecode when the clip is copied(?)... i have not messed with the timecode yet, but what i've read out here so far agrees with what you said.

focus has not weighed in wrt their file conversion software... afaik, it will not pull the second pair of audio tracks out of anything other than a raw dv file.

if you were wanting to dub 4-channel audio files from the fs-4 directly to a dvd burner via the firewire port, i'm not sure how that would work... fwiw, the fs-4 plays all 4 channels back into an xl1s that's set in vcr mode... but remember that it's a video camera with external dv device control, selectable via the menu of the camera, i have not tried to do that with the dv device control disabled.

If you use the FS-4 in LOCAL (manual) MODE, it acts like an independent DV recorder. That means it will not be effected by tape changes on the camera - the FS-4 should keep recording as long as the camera is on. Just be careful not to shake the camera while making the tape change.

Dan

i am hoping for focus to do something better than this. It is supposed to be DTE so it would be nice if you wouldnt need to spend time capturing which is one of the reasons to have the firestore in the first place

as far as the dubbing to DVD that was a separate issue and of course in this case i will not need 4 channel audio.

believe me, i understand where you are coming from :-/ it hasn't been easy figuring out how to make this 4-channel audio work, i think that i'm going to send focus a bill for providing tech support of their products, lol... of course i'd probably have to split the revenue with mark whittle, who started this whole thing up!

the fs-4 is fully dte capable... it's just another hard drive on your computer system.

the only hitch to that is if you wanted to use 4-channel audio, which as near as i can tell, requires you to either:
1) copy the files over to another hard drive using the focus file conversion software.
2) or dupe over to tape to re-capture to a hard drive.

wrt choice #2)... today i was able to use the fs-4 as a duplication source deck, playing back to the sony gv-d900 minidv deck via the firewire connector... i turned both units on with no firewire connection, then plugged the firewire cable into the dv i/o port of the fs-4... the sony deck saw it as dv in, so i was able to manually start and stop the videotape recording... no dv device control was used.

I loaded the new firmware onto one of our 2 fa4's and it will not record manualy... Not sure why... Also I reset to factory settings still will not record manually..As to record sinc... that in the past didn't work well for us... good thing for tape. Anyway I have 2 units and as of now not happy with either one... So any help would be great... thanks

Hi Craig,

What does the FS-4 do when you push the record key twice to record in LOCAL mode? Could it be a cable problem?

I'm assuming that you have tried everything "logical" so it is hard to give you any suggestions.

I saw the post about the firmware update so I was about to download it when I checked the firmware version on my FS-4 Pro and saw that my unit has already version 1.0.1. I haven't been having much trouble with this firmware version, so I don't think that your problem is due to the firmware version. However mine was factory installed (delivered about a month ago) so that doesn't rule out a problem with the download.

I hope that you find a solution.

I did try all the above, So looks like I'll call Focus Support for the help I need... This sucks... latter

Is it just my XL2 or do you have to do EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE when starting your XL2 and FS-4 up?

If I start the camera up first, the FS-4 Pro ignores the camera.

The manual and tech support BOTH say start the camera first.

Very frustrating.

Ty Ford

I had the same problem, periodically, on a job I just worked on.

I turned the FS-4 off when the camera was on while composing the shot for lighting. When I turned the FS-4 on again 2 out of 3 times I had to put the XL-2 into (deep) standby and then wake it again (with the standby button) in order to rebuild the connection.

It's not just you.

I'm fairly new to HDV, Firestore and this forum, and I'm just curious as to whether anyone here was a beta tester for their HDV upgrade. Their support staff have now provided two "workarounds" for the problem of getting HDV from the FS-4 into Final Cut Pro. The first simply didn't work. Using this second workaround, I calculate it would take 4-5 days to get the 800 m2t files on this FS-4pro into FCP.





Quoting from Focus support:

"
1) On the FS-4, cue up the clip you want to capture (use the skip FWD or REV button to find the clip)

2) Connect via firewire to computer

3) Make sure the capture settings are set to HDV

4) Put the FS-4 into AV/C mode.

5) a) With 720/30p clips – the Log and Capture controls will control the FS-4 – BUT you can also control the FS-4 by hand to select the clip to capture.

b) With 1080/60i clips – put the FS-4 into REC/PAUSE mode –

6) Open Log and Capture

7) With 1080/60i clips – now take the FS-4 out of REC/PAUSE mode – all the controls will NOT be usable in Log and Capture – but you can still skip from clip to clip on

the FS-4 to find what you want to capture – then just hit CAPTURE NOW.


--The “trick” is only in 1080/60i mode only – we just have to fool FCP into reading the 1080/60i firewire feed – we do this by being in REC/PAUSE.


8) If none of the above work – then reset the computer and try again.

------------------------------------

If these steps don't work, let us know and we can get one of testers to step through this with you over the phone.

end quote



Bizarre.

It just goes to show you - they're humans... just like us. It sounds like they set one of they're trainees in front of FCP and told him (or her) they couldn't go to lunch until they found a work-round.

All I can say is that you would have just about as much work getting the video into your Apple from tape as you will doing it like Focus suggest, only, I would suggest setting the FS-4 to playback all clips instead of capturing one clip at a time.

... From my experience after beta testing the FS-4 (not Pro and no HDV), beta testing doesn't mean anything when they disregard the beta tester's reports. I'm asking myself if they did any Alfa testing with the FS-4HDV - if so, then they have done their customers a disservice by not warning about it's limitations.

I just purchased a Firestore FS-4 Pro HD 80Gig drive, and I found no .m2t file format in the hard drive. So the HDV upgrade did not come in the box. Even though it was offered free to me from Videoguys with my purchase.

Does anyone know where the HDV upgrade is? Does it come on a CD, and if so how come I didn't get it?

Are you supposed to download it? Went to Videoguys web site and to Focus Enchancements' web site, but there is no HDV update to download.

Does any one know what's going on or how you upgrade to HD?

Straight from Videoguys website:

http://www.videoguys.com/videonics.html

"*Free HDV Upgrade provided direct from Focus. Purchase the FS-4 Pro today and register with Focus here after you receive your FS-4 Pro and your FREE HDV upgrade will be processed immediately."

Click on the "register with Focus here" link that Videoguy's provides.

What about the camera movement when you change the tape? like when you are shooting a conference for a hour.

JVC-badged versions of the FS-4 and FS-4Pro are being offered for use with the HD100 and HD101 HDV cameras - www.jvcproeurope.com/prohd .

However, it looks as if the various design flaws identified in this forum have not been corrected - except that users will get a right-angle connector on their firewire lead.

Ray Liffen

it's a 6-pin to 6-pin right-angled firewire cable, so it won't help for most other applications.

i like the way that they have the unit mounted behind the camera.

You will have to fax your bill of sale to Focus and they will then send you a CD that upgrades the Firestore to acquire M2T files. It takes a while, but they are pretty reliable in sending the upgrade out in a timely manner. If yo udon't receive it within about two weeks, I sugegst that you call them directly and give them a little nudge.

i just purchased an FS-4 but when i got it i noticed that the box said FS-4HD and it also says that on the welcome screen - did the store screw up or is that the norm now for this product that they all are at least HD?

i guess i just may be dumb - but i am having a hard time getting this recording right - the only way i can get hdd to record is to put it in syncro slave - but once i stop taping it goes back to local [default] then i have to go back in change it record and wham back to local - pls tell me what am i missing - i have the FS-4 HD and using it on an XL-2


thanks

i guess i just may be dumb - but i am having a hard time getting this recording right - the only way i can get hdd to record is to put it in syncro slave - but once i stop taping it goes back to local [default] then i have to go back in change it record and wham back to local - pls tell me what am i missing - i have the FS-4 HD and using it on an XL-2


thanks

Ron,

Try hitting the upper left button "SYNC" and it should go right back to syncro slave. That is what mine does.

Let me know if this helps. Good Luck.

Mike

oh well ---- thanks ---- got some shooting to do ..............