Canon XL1 on the Jumbotron at DVinfo.net

Chris Zimmerman · November 11th, 2004, 10:11 AM

I have a unique problem, but maybe someone has run into the same problem. My small production company provides the video feed for our local University's jumbotron. We use two Canon XL-1s on the press box video decks to follow the action. We use an older Canon XL-1 for the field Camera.

The first three games went great (They were all at night)

We ran into a problem at our last game the XL-1 appeared very dark on the Jumbotron. we switched locations to see if it was a cord issue and it was the same picture.

I played with all of the adjustments that I know about, ND filter, Gain adjustments, White balence, you name it. It resulted in a very ugly looking picture.

The mystery is, the picture looked fine in the viewfinder and I put a tape in and recorded some footage and the footage looked correct.

Now the day was very bright and we were dealing with shadows, but this is the first time I ever encountered this problem.

We are shooting a High School Play-off game on Sat. and I would appreciate any help or ideas.

Thanks

Rob Lohman · November 11th, 2004, 12:07 PM

The only thing I could think of at this moment was perhaps a
busted composite/svhs output port (or the circuitry before it)?
Or if not, it must be something else in the chain (cables, switchers
etc.) since it looks good in the viewfinder and on tape.

I was thinking about an ND filter you had switched on by
accident, but that would've been visible in the viewfinder and
on tape as well.

Jacob Ehrichs · November 11th, 2004, 12:09 PM

Sorry I really don't have an answer to your question but I do have a question of my own for you. What were you using to output from the XL1? I tried to go RCA out to a recording booth during one event but it always displayed the viewfinder information and couldn't get just a plain view.

I wasn't able to try S-vid so I'm not sure if that works. I know firewire will work in that method but for analog systems firewire doesn't get it done. Appreciate the help.

Chris Zimmerman · November 11th, 2004, 02:39 PM

We output through a RCA Video, to an adaptor, to co-axial that then runs up to the booth.

The other camera's feeds are S-Vid. We run it all into a MX-50 that then runs to the Jumbotron controlroom.

We don't worry about audio.

I learned the hardway about the on screen display, you have to use the remote to get rid of it...but the camera will still have the display in your viewfinder but your program monitor will be true and the display should be gone.

Just press the "on screen" button and it should work.

The XL-1s fixed that problem and you can get rid of the on screen display on the camera, but you can not do it on the camera with the XL-1, just with the remote

Of course I learn that lesson with an hour and a half before kick-off with the remotes back at the office.

Daniel Kohl · November 23rd, 2004, 04:10 PM

What happens when you hook the camera up over the S-Video out?
If that looks OK you could build a simple S-Video to RCA adapter until you send the camera to service.

November 11th, 2004, 10:11 AM	#1
Chris Zimmerman New Boot Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio Posts: 11	Canon XL1 on the Jumbotron I have a unique problem, but maybe someone has run into the same problem. My small production company provides the video feed for our local University's jumbotron. We use two Canon XL-1s on the press box video decks to follow the action. We use an older Canon XL-1 for the field Camera. The first three games went great (They were all at night) We ran into a problem at our last game the XL-1 appeared very dark on the Jumbotron. we switched locations to see if it was a cord issue and it was the same picture. I played with all of the adjustments that I know about, ND filter, Gain adjustments, White balence, you name it. It resulted in a very ugly looking picture. The mystery is, the picture looked fine in the viewfinder and I put a tape in and recorded some footage and the footage looked correct. Now the day was very bright and we were dealing with shadows, but this is the first time I ever encountered this problem. We are shooting a High School Play-off game on Sat. and I would appreciate any help or ideas. Thanks __________________ Bad TV is really easy to do!

November 11th, 2004, 12:07 PM	#2
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	The only thing I could think of at this moment was perhaps a busted composite/svhs output port (or the circuitry before it)? Or if not, it must be something else in the chain (cables, switchers etc.) since it looks good in the viewfinder and on tape. I was thinking about an ND filter you had switched on by accident, but that would've been visible in the viewfinder and on tape as well. __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

November 11th, 2004, 02:39 PM	#4
Chris Zimmerman New Boot Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio Posts: 11	Hook-ups and on screen display We output through a RCA Video, to an adaptor, to co-axial that then runs up to the booth. The other camera's feeds are S-Vid. We run it all into a MX-50 that then runs to the Jumbotron controlroom. We don't worry about audio. I learned the hardway about the on screen display, you have to use the remote to get rid of it...but the camera will still have the display in your viewfinder but your program monitor will be true and the display should be gone. Just press the "on screen" button and it should work. The XL-1s fixed that problem and you can get rid of the on screen display on the camera, but you can not do it on the camera with the XL-1, just with the remote Of course I learn that lesson with an hour and a half before kick-off with the remotes back at the office. __________________ Bad TV is really easy to do!

November 23rd, 2004, 04:10 PM	#5
Daniel Kohl Contributor Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Frankfurt, Germany Posts: 571	What happens when you hook the camera up over the S-Video out? If that looks OK you could build a simple S-Video to RCA adapter until you send the camera to service. __________________ Daniel Kohl Frankenstein meets XL1

November 11th, 2004, 12:09 PM	#3
Jacob Ehrichs Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Dayton, OH Posts: 169	Sorry I really don't have an answer to your question but I do have a question of my own for you. What were you using to output from the XL1? I tried to go RCA out to a recording booth during one event but it always displayed the viewfinder information and couldn't get just a plain view. I wasn't able to try S-vid so I'm not sure if that works. I know firewire will work in that method but for analog systems firewire doesn't get it done. Appreciate the help.