Okay what am I doing wrong?

Paul Inglis · November 20th, 2009, 10:47 AM

This is my set-up with the PMW-EX3 and the nanoFLASH.

The camera is set to 1080/25p with SDI set to HD. I have a HD-SDI cable coming out of the camera via the SDI Out which is connected to the nanoFLASH SDI In. Now the nanoFLASH is set-up in the following way:

MXF Mode
100 Mbps
Long-GOP
1080psf25
PSF-In Checked
PSF-Out Unchecked
Record Button

The nanoFLASH Status Line reads; 1080sf25 100M 0058

The SanDisk Extreme III 32GB Cards are formatted in the nanoFLASH which now is running on the latest firmware 1.0.112.

I am then pressing RECORD on the nanoFLASH and a little egg timer appears on the right-hand side of the recording… then I press RECORD on my PMW-EX3 and recording commences in the viewfinder of the camera and the top row of numbers on the nanoFLASH LCD. I stop recording on the PMW-EX3 wait ten seconds then press STOP on the nanoFLASH. I wait a further ten seconds after the light has gone out to ensure everything has been written to the Memory Card. The SxS memory Card play backs fine. I eject the CF Card from the nanoFLASH. As of yet I have no means to connect the SDI Out from the nanoFLASH to a HD Monitor (so have no way of knowing if the nanoFLASH is actually seeing any video.

Anyhow I take the CF Card and push it into the Card Reader (the one supplied by CD and four others have now been tested). I copy the files to my D: Drive (Raid 0 and on another machine no Raid), I the open Vegas Pro 8.0c (32-bit), 8.1 (64-bit) and a trial version of 9.0c. I then click: File> Import> Media. Select the file and it get brought into Media Project. I then drag and drop on the timeline.

In Vegas 8.0c and 8.1 I get red frames on the Video Track and a working audio on the Audio Track. Whereas in Vegas 9.0c I just get an Audio Track which does play back as recorded.

Now I have downloaded a few different MXF from CDs website to test and they all work flawlessly, I have downloaded XDCAM Viewer but keep getting the message I mentioned earlier. I’ve tried a couple of others but no avail.

I believe the problem is somewhere in the camera or the nanoFLASH itself. Maybe I missing the obvious here. Anyhow I’d appreciate it if anyone has any ideas what I can try next.

Best regards,

Paul

Dan Keaton · November 20th, 2009, 12:05 PM

Dear Paul,

If you see 1080sf25 or similar information on our Status line, we are receiving video.

Also, we will not record unless we are receiving video (we do not record audio only).

I will have our support department attempt to assist.

Do you have access to an HD-SDI monitor or a HDMI TV or monitor? With a simple HDMI cable (Type C to Type A - Mini to Full size) cable, you could play back the footage from the nanoFlash and/or use an HDMI TV as a monitor.

I have no idea why you can not get your files to play in Vegas.

We agree, since you can download our sample videos and they play find in Vegas, the problem does not appear to be in Vegas.

We will be in touch via email.

Paul Inglis · November 21st, 2009, 05:13 AM

Thanks Dan! I've replied to the support email.

Denis OKeefe · November 21st, 2009, 09:59 AM

This may be a long shot but it is one that has stumped me before. The HDSDI/SDI port shuts down on the EX3 when the "ILINK" in enabled in the OTHERS menu.

Paul Inglis · November 21st, 2009, 10:10 AM

Hi Denis,

That had me stumped when I first got the camera and was trying to connect an external monitor, Thanks anyhow.

I've sent a clip to CD for analysis so will see what they come back with. Very help bunch! Hopefully will get sorted in time for my latest project.

Dan Keaton · November 21st, 2009, 10:22 AM

Dear Friends,

Yes, on the Sony EX1 and EX3, the iLink must be disabled in the "Others" menu.

If this is enabled, then the nanoFlash will not see the HD-SDI source from the camera.
The nanoFlash will show "No SRC", indicating "No Source".

Lance Librandi · November 21st, 2009, 05:59 PM

[QUOTE=Paul Inglis;1449985]Thanks for the help so far.

Hi Lance

The format displayed on the machine is;

1080sf25 100M 0058

Yes the SDI option is set to HD

Hello,
The fact that the Nano is reporting in the status line "1080sf25 100M 0058" would indicate that it is receiving a valid SDI signal. I agree with Dave it's has to be a codec or file corruption problem.

Dan Keaton · November 21st, 2009, 06:26 PM

Dear Friends,

This has been a very strange problem.

Paul assisted us greatly so we could attempt to diagnose the problem.

Since the status line on the nanoFlash is appropriate for the mode being used in the camera, it appears that the HD-SDI signal that we are getting would appear to be valid.

This is an assumption on our part since we do not have access to a monitor.

Paul ran some tests, uploaded them, then I confirmed that I see the same problem of my copy of Sony Vegas that he does. We tested 1080i50 at 4:2:0 35 Mbps and 1080i60 (59.94) 4:2:2 at 50 Mbps. We both get the same "Red Block" in Sony Vegas. I also tried playing the videos in Sony Clip Viewer 2.30.

Paul reinstalled our 1.0.112 firmware.

We have offered to replace his nanoFlash. Paul will be contacting his dealer on Monday.

If Paul had needed quicker response, we were prepared to send out a nanoFlash today.

As always, we are open to suggestions. This has been a very strange problem, as I said earlier.

Dan Keaton · November 21st, 2009, 07:37 PM

Dear Paul,

Did you format your CompactFlash cards in your nanoFlash before using them?

Paul Inglis · November 26th, 2009, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Did you format your CompactFlash cards in your nanoFlash before using them?

Yes I had formatted the cards in the nanoflash before using them.

Paul Inglis · November 26th, 2009, 10:46 AM

Hi everyone,

I’d just like to say that my replacement nanoFLASH arrived about half an hour ago and works absolutely fine! Apart from a disable on/off switch (which is apparently what you all asked for).

I have to say here that Dan and CD have been absolutely amazing in getting this sorted. They have gone above and beyond standard customer service, they are leading the pack. Dan spent much of Saturday working to resolve this issue. The sheer speed that I got a replacement is stunning.

CD just rocks!!!

Adam Stanislav · November 26th, 2009, 09:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul Inglis

DirectShow does not have the correct filters to play this file

That most likely means your system does not have the right codec installed.

Paul Inglis · November 27th, 2009, 03:00 AM

Hi Adam,

The clips from the new nanoFLASH play fine now. For some reason (which I’d love to know) the codec was getting corrupted in my original nanoFLASH and Vegas, VLC, XDCAM Viewer and so on just didn’t like it.

Paul Inglis · November 27th, 2009, 03:02 AM

Thanks for all who posted helpful suggestions and most of all thanks to Dan and CD for resolving my issue.

Dan Keaton · November 27th, 2009, 06:16 AM

Dear Friends,

This was a very strange problem.

The nanoFlash would appear to record properly, and we could open the files in Sony Vegas, hear the audio, but the video showed a codec problem by displaying red blocks.

Paul was very helpful and cooperative in running tests for us.

Paul did not have immediate access to a monitor so we could not tell if the nanoFlash was receiving a proper signal or not, nor could we play the files from the nanoFlash.

After testing his files on my copy of Sony Vegas; confirming Paul's results, we replaced the nanoFlash.

Thus, the nanoFlash proved to be faulty, as we both suspected.

We will be testing this nanoFlash in our lab to determine the exact cause of this very unusual problem.

We have also discussed changing our testing procedures to ensure that this failure does not occur again. While we test each and every nanoFlash during manufacturing, we have not been taking the recorded files and playing them in a NLE.

I believe we have already started doing this.

November 20th, 2009, 12:05 PM	#17
Dan Keaton Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Augusta Georgia Posts: 5,421	Dear Paul, If you see 1080sf25 or similar information on our Status line, we are receiving video. Also, we will not record unless we are receiving video (we do not record audio only). I will have our support department attempt to assist. Do you have access to an HD-SDI monitor or a HDMI TV or monitor? With a simple HDMI cable (Type C to Type A - Mini to Full size) cable, you could play back the footage from the nanoFlash and/or use an HDMI TV as a monitor. I have no idea why you can not get your files to play in Vegas. We agree, since you can download our sample videos and they play find in Vegas, the problem does not appear to be in Vegas. We will be in touch via email. __________________ Dan Keaton Augusta Georgia

November 21st, 2009, 09:59 AM	#19
Denis OKeefe Major Player Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Wayne, PA Posts: 207	check ilink setting This may be a long shot but it is one that has stumped me before. The HDSDI/SDI port shuts down on the EX3 when the "ILINK" in enabled in the OTHERS menu.

November 21st, 2009, 10:22 AM	#21
Dan Keaton Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Augusta Georgia Posts: 5,421	Dear Friends, Yes, on the Sony EX1 and EX3, the iLink must be disabled in the "Others" menu. If this is enabled, then the nanoFlash will not see the HD-SDI source from the camera. The nanoFlash will show "No SRC", indicating "No Source". __________________ Dan Keaton Augusta Georgia

November 21st, 2009, 06:26 PM	#23
Dan Keaton Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Augusta Georgia Posts: 5,421	Dear Friends, This has been a very strange problem. Paul assisted us greatly so we could attempt to diagnose the problem. Since the status line on the nanoFlash is appropriate for the mode being used in the camera, it appears that the HD-SDI signal that we are getting would appear to be valid. This is an assumption on our part since we do not have access to a monitor. Paul ran some tests, uploaded them, then I confirmed that I see the same problem of my copy of Sony Vegas that he does. We tested 1080i50 at 4:2:0 35 Mbps and 1080i60 (59.94) 4:2:2 at 50 Mbps. We both get the same "Red Block" in Sony Vegas. I also tried playing the videos in Sony Clip Viewer 2.30. Paul reinstalled our 1.0.112 firmware. We have offered to replace his nanoFlash. Paul will be contacting his dealer on Monday. If Paul had needed quicker response, we were prepared to send out a nanoFlash today. As always, we are open to suggestions. This has been a very strange problem, as I said earlier. __________________ Dan Keaton Augusta Georgia

November 21st, 2009, 07:37 PM	#24
Dan Keaton Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Augusta Georgia Posts: 5,421	Dear Paul, Did you format your CompactFlash cards in your nanoFlash before using them? __________________ Dan Keaton Augusta Georgia

November 20th, 2009, 10:47 AM	#16
Paul Inglis Major Player Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: British Isles Posts: 415	This is my set-up with the PMW-EX3 and the nanoFLASH. The camera is set to 1080/25p with SDI set to HD. I have a HD-SDI cable coming out of the camera via the SDI Out which is connected to the nanoFLASH SDI In. Now the nanoFLASH is set-up in the following way: MXF Mode 100 Mbps Long-GOP 1080psf25 PSF-In Checked PSF-Out Unchecked Record Button The nanoFLASH Status Line reads; 1080sf25 100M 0058 The SanDisk Extreme III 32GB Cards are formatted in the nanoFLASH which now is running on the latest firmware 1.0.112. I am then pressing RECORD on the nanoFLASH and a little egg timer appears on the right-hand side of the recording… then I press RECORD on my PMW-EX3 and recording commences in the viewfinder of the camera and the top row of numbers on the nanoFLASH LCD. I stop recording on the PMW-EX3 wait ten seconds then press STOP on the nanoFLASH. I wait a further ten seconds after the light has gone out to ensure everything has been written to the Memory Card. The SxS memory Card play backs fine. I eject the CF Card from the nanoFLASH. As of yet I have no means to connect the SDI Out from the nanoFLASH to a HD Monitor (so have no way of knowing if the nanoFLASH is actually seeing any video. Anyhow I take the CF Card and push it into the Card Reader (the one supplied by CD and four others have now been tested). I copy the files to my D: Drive (Raid 0 and on another machine no Raid), I the open Vegas Pro 8.0c (32-bit), 8.1 (64-bit) and a trial version of 9.0c. I then click: File> Import> Media. Select the file and it get brought into Media Project. I then drag and drop on the timeline. In Vegas 8.0c and 8.1 I get red frames on the Video Track and a working audio on the Audio Track. Whereas in Vegas 9.0c I just get an Audio Track which does play back as recorded. Now I have downloaded a few different MXF from CDs website to test and they all work flawlessly, I have downloaded XDCAM Viewer but keep getting the message I mentioned earlier. I’ve tried a couple of others but no avail. I believe the problem is somewhere in the camera or the nanoFLASH itself. Maybe I missing the obvious here. Anyhow I’d appreciate it if anyone has any ideas what I can try next. Best regards, Paul

November 21st, 2009, 05:13 AM	#18
Paul Inglis Major Player Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: British Isles Posts: 415	Thanks Dan! I've replied to the support email.

November 21st, 2009, 10:10 AM	#20
Paul Inglis Major Player Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: British Isles Posts: 415	Hi Denis, That had me stumped when I first got the camera and was trying to connect an external monitor, Thanks anyhow. I've sent a clip to CD for analysis so will see what they come back with. Very help bunch! Hopefully will get sorted in time for my latest project.

November 21st, 2009, 05:59 PM	#22
Lance Librandi Major Player Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: South Australia Posts: 374	[QUOTE=Paul Inglis;1449985]Thanks for the help so far. Hi Lance The format displayed on the machine is; 1080sf25 100M 0058 Yes the SDI option is set to HD Hello, The fact that the Nano is reporting in the status line "1080sf25 100M 0058" would indicate that it is receiving a valid SDI signal. I agree with Dave it's has to be a codec or file corruption problem.

November 26th, 2009, 10:46 AM	#26
Paul Inglis Major Player Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: British Isles Posts: 415	Hi everyone, I’d just like to say that my replacement nanoFLASH arrived about half an hour ago and works absolutely fine! Apart from a disable on/off switch (which is apparently what you all asked for). I have to say here that Dan and CD have been absolutely amazing in getting this sorted. They have gone above and beyond standard customer service, they are leading the pack. Dan spent much of Saturday working to resolve this issue. The sheer speed that I got a replacement is stunning. CD just rocks!!!

November 27th, 2009, 03:00 AM	#28
Paul Inglis Major Player Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: British Isles Posts: 415	Hi Adam, The clips from the new nanoFLASH play fine now. For some reason (which I’d love to know) the codec was getting corrupted in my original nanoFLASH and Vegas, VLC, XDCAM Viewer and so on just didn’t like it.

November 27th, 2009, 03:02 AM	#29
Paul Inglis Major Player Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: British Isles Posts: 415	Thanks for all who posted helpful suggestions and most of all thanks to Dan and CD for resolving my issue.

November 27th, 2009, 06:16 AM	#30
Dan Keaton Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Augusta Georgia Posts: 5,421	Dear Friends, This was a very strange problem. The nanoFlash would appear to record properly, and we could open the files in Sony Vegas, hear the audio, but the video showed a codec problem by displaying red blocks. Paul was very helpful and cooperative in running tests for us. Paul did not have immediate access to a monitor so we could not tell if the nanoFlash was receiving a proper signal or not, nor could we play the files from the nanoFlash. After testing his files on my copy of Sony Vegas; confirming Paul's results, we replaced the nanoFlash. Thus, the nanoFlash proved to be faulty, as we both suspected. We will be testing this nanoFlash in our lab to determine the exact cause of this very unusual problem. We have also discussed changing our testing procedures to ensure that this failure does not occur again. While we test each and every nanoFlash during manufacturing, we have not been taking the recorded files and playing them in a NLE. I believe we have already started doing this. __________________ Dan Keaton Augusta Georgia