FireStore FS100 various topics

[Shawn Alyasiri]

Thanks very much as always Matt - that helps very much indeed.

Thought I had an FS100 reserved today, and it evaporated in my fingertips. Will have to wait until stock is replenished to test with the new firewire card on the 800.

[Stephen Pruitt]

This is ridiculous. I can't find a single one anywhere!

Stephen

[Adam Ginsberg]

i ordered an fs-100 from b&h about 3 weeks ago and they're telling me its going to be another month before they can ship it! if anyone has them in stock please pm me/us!

thanks

[Shawn Alyasiri]

Hi Matt.

I found an FS100 and I'm having it sent overnight so that I may be able to use it Saturday. I don't normally shoot without extensive testing, so I may wait, but if things 'fit right in', I may use the FS100 right away.

I will be using my Panny SPX800, which just currently came back after having the firewire and SDI cards installed. I wish to record to the P2 cards in an ad-hoc fashion (hitting start/stop whenever I want), and record the whole/remaining live stream on the firestore. I have had very good success recently testing and using the FS4 in local mode, accepting a 4x3 (and even 16x9) DV stream from the camera.

If I get enough time to test - I may use the FS100 instead, and set the camera & firestore to record in DVCPRO50, for greater color/higher bitrate, etc. I will want to use the FS100 in the same manner as my FS4 tests - in local mode, perhaps sync slaved later in the day, etc.

It seems like things have settled down from the first units and user reports/bugs, and that there's new firmware, overall recommendations, etc.

Can you please give me a general 'Matt's Checklist' for a new FS100 about to go in the field (including the current firmware checks, updates, and just general last-minute findings/experiences/knowledge), initial FS settings, closing/finalizing/transfering files, etc? I'm hitting the forum here myself, but may benefit from a quick list, in case I miss something (I saw links to the version 2 firmware and user manual - wanted to confirm the newest links, etc).

Then again, I may chicken out and just shoot it DV with the FS4. If you show me a bulletproof path and the tests work out, I may just go DVCPRO50/MXF.

BTW - this will all end up in an Edius SP Broadcast machine - version 3.61. I'm also testing version 4 Broadcast on a laptop.

Thanks again for all of your past advice and help. You are a main reason for this new purchase after I had difficulties with the HDV upgrades.

Best regards,
Shawn

[Matt McEwen]

Hi Shawn,

First thing to do is make sure your FS-100 is running the latest firmware (2.0 - see the SETUP menu). If it is not, download the latest version from the Focus support site and load it as per the manual. Once loaded or even if the unit does have 2.0 loaded, do a System Reset (Utilities menu).

Your FS-100 should operate much the same as your FS-4. When you have it set to DV mode, it has the same DTE file format options as FS-4, so they may be more flexible to use than MXF P2 on some NLEs.

If you want to trigger the FS-100 and recordings to P2 card separately, set the FS-100 to LOCAL control mode. This way, FS-100 will record continuously and not be affected by triggers from the camera.

Once you have finished your recordings, stop FS-100 and do an Organize P2 (Utilities menu). At that point, the FS-100 will have the same directory structure as a P2 card and you can import to Edius as if you were importing P2 cards.

Hope that helps, but like with anything, I recommend you get familiar with things before doing your shoot.

Matt

[Shawn Alyasiri]

Thanks again Matt.

Can I assume that you do the 'Organize P2' at the end of the day - just prior to import (where you've been turning the unit's power on & off, starting/stopping recording, etc)? Or do you have to do the organize after each shoot/clip?

My guess it's at the end of everything - would you then just see one file structure - kind of like having a big 100 gig P2 card, or does it split the content into smaller GB chunks (like having multiple cards)?

I'll try to bone up on the online manual tonight.

BTW, do you have a sense of the transfer speed for HD content? I've been noticing that transfers from P2 cards is approaching a 1 to 1 transfer (1 hour of content takes close to an hour - 1 hour of DV takes 15-20 minutes...). These aren't hard numbers, but I was surprised - I think it's actually pretty close to 1 minute per gig on the cards. I was guessing the FS100 could spit it all out a bit quicker, being a hard drive, etc.

Thanks,
Shawn

[Shawn Alyasiri]

I just received my FS100. I'm trying to do tests today to examine the feasibility of shooting with it tomorrow.

I have it hooked up to my Panasonic SPX800 - the 800 is set as 60i, 4x3, DVCPRO50.

If I have it in 'Local' mode, I can either start the P2 cards to record on the camera, and/or the FS to record, ad hoc, whenever I start or stop recording on either unit. I haven't transfered the files to the editor yet, but the timecode is jiving, etc. No obvious problems.

However - when I set the FS to Sync Slave - it appears 'ready' to record - I hit record on the camera and the P2 cards start recording, but the FS stays idle, still in Rec pause mode.

I can't seem to get it to jive....

This was working fine with the FS4 in DV mode earlier in the week.

Any menu/sync settings to set in/on the firestore?

Thanks,
Shawn

[Matt McEwen]

Use the Tapeless control mode on FS-100 with P2 based camcorders...whether there is a P2 card in the cam or not.

Matt

[Shawn Alyasiri]

Thanks Matt - I will definitely try this.

FYI - I just discovered that if you boot the machine up in sync slave mode, it will work. I haven't transfered the data yet, but sync slave recording is occuring. So you have to power the unit down in sync mode - it boots up in sync mode, and you can do either sync or local successfully after that boot up.

I'll have to check the data of course, but this appears to be working.

My first local mode data was working well and looks very good.

Can I ask what happens if you organize the P2 data more than once? What would happen if you shot some stuff in the morning, hit organize P2 at lunch, and then found something quick you needed to shoot. I assume you hit organize P2 again... Does that recombine all P2 style footage on the drive in one 'contents' folder, or are there multiple 'contents' folders now?

I'm experimenting with a longer record session right now - just curious if that all ends up in one folder as well, or if multiple folders get created once the Fat file limits are hit, etc.

So far things are working well - I like the box a lot - knock on wood...

Thanks again,
Shawn

[Shawn Alyasiri]

**2nd quick update

Just tried the tapeless selection - unfortunately that didn't do it.

It seems like the only way I can get it to work is to boot down/boot up in sync mode. If I boot up in local mode, I can't seem to get sync slave to work. Then if I hit sync slave, boot down and boot back up, it seems to work... wierd...

Will x-fer the data in a bit - hopefully it all works and this can be the workaround.

[Matt McEwen]

Sorry, forgot to mention...you probably need to set the DV Control on the camcorder to BOTH or EXT if you want to trigger the FS-100 from the camera (this is required on the HVX200). On the HVX, it is in the OTHER FUNCTIONS menu under 1394 CONTROL. You should be good to go with TAPELESS then, but having said that, I have not used the Pana SPX800.

Hope that helps,

Matt

[Stephen Pruitt]

Well, I found one. . . but it was HARD. I think I got the last FS-100 available from an authorized dealer in the whole US of A. I got it from the CA branch of AbelCineTech. It was their last unit.

:-)

Amazing that it could be so hard to get.

Now, on the other hand, I have to run a post to figure out how to use it!

[Stephen Pruitt]

Hi all. . .

I'm a desparate man!

I got my new HVX200 and my new FS-100 (perhaps the absolute last one available in the entire country from an authorized dealer!), but whereas I can seemingly get the signal flow from the HVX200 TO the FS-100, I can't get the FS-100 to play back through the HVX200. In other words, I can't see what I've recorded through the camera at all.

I am more than happy to provide some economic compensation to the competent HVX200/FS-100 user to help get me get this unit up and running. And, as an economist, I truly believe that the worker is worthy of his wages. I'd be very happy to send some patient person a few bucks (how about $50 an hour via Paypal?) if we can get this thing working together.

Given that I just got the camera and know next to nothing about it, it might make more sense to do this via telephone. My number is 913-239-0367, but please don't call until after 10 AM Central time nor after 10 PM Central time. If you don't have free long distance, just give me a call and I'll be happy to call you right back.

Anyway, thanks in advance for your help. I really can't do this without you!

Sincerely,

Stephen Pruitt, Ph.D.

[Chris Hurd]

Moved to the FireStore forum. Foscus Enhancement reps are more likely to see it here, however, don't expect contact until the start of the business week on Monday morning.

[Matt McEwen]

Hi,

Download the FS-100 QuickStart guide which details the steps necessary to playback from FS-100 to the HVX... http://www.focusinfo.com/dynassets/d...uickStart).pdf .

Also, make sure that your FS-100 has the latest firmware (2.0) which is available for download from the Focus support site. If it does not have it, load it and remember to do a system reset after you load the firmware.

Hope that helps,

Matt