Misc. Open DV from 2007

Ervin Farkas · October 25th, 2007, 08:04 AM

I have a live setup where one of the cameras (Sony Z1U working SD) is connected to the switcher via component cables, about 100 feet (RG58 I believe it is). The cable ends in BNC connectors on the switcher side and an RCA plate on the wall on the camera side. The camera connects to the plate via the supplied component cable (about 3 feet) extended with another 5 feet extension cable. Quality is as expected from component.

But occasionally I would love that camera taken off the tripod to get closer to the subject - my question is, how long of a cable can I attach? I see in stores 25 feet cables, that would do it, but will the quality degrade?

Thanks,

J.G. Beckman · October 31st, 2007, 11:50 PM

I just bought an Elmo MN401e 1/2" lipstick cam on eBay. It's normally an expensive camera, and used ones in passable condition don't come up for sale often. The seller said it was tested and working, in "MINT" condition. I took a shot...

It came today, and not knowing what the actual quality of these tiny 'broadcast' cameras would be, I have to say, I was really impressed. While a bit over-sharpened for my tastes (and unchangeable as such) the picture was lovely, and could be cut invisibly into any good SD footage. I don't yet have one of the proprietary lenses for it, but it came with a c-mount adapter, so I put a Zeiss 25mm prime on it and was thrilled with the result.

But that was during the day - later, at night, I wanted to test its low-light capabilities and noticed 2 problems only present (or perhaps only visible) when gain is added. First, a dead pixel. Whatever, no big deal. Second, however, in extremely dark areas, part of the left side of the frame gets much darker than the rest, like it is burned-in. Even with gain fully on, it looks fine in normal light, but shows up in shadows - say any pixel exposed 30% to 100% looks fine with gain or without, but any exposed 10% or lower drops to zero. Does that make sense?

These cameras originally came out in 1999, so clearly the CCD is just showing its age, but is this problem indicative of something acute that's going to keep getting worse? The condition is definitely not as stated, but do you think this is severe enough to breach the usual buyer-beware standard? Should I try and return it?

I paid less than what those Chinese, consumer lipstick cameras sell for usually. Is this a nice enough score that it's worth working around? Normally, I hate using gain anyway, but part of the reason I wanted this was when some stealth was necessary, so a little gain could conceivably come in handy.

Any advice would be appreciated!

Bruce Mitchell · November 1st, 2007, 11:22 PM

I'm looking for hands-on workshops to learn some outdoor lighting and shooting techniques. Pluses would be that it take place in Florida (no travel expenses) and possibly involve shooting in HDV.

I've been self-learning to shoot with my Sony Z1 for about a year now but I've now got a new customer where I need to shoot people (specifically bikini models, yeah - tough gig) in outdoor and remote locations where power usually won't be available. I know this is some fairly specific training, but if anyone has info on such training I'd appreciate it. Or perhaps other suggestions like being the bounce-card boy for "Bikin Destinations" for a week to see what they do?

Thanks,

Bruce...

Eddie Pelfrey · November 3rd, 2007, 08:20 PM

i have to replace my video card i have a p-4 3.4 ghz 2 gig ram 2=110 gig hard drives running liquid getting ready to upgrade to the latest version. i use a cannon gl2 cannon xl1s and just purchased a cannon a1. so hopefully hd is in my future. wich video card should i buy?

Eddie

Peter Dukes · November 5th, 2007, 01:27 PM

hey, guys.

it's been a while since i've been back. all has been going well, until...

i've got some films i need to unload off of my sony screenblast movie studio 3.0. for those of you who know the system, when you make a movie, there are several rendering options, one of which is the "advanced render" option. you click on this tab and it allows you to change the default render settings through the "custom" tab. well, my custom tab is grayed out for some reason, so my rendering option is stuck on 320x240/sorenson 3 compression (medium quality). thus, my final products look like crap.

there must be a way to improve the render settings, otherwise they wouldn't bother including advanced/custom tabs to begin with. does anyone know what i might be overlooking (what box i should click or unclick, etc etc...)?? i have to get some projects out of there at the highest quality possible!! i shot the footage w/ a canon xl-2 at 30i, so the problem isn't w/ the fact that the uploaded material is no good.

help!!

...thanks

peter

Eaves Landry · November 8th, 2007, 09:02 PM

Just looking for good tips and suggestions on what worked well for different settings and situations etc.

Uli Mors · November 13th, 2007, 11:46 AM

Hi ,

can somebody recommend a simple Matte Box for using a Canon YH12x4.8 when used in 16:9?

Thanks

ULI

Shaun Steele · November 29th, 2007, 09:21 AM

Hows it going. I just got a new laptop with Vista on it(dont think thats the issue). When I try to capture video as Im shooting it I get a prompt saying the program cant find a capture inpoint try to increase the preroll. I checked on my main computer and all the settings in both computers are the same, but I dont have that problem on my main computer. Any clues are help...? Thanks in advance

Ryan Tate · December 12th, 2007, 09:43 PM

anyone know the process for exporting from final cut pro to
a flash file?

Ryan Avery · December 14th, 2007, 01:35 PM

Thanks to all for taking advantage of our spectacular sale on Century 16:9 adapters for the Sony, Canon, and 58mm screw-in varieties. We have sold out of our 16:9 adapters. They are still a current product and we can manufcature more on demand but we will no longer stock or offer the lens at $99. Again, thank you for helping us clear some year end inventory. We will continue to have significant inventory reduction sales on various products.

Ryan Avery
Schneider Optics

Dwight Flynn · December 25th, 2007, 12:17 AM

Is there an media player (WMP, VLC, etc) that will allow me to simultaneously watch onscreen and send the image to an external broadcast monitor the way I can do in my NLE.

Len Capristo · December 25th, 2007, 12:43 PM

Greetings -

I just purchased a Canon XH-A1 and I'm trying to configure a system to meet my needs, but I've become very confused. Currently, this is what I have to work with:

1.8GHz, 17" iMac G5, 160GB HDD, 512 memory, 128MB video Card.
2.1GHz, 17" iMac G5, 160GB HDD, 512 memory, 128MB video Card
MacBook Pro, Dual Core 2.1Ghz, 2GB RAM, 256 Video Card, 15.4" glossy display.
Final Cut Express 3.5 HD
Just ordered Final Cut Studio 2
QuickTime Pro

My 2.1 Ghz iMac is being updated with a new WD Enterprise Server SATA 320GB drive (WD3200YS) with a MTBF of 1 million hours. I'll also update the RAM to 2 GB.

I perform the following tasks:

1) Edit video in SD format for editing and final output as QT movie formated for NTSC 720X480 4:3 output for TV broadcast on public access TV.

2) Edit prepared broadcast ready DVD content for broadcast on public access TV. The DVDs need to be edited because they contain 1:15 lead time of color bars and 1K tone. I edit out these leaders, and create a short (30 second) trailer with local information prepared in LiveType. These edits are made using Mac equipment at the TV station with final output in QT movie format as described above.

3) Capture raw DV footage from Panasonic SD cameras (GS-180 - a fine little camera, and others), Canon XL1s, and HDV footage from the XH-A1. The captured video is edited for later broadcast, or possible DVD output in SD format, usually 4:3, but more requests coming for 16:9 output. So far SD is fine, but will move to HD delivery by mid/late 2009.

4) Capture Time Warner cable broadcasts, both SD and HD format, through Cablevision DVR - Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300HD. There are two 1394 connectors, and HDMI and SATA connectors, but Time Warner claims that they have disabled anything other than the Component and standard DV out. I record programs for later viewing, but would like to capture this video in a permanent format, including burning to DVD, iPod video or other formats.

The problems:

(1) Apple hardware requirements suggest that both iMacs will not be able to handle all of the Final Cut Studio programs, limited by too little video RAM and display output.

(2) I don't know how to address (4) above, but I'd like to use all of this video for my own legal purposes.

(3) The Apple store people tell me that the MacBook Pro "may" work, but isn't powerful enough for what I want to do.

Right now I copy the VOB files onto my desktop, then transcode using FFMPEG to get a QT output which I import into FCE for editing. From there I edit out the bars, recode at QT for final output. The rendering and conversion take 6-8 hours, a long wait but OK given the limited number of times I do this and the fact that once it's done, I don't have to do it again. When I asked the Apple people how much faster the MacPro would be compared to my setup, no one had an agreed time, but suggested half the time. I don't see the need to spend $5K to save 4 hours in coding, but I would do it if it were less expensive.

I also have all of these machines networked together using Airport Express routers (2) with one a repeater. There are printers connected to the USB ports on each router, allowing full access to any printer for any computer. Finally, the MacBook Pro does double duty as a work computer and has Windows XP and other programs under windows installed. There are no OS-X compatible programs that run these programs, so I must have Windows access. I plan to upgrade the Airport express to the new Base-Station server. With that option I'd consider adding a shared HDD for all the computers to access so that I can share iTunes audio/video files. I'm not sure what iTV is a better solution.

Any thoughts? Thanks.

Guy Godwin · December 28th, 2007, 10:29 AM

Hello folks!!
I hope everyone had a fantastic Holiday season and enjoying the Bowls like me!!

Anyway, I am wondering the impact of having a shutter set too fast. I am using an XL2 but don't think this pertains to that unit. Over the holiday in the Mountains the temp got up in the 60's and I had the opportunity to have my childeren out side. The sun was setting and the lighing was very good. I have 13 month old twinns and a 6 year year old football freak playing with his cousins.

I used this chance to tinker with some setting's. The color setting was good etc..etc.. I had the Iris open and the shutter at 1/1000 (very fast).

I was able to get very detail shots of the white stripe on the football as it rotated while being passed. However, my shots of the everything else did not seem as good as I would have expected. I know this shutter is extreme, but what I am wondering is how much does it effect the other slow moving image quality with this type of shutter?

Does anyone has any experience with this?

Just my novice experience tells me that these images will not be as crisps as there is less exposure time (at that moment).

Adam Palomer · December 30th, 2007, 06:12 PM

I purchased this VCR back in 2000 and used it for a few months and then put it in storage.

When I took out of storage the other day, I plugged it in and it played a tape fine. But, I'm having one problem with it. When it's off and I first insert a tape, it powers on, and then immediately powers off. To play the tape, I have to push the "ON" button again and press play. I forget if there's a timer of sorts that powers the VCR off when it's not in use, but is this normal for this unit?

I've also noticed that just after I push "EJECT" and the tape comes out, the VCR powers off on its own within 3 seconds.

What gives?

Chris Hocking · January 2nd, 2008, 09:41 PM

This post would go perfectly in a "script writing" forum, but seeing as there isn't one here yet, I guess here will do...

Does ANYONE know where I can find the script for the film "Hot Fuzz"?

I've been searching the Internet for hours, but I just can't seem to find it.

Where can I get a hold of it? There MUST be a way!

Thanks!

Chris!

October 25th, 2007, 08:04 AM	#76
Ervin Farkas Inner Circle Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Atlanta/USA Posts: 2,515	Component cables - how long? I have a live setup where one of the cameras (Sony Z1U working SD) is connected to the switcher via component cables, about 100 feet (RG58 I believe it is). The cable ends in BNC connectors on the switcher side and an RCA plate on the wall on the camera side. The camera connects to the plate via the supplied component cable (about 3 feet) extended with another 5 feet extension cable. Quality is as expected from component. But occasionally I would love that camera taken off the tripod to get closer to the subject - my question is, how long of a cable can I attach? I see in stores 25 feet cables, that would do it, but will the quality degrade? Thanks, __________________ Ervin Farkas www.AtlantaLegalVideo.com

October 31st, 2007, 11:50 PM	#77
J.G. Beckman New Boot Join Date: May 2006 Location: Miami, FL Posts: 8	Advice: used Elmo MN401e lipstick cam I just bought an Elmo MN401e 1/2" lipstick cam on eBay. It's normally an expensive camera, and used ones in passable condition don't come up for sale often. The seller said it was tested and working, in "MINT" condition. I took a shot... It came today, and not knowing what the actual quality of these tiny 'broadcast' cameras would be, I have to say, I was really impressed. While a bit over-sharpened for my tastes (and unchangeable as such) the picture was lovely, and could be cut invisibly into any good SD footage. I don't yet have one of the proprietary lenses for it, but it came with a c-mount adapter, so I put a Zeiss 25mm prime on it and was thrilled with the result. But that was during the day - later, at night, I wanted to test its low-light capabilities and noticed 2 problems only present (or perhaps only visible) when gain is added. First, a dead pixel. Whatever, no big deal. Second, however, in extremely dark areas, part of the left side of the frame gets much darker than the rest, like it is burned-in. Even with gain fully on, it looks fine in normal light, but shows up in shadows - say any pixel exposed 30% to 100% looks fine with gain or without, but any exposed 10% or lower drops to zero. Does that make sense? These cameras originally came out in 1999, so clearly the CCD is just showing its age, but is this problem indicative of something acute that's going to keep getting worse? The condition is definitely not as stated, but do you think this is severe enough to breach the usual buyer-beware standard? Should I try and return it? I paid less than what those Chinese, consumer lipstick cameras sell for usually. Is this a nice enough score that it's worth working around? Normally, I hate using gain anyway, but part of the reason I wanted this was when some stealth was necessary, so a little gain could conceivably come in handy. Any advice would be appreciated!

November 1st, 2007, 11:22 PM	#78
Bruce Mitchell New Boot Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 20	Outdoor shooting workshops/training I'm looking for hands-on workshops to learn some outdoor lighting and shooting techniques. Pluses would be that it take place in Florida (no travel expenses) and possibly involve shooting in HDV. I've been self-learning to shoot with my Sony Z1 for about a year now but I've now got a new customer where I need to shoot people (specifically bikini models, yeah - tough gig) in outdoor and remote locations where power usually won't be available. I know this is some fairly specific training, but if anyone has info on such training I'd appreciate it. Or perhaps other suggestions like being the bounce-card boy for "Bikin Destinations" for a week to see what they do? Thanks, Bruce...

November 3rd, 2007, 08:20 PM	#79
Eddie Pelfrey Regular Crew Join Date: May 2003 Location: LEANDER, TEXAS Posts: 79	wich video card i have to replace my video card i have a p-4 3.4 ghz 2 gig ram 2=110 gig hard drives running liquid getting ready to upgrade to the latest version. i use a cannon gl2 cannon xl1s and just purchased a cannon a1. so hopefully hd is in my future. wich video card should i buy? Eddie

November 5th, 2007, 01:27 PM	#80
Peter Dukes New Boot Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Burbank, CA Posts: 11	sony screenblast movie studio 3.0 - rendering emergency!! hey, guys. it's been a while since i've been back. all has been going well, until... i've got some films i need to unload off of my sony screenblast movie studio 3.0. for those of you who know the system, when you make a movie, there are several rendering options, one of which is the "advanced render" option. you click on this tab and it allows you to change the default render settings through the "custom" tab. well, my custom tab is grayed out for some reason, so my rendering option is stuck on 320x240/sorenson 3 compression (medium quality). thus, my final products look like crap. there must be a way to improve the render settings, otherwise they wouldn't bother including advanced/custom tabs to begin with. does anyone know what i might be overlooking (what box i should click or unclick, etc etc...)?? i have to get some projects out of there at the highest quality possible!! i shot the footage w/ a canon xl-2 at 30i, so the problem isn't w/ the fact that the uploaded material is no good. help!! ...thanks peter

November 8th, 2007, 09:02 PM	#81
Eaves Landry New Boot Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Lafayette Louisiana USA Posts: 5	Looking for good usage tips from current/past Canon ZR850 users Just looking for good tips and suggestions on what worked well for different settings and situations etc.

November 13th, 2007, 11:46 AM	#82
Uli Mors Major Player Join Date: May 2006 Location: Germany Posts: 565	Matte box for Canon 12x4.8 Hi , can somebody recommend a simple Matte Box for using a Canon YH12x4.8 when used in 16:9? Thanks ULI

November 29th, 2007, 09:21 AM	#83
Shaun Steele Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: St Louis Mo Posts: 31	new laptop Adobe premeier and Jvc dv500 problem Hows it going. I just got a new laptop with Vista on it(dont think thats the issue). When I try to capture video as Im shooting it I get a prompt saying the program cant find a capture inpoint try to increase the preroll. I checked on my main computer and all the settings in both computers are the same, but I dont have that problem on my main computer. Any clues are help...? Thanks in advance

December 12th, 2007, 09:43 PM	#84
Ryan Tate New Boot Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: las vegas, nevada Posts: 24	export into a flash file for the internet anyone know the process for exporting from final cut pro to a flash file?

December 14th, 2007, 01:35 PM	#85
Ryan Avery Sponsor: Schneider Optics Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Van Nuys, CA Posts: 387	Century 16:9 Adapters Sold Out Thanks to all for taking advantage of our spectacular sale on Century 16:9 adapters for the Sony, Canon, and 58mm screw-in varieties. We have sold out of our 16:9 adapters. They are still a current product and we can manufcature more on demand but we will no longer stock or offer the lens at $99. Again, thank you for helping us clear some year end inventory. We will continue to have significant inventory reduction sales on various products. Ryan Avery Schneider Optics

December 25th, 2007, 12:17 AM	#86
Dwight Flynn Major Player Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: New York, NY Posts: 393	media player and external monitor Is there an media player (WMP, VLC, etc) that will allow me to simultaneously watch onscreen and send the image to an external broadcast monitor the way I can do in my NLE.

December 25th, 2007, 12:43 PM	#87
Len Capristo Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Raleigh NC Posts: 38	Digital Management Greetings - I just purchased a Canon XH-A1 and I'm trying to configure a system to meet my needs, but I've become very confused. Currently, this is what I have to work with: 1.8GHz, 17" iMac G5, 160GB HDD, 512 memory, 128MB video Card. 2.1GHz, 17" iMac G5, 160GB HDD, 512 memory, 128MB video Card MacBook Pro, Dual Core 2.1Ghz, 2GB RAM, 256 Video Card, 15.4" glossy display. Final Cut Express 3.5 HD Just ordered Final Cut Studio 2 QuickTime Pro My 2.1 Ghz iMac is being updated with a new WD Enterprise Server SATA 320GB drive (WD3200YS) with a MTBF of 1 million hours. I'll also update the RAM to 2 GB. I perform the following tasks: 1) Edit video in SD format for editing and final output as QT movie formated for NTSC 720X480 4:3 output for TV broadcast on public access TV. 2) Edit prepared broadcast ready DVD content for broadcast on public access TV. The DVDs need to be edited because they contain 1:15 lead time of color bars and 1K tone. I edit out these leaders, and create a short (30 second) trailer with local information prepared in LiveType. These edits are made using Mac equipment at the TV station with final output in QT movie format as described above. 3) Capture raw DV footage from Panasonic SD cameras (GS-180 - a fine little camera, and others), Canon XL1s, and HDV footage from the XH-A1. The captured video is edited for later broadcast, or possible DVD output in SD format, usually 4:3, but more requests coming for 16:9 output. So far SD is fine, but will move to HD delivery by mid/late 2009. 4) Capture Time Warner cable broadcasts, both SD and HD format, through Cablevision DVR - Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300HD. There are two 1394 connectors, and HDMI and SATA connectors, but Time Warner claims that they have disabled anything other than the Component and standard DV out. I record programs for later viewing, but would like to capture this video in a permanent format, including burning to DVD, iPod video or other formats. The problems: (1) Apple hardware requirements suggest that both iMacs will not be able to handle all of the Final Cut Studio programs, limited by too little video RAM and display output. (2) I don't know how to address (4) above, but I'd like to use all of this video for my own legal purposes. (3) The Apple store people tell me that the MacBook Pro "may" work, but isn't powerful enough for what I want to do. Right now I copy the VOB files onto my desktop, then transcode using FFMPEG to get a QT output which I import into FCE for editing. From there I edit out the bars, recode at QT for final output. The rendering and conversion take 6-8 hours, a long wait but OK given the limited number of times I do this and the fact that once it's done, I don't have to do it again. When I asked the Apple people how much faster the MacPro would be compared to my setup, no one had an agreed time, but suggested half the time. I don't see the need to spend $5K to save 4 hours in coding, but I would do it if it were less expensive. I also have all of these machines networked together using Airport Express routers (2) with one a repeater. There are printers connected to the USB ports on each router, allowing full access to any printer for any computer. Finally, the MacBook Pro does double duty as a work computer and has Windows XP and other programs under windows installed. There are no OS-X compatible programs that run these programs, so I must have Windows access. I plan to upgrade the Airport express to the new Base-Station server. With that option I'd consider adding a shared HDD for all the computers to access so that I can share iTunes audio/video files. I'm not sure what iTV is a better solution. Any thoughts? Thanks.

December 28th, 2007, 10:29 AM	#88
Guy Godwin Major Player Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Florence, KY Posts: 345	Fast Shutter vs Slow shutter (When fast is not needed) Hello folks!! I hope everyone had a fantastic Holiday season and enjoying the Bowls like me!! Anyway, I am wondering the impact of having a shutter set too fast. I am using an XL2 but don't think this pertains to that unit. Over the holiday in the Mountains the temp got up in the 60's and I had the opportunity to have my childeren out side. The sun was setting and the lighing was very good. I have 13 month old twinns and a 6 year year old football freak playing with his cousins. I used this chance to tinker with some setting's. The color setting was good etc..etc.. I had the Iris open and the shutter at 1/1000 (very fast). I was able to get very detail shots of the white stripe on the football as it rotated while being passed. However, my shots of the everything else did not seem as good as I would have expected. I know this shutter is extreme, but what I am wondering is how much does it effect the other slow moving image quality with this type of shutter? Does anyone has any experience with this? Just my novice experience tells me that these images will not be as crisps as there is less exposure time (at that moment).

December 30th, 2007, 06:12 PM	#89
Adam Palomer Regular Crew Join Date: May 2006 Location: Summit, NJ Posts: 169	Aiwa HV-MX100 NTSC/PAL Converter I purchased this VCR back in 2000 and used it for a few months and then put it in storage. When I took out of storage the other day, I plugged it in and it played a tape fine. But, I'm having one problem with it. When it's off and I first insert a tape, it powers on, and then immediately powers off. To play the tape, I have to push the "ON" button again and press play. I forget if there's a timer of sorts that powers the VCR off when it's not in use, but is this normal for this unit? I've also noticed that just after I push "EJECT" and the tape comes out, the VCR powers off on its own within 3 seconds. What gives?

January 2nd, 2008, 09:41 PM	#90
Chris Hocking Major Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 595	Where can I find the "Hot Fuzz" script? This post would go perfectly in a "script writing" forum, but seeing as there isn't one here yet, I guess here will do... Does ANYONE know where I can find the script for the film "Hot Fuzz"? I've been searching the Internet for hours, but I just can't seem to find it. Where can I get a hold of it? There MUST be a way! Thanks! Chris!