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Darren

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Everything posted by Darren

  1. I have 7.04 as well, which does appear to be the latest version available from Apple's Software Update. Perhaps 7.1 isn't an official release yet?
  2. Thanks Jeff, good info. I haven't found myself on a Final Cut show yet, but between Take and Mark I'm feeling fairly confident that this will be sorted out. Best, Darren
  3. Not sure what you mean by a separate stub file. Metacorder generates one file per recorded take.
  4. FYI, I'm fairly sure that Metacorder generated BWF files CAN be directly imported into Final Cut with their timestamps intact. Best, Darren
  5. Hi Chris, In the spirit of trying to keep this thread on topic, do you use a Master Clock or one of your recorders as your t/c generator?
  6. redge wrote: "Am I right that none of the recorders, unlike a master clock, can check for drift?" While it is not a recorder, the Ambient 301 slate has a feature where it can measure drift between it and other devices that it was either jammed from or that were jammed from it.
  7. I went to a seminar last night where Pierre Blanc of Sonosax was demonstrating their latest products. Their new MiniR82 recorder caught a few people's attention. However, it was noted that while it featured a built in t/c generator and a t/c input so that it could be jammed, it did not have a timecode output that one could use to jam slates, etc. When I asked Pierre why this was the case, he responded that Sonosax is under the assumption that most Production Sound departments use either a Denecke or Ambient Master Clock and therefore this feature is not necessary. Personally, I do use a Denecke Master clock, but that is a very new addition to my package and was only purchased as I required it for Metacorder. I am curious; what percentage of sound mixers are using a Master Clock as your t/c generator instead of your primary recorder's t/c? -Darren
  8. No ADAT either, so you cannnot feed this interface multi-track digital audio from a digital mixing board. The Traveler has 12 digital inputs and 12 digital outputs. The Ultralight only has 2 channels of spdif. No word clock, no AES, and no ADAT, does leave you without much in the way of clocking options. You can clock it via SMPTE, or SPDIF, or probably your computer as well. Or it can be the master. However it wouldn't make a very effective master as it can only output its clock via SPDIF. It appears as though the Ultralight is intended for only the most basic of setups. -Darren
  9. There are many devices that generate timecode, some are built in to recorders, some are dedicated generators, some are built in to our slates and take over generating the timecode for the slate once the slate has been jammed. As we have all experienced, not all timecode generators are created equal. Some are much more accurate than others. The same holds true for the clocks in your various digital devices. While all of these devices can output word clock to your various other devices and provide you with a Master Clock source, not all of them are created equal. Some devices provide a much more accurate word clock source than others. So... while, yes there are no shortage of options, it is still quite important to choose the best one. Best, Darren
  10. I used the dual polyphonic capability on one of the 1st movies that I used Metadorder on. Now I just instruct telecine to only transfer tracks 1 and 2. -Darren
  11. Works like this: The Denecke GR-1's t/c goes into an audio chan of the Traveler. The Traveler detects the incoming code and gives you the option of syncing/locking it's internal clock to the code. Now that the Traveler is locked to the incoming code, it becomes a much more accurate clock. Word clock is then sent from Traveler to the 01V96 which is then slaved to it. Best, Darren
  12. So do you roll around w/ a Big Ben? -No Does the traveler generate a decent TC? -No I have yet to see word clock generators w/ TC in or outs on them. -The Traveler and some other interfaces can sync their internal clock to incoming t/c and then generate word clock from that. Best, Darren
  13. I also used to go by the "rule" that your A.D. should be your clock master. However, I have since been "re-educated" by others, and by experience. I am now of the opinion that your piece of equipment with the best clock, as in the one that is rated with the lowest jitter and the best p.p.m. spec should be your clock master. Many recording studios have separate devices that do nothing more than just provide a good, stable, low jitter clock source. As well, I have recently been educated about the term "sample acurate sync" with regards to timecode. It appears that in some cases they are in fact related. The thinking is that if the clock that runs your timecode and the clock that runs your digital system are not completely in sync that when doing a long take (such as recording a concert) there will eventually be some drift in the correlation of the two. This was not an issue with linear timecode but is an issue where timecode extrapolated from a stamp made at the very beginning of the take. One solution is to use a master clock that can sync to timcode. The Traveler is capable of this and this is how I now sync my system. Best, Darren
  14. Absolutely! Every recorder out there right now has some advantages/disadvantages relative to one another. A Powerbook/interface/Metacorder combination is actually more expensive than a Sound Devices recorder and, at least at the time that I made my purchase, approx. the same cost as a DV-824, so I don't believe that price is the main reason to use this set up. Personally, before I made my purchase decision, I looked at all of the recorders with regards to feature set, ergonomics, specs, user interface, my impression of what its reliability would be, my impression of the companies themselves and what they are like to deal with, etc, etc. Much like you have stated that you could not go back to a laptop, I would not want to go back to a dedicated box with a small screen and menu system. It's all about personal choice. Isn't it wonderful that for the 1st time that there is something available for everyone. It's not that long ago that you basically had a choice between 2 products.
  15. Actually, as soon as you are using more than 1 digital device, you are in to having to consider what will be clocking what; which will be the Master and which will be the slave. It's really not a big deal and this is no different using an interface than it is a stand alone recorder. I suppose with regards to the much discussed sample acurate time code issue, one has to be a little more careful. But again, this really is not a big deal as the Traveler can accompish this quite easily. Best, Darren
  16. I guess my 2 bits here would be that ALL of today's recorders are essentially computers in one form or another in that they are ALL software/firmware based/dependent so they ALL have an operating system of one type or another. So... please allow me to go into Devil's Advocate mode for a couple of paragraphs. In my opinion, which is based on my experiences so far, the Mac/Metacorder combination has been as reliable as one could ever ask for, as in 100%. Granted I haven't had the system for much over a year, but I'd be willing to bet that it has been at least as reliable as any other system out there over the same time period. I have used this system in cold, rain, fog, dust, bouncing around while driving down a pot holed road in an insert car, and in the incredible high humidity of an indoor wave tank, etc, etc, etc. At this point, again in my opinion, the whole reliability argument is moot. At any rate, an entire spare laptop can be kept on hand for not much money. I have been closely following many of the alternative non-linear recorders out there and I have watched them go through many firmware and some hardware revisions. All of these machines continue to get better and better. However, if I really look at this whole issue from as neutral of a perspective as possible, it is my belief that at this point the only difference between my computer and someone else's is that my hardware AND firmware were engineered by Apple and my Software was written by Gallery, while other people's may have been written by Sound Devices, Zaxcom, or what have you. The real differences between recorders at this point may not be much more than the engineers and (especially) the coders that designed them, the feature set, and the packaging. Simply putting it all in one box does not guarantee that a product will be more or less reliable. Of course it does make it somewhat more portable. I feel that ALL of the newer recorders that I am aware of have some compromises in some part of their design. I don't feel that I have seen the perfect recorder yet. For example, Metacorder is a non-starter for over the shoulder work (so far). It's all about finding the best system that you, as the one that is paid to come up with goods on the jobsite, are the most comfortable with. End Devil's Advocat mode. I am pretty new to MAC so I cannot speak for the past record of these computers but thus far Tiger has essentially been bullet proof for me. Best, Darren Brisker
  17. I am using a combination of the Yamaha's ADAT and digital outputs to get 10 inputs into the Traveler and this has been working well for me. There are rumours on various usenets regarding the future of mLAN, but Yamaha tells me that they are in fact just that, rumours. I suppose time will tell.
  18. Just a thought, but this is going to be such a large topic that I'm wondering if this shouldn't be a whole new Category or Sub-Category rather than a thread that will soon be buried under many others under the Equipment category Darren
  19. Scott, As using mLAN with OSX forces you to use the computer as a master clock instead of your mixer etc, I was just wondering if, in your experience, this has ever caused you any clocking issues. When testing recording 8 tracks with mLAN, I found that I mLAN caused the occasional drop out. After contacting Yamaha regarding this, Yamaha stated that they are aware of this issue and are in process of writing new OSX drivers for mLAN that will allow one to choose which device they prefer to be their master clock. Best, Darren
  20. I am using the P.B's internal burner. I do have a spare external burner (LG f/w & USB 2.0), but I have yet to take it out of the truck. Upon completion of principal photography, I also supply production with a hard drive with the entire film's production sound on it. On this drive, there is one folder for each of the sound rolls and one folder with all of the sound reports There is no back up machine. I used to run simultaneous DAT, mostly for Telecine's benefit. However, many shows later, all using the same Telecine house, we have decided that the DATs are no longer necessary as we were not finding that we were ever using them. For the purposes of backup, I am recording simultaneously onto two external drives. I do have a DAT machine in the truck in case the entire computer goes down, or for those once in every several years over the shoulder shots. However I plan to replace this DAT with a non-linear machine before my next production. The current front runner is probably the 702T for over the shoulder work and another MAC for the cart back up. Again, this would be for use in the event of a catastrophic system failure, not for simultaneous use. If my main PB were to ever go down, I would then be able to go with the b/u PB while continuing to use the same external h.d.'s that all ready have all of the day's (and entire movie's) work on them. As far as transporting my equipment goes, I have my own cube van complete with lift gate. This is driven for me by the transport dept. I really enjoy the convenience of showing up at work and my truck is already parked, powered, and levelled. Interestingly enough, I have also noticed that my truck seems to consitently get better parking spots since it started travelling with the unit. Best, Darren
  21. I have been daisy chaining a f/w bus powered Lacie mobile f/w drive through my Traveler for close to a year. There is nothing wrong with doing this. It works fine. This Lacie is my primary drive. I have recorded up to 8 tracks without any problems. As well, I simultaneously (as in not mirrored, but simultaneous) record onto a second drive as a b/u. I have used both the f/w 800 bus and the USB bus for the 2nd drive. Even 2 drives simultaneously recording 8 tracks has not been a problem for my Powerbook. As Jeff mentioned, it is NOT a good idea to record on your boot drive. The advantages of recording to external drives are: - Not fragmenting/taxing your boot drive. - If your computer fails, crashes, or otherwise self destructs, you still have the day's data and are not left trying to determine how to recover it. Best, Darren
  22. Jeff, thanks for such a warm welcome! I have posted several photos of my cart to your Images section. I would be honored to do my best to answer any questions anyone has about using Metacorder. Best! Darren
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