mikewest Posted August 10, 2016 Report Share Posted August 10, 2016 Flavor of the year! Shooting a small drama currently Denecke box permanently attached to camera set 24fps Jammed as was my slate from my 664 all 24fps Camera monitor intermittently flashes a red flag !!!?::?? Correct code always displayed on monitor 1st AC says code box or cable is faulty!!!??? Help please - day 3 tomorrow mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astro Posted August 10, 2016 Report Share Posted August 10, 2016 We had big problems with the mini on my latest project. There was no way to keep the mini in sync with a tentacle box or a tiny lockit. The picture was always one or two frames off. The only cure was to modify the camera to allow genlock input on the 2nd video out and use a lockit with tc and genlock connected to the camera. Took us two weeks to figure this out. The manual states that genlock can be generated from the timecode but this didn't work... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Blankenship Posted August 10, 2016 Report Share Posted August 10, 2016 The important question is what firmware they're on. There was an update, somewhere around NAB time, that was reported by Arri to fix the time code issues. We shot yesterday with two Minis and no problems were reported. I'll ask today what firmware we're using. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Perkins Posted August 10, 2016 Report Share Posted August 10, 2016 Yesterday with 3 Minis and an XT. Business as usual, all good. Minis took external 23.98 from lockits, and audio just fine. To Mike--are you sure the AC has the camera set to 24 or to 23.98? I saw "red TC" on one Mini yesterday when I had a bad TC cable--that was "no TC". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wandering Ear Posted August 10, 2016 Report Share Posted August 10, 2016 2 mini's today at 29ndf, with different firmware, no issues. Do the denecke boxes have adjustable output? I have had some Arri's in the past that would flash warnings occasionally but hold code fine. Bumping the voltage to 2 volts (on an erx) had helped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Blankenship Posted August 11, 2016 Report Share Posted August 11, 2016 Two Minis again today -- no issues to report. Those experiencing problems, it would be really helpful to all if you'd share what Firmware Version and the Revision Number that the Minis had installed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Perkins Posted August 11, 2016 Report Share Posted August 11, 2016 My job was a mixed bag of TC gear, that all worked fine: TIG Q28 on the XT (steadicam), old green Lockits on 2 of the Minis and an original (no longer made) TIG on the 3rd mini. The TC output levels were whatever they were--no adjustment made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikewest Posted August 11, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2016 Thanks folks Time-code seems to hold despite the red flag What number update should I hope the camera is at ? Cheers mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikewest Posted August 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2016 Well my post guys say that the Mini still has drift problem even with a tc box on camera at all times. They also said that with the press of a button in post it's all OK So it's not my problem!! mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berniebeaudry Posted August 19, 2016 Report Share Posted August 19, 2016 I'm working with a mini next week. I'm planning on using an ERX on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Blankenship Posted August 19, 2016 Report Share Posted August 19, 2016 Although I haven't heard from post, I had good success on set with two Minis for a few days last week. I was using an RX200 receiver on each. At NAB an Arri person said the time code issues had been resolved with new firmware. Noticing that the 4. series came about then, that may be the magic number -- but that's only a guess. The two we worked with were: CAM A: 4.0.24. Rev. 19682 CAM B: 4.1.7. Rev.20167 Please report back what firmware you encounter and how it performed. If enough of us do so I think we'll know better what we're dealing with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikewest Posted August 19, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2016 Thanks for the update, have a 4 day drama with a Mini coming up soon! mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonic_reducer Posted August 25, 2016 Report Share Posted August 25, 2016 Hmm... I jam twice daily on our minis with a betso box, and no issues. I'll double check our settings/firmware. By the by, the TC input is in a really shitty location on this camera... No one particularly likes where it sits. You said 24fps.. Not 23.976? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPSharman Posted August 25, 2016 Report Share Posted August 25, 2016 I still contend that this isn't our problem. We hand a TC box to camera that has been jammed from a reliable source. My machine and the box hold TC perfectly, and have for years. The variable in question is always the camera. They should be calling the camera assistants not the sound mixer if there are issues. And frankly, if there's an offset, then click a switch in post. It takes a matter of seconds. Way less time than trying to sort out some 1 or 2 frame offset on location when we're trying to record sound or shoot pictures. If there's a drift, then it's a settings issue. 99.9% of the time it's camera or editorial. Again, why are they calling us? Drives me mad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Flaitz Posted September 9, 2016 Report Share Posted September 9, 2016 On 8/10/2016 at 6:45 PM, Wandering Ear said: I have had some Arri's in the past that would flash warnings occasionally but hold code fine. Bumping the voltage to 2 volts (on an erx) had helped. I see that somewhat frequently when I'm jamming Arris from my ERX. The warning will blink a couple times then go away. I'm wondering if it's the same reason that jamming my TS-C from my Nomad will occasionally show a SYNC ER 24, but still sync the timecode fine. Never had complaints from post about sync issues when it's happened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Perkins Posted September 9, 2016 Report Share Posted September 9, 2016 It would be good to get to the bottom of why you see those messages. I never see them hooking many diff Minis up to Lockit or SBT or Moze or Tentacle boxes. No complaints from post does not guarantee that there were no issues--often post has no time (or inclination) to communicate about minor sync issues--we just fix them and move on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Blankenship Posted September 9, 2016 Report Share Posted September 9, 2016 59 minutes ago, Philip Perkins said: It would be good to get to the bottom of why you see those messages. ... I've tried, Philip, but despite my request that folks list Mini firmware numbers they've worked with and how they performed, to date I'm the only person who has done so -- at least in this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wandering Ear Posted September 9, 2016 Report Share Posted September 9, 2016 1 hour ago, Philip Perkins said: It would be good to get to the bottom of why you see those messages. I never see them hooking many diff Minis up to Lockit or SBT or Moze or Tentacle boxes. No complaints from post does not guarantee that there were no issues--often post has no time (or inclination) to communicate about minor sync issues--we just fix them and move on. I don't always see them, and it seems like I haven't seen them in a while. I have verified with DIT that there were not sync errors though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petersonfilm Posted January 5, 2017 Report Share Posted January 5, 2017 What timecode boxes do you guys recommend for the Arri Mini (and amira)? I have tried them all and hear lots of negative feed back from the small guys not being having reliability to the big ones being heavy. Would love to hear the groups take on whats actually working and something that doesn't add to the already present set anxiety. Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Constantin Posted January 5, 2017 Report Share Posted January 5, 2017 What timecode boxes do you guys recommend for the Arri Mini (and amira)? I have tried them all and hear lots of negative feed back from the small guys not being having reliability to the big ones being heavy. Which "small guys" are you talking about? Nowadays, I use Tentacles on any camera. There a no reliability issues and they have quickly become something of a standard now. Camera crews almost expect them. I have been in contact with the assistant editors on various occasions and I've had the Tentacle on all commonly used Arri and RED and some other cameras and there was never ever an issue. Only wrong settings on the camera cause issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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