larry long Posted May 17, 2006 Report Share Posted May 17, 2006 Been looking at the 702t, Tascam, and the like for a backup machine. Then it occurred to me might as well join 'em. I've always used PC's. If I use boom recorder, for instance. So the Deva goes down (hopefully not) I guess I would need a seperate tc generator right? Deneke has one in my budget. Who is using what as a firewire interface? I'm sure this has been covered, so bear with me. Thanks, Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Perkins Posted May 17, 2006 Report Share Posted May 17, 2006 Been looking at the 702t, Tascam, and the like for a backup machine. Then it occurred to me might as well join 'em. I've always used PC's. If I use boom recorder, for instance. So the Deva goes down (hopefully not) I guess I would need a seperate tc generator right? Deneke has one in my budget. Who is using what as a firewire interface? I'm sure this has been covered, so bear with me. Thanks, Larry The main problem w/ using a PC as a location rcorder is that the two well known and accepted film-centric software systems for doing this are Mac-only: Metacorder and BoomRecorder. There are many recording software programs for the PC, but none of them deal with the metadata, scene take numbering, and backup drive/mirroring issues yet. For an interface, I would say that the most commonly used one is probably the MOTU "Traveler" as well as the Metric Halo boxes (or a Mackie 1624 mixer). How many tracks do you need? The standalone recorders you mention have a much smaller footprint and require less cable-fussing than a computer+interface rig. Philip Perkins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larry long Posted May 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2006 Phillip, Everytime I make a decision I feel like I mighta screwed up. So yesterday I was sure about getting the Tascam as a backup so I put in a call to my dealer and he was busy all day. By the time he got around to calling me I had changed my mind. I saw the post about the new macbook, did a little research and bought one, then I ordered the Motu Ultralite, http://www.motu.com/products/motuaudio/ultralite/ , put in an email to Take about Boomrecorder, and I woke up this morning still pretty satisfied with my decision. So, I've been a pc (ibm) user, always have since my 386/25. I am not going to do anything with the mac other than record. I hope I can get comfortable with a mac, I've barely ever used one. Anyway if anyone needs to shoot holes in my plan then hurry! before everything ships! Dang I'm gonna need a job soon! Larry Long Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Wexler Posted May 18, 2006 Report Share Posted May 18, 2006 I hope I can get comfortable with a mac, I've barely ever used one. Anyway if anyone needs to shoot holes in my plan then hurry! before everything ships! Larry Long I don't think there are any holes in your plans... you should do just fine. As far as getting comfortable with your new Mac it is true that this comfort comes most slowly to the veteran PC (Windows) user because there are many little (and not so little) differences with respect to the user interface. I used both PCs and Macs for many years and found that I was able to get much more comfortable (in so many ways) with the Mac that I pretty much abandoned PCs completely. I have continued to help people out with their computers (Macs mostly and some PCs) and have found that the people that have used PCs all the time and are really quite good at it, have the most trouble adjusting to the Mac. Since you say you will be using the Mac (initially) as a dedicated "recording platform" you should have no problems of any significance. My feeling is that you will appreciate the way the Mac works over time and you will then get into doing more with it. One benefit I have found with the Mac (and of course I may be flamed here) is that it really is the only "Personal Computer" that is fully capable of doing all the really simple, personal stuff AND all the really complex professional stuff, and few if any of the things really get in the way of eachother. Many of my PC (Windows) using friends have told me that they think it is very important with their PCs that if they are doing professional recording work on their laptop it should really only do those things and not be pressed into service doing anything esle (like anything to do with the Internet, graphic design, image management, whatever). My own personal experience is that the Mac is much more tolerant with respect to doing everything you need to do and on one computer. Regards, Jeff Wexler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Bellware Posted May 18, 2006 Report Share Posted May 18, 2006 I don't know if I can help but I do go back and forth between a Mac and a PC all day. The operating systems (IMHO) have gotten very similar. Of course, the "control" key on a PC (as in cntl+s to "save") is a different key than the "apple" key on a Mac (apple+s to "save") but that's about the only thing I regularly screw up when going back and forth. Macs can be a little slow to boot in a production environment, but PC's aren't much better (and have, in fact, gotten slower since Windows XP's original release). I'm a Metacorder user, myself. On any recently made computer, Mac or PC, I haven't found problems with it doing more than one thing with them (graphics, audio, Internet, etc.) but I know that older ProTools systems could become unstable very quickly if they were asked to do more than one thing. Perhaps that's still true (I quit using ProTools at version 5)? Perhaps that's just still true on PC versions of ProTools? Try not to sync any music with your iPod whille downloading songs off of iTunes while burning a CD while actually recording dialog! ;-) Actually, that's the only time I've gotten my production sound system to crash. But knowing what it takes to crash made me feel better about having the editor pull takes off my drive via AirPort while I was recording new takes.) I think that the only really counter-intuitive thing (from a PC user's perspective) about using most programs is that you can simply drag the application to the applications folder and launch the application from there. Typically, it's easier to install Mac OS applications, but if you don't deliberately put the application in the side-bar it could be confusing as to where the application is. If you transfer files from Mac to PC you may find weird little *.sfk files transferred too. If you want to transfer the files back to the Mac then don't delete those files! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Perkins Posted May 19, 2006 Report Share Posted May 19, 2006 My studio uses both, and some of my family is on Mac and some on PC. You get used to the diffs. RE the backup recorder--depends what you need: a run around FX and car-rig machine? Track for Track backup of your Deva? A way to have really large numbers of tracks? Philip Perkins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larry long Posted May 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2006 Jeff , Andrew , Phillip, Thanks for the encouragement. Phillip... yea I am primarily looking at it as back up and by the time I included a way to burn disc from the 702t and cards and such I pretty much came up with this solution. Eventually I will get a Deva 4/5 and prolly a 744 or 702t. So in the mean time I can use the Deva 2 for car rigs ect.. It will be my primary recorder. Do you guys think that Motu is workable? It's bus powered. Doesn't have word clock or aes/ebu. But it's small. What Voltage does the Mac need? and wattage? An inverter? Also the drive that I got with the used Deva 2 is an older Lacie that is ac only. Can I keep my cart dc with the 15 amp dc power supply? all the questions in the world, Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Perkins Posted May 19, 2006 Report Share Posted May 19, 2006 Jeff , Andrew , Phillip, Thanks for the encouragement. Phillip... yea I am primarily looking at it as back up and by the time I included a way to burn disc from the 702t and cards and such I pretty much came up with this solution. Eventually I will get a Deva 4/5 and prolly a 744 or 702t. So in the mean time I can use the Deva 2 for car rigs ect.. It will be my primary recorder. Do you guys think that Motu is workable? It's bus powered. Doesn't have word clock or aes/ebu. But it's small. What Voltage does the Mac need? and wattage? An inverter? Also the drive that I got with the used Deva 2 is an older Lacie that is ac only. Can I keep my cart dc with the 15 amp dc power supply? all the questions in the world, Larry I think you said you had the MOTU Ultralite? While it is smaller and a little more cart-friendly than the Traveler, the lack of dedicated word-clock and AES inputs means that you will have to give up an analog input for TC in order to get a good stable clock for the convertor. You can use the MOTU internal clock for short runs, like most dramatic stuff and commercials, but it isn't accurate enough for longer runs (I found it to be off by 4-5 frames an hour), as on concert or multicam TV etc.. With a WC or AES input you have more sync options and can keep all 8 analog inputs for audio. Philip Perkins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Groves Posted May 19, 2006 Report Share Posted May 19, 2006 You should also look into the Metric Halo 2882. It has 8 analog inputs, bus powered, and easy to view metering. It lists for around $1500. -Travis Groves Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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