cmgoodin

What would be the point. Anything low enough in frequency to be recorded by these sensors is probably in-audible or un-wanted LF noise. If you want an effect in this low frequency range it is much easier to synthesize it. I can see the sizemographic use, but for audio effects the utility would be severely limited. ---Courtney

I stand corrected. Brain Fart. I guess too many years of recording on DAT at -18db. I remember now that the Modulometer on the Nagra had that -8 db level for their tone. It was a completely different type of metering that read out percent modulation with pretty slow ballistics as I recall... It has been a while at least 12 years since I used an analog machine. Still have them though. ---Courtney .

Typo - I'm sure Richard meant -18db for the Nagra as a reference. -8 would make for pretty hot dailies. I always treated the Test tone (-18 on Nagra or -20db on Dat) to be the average peak level. I would have some peaks above that level and some peaks below but the average is -20 for 0 VU. (Warning! Educational Content follows) Digital distortion or as RVD described it, "Digital Tearing" which many fear is caused by wrap-around in poorly coded A to D converters. This is where when the analog signal is converted to digital and it exceeds the maximum level that the bit depth allows it can cause the number that represents the signal level to go from maximum positive to maximum negative from one sample to the next. This happens because in 2's compliment binary math the top bit in the word is used to represent the sign or whether the number is positive or negative. If the A to D converter does not boundary check on its sampling algorithm, it can cause this overflow which causes the square wave tearing distortion created by causing those peaks to go from full scale positive to full scale negative for every sample that exceeds the peak value. This kind of distortion was prevalent in early Digital Recorders because in their effort to maximize the performance of the A to D they would not boundary check which allowed the DSP to handle more channels of sound. However newer DSPs have enough horsepower to boundary check so the peaks that go over are just flat-topped (similar to what happens in analog over-modulation) Peaks are flattened but because wrap-around is prevented by setting any peak that exceeds the bit level of the converter  to the maximum (or minimum on negative peaks) until the voltage drops back to the level within the scope of the digital word. This is sometimes referred to as a "Brick Wall Limiter" if done in the digital converter. The presence of the Digital tearing in early converters caused many recordists to become gun-shy of peaks causing a quite conservative use of the dynamic range. In other words they kept an unusually high amount of headroom to avoid these tearing peaks which were quite audible and nasty sounding.  With modern A to D and Brick Wall Limiters, we can run the levels a bit hotter without the fear of an occasional over-mod peak ruining the sound. This is important especially if the sound starts out or will end up as 16 bit sound. An occasional flat-topped peak will not be audible so you can run the average level a bit hotter using the full dynamic range of the bit depth. You should always check the recorder (or Mixer if it is doing the A to D) and record some over-modulated sound and look at the waveform in a digital workstation to see if it has the wrap-around problem. If it does create the "digital tearing" you have to be more conservative with peak levels. ----Courtney

The Tascam X48 is now shipping for under $5000. Gives you Full TC features and ext word-clock at all frame rates including Hi-Def and can record up to 48 tracks to the internal Hard drive or to an external Firewire or USB 2 disk. Records broadcast Wav Poly format has full metering on the front panel and can be ordered with analog or a variety of Digital IO. Also has full waveform editing capability with an attached Keyboard and Monitor. While it does have a built-in DVD+R drive it can not record or playback directly from disks in that drive. It is used for lay-off of hard drive recorded files in a separate session. It also has GB Ethernet for access from a laptop or other workstation and can record in AAF Pro-Tools compatible files as well. http://www.tascam.com/Products/x48.html ----Courtney

Bloop light for connection to What? Most Bloop lights were made to interface to the Nagra IV or 4.2 . Is that what you are looking for? They triggered the internal bloop oscillator with a negative voltage (~ 10 V )on one of the pins of the sync connector (4 pin tuchel on the right side of the machine) Pin-outs are in the 4.2 manual and on some face-plates of the machine. you might try Location Sound Corp. and see if they have some old ones they want to let go. To create one for other equipment means you have to also build the oscillator and a means of triggering it without it running continuously (can bleed into audio) and a method of feeding it into the mix buss of whatever you are hooking it up to without loading it down or interfering with the mix. Building something like this from scratch overnight may be quite a challenge. -----Courtney

No Sweat. You should have been at 30 FPS. They will do telecine at 29.97 and pull down both the film and your tracks to 29.97 and everything will match up perfectly. That is as long as they were running at 30.00fps (not 29.97). On most film shoots they roll at 24.oo or 30.00 and you always use 30.00 Time code. The exception to this happens when they have to shoot Video or High Def at the same time and they might roll the Film camera at 23.976 or 29.97 so both the film and video cameras can stay in sync. In that case you use 29.97 fps Time Code on your audio and the slate. ----Courtney

I think the business has changed radically since I started recording sound.  Back in the 70s and 80s Larger Motion Picture Productions came out of the studio environment where there was a large infrastructure to back up the Production Mixer. There was a Sound Department at the Studio that provided and maintained the Equipment you used.  A transfer department that was part of the Sound Dept. So direct communications happened when dailies came in for transfer that indicated a problem with the Production Equip.  The mixer primarily had to only have a knowledge of how to get along with all the egos on the set and how to control the levels going into the the studio provided hardware.  They really didn't need to know much about electronics theory or how to fix any of the equipment they used.  If something sounded bad, they sent it back to the shop and went to the backup or called the sound shop and they would send over another Nagra/Mixer/Mic /Cables etc.  I came into film sound from Radio and from an electronics background and by starting my career doing documentary shoots and commercials in a small but thriving regional market (Austin Tx) for several years before moving to Hollywood,  I had developed a good working knowledge of all of my gear.  By Necessity I owned all the Service Manuals and Schematics for the Nagras Mixers and Microphones.  I built all of my peripheral equipment. (talkback systems, Doc Electronic Slates,  Bloop lights, Remote controls, Cables, even shockmounts, etc). When I Moved to Hollywood and tried to get work as a Mixer (which  I had been very good at in Austin TX for over 4 years), I found it to be a closed shop.  All the movies were staffed from sound departments at the studios and there was a very politically oriented fiefdom based on nepotism and long family friendships.  It wasn't about what you knew or what you could do, it was about Who you knew or who you were related to.  I was appalled to work along-side award winning mixers who couldn't fix a broken cable in the field or who didn't understand why the sound they were recording was being affected by a phase reversed cable or noisy capacitor in the Mixer or Mic power supply.  When I would offer to fix the offending piece of equipment and get us quickly back in operation, I was shunned.  No one wanted someone working under them who appeared to know more than they did about the equipment they were using.  These guys could succeed and become great leaders in their field, without technical knowledge because they had good people skills and depended on the infrastructure of the Sound Dept to take care of the technical details.  I think that has all changed now. Now there is only one sound department left at the Major Studios and that one is holding on by a thread.  All production sound mixers are independents (not full time employees of the studio) and hired on a job to job or week to week  basis.  Most get a large percentage of their income from equipment rental fees for their sound package that they must personally maintain. Now, when things go bad in post, the fingers start pointing and they always seem to point at the Sound Mixer since it was his equipment that he was using and he is ultimately responsible for its correct operation.  It is much easier to fire a mixer for any problem on the set or in post. They don't have a chance to explain where the problem may be coming from, they are just let go.  The Unions can no longer keep them from being fired for phony reasons because they are all hired on a week to week or day to day basis even though the show they are working on has been in production for 5 years. Mixers today need to have a much better grasp of the whole Production/Post Production workflow process.  They need to know about wireless frequency coordination, computer file format issues, Esoteric time code issues that can crop up with the plethora of Cameras that are being used these days.  You can find yourself working with 3 different types of cameras recording on 3 different media at 3 different frame rates all shooting the same scene.  A misunderstanding of any of these processes can lead to sync or sound level problems which will quickly be blamed on the sound mixer.  The sound mixer is now expected be the arbiter of sync on the set, even though the cause of the problems may be buried 4 menu's deep in a new Digital camcorder that he has never seen before the morning of the shoot.  Also we are now losing the control of the recording device as sound is fed to computer disk arrays and HDSR recorders where monitoring the quality of the sound  after the recording is impossible. This has led to the Backup of the Backup phenomena.  You guess that recording on 3 machines or Media has you ass covered in case of some glitch or incompatibility problem.  With the speed that new cameras/recording equipment is coming out it has become impossible to keep up with all the education required.  There used to be just 2 or 3 recorders, Nagra (90%of the market) and Stellavox or Uhur or Tanburg (<10%) And they were all pretty much standardized on the same method of recording (1/4" Tape) and sync.  Now there are no less than 15 different TC production recorders all with slightly different file formats, controls, Input output routing, and sample rate/ track count range and they come from at least 10 different manufacturers.  The complexity is increasing exponentially.  We are now entering the reality TV area where we are expected to stay on top of all these technical issues while running around chasing 3 different camera crews with the equipment slung over a shoulder and being our own boom person.  Hello early retirement.... ---Courtney

Bartek, It is possible for a file to become truncated and still be playable. If there is a bad sector on the DVD-RAM disk it can stop playing in the middle of a take. Damage can happen when the disk is mounted and things like MACs write their housekeeping files to the disk. It could also have happened during the burn/copy process. The file header contains the length of the file and the data header (at the beginning of the take) has the length of the data segment. These lengths are not checked when the file is simply played. No errors would be detected unless you try to play the file to the end or copy the file to another media. ---Courtney

The boom operator seems to be using the latest equipment. Invisible in-ear Phonak RF monitoring and a wireless Boom Mic with micro transmitter concealed in the pole. That's innovation! ---Courtney

Some drivers for windows employ some phony baloney "Digital spacial Effects" These are psycho-acoustic simulation of environments or phony 5.1 surround out of 2 speakers. Look in the Audio drivers and in the Control panel for any sound related adjustments and turn off any spacial effects or surround settings. Set the machine for 2 desktop speakers and disable any "Enhanced Sound" features of the drivers. This could be causing crosstalk because these "Spacial enhancement" drivers add delayed info from each channel to both with some kind of phase reverse to create this "3D" sound. ----Courtney

It really shows that they have no qualified engineers in the building. The SD744t can not be used in Telecine since it has no 9 pin control and has no capability to chase-lock to time code.  I suppose they could use it to do a real-time Dub of the audio and TC off to a beta deck or DAT machine and then use that in the Telecine session. But using the DV824 with the right settings should work fine. ---Courtney

How about. "Here is a photo of Jackie Chan and one of his biggest Fans" ---Courtney

Even the Nagra 4S-TC had glitches. If you went quickly from playback to record it would reset the Timecode to zero and keep counting. My Fostex PD-2 would repeatedly hang and require removal of power to re-boot to a usable condition. It took more than a year to find and fix that bug. Dat machines and Analog Tape decks are not near as complex as the Non-linear recorders we are all moving to. Entering and maintaining the metadata. (updating Scene numbers, fixing the track names and storing the time code when it is coming from an unstable source like a DV camera that is starting and stoping, can create problems) With the DAT machines we only had to worry about starting and stopping them when needed. There was no Pre-Roll, Time Code triggered Recording, Metadata, iXML chunks, or back-timed Time code stamps and file names to be worried about. you may not realize it but a lot of housekeeping has to be going on all the time with these machines. Pressing a lot of buttons or communicating with another microprocessor over Firewire while recording, creates a lot of things to keep track of. Too many tasks and you can overwhelm the processor. ---Courtney

Darren, If the problem is anecdotal and not repeatable how can you determine it's cause in order to eliminate it. Computer controlled hardware used by a large number of people in a variety of ways makes for an astronomical number of possible procedures that may illicit an unforeseen glitch. If you have ever tried to debug anything it takes careful observation and documentation in order to get at the root of any real problem. Equipment that has timing circuits and interrupt driven hardware makes esoteric bugs even harder to trap. It is kind of like saying why can't you just flip a coin and make it land on it's edge repeatedly. If it happens once it can happen again, but getting all the conditions just right to repeat it may take years of attempts. Every time the code changes there are new possible conflicts or issues that can crop up that no-one can easily predict. Sweeping esoteric bugs under the carpet is not a choice, but if there never is enough evidence of cause and effect there is no way to proceed to fix the problem. The more complex the device becomes the more likely there will be a cause of failure. (Didn't Edsel Murphy make some law about that). ---Courtney

I agree with scott. Have them run the Film camera at 23.976.  If the camera dosen't do that native speed they can get a Cinematography Electronics Precision speed control box that will run most cameras at a precise off speed rate that can be dialed in. http://www.cinematographyelectronics.com/index_gallery.html Make sure telecine knows the speed is 23.976 so they don't pull it down. in MOS takes. On sound takes the 29.97 frame rate of your sound should take care of this but (make a big lable that shows the 29.97fps ND rate) -----Courtney

I think that rig was designed to slide around corners. It is what they use it for. THey can put actors like Nicole Kidman behind the wheel in the buck and have the stunt driver in the truck cab drive and drift around corners without to much danger of rollover. You can see the old tires strapped to the side of the rig as bumpers so I think they were planning on sliding sideways into something. I just think it wasn't supposed to be a lamp post with loose globes on it. I think the press made a much bigger thing out of it that it was. No one was injured. ---Courtney

I don't think this was a normal "tow Rig". It looks like a "Mick-rig" or Long bed triple axle truck with the car body or buck mounted on the flatbed back of the truck. These kind of rigs have been used in films like the Matrix and other car stunt movies. They are much safer than most tow rigs, but because they can be driven at much higher speeds, can still be somewhat dangerous. It was curious that the article said that besides Nicole Kidman no other actors were involved in the accident. The video shows a bunch of "actor/stunt people" hanging all over the car body on the outside. (they were in much more danger than a passenger inside the car body strapped in her seat belt.) I guess they don't count since they probably don't have publicists. Maybe it was because they were playing zombies. (dead people don't count either) ---Couretney

redge, Whoever you are. If you don't mind my position as being opposed to iXML, why do you keep going on and on about how it is somehow dishonest if I make any kind of use of the data? I guess only reading the part of the ixml data that my program uses is considered by you to be misleading people? My product is not called "iXML Widget" it is called BWF-Widget Pro. It does far more that just blindly search or readout the iXML metadata. If that is all you want just buy one of your so called simple XML readers. My product was never offered as an XML database program. It doesn't output XML and it doesn't support complete conversion of all iXML metadata into some other format and it has never claimed to. BWP's complete operation manuals are available for download and viewing online and anyone can try the product free for 15 days before laying down a single penny. I'm not sure what you are referring to about "playing fast and loose with answers to plain questions". I have answered your question in as plain and accurate a method as I know how. The promotional material and operation instructions for BWP outline exactly what amount of iXML support is offered by the program in clear non-misleading form. If you are looking for a personal endorsement of iXML you won't get it from me. It would seem that your agenda is to promote iXML at the expense of others. Having to deal with overly complex iXML data is now a necessary evil in my opinion. (and also in the opinion of several of the manufacturers I have talked to who you may claim "support it", but I won't name names).  Is Steve Jobs creation of iTunes for Windows XP an endorsement of that platform by him. I don't think so. We are all entitled to our own personal opinions and I have never kept mine a secret. Unlike you I have always used my real name and never hidden my opinions behind some phony alias in order to secretly promote something. ----Courtney

Phil, Yes, BWF-Widget Pro works fine running under Boot Camp on a Mac. However it can only see sound files on drives that can be seen by the Windows operating system. It won't see files on the HFS formatted Mac Drive partition. It will see files however on external DVD drives or External Hard drives that are formatted in either UDF or Fat 32 format and visible to both operating systems. ---Courtney

I'm not sure what you mean by "Fully support iXML " I support it for the fields that BWF-Widget Pro supports. Since iXML is an extensible format there can rarely be "Full iXML support" except for a single implementation for a single product and even that is a moving target. A product like mine that tries to be as compatible as it can with files from all of the manufacturers of BWF recorders, must limit it's support to those areas of interest that are common to most. Since there is no "Standard" in iXML (all fields are optional and the arrangement or order of the data is flexible) "Full support" is kind of impossible. I still think a double standard is a bad thing. And my rants about how iXML is a bad thing are all based on the fact that it tries to establish a double standard using a format which is not standardized. It will be the cause of problems for many years to come. I have already had to deal with problems of contradiction of data within a single file. It will only get worse. Here is how the current version of BWF-Widget Pro uses iXML data in hopefully plain English. The only data fields supported are those which BWF-Widget Pro allows you to add to the Data Grid. They are: Filename Scene # Take # Start TC End TC User Bits Frame Rate Smp Rate Mode (# channels, bit depth, Mono/Poly) Duration Notes: Track IDs Cue Marks Tape # OF the above Metadata the program first Checks the iXML chunk (if one is present) and looks for the following info Scene # Take # Tape # User Bits Frame Rate Track Names Notes: It then checks the Bext Chunk for any duplicate values for the above data. If entries are found in the Bext Chunk they replace those found in the iXML chunk. (i.e. in cases of duplication of fields, bext wins if it has valid data) The remaining Metadata is pulled from the Bext chunk and the Format Chunk (and the filename is the name of the file obviously) Time Code always comes from the Bext chunk Sample rate and track count are from the "fmt" Chunk as those are what are used when the file is played on all players. "Duration" and "End Time code" are mathematically derived from the data in the Bext and Fmt Chunks. As far as I know BWF-Widge Pro is the only program out there that lets you edit the iXML data embedded in the file. (including those custom or proprietary fields that are not read or interpreted by BWF-Widget). That is as "full" a support as I can offer in my product. So I think your concept of what is difficult and what is not are off the mark. Unless you have tried to build a product that sorts out all the possible problems and conflicts in this duplicitous environment you are not speaking from experience. It is not as trivial as you seem to suggest. Otherwise companies with much larger budgets and manpower than me would be doing it. (i.e. Apple, Digidesign, and Avid). Remember BWF-Widget Pro is a $99 vertical market product, and it's registered version includes BWF-O-Matic whch does even more file manipulation. The combination of the 2 programs do more than any other similar product in its market and price range. If you want something that does more, you will probably have to write it yourself. ----Courtney

There are such things as this: http://www.ensembledesigns.com/products/brighteye/16.html But they are pretty expensive to use as a replacement for a standard Audio and Video cable pair. ---Courtney

It only will handle 3 sets of media. Internal HD, CF in CF onboard socket, and 1 firewire HD device (HD/DVD-RAM or CF) formatted as Fat 32. Since the firmware only supports opening 3 different media you can't add another HD or daisy chain the FIrewire to anything else. There are no USB ports on a 744. You can however chain several 744ts together through their CLINK ports and have them all start and stop and share the same Time Code. That would get you 6 media and 8 Tracks. ---Courtney

Try the LA411. Under Production Coordinators or Production Managers. http://www.la411.com/Crew/Production_Coordinators/Index.cfm?cid=1048 ---Courtney

Eric, Have you tried powering the XLDVD from it's wall wart power supply? Could be the XL1394 power filter is not carrying enough power to the drive (i.e. it is defective). Try a lower external voltage feed to the 744t (like 12 V) ---Courtney .

I've posted the latest version of BWF-Widget Pro Ver. 1.160 and BWF-D-Base Ver. 1.6. They both now can create ALE files to allow import of files and much of the metadata from BWF files into Avid editing systems as well as Final Cut Pro.using Cinema Tools. So you can now create an ALE file to include on each DVD-RAM disk you send in to allow easy import of Timecode, Scene, Take, Track Names and Notes and other metadata from the original Production Tracks into any Edit project. For more info go here: http://www.bwfwidget.com/html/new.php ---Courtney