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Steve Foy

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Everything posted by Steve Foy

  1. Brent, that's all good and well......... except there is absolutely no where in the Tentacle Documentation, either in the Operating Manual' or on their Website, that suggests the flashing/blinking light on the Tentacle flashes on 'the top of the second' !!! Whilst my experience with Tentacles would suggest that they do flash/blink on 'the top of the second' and that multiple Tentacle units will Flash/Blink synchronously, in the absence of any official statement to support that, you would be making an assumption. There is an old saying about how if you 'Assume' it will make an ASS out of U and ME. As your original question was in relation to this, I think it is important to note, not to take issue with others but as a general warning as this is exactly how urban myths or misinformation spreads. Clearly, as a quick visual check the flashing/blinking light serves that purpose well, but to reiterate it should only ever be used in the capacity it was designed for.......... a 'Status LED' which indicates the 'Mode' the Tentacle is in and the 'Condition' of the Battery.
  2. Thanks Johnny, the whole point of Timecode is to have an ACCURATE timebase sync system across devices............ all this talk about syncing based on flashing lights is madness......... especially when the function of those lights was never intended for anything more than a 'Status Check'.
  3. Useful yes, I totally agree...... but definitive, no.
  4. You're probably correct.......... but what if it was a full second out ? How would you know ? At best the blinking/flashing light on the Tentacle may offer some sort of clue as to the relative sync of 2 or more units, but I certainly wouldn't rely on it for anything more than it was designed for which is to indicate the 'Status' of the box and/or the 'Condition' of the battery. That is why it is only ever referred to in the documentation as the 'STATUS LED'.
  5. Blinking/Flashing, whatever, it's irrelevant. My point is that no human can ascertain the accuracy of a millisecond timebase system simply by observing a Blinking/Flashing light or an LCD/OLED Display. I'm sorry but it is just not physically possible. Think about it, if it were possible, we would have to shoot at much higher frame rates than 25 or 30 fps to fool our brain into perceiving smooth motion. Just to be clear, the Blinking/Flashing light on the Tentacle (or any other Lockit Box) should only be used as a confidence check for the 'Status' of the box and/or the 'Condition' of the battery.............. that is what it was designed for !!!
  6. I'm not sure anyone would have the super human ability to detect accurate sync down to a 30th of second by watching a blinking light........... it is however useful to show the status of the unit and also the battery condition.
  7. Although the LR has a Tracking Front End like the 411a, there are inherit differences between the filtering ability of a Wide Band Receiver (LR) and a Narrow Band Receiver (411a)........... it becomes a trade off between Wide Band versatility and Narrow Band performance. Steve
  8. Yes, that all makes perfect sense.......... much appreciated.
  9. Good to know, thanks Philip. Sounds like you would agree though that for most situations, a Tentacle feeding TC to a almost any Camera capable of 'EXT TC' is sufficient for Post.
  10. As far as I was aware Tri-Level Sync was normally only required for 'Live' switched situations or 3D acquisition ......... I could be wrong but in my experience (Mainly TVC) having Camera TC Sync matching Audio File TC has been more than sufficient for Post. The Alexa is solid as long as they don't go off-speed, not so much the Mini or the Amira, hence the need for an accurate external feed like the Tentacle.
  11. Yes, have used Tentacles on the Alexa, Mini and Amira, they work as advertised........... lightweight and accurate to within 1 frame per day. Camera Dept love them too.
  12. Depending on table size and number of people, this scenario (unscripted) often requires a second boom......... especially with multiple camera's. They use multiple camera's for the very same reason !!! Steve
  13. In Australia, if there is no VTR on set and playback or monitors are required, the Camera Dept looks after it.
  14. Yes understood, maybe something to work towards in the future............. I have 14 now and have found they pay for themselves fairly quickly.
  15. I switched to Lerctro R1a's years ago and have never looked back.......... expensive but rock solid, I simply never have any problems with them, so worth the money IMHO. Cheers, Steve
  16. The very best reason to do it Mark, keep up the great work. Cheers, Steve
  17. Nice work Mark. Not to diminish your efforts but were you aware of this one........... http://www.mirrorimageprd.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html Cheers, Steve
  18. Yes, been hoping for a feature update like that for the 788 for some time now. Steve
  19. Yes, you do need to rejam after a battery swap as there is no internal battery and yes, the sound quality is as you would expect......... superb !!! Steve
  20. Correct Mike, the 788T (with charge function on) draws more current than the fuse allows so it needs to be replaced with one of a higher value. I had my mod done by the Tech at John Barry's so I'm not sure what the value of the new fuse is. I would definitely not remove the fuse completely, they are there for a reason, and also bear in mind there are current draw limits on whatever Battery you use. Cheers, Steve
  21. I've used one for years and they are great, however you need to mod the output fuse that supplies the 788T in order to take the extra load when you are simultaneously powering/charging the 788T.
  22. More likely to be a dodgy BNC connector spraying RF.......... this has been documented on a number of occasions.
  23. Yes, it works as does any HD-SDI connected Video Monitor.
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