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LTC sync software


iter

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10 hours ago, iter said:

About 32,786,667, which for practical purposes is infinite. The boom being 40 feet away from the camera is exactly the problem if you're syncing by sound. Pluraleyes will align the two clips so that sound on 

 

No, the boom is not 40 ft away, the camera is. The boom is right on top of the speaker. The quote above doesn’t mention PluralEyes and it’s not the only way to sync sound and video. 

 

10 hours ago, iter said:

 I want a sync system that anyone can operate. I want a system I can hand out to camera ops and not have to babysit them. 

 

Off the top of my head I can come up with 4-5 TC systems that can already do this. There’s no babysitting involved at all. Some you just have to switch on all devices involved and that’s it. Some others you just have to switch everything on and then hit a button an an app and you‘re done. I‘d like to know what sets your system apart from all the others? Especially considering that there are circumstances where there’s no gps reception and one would need to go outside to get sync 

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I am kinda in the same boat as Constantin; I don't get the babysit comment, besides that the operator has to make sure the cable is connected and the device is on and the batteries are not flat, which would probably be the same case with your device.

So if i make a comparison to what is already commercially available vs your system by the info you gave;

 

Similarities: 

  1. Both systems need a cable to camera
  2. Both systems need to set frame rate
  3. Both systems need a battery or external power
  4. Both systems run at least a production day without problems or babysitting

Differences:

  1. The Dish system takes initial time from gps, thus you need to "jam" it to a satellite, the traditional systems need to jam to each other (takes 2 seconds jamming the devices with a cable, just plug in, plug out, done. some more expensive ones do it wireless)
  2. As the Dish system relies on satellite for the initial jam, you need access to one, whilst that might be the case in 99.99% of the real world situations, the traditional systems work without that.
  3. The Dish continuously checks the time (code) with the satellite (also has internal clock if it is not possible), whist the traditional systems are set and forget (for the day), so completely relies on the internal clock after initial jam (more expensive systems have wireless options though, to cross check TC all the time as well. With the Dish we need to go out and get reception to re-sync/jam if it drifts to much

Question marks:

  1. What I have seen floating around from you on the interwebs, I couldn't see how one sets a frame rate; on conventional systems we do that on the device or we can access those (and more) parameters with an smartphone app
  2. Size; We have devices now the size of a 9v battery, I saw the "Dish" design next to a US coin, and that seems a lot bigger
  3. Flexibility; I know the intention is to make a monkey proof system, but from time to time we need to set extra parameters; for example if one does a night shoot, we typically off-set the TC time to not get a 00:00:00:00 TC when we pass midnight
  4. Internal clock; The cheapest systems out there can run autonomously for like a very long shooting day (a frame drift over 24h or so), how long can we NOT SEE a satellite before the Dish goes off?

 

And last but not least; cost. We can get a small bulletproof conventional device for like 250$ give or take. That is already down from about $1000 5 years ago. I read price is not set yet, but I would say to really get the stamp "affordable" on it it must be drastically cheaper than the 250$ (which for most of us, is already very cheap, since we came from the aforementioned 1000$...).

IMG_3FB84ABCC567-1.jpg
 

 

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I quite like 'UTC' being the time reference but isn't that indirectly already available on the latest tentacle if you use a connected smart phone to set the time? 

Perhaps Dish is a useful accessory in a context where cell and internet services are not available. If you can jam sync a more featured system like tentacle E, even wirelessly 'Jam sync' the phone/computer.

 

As a system (using several), wireless connectivity between them would make it easier to deal with loss of satellite signal because you could take a 'master' outside re jam with sat, go back to set and re jam the others in 1 wireless blast?

I agree with others about size, more important than price given what's available. Tentacle E got a lot to offer to a wide range of productions for the money - fairly plug and play, great features and a nice UI for setting it up.  

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  • 1 month later...

We launched the Kickstarter for DISH today. The production DISH is smaller than earlier prototypes, but we stayed with a rectangular shape.

 

DISH includes an onboard TCXO. If you lose satellite signal, it will keep going. If it drifts too far out of spec and hasn't seen a good signal in a while, it will tell you.

 

DISH runs on 2 AAs. A pair of high-quality AAs lasts over 40 hours. We recommend rechargeable AAs.

 

DISH is a zero-configuration device. There are no settings to confuse the operator. I'm sure that everyone on this forum knows how to configure a TC generator. I'm also sure that everyone on this forum has met PAs, ADs, ACs and many other people who screwed up perfectly good TC setups because they wanted to fiddle with the knobs. DISH has no knobs to fiddle with.

 

Kickstarter early bird pricing is $169 for one / $329 for a pair. Retail projected at $260.

 

Please consider sharing this link with other filmmakers: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ari-krupnik/dish-timecode-sync-by-satellite

product-features.jpg

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  • 1 year later...

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