Jump to content

Mix Pre 6 II Timecode Issues


T Spear

Recommended Posts

Hi folks,

My mix pre 6 II is not behaving at all with timecode.

I can not even get it to roll time of day timecode let alone jam.The screen just reads all zeros. 

Once trying to jam the screen actually came up saying 25 to 25 (as in frame rate)is not supported!

It is on the latest version 6 

I can set the aux in to receive timecode and the display then matches my ultra sync one but am unable to even jam to this.

 

I have owned and extensively used SD gear since the beginning (442) and have never had any timecode issues.

If anyone can offer up a possible fix in menu settings that I am unaware of, or has had this issue addressed by the good people at Sound Devices please let me know.

Thanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, T Spear said:

The screen just reads all zeros. 

 

Are you set to Record Run perhaps?

 

 

2 hours ago, T Spear said:

I can set the aux in to receive timecode and the display then matches my ultra sync one but am unable to even jam to this.

 

Double check your USO is not set to mic level? Would be an odd but maaaybe possible bug, that if at mic level the TC signal is perhaps strong enough to be picked up for a moment to be read (& thus displayed) but not quite strong enough to be jammed to. A totally wild theory, but worth double checking as I know you can change the output strength of the USO. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the replies so far.

My preferred workflow would be to have the mix pre run as time of day timecode and jam my for camera timecode units by switching the mix pre stereo audio out to ltc out and jamming my timecode units to the received timecode outputting from the mix pre 2.

 

I have set the timecode to time of day 25 fps and the stereo out to LTC out.

The mix pre counter stays on 00:00:00:00

No timecode is detected by my ultrasync or moz gear.

 

I can only seem to get the display to show timecode when I set the aux input to timecode and input timecode from any one of my units. Ultra sync or Moz Gear.

My mix pre 2 seems to only work like a mix pre1!

Not being able to jam the mix pre from the aux input  or output timecode seems to confirm some issue.

 

Has anyone had timecode issues similar to this?

Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, T Spear said:

The mix pre counter stays on 00:00:00:00

The fact TC is set to that, and is not changing, makes me strongly suspect you've set it to Record Run 

What happens to TC when you hit record then stop again?

 

4 hours ago, T Spear said:

My mix pre 2 seems to only work like a mix pre1!

Always a possibility, are you 110% certain you've got a Gen2 recorder?
 

4 hours ago, T Spear said:

Not being able to jam the mix pre from the aux input  or output timecode seems to confirm some issue.

An original MixPre Gen1 recorder could be jammed to an external TC source though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi All,

Thanks again for your replies.

There is nothing much you can do wrong with these Mix Pre2s if they work as they should.

My one will be heading back to sd before I even got to use it on a really simple shoot.

I have re updated the version 6 software and the timecode rolled as time of day and all syncing options worked however upon a power off and back on the line of zeroes returned with the same timecode issues.

 

I have uploaded some screen shots.

 

My main question was that has anyone had this issue or similar with timecode and a mix pre 2.

Thanks.

Time of Day.jpg

All zeros when time code set to time of day..jpg

20 seconds in to recording.jpg

Trying to jam off aux in.jpg

Matching frame rate not supported.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 11 months later...

FYI:

 

I'm using my MixPre6 II and 2x Tentacle Sync E's for a 2 week shooting in east africa right now.

 

Everything seems to work as expected. I use the MixPre as the TC Master and sync the 1st Tentacle with a 3,5mm mini jack cable from the Stereo out as described here:

 

https://tentaclesync.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/115004293485-Sound-Devices-Mix-Pre-3-Mix-Pre-6-and-Tentacle-Sync-Workflow-

 

The other Tentacle is then synced via the app.

 

Can't really see any problem. But only if the editor tells me all is fine I know it works correct.

 

I'd just feel more comfortable with 3x Tentacles as the MixPre does give me a 'TC was interrupted' or so message from time to time. But I never can see any TC mismatch by eye.

 

Also, the MixPre just freezes sometimes when powered with a powerbank. It always happens right after starting it sothat I can avoid issues, but I don't feel very comfortable.

That might be an issue with the powerbank I use, as I did not see that behaviour with my Sony NP-F style batteries or AA cells.

 

What I really love:

I put a little USB stick into the USB-A port for s constant backup on a 2nd media. You can't really control if it works, but it never let me down until today. At the end of each day I just put another USB Stick into the MixPre. Then all media is copied to that stick that serves as a transport drive for the backup station.

 

This way I never have to fiddle with the SD-card.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, kavenzmann said:

Also, the MixPre just freezes sometimes when powered with a powerbank. It always happens right after starting it sothat I can avoid issues, but I don't feel very comfortable.  That might be an issue with the powerbank I use, as I did not see that behaviour with my Sony NP-F style batteries or AA cells.

 

Which powerbank are you using?

 

I use the Anker PowerCore+ 20100 that Sound Devices recommends.  I've run it non-stop for hours and it's been flawless.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, kavenzmann said:

It's just a cheap one I already had for other uses. It works fine even for hours of continous use.

 

But the freezes seem to come from the powerbanks energy management. Definitely an issue, but one I can work with while having this gig in africa right now

 

I would stick to a known good powerbank. The MixPres are power hungry and USB power is non trivial.

 

I was experimenting with using a MixPre as an audio interface for an iPad (to run SMAART tools on it for live sound) and due to the flaky USB power provided by the USB to lightning adapters I had startup problems (it took several attempts to boot!) and when the AA NiMH ran low the MixPre entered a reboot loop.

 

Interestingly, the reboot loop didn't seem to affect the audio flow from the microphone to the iPad. Turns out that the FPGA keeps pumping samples once it's been configured.  That was funny :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...