The demo version
 

The demo version of DV Rack can be installed and run on the same system as the full version o fthe program - Windows treats them as two separate programs. I have both installed on my system here.

The demo is fully functional, and includes the HDV PowerPak functionality, but is limited to 30 days from the date installed.


(Note - if you travel across time zones, and reset your clock frequently to match local time, there's a chance that the demo may end prematurely. For this reason, we highly recommend leaving the system clock alone while running the demo, and disabling any auto-clock-set features you may have running. We do not have a way of restarting the trial period if it prematurely expires.)

We haven't qualified the H1 from Canon yet, but it conforms to the HDV spec nicely, so there shouldn't be any problem.

Use the split screen feature to compare easily the different cameras.
The grey chart is a start for the comparison.
A DSC chart is 'the' tool to calibrate properly.

For any complexion you either need lots of interior light, perhaps daylight balanced with CTO gels (and it takes a LOT of light) or to gel down the windows, perhaps bringing them to 3200 kelvin as well to match incandescent light.

Dark-skinned subjects present particular problems - take a good look at what's been done, you'll find there is a lot of use of siders to create new highlights, then expose for the highlights and let lower skin-tones stay lower. Strong backlights too.

The only alternatives without lighting and/or gelling is to move the subjects away from the windows, or shoot them against the windows and let the windows blow out to super-white... or expose for the exterior and have your subjects as shadows with no detail... or close the shades/drapes?

More info would be found over in the photon management forum.

about field monitors VS. DV Rack
 

Really and Truly! When talking about field monitors VS. DV Rack, How do they compare. I've heard "If it is too good to be true, then it probably is". I was just looking around at real monitor prices (I'm still pretty new to video production) on B&H and couldn't believe some of the prices (very expensive). So where does DV rack fit into this? Is it like a production monitor, only the really cheap kind or is this software for real. How does it work for a B&W project. Can some one give me opinions? (those who have used both) I'm thinking about buying a monitor for my GS400 for shooting shorts.....and if the DV Rack is really a solid substitute, then I have a laptop and the decision is made. Thankyou so much in advance!!

DVRack is a solid substitute.

First, the monitor module can be calibrated to color bars just like a field monitor, has underscan, and has its own gamma setup to be more like a crt.

Plus, it has some other features, such as two user-specified levels of zebra, split screen with live against recorded, freeze, and zoom.

Then there's the other stuff - waveform monitor! You'll not get that with your field recorder, very handy for lighting setups and etc. DVR, either for short reference pieces or record to disk and you won't have to transfer your tapes for editing (I'd still roll tape for backup in most cases). Vectorscope. Still image grabber, shot clock (a general-purpose timer), quality monitors for video and audio to identify problem areas, a camera setup routine...

But I use the field monitor and waveform monitor most often, and sometimes use the DVR. Having said all that, you need a place to put your laptop, a laptop is much more delicate and attracts more attention from potential thieves, and you'll need an external hard drive to record much with the DVR.

Really a good product for DV, we're advised that bugs in the HDV version are being addressed at last. Your mileage may vary. Sony 8" crt field monitors such as PVM-8044 remain the industry standard.

We used a professional field monitor and DV Rack side by side on a recent shoot, and there was no question that the field monitor was better in certain ways. The picture was more accurate, and possibly sharper. You can't pull focus with DV Rack because there's a slight lag. I'm not knocking it, because the extra features are great, and it's certainly more convenient, but don't kid yourself. Just to make sure it's clear, I think DV Rack is a great product and they have excellent customer support.

I use my Pentium M 1.6GHz laptop with 1GB memory to capture via DV Rack to an external firewire drive without any problems. No special video card. Firewire is your best option because it doesn’t require the CPU. USB uses some CPU and while USB2 will have enough bandwidth, I don’t believe USB1 will work. (my laptop only has USB1 which is why I use firewire)

~jr

You need both. Both of them are very necessary tools.

The NTSC production monitor is the only true image. But DV Rack gives you the VectorScope and the Waveform Monitor, which in some ways are "better than your eyes". This is because your eyes are "forgiving" when looking at an image, but the scopes are pure data.

So, time to further torture your credit card. :)

I appreciate the insight. When talking about the waveform and vectorscope on DV Rack... This stuff works like any other waveform and vectorscope that you could purchase right? I mean putting a "separate" vectorscope unit next to your laptop that has DV Rack should yield the exact same information. Am I correct on this? The production monitor on DV Rack may lag on some things a little, but the scopes are "hard & true" info and should not differ from any other scope(???).

That's correct. As an example: on the Waveform Monitor during a close-up, there are two tiny spikes above the midtone "mass" of the actress. Those two spikes are the whites of her eyes!

When she blinks, the two spikes disappear. When she drops her head, the spikes disappear. That's how fine the info is.

SiS chipset on-board GFX good enough?
 

Considering a new laptop based around the AMD Turion. It runs on a SiS chipset with SiS GFX solution. Anyone have any experience as far as how the GFX solution holds out for HDVrack?
Tested our older laptop which had built in Intel GFX, which is a few years old now, and it worked just fine. I assume the newer SiS GFX solution would be better still but I thought I would ask.

DV Rack connected to multiple cameras
 

Has anyone found a simple (inexpensive) firewire switch that would enable you to connect 2 or 3 cameras to one laptop for using DV rack as a monitoring tool?

I'm not talking about a production switcher, just simply something to enable you to jump back and forth between camera inputs for color balancing, framing etc without having to pull wires like a one-handed puppeteer!

Obviously you would not be able to use the record/capture function of DV rack, but the monitoring and calibration functions of this tool are worth the effort alone.

ummm yeah... where was that?

Check out the Ocean Matrix OMX-8FWS. It's an 8 input punch and crunch (mechanical) switch.

http://www.markertek.com/SearchProdu...f=44&sort=prod

I've not used it and don't know what happens when you do a mech. switch on a PC FW input.

There's also a Laird vertical interval switcher at about $900...

Good point. You'd probably have to close DV Rack before selecting a new camera and then reopen it.

Actually, if you have two firewire ports in your computer (or 2 firewire cards), DV Rack will do this automatically. Hook 'em both up, right-click and switch.

Works very well.