Any news on this? Does somebody else experiences the same stuff?

dvrack use for audio monitoring
 

We're using dvrack, and it's incredibly useful for framing shots, etc.

We're always contending with monitoring how much background noise we're picking up, cars passing by outside, etc.

I know it has an audio monitoring component... is the best use for that bit basically to visually tell you how much other noise you're actually picking up? If the actors aren't talking at that second, you see a bump in the volume meter, you know you picked up some other noise?

IMHO there is no substitute for monitoring your audio with headphones while shooting. Conventionally, this would be by the camera op with headphones plugged into the camcorder, or by an audio engineer who is listening to their mixer with headphones.

What DVRack does enable is:
Another place to monitor with headphones. There are options to turn the laptop audio on or off during recording, turn it on and plug the headphones in there.

Instant playback to headphones or speakers to see if your takes were good.

The audio monitoring module is more oriented to catching pops and other overdriven audio.

The visual display of the spectrum analyzer might help identify background noise that is too loud...

But, if the sound matters, there is no substitute for monitoring with headphones. Good headphones on good ears will tell the story of what's going into the recording.

That gouged and let down feeling
 

I hope I'm not coming across as a whiner but it has been a whole month since anyone from Serious Magic posted on this forum, coinciding with the Adobe acquisition announcement.

OK, so there haven't been that many new questions raised, but there are outstanding questions that haven't had any kind of response.

I have just pitched for and won a job which would have been a perfect opportunity to try out Ultra 2. While it may mean extra work, I'm going to do the chromakeying in After Effects, for two reasons:

1. because, busy with acquisitions or new releases or not, Serious Magic have a user forum here at DVi and I think they have a responsibility to be active in it and to at least acknowledge requests for help in a timely way. It seems a fair exchange for them using the forum to tell us about new product developments etc.

2. (and this is the main reason, to be honest) because the price of Ultra 2 in the UK is almost £100 ($180) greater than in the US. That, in my opinion, is a ridiculous hike and I cannot believe it is based on any shipping or tax costs. I understand that Ultra 2 does not ship with any Master Sets Libraries (in my opinion making it less attractive) so presumably a download version would be around the same size as the demo - 250Mb (smaller even, as the demo includes samples of MSL's and video clips that could be ditched). So why is there no download version?

I dunno, maybe I'm I'm being petty, but at the moment I feel let down by Serious Magic. Maybe they're bound by Adobe's rules now and aren't allowed to demonstrate a personal approach to customer care. And that, coupled with the disgraceful gouging of their international customers does mean, I'm sad to say, that they are unlikely to do any more business with me.

Ah, but that's probably the root of the issue - it's not their problem any more!

Either way, the cheery face in the Serious Magic website videos is now hacking me off. Actually, it hacked me off from day one but I'm only now prepared to admit it ;=)

That could very well be true, Ian. Some companies do not allow their employees to post on forums as representatives of the company.

Also you should bear in mind that no company has a 'responsibility' to post on the forum. It's always an act of generosity on the part of companies who choose to participate and interact directly with their end-users.

-gb-

Greg, absolutely agreed there's no formal responsibility.

Without wishing to sound like a pompous ass, I'm talking more of a moral responsibility. If they benefit from using the forum as a free marketing tool to tell us about their products, I feel they have a duty to give something back to the community and we are perfectly justified in feeling disgruntled when they don't.

It's not as though Serious Magic is a DVi sponsor! At least not according to the sponsor list.

Don't get me wrong, I'm 100% grateful for free advice on these and other forums. And of course I realise that I shouldn't expect free advice to go on forever. But I get an empty feeling when you see personal service levels drop as soon as the acquisition flag is raised. Kinda smacks of "made my buck, i'm outta here".

Sorry, but whether or not Adobe has banned SM staff from posting on these forums, I still feel let down.

Ian . . .

Image stretch
 

when using dv rack 2.0 the image in the monitor on my laptop is stretched
horizontally. camera is an hvr-z1u and the monitor has the same stretched image whether dv cam or hdv. anybody know how to correct this?

dvrack vs dr-hd100
 

Been awhile since I've asked a dumb question. At least a few minutes.

I have a JVC HD100UA, and I generally record in 720 24p.

Is there any difference in the quality of image between recording to a hard drive while using dvrack on a laptop, and recording to dr-hd100?

I know the dr-hd100 is a lot more portable, but either way you get a bunch of .m2t files, yes? There would be no difference between the m2t files recorded either way.... yessss?

no difference, afaik. the dr-hd100 records to FAT hard drive format while DVRACK will record to whatever format you have your hard drive formatted to, usually NTSC. This has absolutely no effect on video quality.

If using the HD version, there are two monitors available, one is 4:3, the other 16:9.

However, both can be adjusted for aspect ratio in the menu settings.

I work with both. And they give both the same quality since it captures the m2t file from the Firewire port.

How to shot with Ultra2
 

Hello. We are setting up shot and doing trials with Ultra2 software. I know we would like just to key the screen alone and then keep rolling into your footage.

If I want to stop/start recording for a different scene, do I need to rekey the screen?

All other variables, lighting, camera settings and where talent will be standing will all be the same.

Any advice, tips would be great.

Keying with Ultra is done in post, so what do you mean?

Thanks for your quick reply

I answered my own question when looking around more.

I can shot one clip and then utlize the In/Out points of the software.
What I typically do is shot a scene, then in Post Premiere, i would do an auto scene detect to seperate the clips so I can log them. I rather work with small clips of each scene vs. 1 master clip which i must scrub though.

DV Rack timelapse question
 

Some friends and I are removing the engine from a car tomorrow (yes, I'm a huge car geek) and I thought it would be interesting to record a timelapse video of the removal process, but I've never done this before, and I'm rather confused.

Assuming we will be working for about 4-5 hours (beer breaks included), what frequency should I set up DV rack at?

There are two settings in the menu...TmLps Frequency, and TmLps Net Frames.

I will be shooting with a JVC HD110 in SD 24p mode.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!