Sorry, you asked what hard drive size. It's 100gb.

Ouch. Honestly, I really don't have an answer for you unless you got the drive locally. A new hard drive can be had for $100 - $150 from compusa or circuit city, etc, if you're in a situation where you must have it. But again, Focus will void the warranty. That's a bummer though. Sometimes there are defects in hard drives, I suspect that is the problem as there is not really many things that will give you the HDD error.

Now, if it something where you put the 100Gb drive in yourself, most people have found that they put the cable on upside down, giving them this error. But other than that, not much more info to give other than to send it in to Focus or return it to your dealer for being defective.

Try doing a format. I know it says not detected, but if you right-click over to utilities and select format, it made just do that.

Joe

Thanks, but that did not work either. B+H has instructed me to send it back to them. They were very helpful. I'm getting a brand new one from them.
I managed to rent one last minute for my job, so thankfully I'm covered.
Thanks for all the help!

Follow Up
 

I managed to get through my shoot with a rented FS-100. I received my
replacement FS-100 the morning of my first shoot day at the location. I used the rental FS-100 all of morning and then switched to the new
one after lunch. So far so good.

That's great, John. Unfortunately, those hard drives are so mass produced that every now and again they will die after a short time. We've had good luck with ours, but it does happen. I'm glad you got everything worked out.

Import Into FCP
 

The weirdness continues! I have been importing all of my FS-100 clips intomy MacBook Pro to FCP 5.1.4 but every once in a while I get a "Spanned Clip" that shows a clip thumbnail, but lacks In and Out points. These "Spanned Clips" do not play back in FCP. On my G5 Tower, running FCP 5.0.4 I can also see the thimbnails but WITH In and Out points,but 5.0.4 cannot import the clips at all. If I check the .mxf files that correspond to the missing clips, they are
all "fat" files that seem to be the right size for their running time.

Question on FS-100 mxf file structure
 

I'm considering the FS-100 and have a question about it... With the Panasonic P2 card-based cameras, shots that span across two cards can be recombined (spanned) in Final Cut, but Avid continues to have problems with these files. I do most of my work on Adrenaline, but any spanned clips need to be processed in Final Cut, then exported into Avid as a Quicktime. Needless to say, this is a huge hassle on several levels (time code, for example, is lost when the file is exported as a Quicktime).

When the FS-100 is used for very long shots, I assume the shot is segmented into files that meet the 2GB FAT file limit. Since these would be similar to spanned clips, does anyone know if these files reliably load into Adrenaline?

Also, what are the options to mount the unit on the new HPX2000? Will it fit in a wireless box? Is there a mount that will screw into a thread on top of the camera or onto a Noga arm? There isn't any information on Focus's website (that I could find, anyway) about the mounting options for the FS100.

Thanks!

Matt - FS100 v3 - pN vs. p over firewire limitation/stipulation
 

I recently received my v3 upgrade for the FS100. In testing with the HVX200 I was surprised to find that to record in pN on the FS100, you still need to be in 'non-native' mode on the camera. Therefore, you can get extended run-times on the FS100, but the camera will eat up P2 cards faster if you record to both (which I do).

I'm assuming that this is a Panasonic issue, only allowing a 24/30p (over 60) stream out of the firewire port, by which your unit strips out the extra info?

The ideal scenario would be to record 720 24/30 pN on both the P2 cards and on the FS100 - eating the same amount of data.

Just wondering if this is the way it is and will be, or if Panny can make changes, etc. It would be great for the HVX, but I'm more concerned about using it with the bigger HPX2000, which is supposed to have pN firmware around 3rd quarter.

Thanks,
Shawn

FS100: Bad Aerial Footage
 

Yesterday I shot some aerial footage from a helicopter ... my first using the HVX and FS100. Most of the clips are not useable and I don't think it was a camera problem. I was shooting 720p30 with the FS100 set to record Native Quicktime. Before the flight I did a short test record to make sure we had a firewire connection ... and did. During the flight, the record/pause seemed to work in the viewfinder, yet the footage looks like it was recorded randomly. The other issue is that on several clips a portion of the clip repeats itself numerous times. Like something was set on loop mode, although that was not the case. Very Strange. Could a intermittent firewire connection cause this?

I've use the fs-100 on several projects, always a bit nervous about the results, but it's worked out. My main gripe, albeit small, has been that you can't see fs100 timecode throught the camera's monitor out. This issue though, makes me very nervous about it's reliability, particularly in adverse situations. Any insight out there as to the cause of this?

ric

Don't all the FireStores have the ability to record to tape and HD simultaneously? If so, use it. This is a perfect example of why hard drives aren't in every camera right now. If I had one I'd always back up to tape, just in case.

My leaning would be towards communications radiofrequency interference or maybe some electromagnetic interference from the helicopter's own electrical power system.

I seem to recall reading in some notes on the Kenlabs gyros that the turbine powered helicopters, more certainly the larger ones, have electrical power which is AC and at a frequency of 400Hz. My recollection is somewhat vague about the voltages.

Whichever, if the Firestore is no better shielded against radiofrequency interference than modern videocameras, then the intrusion of radiofrequency interference might be more a case of certainty to the point of guarantee that something stray and unwanted is going to be running around in the camera and Firestore circuits, possibly interactively between both.

The length of a firewire cable might be a bit long to make a good VHF quarter wavelength antenna but coils wound in it by a cameraman to keep it short and from snagging on things might help it to unintentionally become part of a tuned circuit.

Don't take too much notice of my comments as in this case, my little bit of unqualified knowledge might be more dangerous than valid.

You can't record to both HD and tape at the same time. The HVX only records DV to tape. As for the electrical interference, I suspect that was the issue. Was hoping though that other experiences confirmed that.
ric

RF interference has been previously reported on dvinfo as a likely suspect in spontaneous violent set-offs of the optical steady shot.

I had an FX1 on record, locked off on a tripod, stop and rewind its tape from 1/3rd in. I think a mobile phone may have set it off at a live gig which was being recorded as the rewind coincided with a check visit to the camera and a mobile phone was being carried.

There is also an urban myth about clowns going to gigs with universal remotes programmed for different camera types to mess up people bootlegging shows or just for simple mischief, so RF breakthough might not have been the culprit.

FS-100 Quicktime Issue
 

I've just purchased a FS-100 Firestore. I was really excited about the product, but I've never been able to get it to work! Once I was able to view some footage which I had shot with it on my LCD screen, but I can't figure out how to open it once I have downloaded it to my computer. The clips are blank, sometimes with audio--maddening.

So, the particulars. I'm shooting with a Panasonic HVX200, and I will edit with Adobe Premiere Pro--I think that in that alone, I will be having some problems.

Okay, so, lots of problems. Any help appreciated so much!

Thanks,

Neil

http://www.focusenhancements.com/sup...cs.asp#answers

Try this link Neil to ensure you are using correctly - click on FS100 if it is not already up. YOu may have to transcode your QT files for APPro - I've only use PP2 when forced to and then never for your workflow.

Hey, thanks, John--

I'll try it out and get back to you!

Can or will the FS100 be compatible with Panny's new AVCIntra Codec?
 

I just acquired the HPX2000 and the FS100 has worked very well with it - all frame rates (so far anyway).

I've been looking forward to their new AVCIntra board & firmware to allow recording to that format. I plan to continue using my Grass Valley/Canopus SP system, which is reported to support the Intra option in version 4.5.

Any chance/word that the FS100 will be able to record the Intra codec (50-100Mb options)?

Thanks.

no !
 

The data rate would be way to high for any single drive. Typical data rate of hdv is 3.2 mb/sec.
So unless you build a raid and have a uncompressed capture card forget about it 1

Doug

very little on this
 

can't find much on this subject so I guess its not ready !

It's coming out this summer - it records at 1/2 the data rate of DVCPROHD with similar quality, or at the same data rate 100 mb/s touting close to D5 quality. I disagree with the speed assessment - it's a codec/recording issue/option & it's at the same recording speed as DVCPROHD. Hopefully Focus can/will adopt it.

Playing back longer form FS100 clips back-to-back & seamlessly?
 

I've just acquired a Panny HPX2000 and I've started to preview clips recorded on the FS100 back through the camera (have to change the setting on the cam to 1394). It seems to work out very nicely, and also dumps the signal through the HDSDI port to boot.

However, if I've got a longer form recording - say one that was 40-60 minutes long, I've noticed that the FS100 divides that recording into sub clips (assuming because it's a Fat32 drive/structure). If I start playing back the beginning of that clip, playback lasts for a few minutes, and then it stops - asuuming on the last frame of that subsection, without going on to the next subsection of that master long-form clip (hoping this makes sense).

Is there a way to play a long-form clip back so that it doesn't stop in the middle? If it was ultimately 40 minutes long, can I hit 'play' at the beginning, and have it play straight through all of the content without stopping at the end of each subsection (and having to hit the 'next' button ( >>| )? This may be handy for dumping to tape units, client showing, etc.

Hopefully an easy menu remedy and not an operational limitation.

Thanks.

I think I've got it - there's a selection in the menu "Play All". That seems to be taking care of everything. Looks seamless so far.

spx800 to Focus via FireWire
 

Hi Matt,

I have a spx800 and shoot at dvcpro50.

What has your expierence with focus been using the Ieee
output ? Thanks,

Patrick

I've used the FS100 with two SPX800's (even last weekend again) - the interaction ultimately has been good. It seems a bit glitchy sometimes - I might have to unplug and replug the firewire cable, but then it seems to light up and go from there.

I've recently tested it with the HPX2000 (the HD guy), and that interaction has been very good all around. If I could successfully downconvert the footage to SD without edge tearing I'd have 3 of these by now.

The SPX is worth the firewire board install - you'll get incredible DVCPRO50 footage.

Matt - any word from Focus?
 

Trying to bump this again. Any word, confirmation, speculation?

FS100 freezes at 2GB
 

FS100 with software version 3.0.0

In preparation for a job in 2 days, I was testing out my FS100 with my HVX200. All settings seem to be fine having followed reference materials from Focus Enhancements and Panasonic. Recording goes fine. I can transfer them via P2 Genie, view them with P2 Viewer, and import them into Avid.

Problem is, when recording onto FS100 the darn thing stops when a file reaches 2GB and the FireStore freezes completely. It only comes to life when all power if removed. After power cycling, the files seem to be on the drive and readable following "organize P2" command. Any ideas?

Thanks,
Herb Forsberg

FS100 v3 single-frame audio glitch
 

Hello.

I've recently noticed an occasional audio dropout glitch on the FS100, with the new v3 software. I've seen this on long-form recordings on the Panny HPX2000 & SPX800 cameras - using Edius SP v4.24. P2 files are organized, and then copied to the computer drives.

The audio will just drop out every once in a while - leaving an audible little tick. It seems to only be for a frame.

It hasn't killed anything yet, but it's annoying. You can see it drop out if you have the waveform data expanded on the track.

I'd like to know if anyone else has noticed this and what platforms they're using so I can see if it's a firestore issue, or Edius for some reason.

Thanks.

FS-100 to Macbook Avid
 

Guys,

I haven't figured out how to get my Avid on Macbook to see MXF files. Can I get any help in this area? I can get it to see OMFIs just fine, but MXFs don't work as easily. Please let me know if anyone has used these. I would like to shoot in DVC-Pro 50, but not sure how to get the MXF files into the Avid on my MacBook.

Sorry so repetitive, just looking for help,

Thanks,

Brian

Firestore FS-100 works with other cam other than panasonic?
 

Wondering does the FS-100 works with other cam such as PD-170 or even XH-A1 when recording in DV mode? Anyone knows?

fs-100 & SPX800 were happy together on two big shoots !
 

I was worried, but I went to two big shoots with just the newly bought fs-100 and my spx800 and left behind the PC with HD Rack recording on a CalDigit RAID tied to AC. I was in the field with no AC for the two big shoots and used one Pro14 and one $$Diconic160 and made it through the shoot with no problems, the fs-100 was powered by the light 12v tap on the spx800 GOLD Anton Bauer plate. Each day I had 3 hrs of video and consildated all the video into AVID (shot at 30p and edited on in AVID 29.97 NTSC 29.97 timeline project bin, exported a QT Ref file and imported that into TMPGEnc which MPEG2'd it and then burned the DVDs in Sony DVDarchpro and at DVCpro50 16:9 it looks damn good !

PS: I wanted the newer fs-160 but it wasn't out yet, now I see it is.

FS 100 with DVZ100B?
 

Hello, does anyone know if the FS 100 can be used with the DVX100B. I have one for my HVX, bt was not sure if I could also use it for my other cameras.

FS100 and XL1
 

I just got an HVX200 and the fS100. I thought I would see if the fS100 works with my old XL1. It did not. Is this a fact or should it work?

I cant get it to record at all with the XL1. Anyone else have this result.

JM

What gives with these two quotes about the FS-100
 

From Focus Enhancements Web Site:

Native Frame Rate Recording
The FS-100 enables you to record DVCPRO HD at 720p 24/25/30 (model dependant, PAL / NTSC) in P2 or Quick-Time file formats at native frame rates. Only the required frames are recorded. This feature not only eliminates the need to remove pulldown or duplicate frames during ingest, but also enables you to record twice as much DVCPRO HD video to disk. The FS-100 also supports variable frame rate (VFR)recording for spectacular slow-motion and fast-motion effects. VFR files are imported directly into your NLE system’s timeline—no conversion is required.

From Barry Greens HVX Book:

The only drawback to 24PN/25PN/30PN is, it doesn't get transmitted over the 1394 connection. No DVCPRO-HD compatible device such as the Firestore FS-100 would understand the non 60P data stream.

Who is right? What am I missing.

It looks like you have to BUY the upgrade to use that feature touted in the feature list. Yay :(

Is it me or has the Focus enhancements rep disappeared?

I read through this entire thread and his last post was over a year ago with a lot of questions & problems from users here.

What is up with that?

I am looking at buying this unit but I do not have much confidence after reading this thread.

I also tried calling the company to ask some pre-sales questions and the phone had a permanent voice message.

E-mail only support for a $1,700 product that will be a critical recording device, I don't know...

They have not responded to my e-mail either.

Ouch... yeah, that would make me a little nervous also. Guess P2 cards are putting a hurt on them... shame, I really liked the concept of their products.

I know someone at our college got a FS-100(?) for their HVX-200 and they just use P2 cards because of all the problems with the firestore... I have it in my hands figuring I might could find a "fix" for it... She said, she probably wouldn't ever use it again because she doesn't trust it anymore. :(

I haven\'t used it a LOT but I haven\'t had a problem with standard miniDV.

Wow, just did a search and came up with this post... Still silent after all this time. :(


Any chance of allowing those that pony\'d up premium bucks for the first units to get the latest firmware so they can have all the benefits of those that bought it later in it\'s product life?

I\'m really not sure how that works, those that were there in the begining get punished for funding the futher development and going through the growing pains of a new product.

I would not be holding my breath.

The company is likely in hands of an administrator or some mandated body which will not permit any furthur haemorrhaging of finances if there are creditors standing in line.

Until governments legislate that when certain software dependent devices time out of product support or this is terminated abruptly due to bankruptcy, beneficent or hostile takeovers, any such integrated software which is locked, should be released at its latest upgrade unimpeded to the end-users or released as open-source for communities of hackers to fix.

By the time this company gets back on its feet, normal finessing of the Firestore product will likely have been in hiatus too long for it not to have become obsolete. Support of it may not be in the new scheme of things.

This is rather a pity because the product is good, once the learning curve and a few glitchy things like poorly made firewire ports on cameras are overcome. The next generation product would have been killer I think. Now one can only mourn for what might have been.

Lastly. No one sets out to deliberately do what has happened to the Firestore and its customers. If the cashflow dwindles, the enterprise dies on its bum, a simple rule of venture capitalism.

I was not aware of that.

That\'s pretty crazy... great concept, I just don\'t know of it was poor timing or just all the bugs they had.