HVR-MRC1 Memory Recording for fx1000
 

I am sick and tired with drop frames and the tapes work flow.
I wander if there is any fx1000 user that use the HVR-MRC1 Memory Recording.
I know you have to press record twice, once for the tapes and once for the HVR-MRC1 Memory Recording.
I would like to know how difficult it is?
Did you ever use it without tapes, strictly memory card?
Can you use the Extreme 3 instead of the Extreme IV cards?
How long does it take to download 16gb to the computer?
Thanks

u only have to press the cam record button and the device will follow.. it's def worth the price.

recording unit
 

I believe on the FX 1000 you have to push the button on the camera and the recording unit. Just pushing the record button on the camera does not automatically start the recording unit.

Ron. Do you have it?
Did you ever use it on the fx1000?

yeah i have one. I think the camlink feature on the device has to be enabled for it to work through the camera buttons...but yeah, I've used it with my fx1000 and it works great.

I use my HVR-MRC1 w/ my Z7 almost all the time & love it.

But I have also used the MRC1 w/ a Sony Z1U for HDV which worked great, and even a Panasonic HVX200. (With the HVX you can ONLY do DV while in tape mode, the MRC1 will not do DVCPro.)

With any of them you have to check the Firewire settings. I'm not sure about the FX1000, but if it has any type of "External Device" controls, then the MRC1 will start recording when you hit the record button on the camera. No need to hit it twice!

I have a Z5u, a HV20 and a HV30 and used to have a V1u, I also have two MRC1K's. You only have to press the record button on all of the cams I have listed and the MRC1K will start recording also. It works great with my HV20 and HV30, I just had to set the MRC1K to follow for them and it works like a charm. I'm pretty sure the FX1000 would work the same way. As for compact flash cards I use Sandisk Extreme 3 cards, they have had some great rebates going lately.

As for download times that's going to be dependent on your equipment. I had a cheap card reader and it took 30mins to download a full card to my laptop. I bought a expensive reader and now I can download a full 16gb card in 11mins to my laptop.

What will be the procedure if you wanted to record to the memory card only without tape in the camera?

With my Z5 it functions fantastic, but in the handbook of the FX1000 there is nothing about EXT REC CTRL, I will not believe it functions in this way!
Dirk PEL

I haven't has a chance to test it with my FX1000 yet, but I believe you need to use the button on the MRC itself to do everything. Some claim that in FOLLOW mode you can use the cam's REC button, but this is with tape running, if I'm understanding correctly.

I'll try to test out this week and confirm all this.

Edit: Okay, just did a couple of quick experiments.

With no tape in the cam, you can/must use only the REC controls on the MRC.

With a tape in the cam, you can control the MRC via the cam's REC button if CAMLINK in ON and the unit is set to FOLLOW mode. It does not work in SYNCHRO mode. And as the manual points out, without EXT REC CTRL there is no RELAY mode possible.

This is all actually detailed quite nicely on page 9 of the manual but I just wanted to confirm, and darn it, those Sony guys are right.

For me, the whole reason for this unit is to record things that are longer than a tape, so I would never use either of those modes -- I'd always record completely independently. But note that all Sony cam's have an audio dropout via FW during a tape eject/thread, so I'll need to record audio separately even if the unit is not camlinked.

Other first impressions: With the unit mounted on the cam's accessory shoe, the whole rig becomes incredibly front-heavy, mainly due to the huge 970 batt I used; the unit itself is very light. But the manual notes that even with that useless skimpy 570 that comes with your FX1000, you can get about five hours off a single charge, so using this little batt (which you'll likely not use for anything else anyway) helps solve the weight/balance issue. In any event, you'll have to adjust how you mount/counterbalance on your tripod. And note that the unit does not come with an AC adapter, so for studio use you may wish to buy an extra one separately (and this will help with the weight issue as well). Note that these are non-issues with the Z5, as the unit attaches directly to the back of the cam and receives power that way.

Another note: The "Guide to Supported Models and Their Functions" makes it appear as if you can only use the REC button on the unit to record independently if there is no tape in the cam. Fortunately, this isn't true; if the CAMLINK is OFF, the two REC buttons function completely independently of each other, so you can record continuously in the MRC while still being about to record tape as a backup and change tapes as necessary.

If you are shooting in classic "Movie Style" with separate camera starts and stops for each scene and take, this appears to be the perfect unit. Other forms of shooting will require some workarounds.

I'm wondering if this thread should be moved to the MRC forum...

to do this you simultaniously press the two record buttons on the mrc1 unit at the same time.

as an aside, gosh, I already stated that you can control the unit with the camera multiple times, yet people still don't believe it for some reason. Yes tape does have to be in the camera.. geesh.

Zach, how does it work with the Sony Z1?

thx a lot

I think the surprise in this thread comes from several previous threads that said the FX1000 had no ability to control the MRC1.

Question: running the MRC1 in FOLLOW mode, is there a delay before it registers that it should start recording, and if so, how much of a delay?

When I use it with my HV20 or HV30 I notice no delay. I was really suprised the first time I used it in follow mode of how quick it started recording.

According to the manual, up to two seconds.

Check the menus, should be something like: FireWire IEEE 1394 Control: EXT ONLY

There could also be SYNC, FOLLOW...



Exactly the same way it works with the Z7. Only difference is you have to find a place to put it on or near the Z1, where it snaps onto the back of the Z7.

Either camera you have to have the settings correct, there are only a few options so it isn't hard to toggle through them to see what works best for you.


As for transferring, I use FCP & a Lexar FW800 reader. I had a 21min clip shot in SD that transferred into FCP in about 3min! HDV is more about 3-4min of footage in FCP in 1min. But a lot of that depends on your card speed, card reader, hard drive, software & processor.

Well to be accurate it works with a Z1 the same as a Z7 EXCEPT with a Z1 you can't record to CF cards in isolation. You must have the tape recording too. .... OR you run without tape but press the MRC1 dual button instead. This is a real issue in that I shoot fast moving sport on cache mode, and use a pan bar with remote run stop.... great with the Z7, but doing ti with the Z1 means taking fingers off the tripod to pump the MRC1 buttons during the shot (in cache mode you record the 14 seconds preceeding the pressing of run button and then finish the shot at the end of the goal etc.) This is then instant reviewed to a videowall -hence I can't record the whole game.

I was thinking of buying a FX1000 to replace the Z1 but if the previous posts are correct, it has no more CF functionality than the Z1.... unless someone can assure me there is a workaround and I can use the Fx1000's run stop button without tape?

PS -the manual does not mention the External Control function.
PS does the relay work? and if it does not, why is it in the menu options?

As both Ron and I pointed out above, you can't.
Page 9-10 of the MRC manual and page 47 of the Z1E manual. As there is no EXT REC CTRL function with the FX1000, as we pointed out above, it's not in that manual.If your cam supports EXT REC CTRL, as the Z1 does, RELAY is in the menus and should work. If not, as in the FX1000, there's no RELAY mode anywhere.

Thanks for the clarification. The FX1000 ought to perform the same as the Z1... sony.biz site says it is compatible, whilst it implies older cameras are not, yet if it does not mention External Control in the FX1000 manual, and you say it is not in the menus, so the FX1000 is as compatible as connecting any firewire camera to it. So I would get less functionality going from a Z1 to a FX1000.

I have also tried to work out the difference between FOLLOW and SYNCHRO in the MRC1 menus. When connected to the Z1 it appears to make no difference. They both enable the camera run button... but both with tape running synchronously. How can FOLLOW trigger the MRC1 from a Non-ext. control camera? If it can't..what is it for? If it can... what is the difference between no-ext control and ext. control?

No, it oughtn't. The Z1 is pro while the FX is prosumer. It's the Z5 that ought to perform the same as the Z1, and it does, only better.Firewire is a two-way street. The MRC checks every couple of seconds to see if the cam is running, and if it is, it turns itself on in FOLLOW mode with a non- EXT REC CTRL cam. It's all in the manual.

The difference is that with a cam that can do EXT REC CTRL, it sends the REC signal immediately to the external unit, and enables other functions, like RELAY. With a cam like the Z1/5, there probably isn't a point to FOLLOW mode, but it has to be there for all the other cams.