DV Rack -- anybody use this? (any good?)

Northwest Robert

Northwest Robert

Member
I attended an A/V show here in Portland yesterday (the Cascade Mountain Video Show put on by Professional Video & Tape) and saw a demo of Serious Magic's software -- which all looked pretty good -- but I was specifically impressed with DV Rack which they are selling right now for $206 with a $75 mail-in rebate.

I was impressed, but am hoping some of you out there might have some actual experience using it and know if it's worth 130 bucks.

Thanks a lot for any info you all might have, (note: the deal expires next week)

Northwest Robert
 
Worth every penny. And I bought it when it was more expensive than that. :)

I especially like the hard disk recording... I only need tapes when I'm running around untethered.
 
Great product if you can handle being tethered to the laptop. I use it all the time when I'm shooting interviews and static stuff. It's kind of a pain in the a$$ to carry around if you are run & gunning it though.
 
I'll echo the comments of GenJerDan and Sirius, GREAT program if you don't mind sticking close to a laptop. I usually set up my laptop on a rolling cart and work that way.
 
Well...tethered is a variable condition. I generally use a 15' or 25' cable, and someone else keeping track of things. :)
 
Yeah, its use in a less "running around" type of shoot looked great. So, is there such a thing as hard disk drop out (like tape drop out) -- any kind of hiccupping ever occur when you're going straight to the laptop? And I assume the DVX[100A] allows for tandem recording to the camera and laptop together since the book (or maybe it's the manual) says you can hook up two DVX cameras together to defeat the issue of dropout.

Thanks a lot,
Northwest Robert
 
I've never had a dropout. But, also, Yes...you can have it going to tape along with the hard drive.

That way you'll have a tape "archive", too.
 
I bought it at $400, and am thrilled with it. And I bought the HDV PowerPak too. And I'd be the first guy to buy the HVX PowerPak if they ever develop it!

Don't get DV Rack Express though; get the full-fledged version.
 
It's worth it. It enables you to get the highest quality image possible. Remember, you'll be looking at scopes-- so the guesswork is gone.

On the Waveform Monitor you can see exactly how much black, exactly how much midtone, exactly how much white. You might want an actor's face at 90% brightness, or you might adjust the lights for 70% brightness for a "film" look.

On the VectorScope you can see exactly how saturated your colors are, you can catch any weird color shift in fleshtones, etc.

Plus, you can scrub clips that you've just recorded. DV Rack makes a little timeline for each clip. There are automatic video alerts and audio alerts.

Once you use it you're addicted.:eek:
 
Barry_Green said:
I bought it at $400, and am thrilled with it. And I bought the HDV PowerPak too. And I'd be the first guy to buy the HVX PowerPak if they ever develop it!
Click to expand...

Then I guess I'd be the second!

Barry, have you hooked your HVX up to DVRack yet? I'm guessing it would work when in SD mode, but I'm also curious to know if you would see anything at all when switched to 720/24p.
 
If you are a registered owner, go to their new support forums. There's a new forum specifically for requesting new features. Go add your vote for DVCPRO/HVX support!

-Dan
 
They say you can. And it's pretty good. But it depends on what you mean by a production monitor -- if you're talking about an LCD, maybe. If you're talking about a CRT, then no, no LCD will match a CRT for brightness and black level. DV Rack can come closer than any regular laptop screen though. It's pretty good.
 
Just finished my first "real-world" shoot with my DVX - YIPPEE! I was planning on using DV RACK in conjunction with tape. Since we didn't get much time in the space (after hours in a restaraunt/bar) and our blocking changed based on lighting and space limitations, I ended up not being able to use it cause the tethering was too restrictive.

Just thought I'd post this to reiterate the previous posts about the tether . And as I run down the list of my upcoming projects, I am wondering if a Firestore / portable monitor combination will suit my overall needs better.

Still love DV RACK and look forward to using it more! And the support guys are awesome.
 
Seems I'm finally going to be able to use DV Rack on my next Mac.
This will be the first software I'm buying when my next Mac arrives, WOO HOO!
 
Speaking of DVRACK on MACBOOK Pro - I just installed and used it this weekend.

It worked great on Saturday - we had a jib setup and tethering was not an issue. It was very useful to quickly review shots (dance video with large cast) - as well as compare setups to previous clips. Loved it on Saturday!

BUT - when I got home and booted up, my DVRACK would not play the clips - everytime I clicked a clip in the DVR window, the program would freeze.

I didn't have time to mess with it, so sunday, we just booted into the MAC OS and captured into iMovie to view/review/backup. Of course, we were running tape all weekend, so this was really just for backup and monitoring.

I'm gonna mess with my Macbook and see what the deal is - hopefully, I can get it to work.
 
I'm assuming that you recorded to QuickTime files - By any chance did you recently install a Nero CD/DVD burning application on the Windows partition? There is a known conflict with some QuickTime components that Nero installs, and it can make DV Rack lock up when you try to play back the clips. The captured clips are not affected - they should be fine, and you could use them in your application.

Uninstalling Nero will correct the DV Rack freezing problem.
 
Does it take up a lot of space? I'm dying to get this program, but I am worried that i won't have enough hard drive space. Approximately how many MBs would a half hour of video recorded on DV Rack take up??
 
DV soaks up about 13 GB/hr. With HDV, it depends on the compression ratio, but it's in the same general neighborhood. DVCProHD is going to vary greatly depending on both the resolution and frame rate--I haven't gotten around to working out the precise numbers.
 
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