Questions for DV Rack owners/users

B

bhodgson0739

Active member
Hey all,

For those of you who use or have used DV Rack for production monitoring, are you happy with it as a production monitor? I like the idea of having waveform monitoring, software safe zones, composition tools, etc. Do you recommend this as a monitoring tool more than an actual production monitor?

Also, for quite some time, I was planning on an on-camera mount for my DVX/M2 combo. I was a bit concerned with tethering a laptop to the camera. I will be doing both static shots plus dolly shots, crane shots, and occasionally hand-held stuff. I have no problem with getting DV Rack and an on camera monitor eventually for both static and more mobile shots, but at this point I need to decide between one or the other.

So, that being said, has anyone figured an easy way to handle the laptop scenario tethered to the camera with camera movements? I just got my Cartoni Focus sticks and head, and I was thinking about using the mid-spreader for a "laptop table", but after looking at it, it seems like that may not work so well. Thanks in advance for any comments or suggestions!

Brad
 
slightly off topic
It's only a matter of time before someone invents and develops a mini laptop designed exclusively for on camera video. We've already got nice on cam monitors and firestores- just gotta mate the two up.

Back on topic
I'm interested as well since I'm still in the evaluation process of both this and DV monitor pro. I've tested both, and they both seem great, but I havent had a real shoot yet. I'd be interested to see how DVrack holds up in the field. Is it manageable or does it get in the way?
 
I haven't heard of or invented a good solution for camera movement with DVR. You could simply set the laptop to not go to sleep when you close the lid, then sling it over your shoulder. But you'd have to set up your shot, and take your chances while shooting.

For me, a long FW cable has been OK...I'm a one-man band anyway, so I can't monitor and shoot at the same time.

The other option might be a tablet computer attached to your tripod.

My feeling about DVR is, it's not as convenient as a more portable medium, but I love seeing all the critical variables clearly and in one place.

One caution: YMMV, but I've found in DVR 1 and 2 that the software really is more reliable recording AVI than MOV. I edit in FCP, so I convert the files before editing.
 
powerdog said:
One caution: YMMV, but I've found in DVR 1 and 2 that the software really is more reliable recording AVI than MOV. I edit in FCP, so I convert the files before editing.
Click to expand...

What were the problems you encountered with .mov recording?
 
The audio would sometimes not record at all or record at about 20% of the speed of the video. I sent SM a clip, and they and I went through all the ususal suspects...hardware, software, firmware...I even did a clean reinstall of the XP...until they finally decided to send me the older versions of 2 files that had been replaced during a DVR update. I don't remember their names, but I do know I was the only one who'd ever encountered the problem, and those older files seemed to fix it.

The chances are you'll be OK with QT. Still, I wasn't going to risk disaster at a one-time-only shoot, so I switched to the AVI format that DVR seemed to prefer. As long as I can convert it in post, I don't mind the extra time.
 
I'd be using tape as a safety net, so I could live with that I guess. How long does it take to convert from AVI to QT? That's 100% lossless, right?
 
I have used DV Rack for a couple of years. I bought it soon after it came out. I love it, I use the scopes to set up my shot and have had no problems with anything recorded to the laptop.
One of my clients was super impressed with the setup and enjoyed being able to rough cut his production on the way home from the shoot on the plane. All of my clients love the instant review of there takes so that they may better get their points across.
As far as NTSC monitoring, on a big production I would still like to have an NTSC monitor, but as long as you know how to set up a signal and are comfortable with scopes, you really don't need one.
I haven't upgraded to the HD version yet as I am still using my DVX so I don't know if this has changed at all, but I do wish that the software could maximize the desktop better. I have a 17" widescreen that I use and it only allows for about half of the desktop to be used, which means scrolling up/down to see some of the options. No non-modals panels etc. Other than that, I highly reccomend it. I haven't used a firestore so I can't give you a comparison there.

Curtis
 
For me, conversion has been a two-step process. I use AVS Video Converter on the PC to change the AVI to a QT file. That file will play fine in QTP.

But if I drop the clip into FCP, or re-save it in QCP, I find that either way I get a red render line. So I take the QT file from the PC and convert it through MPEG Streamclip on the Mac (a free program), and it works like a charm. Each conversion takes about one-third of the clip's real-time length. Again, you may have better luck than I have with a simpler solution.
 
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