Atomos Ninja Update

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Hey guys

I saw the Ninja the other day, but without any firmware loaded. It was just a nice looking little box. Hopefully I can test a version next week and if all goes well we will have the product up for sale. The kit that sells for $995 has the Ninja, three SSD cases (no drives included), and an SSD reader (USB 3 & eSATA). The whole kit comes in a nice case as well. I'll post up a link once we put it through its paces.

Andy
 
derbrocks09 said:
I pulled the trigger over a week ago and now it seems there are more delays. As to the pulldown question, I'm not sure. I figured I'd test it when I got it and if I wasn't happy with the unit I would just ebay it.

If it doesn't ship this week I'm not going to be happy I can tell you that.
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I got a call from the rep yesterday. He said he would call me when they are shipping.

Dave
 
If you're going to be talking to the Atomos rep why don't you see if he/she will give you some info on the HD-SDI version called the Samurai which due out around NAB. Is its development finalized or are they still open to suggestions from prospective users?
 
I just received an email from the CEO Jeromy.

It looks like the Ninjas will ship "early next week". Apparently there were some "last minute issues" that had to be worked out with the firmware.

I can't help but be really impressed with their customer support at Atomos. Both times I have emailed them with questions they have got back to me within a few hours. As soon as I get mine I'll post a quick review.

:)
 
Depressing

Depressing

We have heard that so MANY times now. Always "next week". I bet you next week will come and there will be something else! Guaranteed..

If its a just a case of a few last minute issues, then surely we can update the firmware ourselves as we have been promised monthly updates. . . or perhaps its a little more sinister, I hope not.

It was "fully functional and shipping" on the 16 Feb 2011 - Jeromy stated - but at the same time no-one was allowed to test the unit. And, how could it be fully functional if it apparently dosen't work!

I really feel that we the buyers will be doing the first 'real' testing of these units, and will no doubt uncover many 'minor' problems, but hopefully atomos will release the updates as promised in the future, when they are not being pressured.. thats when we will see how their customer support functions.

Atomos seems to have made a very good effort so far, with the design and build so I still have my paid order in and trust they will keep up the good work. Its going to be a great product when its completed..

Hopefully, it will ship next Monday and be 100% reliable,causing me to :happy:

Graeme



derbrocks09 said:
I just received an email from the CEO Jeromy.

It looks like the Ninjas will ship "early next week". Apparently there were some "last minute issues" that had to be worked out with the firmware.

I can't help but be really impressed with their customer support at Atomos. Both times I have emailed them with questions they have got back to me within a few hours. As soon as I get mine I'll post a quick review.

:)
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Brian@202020 said:
Right here my friend.
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If I were living in the states and this is only how I personally feel, but Id seriously consider waiting for Abel Cine to have their order page up. My reasoning is this: Andy often visits us here. They are a DVXuser sponser. If something went wrong you'd be looked after is all Im saying.

We have some great sponsors on this site that do the same.

Disclosure: I am in no way associated with any of the site sponsors, nor do I receive any benefit from people buying from them. Just calling it how I see it. And, yes, I think all our sponsors are great - they help keep this great resource going.
 
I just wanted to make a couple of comments about the Ninja.

The production units are looking good. They're with our worldwide distributors and waiting for the final firmware release.

I have a Ninja on my desk, and it's working very well. There are a few minor issues still to be sorted out and we felt that it was better to delay the release until we were completely satisfied with it rather than expect our customers to do the upgrade themselves.

Waiting for software to be finished is always frustrating, but the time is always well spent, because it all adds to the stability and reliability of the product.

By the way - it's extremely easy to update the Ninja, and we do expect to release updates quite often. Some will even add new features. All you have to do is copy the downloaded update file to a disk, push it into the Ninja and the update takes place automatically. And because there's no media stored actually on the Ninja - it's all on removable drives - you don't have to back anything up before you do an upgrade. It all takes about 2 minutes, after which the Ninja reboots itself and works with the new software.

I just wanted to reassure everyone that the slight delays are for a good reason and will result in an even better product when it is released.

Dave Shapton
President,
Atomos EMEA
 
David Shapton said:
I have a Ninja on my desk, and it's working very well. ......
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That'ds fanatstic, DAve,

could you then maybe grab it and hop onto a plane and come by on our set in Frankfurt/Germany?

We would love to have it from Tuesday on, when my AG-AF is supposed to kick in as the "special cam" in our movie.

I give you the address if you want and our caterer will give you a cafe latte and a croissant to fight the jet lag...... ;-)
 
We are not taking money from resellers. Our stock is with distributors as part of a confidential, pre-arranged and agreed roll-out schedule. With respect, you should maybe not be making such unfounded accusations in a public forum when you know nothing about the company or its confidential business arrangements.

Dave Shapton
President,
Atomos, EMEA
 
tipota said:
That'ds fanatstic, DAve,

could you then maybe grab it and hop onto a plane and come by on our set in Frankfurt/Germany?

We would love to have it from Tuesday on, when my AG-AF is supposed to kick in as the "special cam" in our movie.

I give you the address if you want and our caterer will give you a cafe latte and a croissant to fight the jet lag...... ;-)
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Latte and croissant... very tempting!

Dave
 
What is it with people on the board being so rude toward company reps? You really show your class when you post crap like this.

Dave
 
The vast majority of potential customers understand what it's like to release a software product. It's not done until it's done. You can always make estimates, but sometimes - often, even, you're wrong. Saying this is called "honesty", not "lying". When we're pressed to give release date, we give our best estimate. How could we do anything else?

And why are you being so negative? Isn't it a good thing that there are new products coming out that push the boundaries of what's possible, and do it cheaper as well? We're all in this industry together. I don't really see why you have to be so unremittingly hostile.

Dave Shapton
President,
Atomos, EMEA
 
David Shapton said:
Latte and croissant... very tempting!

Dave
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Okay, I add the possibility for a cameo appearance as "Financial Highflyer Ninja" in our comedy.... ;-)

As we will probably not getting it until our shoot is over: When is a version with both HDMI and SDI port due? May wait for that one then......
 
Well "them" is plural. And I think David should be able to answer questions by "Charley Sheens" as well. Lord knows Jan and Barry do it all the time around here. Jim Jannard does it at RedUser. I don't see why David should get a pass.
 
That's almost irresistible....

We're expecting to be showing the Samurai, which is a similar device to the Ninja, but with HD-SDI, at NAB. We've not announced when we're shipping it yet, but it will be sooner rather than later. It's NOT going to have both ports on it - you'll have to choose one or the other. The two versions address rather different markets, although there's a big crossover in the middle. There are other differences between the two models and you will find that the Samurai is going to have more "pro" features. At the core, though, they both have uncompressed recording direct to ProRes. Of course, because it's a software device with a touchscreen, it will be able to do other things in the future.

Dave
 
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I don't think we have any authority over the resellers. The distributors appoint resellers and in rare circumstances we might have an input. But I don't think that was the question you were asking.

The plain fact is (and the vast majority of people who live in the real world understand this) there may always be unexpected delays - especially with products that depend on software. You seem to be suggesting that we have deliberately misled people, and that simply isn't the case.

By the way, if anyone wants to make such suggestions to me in person, I'll be at NAB on the ATOMOS booth, and will be very happy to meet you. I'll be delighted to meet everyone else as well!

Dave Shapton
President
Atomos EMEA
 
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HI David,

Nice to hear from you and nice to hear that the Ninja is nearly ready (and the Samurai not far behind). Quick question- will the recorders be capable of recording in 25p, for those of us on the other side of the pond? As far as I know there's no technical issue with doing that but I've not seen it mentioned in any of the writeups for the recorder thus far.

Cheers, Hywel Phillips
 
Hywel said:
HI David,

Nice to hear from you and nice to hear that the Ninja is nearly ready (and the Samurai not far behind). Quick question- will the recorders be capable of recording in 25p, for those of us on the other side of the pond? As far as I know there's no technical issue with doing that but I've not seen it mentioned in any of the writeups for the recorder thus far.

Cheers, Hywel Phillips
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Hi Hywel

It depends which pond you mean (I'm guessing there's a Welsh connection somewhere here!). I'm based in the UK, with some sales and support staff, and the company is headquartered in Melbourn, Australia.

As far as the 25p thing is concerned, I don't know the definitive answer. I'll find out and come back to you.

Dave Shapton
President
Atomos, EMEA
 
David Shapton said:
The plain fact is (and the vast majority of people who live in the real world understand this) there may always be unexpected delays - especially with products that depend on software. You seem to be suggesting that we have deliberately misled people, and that simply isn't the case.
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I get that there is unexpected delay's and I do live in the real world. I am just quoting you and how you said "pre-arranged and agreed roll-out". I also suggest you stop eluding that your potential customers don't live in the "real world".
 
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