DV Rack by Serious Magic == Member Discount

Re: DV Rack by Serious Magic == Member Discount

Hi Mark -

Did you ever get a repsonse back from engineering on the Setup question? I see it as a user preference, much like setting a 1K tone to -20Db or -14 - it is still a 1K tone.

In this case, an RGB value of 16, 16, 16, (SMPTE standard for NTSC and PAL digital television BLACK) is alway that, but I would like to set up my IRE for analog in NTSC worls to either be 0IRE or with setup at 7.5IRE. THis way the scale meets legal analog display for NTSC and NTSC-J. It seems that this would be an offset included for the ORE display to allow one or the other based on the internal reference being used within the software itself.

Thanks -

Michael
 
Re: DV Rack by Serious Magic == Member Discount

Michael,

It looks like we'll be making setup be a user parameter since PAL DV is 0 and NTSC-J is 5.

--- Mark
 
Re: DV Rack by Serious Magic == Member Discount

That's great! - all digital formats do not have a need for IRE, it's only when going out to analog that the user needs to set up a setup (pun intended)... and it would be good to be able to see what that is. For analog purposes:

PAL = 0 IRE
NTSC-J = 0 IRE
NTSC = 7.5 URE

White is 100 IRE in all cases and 235, 235, 235 in the SMPTE specification for digital television (8 bit) for PAL and NTSC.

Thanks again... that's great.

Michael
 
Re: DV Rack by Serious Magic == Member Discount

Michael,

I agree that IRE will have more relevance in the analog domain. Of course, DV Rack works in the digital DV domain. In my experience with the scenario you're describing, the quality and characteristics of whatever analog to digital and digital to analog conversion device is being used will have more then 7.5 IRE of impact on your signal. If you're targeting analog output, you'll probably need to have an old style analog scope downstream of the D to A converter so you can measure the cumulative impact of the signal path and correct for it at the output conversion step.

--- Mark
 
Re: DV Rack by Serious Magic == Member Discount

DV Rack starts shipping today!

It's been a long and amazing road creating this new product and we're pretty excited [passing virtual cigars to all readers].

--- Mark
 
Re: DV Rack by Serious Magic == Member Discount

Hi Mark,

I just came across this site a few weeks ago, being a newbie in production - this site and members have answered numerous questions I had. One was the ability to capture the video directly to a harddrive (NLE can from my understanding) - when I came across this thread I took a look a DV Rack and it's what the doctor ordered! I will be testing the product this weekend and will order as soon as I confirm it fits the bill (no doubt in my mind..but will check out the trial version).

Much thanks!

Dewman
 
Re: DV Rack by Serious Magic == Member Discount

You can ignore this post, I just found the "jobs" section on the website. Again, the product LOOKS GREAT.

Thanks,
Larry



Mark,

I was just looking at the Serious Magic website and noticed you guys are in Folsom, CA - I live nearby in Winters (right next to Davis).

I'm sure that is all real exciting, but I was wondering if you knew what languages/tools were used to develop the products? And if there is any need for additional developers?

I ask because my "day job" is as a computer programmer in the bay area and I would like to find work closer to home.

Either way - DV Rack looks to be a GREAT PRODUCT!!! I can't wait to order my copy. I think this might be the ticket to getting my film career off the ground so I can quit my "day job"   ;D

Thanks,
Larry
 
Re: DV Rack by Serious Magic == Member Discount

[quote author=Larry_J._Rutledge link=board=nws;num=1091717583;start=60#67 date=08/25/04 at 10:49:31]I ask because my "day job" is as a computer programmer in the bay area and I would like to find work closer to home.

Either way - DV Rack looks to be a GREAT PRODUCT!!! I can't wait to order my copy. I think this might be the ticket to getting my film career off the ground so I can quit my "day job"   ;D

Thanks,
Larry
[/quote]
Looks like I have a twin brother I never knew...

Yeah, computer programming is great unless you have one of those boring corporate IT department maintenance gigs, like I do.

I am trying to get out of that pigeon hole and do something useful with my life... :D I wonder if Serious Magic would count Smalltalk experience... all pure O-O, if you know what I am talking about. ;D

Jerry XCheck.
 
Re: DV Rack by Serious Magic == Member Discount

The first free update to DV Rack is now available for download (DV Rack owners should select "Check For Updates"). Here's a partial recap of what's new. Several of these features were specific requests from members of this forum including the aspect ratio and variable setup.

--- Mark

· New Feature – Added an aspect ratio feature to the Field Monitor. There is a new menu entry that allows the user to select the aspect ratio of the input. Aspect ratio can vary from 1.0 to 2.4 (note: 4/3 is 1.333 and 16/9 is 1.778). The default aspect ratio is 1.333. This is to help users with 16/9 lenses or squeeze mode see the video at the right aspect ratio.

· New Feature – Added a menu item to the Field Monitor to switch between 0 and 7.5 IRE. The default is 7.5 IRE.

· New Feature – Added zoom/pan feature on the Waveform and Vectorscope screens. Use shift + mouse drag vertically to zoom, drag mouse to pan (like in the Field Monitor).

· Improvement -- Increased the power of the gain feature of the Vectorscope so display is more readable.

· Improvement – Brightened the Waveform Monitor in the parade/r-y/b-y/y modes. Also turned the default brightness from 100% to 75%.

· Improvement – Added an on-screen display to show what line is being used when the Line knob of the Vectorscope and Waveform Monitor are changed.

· Improvement – Now persisting the last device selected in the application settings. When the application starts it will reacquire the last device used if it’s still connected, else it will use the first device found.

· Improvement -- Changed the multiplier of fast scrubbing from 3 to 2 (fast scrubbing is when you scrub a clip with shift + arrows, multipliers are changed by selecting a number on the keyboard).

· Improvement – Added auto-repeat to the menu arrows when the mouse is clicked.

· Improvement – Added click-drag on the arrow of the menu.

· Improvement – Unified all the on-screen displays to use mixed case, except for PAGE N of N, NEXT PAGE and PREVIOUS PAGE in the menu.

· Improvement – Added the full pathname of the current project in the About box.
 
Re: DV Rack by Serious Magic == Member Discount

I just demo'd DVrack to the Manager of Clairmont Cameras.. he was very impressed :)
 
Re: DV Rack by Serious Magic == Member Discount

The current version of DV Rack does not support HD (or HDV), however this is something that is certainly being considered for a future, higher-end product in the DV Rack line. We are investigating the HDV format and are looking forward to the time when there will be enough HDV cameras in the market to make such a release worthwhile.

As is often the case with Serious Magic products, owning the first product in a product line has previously entitled the early adopter to lower cost 'migrations' to higher-end versions (as compared to buying later).

--- Mark
 
Re: DV Rack by Serious Magic == Member Discount

The orders for DV Rack have significantly exceeded the first production run. A much larger quantity are now being manufactured and we expect to continue shipping on Tuesday.

All orders placed using the special DVXUser pricing code will be honored as long as they are received by Tuesday (even if they don't ship until Wed.)

We're sorry for any inconvenience this delay may cause.

--- Mark
 
Re: DV Rack by Serious Magic == Member Discount

Hi Mark,

Thanks for all the info! I've been playing around with the Demo version and found a possible problem (?) - when I was testing I decided to output a clip in AVI2 and MOV to see if there was a difference. I did not change any setting on the camera or DV Rack and when I watched the files in their appropriate player - the MOV file was out of focus and look terrible compared to the AVI file. I called tech support and gave them a heads up. Hopefully you can dublicate.

Also in the next upgrade - hopefully you guys will improve the ability to turn those nobs - it's a nightmare from the user end (ie - contrast, chroma, etc..)

None the less DV Rack is a great product!

dewman
 
Re: DV Rack by Serious Magic == Member Discount

Thanks Dewman, glad you like it.

We've tested AVI vs. MOV extensively and have not observed any problem. DV Rack doesn't decode / re-encode the data stream, it simply re-orders the existing bytes and changes the file headers. That's the only difference between MOV and AVI. I can't understand how there could be a difference in focus (an issue in the data formatting could lead to the file not opening, but quality reduction does not compute). I suspect that there's a difference in how you have your players formatted (Quicktime vs. Windows Media Player). If the window is not exactly 1:1, the QT player could be scaling the image on playback.

Regarding the knobs, I've used them extensively and have not found it to be difficult. Correct operation is sliding them up and down (not around in a circle). Hold CTRL and turn the knob to move it in smaller increments.  Double-click on a knob to return it to default. Two suggestions I can think of would be to try changing your mouse sensitivity and if you're using a touchpad on a laptop consider one of those tiny USB "travel mice". I've tried many different laptop's touchpads (and the little pointer sticks too), and most are pretty poor for anything much more than web browsing, email and starting movies (I don't even attempt real work like PhotoShop, Vegas, etc.). If you have any other suggestions on ways to improve knob input, please let us know.

--- Mark
 
Re: DV Rack by Serious Magic == Member Discount

Make sure that MoviePlayer is set to High Quality for playback. That may have something to do with the differences.

Michael
 
Re: DV Rack by Serious Magic == Member Discount

Thanks, Mark! I will try the up and down motion - i've been trying to turn it in a circle :(. Yep got a portable mouse - but with your suggestion (up and down) i'm going to give that a try.

I've been working with Ryan at SM and uploaded an example of a .AVI and .MOV file for everyone to take a look at. I will check my perferences in both players and DVRack to see if any changes need to be made. Also I do have the audio set to 16 bit (QT requires) - so not a problem there - but of course it's probably a user error - just trying to track it down.
 
Re: DV Rack by Serious Magic == Member Discount

I'm about to purchase the dvrack.
Can we get an extention of the special DVX USER discount.
I'm based in Vietnam and shipping is quite pricy...
Thanks for update
 
Re: DV Rack by Serious Magic == Member Discount

I just bought it as well, don't know why I dawdled until the "deal" expired... so I shopped extensively, finally found it from ebay seller guygraphics_com, they sell it for $399.00 at auction (or $449 for buy-it-now). Don't know how much shipping would be though.

This is the lowest price I've found it anywhere, most people are charging $479 or above.
 
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