pix240 freerun

C

crs127

Well-known member
yesterday I was using the pix240 with my f3 and I set the 240 to record(record run) when I hit the record on the camera,
today I was shooting 2 f3's with 2 pix240s and we had to sync timecode coming from sound(time of day free run), how do I get the camera to trigger the pix240 when its in free run?

hope this makes sense.
Thank you in advance.
 
I don't believe the camera can trigger the pix240 if set to freerun. Have you considered genlocking the 2 cameras from the Pix? Check out page 27-28 of the manual.

Ned Soltz
 
I posted the same question on dvinfo and here is a response I got, I will have to test tomorrow.


You will have to turn on the SDI remote trigger in the F3 and set the PIX to trigger off the Sony SDI record flag.

You can't use time code run trigger in the PIX if you have the camera set to TOD free run.
 
You need to set the record trigger to SDI-Sony on both the PIX and F3 for it to work... and it does work very well. However, you might find there's a few timecode anomalies recording this way, ie: a random number of files will have the wrong timecode when ingested into an edit suite, although they all read correctly on the PIX!!! Strangely, I seem to have been the first to notice this error, unless it only happens on 1080i50? I've reported the issue and Sound Devices are aware and working on it now. I'm told a firmware fix should be arriving shortly....?
 
crs127 said:
You can't use time code run trigger in the PIX if you have the camera set to TOD free run.
Click to expand...

This is correct for the Ki Pro also when the time code is running continually there is no trigger to start the units, you must manually start them.
 
Is the SDI trigger under the SDI Rec Control set to HD SDI Remote I/F instead of Off?
 
scocklin said:
This is correct for the Ki Pro also when the time code is running continually there is no trigger to start the units, you must manually start them.
Click to expand...
With the PIX you can use the SDI flag to trigger record and it works very well. With current firmware the KiPro mini is unable to accept SDI triggers from the F3.
 
D10S said:
Is the SDI trigger under the SDI Rec Control set to HD SDI Remote I/F instead of Off?
Click to expand...
Yep - thats the one. Just set the PIX record trigger to SDI-Sony as well.

When you go into record you'll also notice a "REC 2" message flashing on the F3 viewfinder, just to let you know it's triggered.
 
PaulReam said:
With the PIX you can use the SDI flag to trigger record and it works very well. With current firmware the KiPro mini is unable to accept SDI triggers from the F3.
Click to expand...

Yes I know, I've been patiently waiting for the Version 3 firmware update maybe AJA will include the use of the Sony SDI Flag trigger in the update. Maybe by Christmas Jon?
 
PaulReam said:
You need to set the record trigger to SDI-Sony on both the PIX and F3 for it to work... and it does work very well. However, you might find there's a few timecode anomalies recording this way, ie: a random number of files will have the wrong timecode when ingested into an edit suite, although they all read correctly on the PIX!!! Strangely, I seem to have been the first to notice this error, unless it only happens on 1080i50? I've reported the issue and Sound Devices are aware and working on it now. I'm told a firmware fix should be arriving shortly....?
Click to expand...

No, you're not the first to notice, or at least not the only one to notice. Timecode from an external source is not working with the Pix 240 right now. I have the same issue with 23.98, 29.97 and am recording video from an Alexa today at 30p. I expect the timecode issues will be the same. Some clips appear in editing software starting at 00:00:00:00 timecode. Others have completely random timecode assigned to them. About 2/3 of the clips have the correct timecode.
 
Thank goodness editatjoes, I was starting to feel all alone with this... and Sound Devices said they'd never heard of the issue before! Hopefully they'll come up with a fix soon because it's driving my clients up the wall.

Like you, about 2/3rds of the clips have the right timecode, some are completely random and others on mine always start at 00:43:41:11 - go figure!!!

What's really weird is that if you put the drive back in the PIX all the timecodes look right again?
 
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PaulReam said:
Thank goodness editatjoes, I was starting to feel all alone with this... and Sound Devices said they'd never heard of the issue before! Hopefully they'll come up with a fix soon because it's driving my clients up the wall.
Click to expand...

Well maybe you called them before I did. I prefer to think they actually had not heard of it before than that they were feeding you a line. They have been very helpful but this is a fix that needs an urgent update. Today I'm using the Pix as backup recorder for the Alexa. If the timecodes don't match, the files on the Pix are of limited use.
 
SD is definitely aware of the timecode issues and it is something that came to light after I had written my review. Otherwise I would have mentioned it. Nonetheless, there is a firmware update coming which fixes this and some other issues. They are very responsive. It seems that all of these devices are having their growing pains. NanoFlash and KiPro/KiPro Mini went through some bugs which C-D and AJA continued to fix until now these are both pretty stable platforms. Same is happening with Pix. As far as the SDI flag trigger, SD actually figured this out themselves. Sony is not releasing the protocol. So, if SD figured it out, I'm confident other manufacturers will as well. But back to the OP, if sync between multiple cameras was an issue (as I read the post), best bet is genlock cameras and sync via the Pix.

Ned
 
editatjoes said:
I prefer to think they actually had not heard of it before than that they were feeding you a line.
Click to expand...
I don't believe they were feeding me a line, in fact, the service I've received from SD over the last couple of weeks has been prompt and very supportive. I've no hesitation in using them again and I love the PIX unit, just be a lot better when we can rely on the timecode.
 
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FYI - We have a fix for the random start TC problem. It will be included in the next firmware update.
Thanks for your patience.

Paul
Sound Devices
 
nsoltz said:
SD is definitely aware of the timecode issues and it is something that came to light after I had written my review.
Click to expand...

Ned could you give us a link to your review, I have a friend who just received hers and is waiting on cards and cables before putting it to use. Sounds like your review could get her up to speed on using the PIX. Thanks.
 
I have a question about getting the visual timecode out to a monitor from the PIX via SDI. With the latest upgrade I can now get audio via SDI to a Panasonic monitor, but I can't get the monitor to read the timecode. Is there a setting on the PIX that I am missing? Or does this not function, yet?
 
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Stephen

They haven't posted review yet. Generally, they don't post a review until it actually goes into print. Sometimes a review is commissioned specifically for web and then later it appears in print. I'll post a link as soon as editorial gets it on the site.

Ned
 
I have a question about getting the visual timecode out to a monitor from the PIX via SDI. With the latest upgrade I can now get audio via SDI to a Panasonic monitor, but I can't get the monitor to read the timecode. Is there a setting on the PIX that I am missing? Or does this not function, yet?



+1 for this
 
If you have the newer 17" Panasonic monitor, it will show TC from one of the function buttons. Under VITC on or off. Another option..
 
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