QuickStream DV special pricing for DVXuser.com.

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Re: QuickStream DV special pricing for DVXuser.com

Re: QuickStream DV special pricing for DVXuser.com

yes canadians count. And the focus ring is the Century focus ring.. it has hard stops and a drive for a follow focus.
 
Re: QuickStream DV special pricing for DVXuser.com

Re: QuickStream DV special pricing for DVXuser.com

Thank You, Jarred :)
 
Re: QuickStream DV special pricing for DVXuser.com

Re: QuickStream DV special pricing for DVXuser.com

Hello to everyone! How are you guys/girls? How's life treating ya?

Just have a quick question. (more of a thought...) ???
What if I use one of those 80-250GB portable hard drives (3.5" ATA HDD/7200 RPM/8 MB Cache) after formating it in Mac OS. Would that be any different than using the QuickStream?
I've see portable hard drives of 250GB for as little as $449
http://www.pcmall.com/pcmall/shop/detail.asp?dpno=271956
It is a little bigger than QuickStream but can be used I guess at your belt or pocket vest. Than any $500 laptop would do the trick of playing the recorded files.
I dunno :-/... ... just a crazy thought!
 
Re: QuickStream DV special pricing for DVXuser.com

Re: QuickStream DV special pricing for DVXuser.com

The QuickStream is more than just a drive... it needs proper electronics and software to interact properly with the camera.

That said, can anyone influence MCE or someone to make either a QuickStreamy-thing with swappable drive modules, or that can connect to generic firewire drives?
 
Re: QuickStream DV special pricing for DVXuser.com

Re: QuickStream DV special pricing for DVXuser.com

I received 2 new quickstream dv drives this week (6 hour version)
I recorded a program last night
and tried to load it on my mac g5 (10.3.3)
I located the clips in the media file but when I double clicked to open them they would not work (forgot the exact error message)
this clips did not appear in the mac mce streammanager

after ejecting the quickstream drive and trying to reconnect it to the computer
the computer will not recognize the drive at all

the computer will recognize my second drive and when I record video it puts the movie in the media file and the streammanager software.

the drive I am having problems seems will not mount on my powerbook either
it does seem to record when I hook it to my camera

this is very frustrating
it seems I have lost the event that I recorded

I tried everything I know to do
turning the master on and off

nothing I do will allow this drive to mount on any computer
I'm sure it is not a computer problem because the second drive mounts each time I hook it up
any ideas
 
Re: QuickStream DV special pricing for DVXuser.com

Re: QuickStream DV special pricing for DVXuser.com

and i thought i was the only one having problems.  ok here's my experience...

i purchased two 4.5 hour drives in january for a 4 hour play in april.  i wanted to familiarize myself w/ the drives to make sure i was using them properly.  one drive seemed to be recording fine while the other could not record any clips onto the quickstream.  i called mce tech support and they determined that my drive was some how corrupted(loss in confidence for me).  they replaced the drive w/ a new one.

so i continued to test my drives shooting footage here and there and they both seemed to be working.  two days before the shoot, i wanted to make sure they performed reliably for a long period of time.  both quickstreams were fully charged and powered by the ac adaptor.  one connected to my dvx100a and the other to a sony trv-22.  one drive recorded 4 hours just fine but the other for some reason would stop recording and the record light would just start blinking.  

day of the shoot:  having lost confidence in the quickstream drives, i felt it necessary to have a tape back up as well.  during the show one drive seemed to be recording continuously as indicated by the red light staying on.  however, the other drive stopped recording somewhere in the middle of the show.  i tried pressing record again but the button wouldn't light up.  i had to power it down then turn it on again for it to record again.

when i got home that evening, i was surprised the drive that recorded continuously didn't didn't have any footage!?  that was it...i've been through 3 quickstream drives and none have been 100% reliable.  it's inconvenient shooting for 4 1/2 hours having to switch tapes 5x per camera but i'm glad i did.  i ended up capturing 9 hours of footage into my mac from these tapes.  i wanted to believe in the quickstreams but after spending over $1600 and not feeling i'm getting my money's worth, i returned the drives.  i feel it's just not reliable enough especially for someone who wants to shoot tapeless which is why you'd want to buy it in the first place.  any others have any positive/negative experiences w/ these drives?
 
Re: QuickStream DV special pricing for DVXuser.com

Re: QuickStream DV special pricing for DVXuser.com

I have no experience with the QuickStream, but I've already ruled it out for my applications because there's no way to know what the drive may or may not have recorded -- there's no way to preview clips off it.

I'm currently looking at the Laird CapDiv and the ProMax DirectDrive (look physically identical, so I'm guessing they're actually the same product). Both look bigger and "clunkier" than the QuickStream, and have a large external battery, so definitely not as streamlined and convenient. However, the important thing to me is that they have transport controls right on 'em: you can play back files right off the drive, navigate an on-board menu system, see what you've captured and see that it's working. You could rewind and play a clip from the drive, you can single-step through frames (forward or reverse) or fast-forward or fast-reverse the clips. And, the sweetest thing is, when it's time to output your edited program back to tape, you could copy the entire file onto the DirectDrive and play it to tape from there, instead of from your computer.

If you've ever experienced dropped frames on playback from your computer, you'll recognize how delightful this would be -- no Windows XP or Mac OS interrupting playback, just pure drive streaming. I frequently have to output 28:30 timelines to tape, and one time out of three the computer'll hiccup on about three frames, and it's so irritating because that means I have to rewind and start all over. If the CapDiv/DirectDrive performs as promised, that should mean 100% reliable output to tape every time, no dropped frames, no dropped audio, no hiccups of any type. That right there would be worth it.

Downside is, these drives are much more expensive than the QuickStream: about a grand for a 3-hour drive. But they do more, so it's not a direct comparison. Puts 'em in direct competition with the FireStore FS-1 (which has come way down in price, btw). CapDiv/DirectDrive looks like it's more portable than the FireStore.

The other drive to consider is the Sony DU1, which is way more expensive still, but offers even more, including buffered pre-roll so the drive is actually recording even before you tell it to: it keeps a running buffer of 10 or 20 seconds of footage, so if you're standing around and you see something you want to shoot and you quickly press the button, it'll have already recorded 10 or 20 seconds or whatever before you knew to press the button! But it's a lot more expensive. And then even more expensive still is the FireStore FS-3...
 
Re: QuickStream DV special pricing for DVXuser.com

Re: QuickStream DV special pricing for DVXuser.com

Just an update, and I should add this to the review.

My confidence in the Quickstream has gone alot lower, for the very fact that sometimes it misses a beat or has some wierd corrupt files. It is rather odd, because for the first 30 or so hours I never had a single problem, besides a Vegas issue that has been resolved by Vegas 5.

When you record You have no clue what is going on, it looks like everything is fine, but you dont know till you get home. Im on Windows so it was a pain in the ass reformating the thing (still no Windows manager yet) Sometimes now it wont even start when I hit the record button on the camera.

My last emails to them have gone un-answered, so I fear the worst after hearing many people have been backordered.

I still use it everytime I shoot, but more as a backup from tape rather than the other way around. I still think its a great product, but as a first version its not as good as it can be. Shining tech has a nice looking one that at least has a display so you can see whats going on, but whenever I talk to those guys (last time was at NAB a few weeks ago) they seem to have no idea whats going on.

Please if anyone has had any other problems speak up, so I can kill this deal arangement. Its nice to get a discount, but Im not gonna promote something here that doesnt work.
 
Re: QuickStream DV special pricing for DVXuser.com

Re: QuickStream DV special pricing for DVXuser.com

i bought the quickstreams because i wanted to save, "capture time" and save headwear on my dvx.  after the first drive went down, i lost that confidence in shooting tapeless but was willing to forget about it because it's was probably just one drive and heck, i'll save  A LOT of time from avoiding capture from tape. this was not the case. one bad drive, ok it was just defective...but 3 bad drives is just unacceptable.  like i said in my earlier post, i tested the drives shooting a couple of seconds/minutes of footage here and there and no problems(except for the 1st drive that never recorded footage and then the second during the shoot).  but i suggest quickstream owners try to shoot until the hard drive space runs out.  but i bet there is a good chance that might not happen because something wrong will happen along the way.  give it a test and let us know. i just couldn't justify spending $1600 on 2 drives that weren't giving me 100% reliability.  i agree w/ barry that it's important to be able to preview footage.  i think i might try one of the promax directdrives. hey jarred, any chance you can get us a deal from promax? :D
 
Re: QuickStream DV special pricing for DVXuser.com

Re: QuickStream DV special pricing for DVXuser.com

promax directdrives?
 
Re: QuickStream DV special pricing for DVXuser.com

Re: QuickStream DV special pricing for DVXuser.com

ah nevermind, they look like they are just another brand-rebranded.

I looked at those, and they where just too big for my taste.

I really wish this thing would come out:
http://www.shining.com/products/totalsolution/citidisk_dv_pro/

At any rate, next year the Hard drive cameras start coming out... :)
 
Re: QuickStream DV special pricing for DVXuser.com

Re: QuickStream DV special pricing for DVXuser.com

I ran a 2 hour recording test on the 6.5 hour drive today
there was nothing on it when I mounted the drive to my computer

ran another test and it worked fine

too unpredictable for $2000.00 I spent
Mine are going back to mcetech

MP
 
Re: QuickStream DV special pricing for DVXuser.com

Re: QuickStream DV special pricing for DVXuser.com

Now ya all got me worried. I just got my first one in late April, the 360, and it had no buttons or master switch. I exchanged it, and just got to try it today. Everything went fine except that once or twice I had to start the record mode manually. I had the DV control set to "off". Not sure why Jarred says it needs to be set to "both".

It drives me nuts that the light on top is sometimes blue, and sometimes purple while recording. Makes me think something is wacko.

I know MCE said that they had a run in with some bad boards and that was the reason for the delayed shipments, but if recently delivered ones are having problems, thats unsettling.

BTW...my master switch is recessed to the point that I must use a paper clip to actuate it. I cannot get a finger nail on it. Are yours that way? My 4 pin firewire plug fits very very tightly into my devices as well, to the point I fear it will damage them. Am I paranoid here? They sent me a replacement, but it too is very tight.
 
Re: QuickStream DV special pricing for DVXuser.com

Re: QuickStream DV special pricing for DVXuser.com

my master switch is recessed as well, cant get it with my fingure. I dont know what your talking about both DV control?
 
Re: QuickStream DV special pricing for DVXuser.com

Re: QuickStream DV special pricing for DVXuser.com

[quote author=Jarred Land link=board=Links;num=1071617666;start=125#133 date=05/11/04 at 08:02:21]my master switch is recessed as well, cant get it with my fingure. I dont know what your talking about both DV control?[/quote]

Hmmm... I think it is DV control that has the following options: {OFF EXT BOTH CHAIN}. I had forgotten that you mentioned using BOTH. I had left mine off. If EXT does not work, why would BOTH? BOTH would be a combination of EXT and the basic camera control. Since EXT won't work, why not just leave it OFF?
 
Re: QuickStream DV special pricing for DVXuser.com

Re: QuickStream DV special pricing for DVXuser.com

So I find out today that having the red record light lit is not enough to confirm that it is recording. The light on top must change to purple, which indicates that the disk is in read/write mode.

If the camera does not start the QuickStream and/or the light is not purple, then you probably have a bad firewire connection.
 
Re: QuickStream DV special pricing for DVXuser.com

Re: QuickStream DV special pricing for DVXuser.com

so you are only recording to the drive and not to tape?
 
Re: QuickStream DV special pricing for DVXuser.com

Re: QuickStream DV special pricing for DVXuser.com

[quote author=Jarred Land link=board=Links;num=1071617666;start=125#136 date=05/11/04 at 21:08:33]so you are only recording to the drive and  not to tape?[/quote]

No, I was recording to tape as well, thank goodness. I am still confused as to why you need to select "BOTH", since the "EXT" part of "BOTH" is not supposed to work.

My first three of eleven recording sessions worked, and the last six.
 
Re: QuickStream DV special pricing for DVXuser.com

Re: QuickStream DV special pricing for DVXuser.com

I think I lost you somewhere.

EXT means that when you hit the record button on the camera, it send a signal over firewire to start recording to the exterior drive instead of Tape. Both means it sends signals to Firewire AND to tape, and Chain means it sends the signal to firewire after the tape runs out.
 
Re: QuickStream DV special pricing for DVXuser.com

Re: QuickStream DV special pricing for DVXuser.com

[quote author=Jarred Land link=board=Links;num=1071617666;start=125#138 date=05/12/04 at 08:26:17]I think I lost you somewhere.

EXT means that when you hit the record button on the camera, it send a signal over firewire to start recording to the exterior drive instead of Tape. Both means it sends signals to Firewire AND to tape, and Chain means it sends the signal to firewire after the tape runs out. [/quote]

That's exactly my understanding, but I had my camera in "OFF" and the drive started 9 out of 11 times with tape in the camera. Your article said that EXT would not work. Evidently the EXT command set is not compatible with the QS. SOooo, if EXT doesn't work by itself, why would it when BOTH is selected? I am assuming that in BOTH, just the camera commands activate the QS?

I figure that in BOTH mode the command set in OFF and the command set in EXT are active. Since EXT doesn't function with the QS, it should behave exactly the same as when set to OFF.

The way your article describes it, it appears as though EXT doesn't work on its own, but does when BOTH is selected. That does not seem right, or I am missing something (quite likely).
 
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