Well, we didn't make it...

M

Mitch Gross

Veteran
Sitting on my desktop is an announcement that was scheduled to go out today, about an hour or so from now. It heralds the release of our new Odyssey firmware update. But it's not going out today. We didn't make it. Again.

Everything was all set and we were working feverishly on documentation, videos, etc. I even sent out a pre-release notice to some bloggers (that I then had to retract a couple hours later). An issue discovered by a beta test crept up and the engineers told us that they would need a few days to correct it.

Damn.

So firmware update 2015.5 -- note the new numbering system (year.month) -- will not publish today, and is in fact slipping into June. We expect the issue to be fixed and ready for release on Tuesday. Fingers crossed.

Firmware update 2015.5 (we're keeping the number, not just for nostalgia but also because we're pushing ahead trying to release a separate 2015.6) contains a lot of very nice new features. Custom 3D-LUTs with signal routing, improved color processing for FS7 & FS700 (RAW & Apple ProRes), 17:9 monitoring, anamorphic desqueeze, and a lot more. We're excited by what we feel is a big upgrade to the abilities of the Odyssey monitor/recorders and we believe you will agree. But we also want to get everything just right.

BTW, here's the issue we discovered, and perhaps it will shed some light on our approach. Our new Odyssey LUT System is based around our own internal binary 3D-LUT protocol. To load LUTs into the Odyssey one uses a new little utility app we will publish for download on our website, the CD 3D-LUT Converter (Windows & Mac versions available). This program will accept standard .cube files from programs such as Resolve and convert them into the native format within the Odyssey. This way the LUT in binary form can't be easily stolen from you if others have access to your Odyssey. Some clients are very touchy about their "secret sauce" looks. The program accept .cube files in 17x, 33x, 65x reference formats, which are standard. The problem arose when one of our clients attempted to use some 32x and 64x files he purchased from a company that publishes various pre-made LUTs. We discovered that these files, even if converted to 33x and 65x, could create serious errors and effectively just didn't work at all.

Our new Odyssey LUT System is important to us and we want it to be widely compatible, so we decided we had to address this issue. It is being done both in the CD 3D-LUT Converter app as well as in the Odyssey itself. But to do this and then thoroughly test it takes a bit of time, pushing us back a few days. Rather than release the firmware today and then release a patch next week, we decided to wait and get it right.

We apologize for the delays. The next update really is almost here.


Candidly Yours,
 
Eh that's not bad...i'm still friggin' stoked and s*%t happens, and since i've owned the Odyssey I can't remember needing a patch which I think is as or more frustrating than delays. Keep on keeping on CD.
 
On the contrary, with all the attention you give Mitch, it has me highly considering buying into the Odyssey family. I commend the aggressive development your engineers bring to the table.
 
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ReelWorksMedia said:
On the contrary, with all the attention you give Mitch, it has my highly considering buying into the Odyssey family. I commend the aggressive development your engineers bring to the table.
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I'm not the power user some members are, but I have to really strain to remember any hiccups with this device. I can't wait to see the improvements with FS image.
 
I can't afford one of your devices right now, but based on your down to earth conversational approach to customer service, I would if I could.
 
Great. Look forward to it next week then. Any other fixes or additions you can share that will be in this?
 
Thanks for the notice, looking forward to next week! :) Will happily beta-test this weekend if need be. ;)
 
Thanks for the update, it's interesting to have an insight into what the actual delays are. However, personally I always assumed these delays were due to big bugs that make the whole system unusable. In my opinion it would be great if you released public beta firmwares with a known issues file so those of us who don't care about 32x and 64x LUTs can do our work and have critical features as soon as possible. Especially since it seems like it would be trivial to have your converter software just not support 32x and 64x LUTs right away. Worst case we could just convert 32/64x LUTs to something that supported in the meantime.
 
Mitch, the way you interact with the public and your market/buyers is so open and up-front that it makes me want to buy an Odyssey even though I have absolutely no need for one.

That's the highest level of compliment there is.
 
Yes I must admit CD definitely really goes out of their way with customer relations. That's a big part of why I was 7Q early adopter and why I still have my 7Q+. If I complain a lot about slow updates and broken features it's only because I think they are a great company with great service who set's very high expectations which makes it that much more disappointing that the engineering department unfortunately doesn't seem to be able to meet the expecations. I really really want them to succeed and believe in their product and intentions, but something does seem seriously wrong with their software and engineering workflow. Every other job I want to just sell my 7Q+ and be rid of it and it's issues and missing features and then I get a job that reminds me no other piece of equipment can do what it does.
 
nyvz said:
Thanks for the update, it's interesting to have an insight into what the actual delays are. However, personally I always assumed these delays were due to big bugs that make the whole system unusable. In my opinion it would be great if you released public beta firmwares with a known issues file so those of us who don't care about 32x and 64x LUTs can do our work and have critical features as soon as possible. Especially since it seems like it would be trivial to have your converter software just not support 32x and 64x LUTs right away. Worst case we could just convert 32/64x LUTs to something that supported in the meantime.
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It was considered, but please understand that many of our clients may not be as technically versed as you or simply not paying as much attention to the specifics of our products. We never want to see a client going into a job expecting to be able to use our device and then being surprised and disappointed when something they were counting on doesn't work out as expected. We try to avoid that as much as possible. So in the end, delay a few days and eliminate what to some might be considered a minor issue but to others a major problem.
 
DPStewart said:
Mitch, the way you interact with the public and your market/buyers is so open and up-front that it makes me want to buy an Odyssey even though I have absolutely no need for one.

That's the highest level of compliment there is.
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Thank you very much. It is truly appreciated. As are all of the comments here on this thread.
 
nyvz said:
Yes I must admit CD definitely really goes out of their way with customer relations. That's a big part of why I was 7Q early adopter and why I still have my 7Q+. If I complain a lot about slow updates and broken features it's only because I think they are a great company with great service who set's very high expectations which makes it that much more disappointing that the engineering department unfortunately doesn't seem to be able to meet the expecations. I really really want them to succeed and believe in their product and intentions, but something does seem seriously wrong with their software and engineering workflow. Every other job I want to just sell my 7Q+ and be rid of it and it's issues and missing features and then I get a job that reminds me no other piece of equipment can do what it does.
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We know and we understand. Our engineers are the most optimistic bunch you'll ever meet. They have this huge can-do attitude that can be inspiring. Unfortunately it also means that they all too often bite off more than they can chew. In the end they get it all done and it is always outstanding, but getting there always takes more time then they think. Even when we try to adjust for that (Was that schedule in Engineer Time or Earth Time?) we seem to miss the target.

Try asking NASA about their track record with meeting schedules. ;-)
 
nyvz said:
Yes I must admit CD definitely really goes out of their way with customer relations. That's a big part of why I was 7Q early adopter and why I still have my 7Q+. If I complain a lot about slow updates and broken features it's only because I think they are a great company with great service who set's very high expectations which makes it that much more disappointing that the engineering department unfortunately doesn't seem to be able to meet the expecations. I really really want them to succeed and believe in their product and intentions, but something does seem seriously wrong with their software and engineering workflow. Every other job I want to just sell my 7Q+ and be rid of it and it's issues and missing features and then I get a job that reminds me no other piece of equipment can do what it does.
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second that, the quality we get out of this little device is insane, but some firmware hiccups and non existent features are insane as well at times :)
 
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