Sony DSR-1500 Composite In-The Riddle May be Solved

1. The two newest Sony DSR-1500a DVCAM decks we ordered )In Avid 1 and the Final Cut Suite) do not have the optional analog video/audio in board, part number DSR-1500a

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/400833-REG/Sony_DSBK1505_DSBK_1505_Analog_Input_Board.html

2. The two decks that have the optioanl board (Avid Suite 2 and Head End) do not see analog video nor can they record analog video.

After contacting Sony support and waiting 1 week for a response here is what I have learned.

It appears that serial numbers less than 120,000 need a firmware update to be able to use the optional analog in board part number DSBK-1505

Our decks have serail numbers 191364 (HeadENd) and 101379 (Avid 2)

Sony stated that we needed part number EDSR15A01 (Priced Below)

$250 per update!!!!!

3. I contacted Sony Support again with this email

Seth-

I talked with another tech at Sony and he stated if the serial number was below 120,000 which ours are at serial #'s (101364, 101379) that we needed a firmware upgrade to use composite in. The part number is EDSR15A01 and it costs $250. So we have to pay $250 for each deck to be able to record analog in? How much is installation. What is the turnaround time? What if this this is not the solution to our problem? This is the only deck that I have used in my nearly 10 years in video that needed a firmware update to see composite video in. Very strange...Please Advise.

4. Waiting for a response for best course of action.


5. Our options.

a. Demand Sony give us the firmware and install it for free
b. Put the analog in boards in the decks we jsut ordred and move those to the correct locations (ie head end) as they have the new firmware.
c. Buy the firmware and have it installed or install it ourselves. It involves replacing a chip on a board somewhere in the deck which I have never done.

Anystream 5.8 Upgrade Complete

With the exception of continued testing, the upgrade is complete. I have the VBrick watchfolders re-created so jobs can be run from WSOM our our VBricks and will be processed. I still need to add the "submissions" watchfolder back in. There are a lot of new features for everyone to check out, including a new user interface. I will have the pages open at the head end control station if you would like to check them out.

Request to Upgrade After Effects and Photoshop in Avid Suites

We need to upgrade Photoshop and After Effects software in our 3 edit suites. Currently we have After Effects 6.0 and Photoshop CS. The current versions available are CS3. If we can upgrade, the cost is $299 per license for After Effects and $199 per license for Photoshop. The Photoshops installed in the suites are from the large black disc binder located in D.j.'s office - not sure what the licensing agreement is/was for software located here (multiple license's or single?)


https://store1.adobe.com/cfusion/store/flex/index.cfm?store=OLS-US&storeclient=flex&view=ols_cat&nr=0&cattype=PRODUCTS

https://store1.adobe.com/cfusion/store/flex/index.cfm?store=OLS-US&storeclient=flex&view=ols_cat&nr=0&cattype=PRODUCTS

DJ's iTune U design favorites

MediaVision Layout

Guys,

Reading through Sean's iTunes U Administrator's Guide, I have discoverd that when people sign up for iTunes U they have a choice of layout. There are two. The first is "Public Feature Page". This is the layout design that Steve and Mike B like. This is designed for public content. The second design is called "Course Page". This is set up for public and non public content. When we signed up for iTunes U, Course Page was selected.

We do not have the options to change the layout design to the Public Feature Page and visa versa.

DJ's iTunes Template Designs

Itunes uploading notes

Here is what Steve K has learned as of 7-17-2008

I uploaded the NYSP event to the Campus Life-University Circle Events Album I made. Straight from the staging folder on the youtube computer on a cart.

Facts you must know
1. Files must be 500 MB or less. Some of our longer stuff like Commencement is over.
2. Metadata (which needs to be standardized) must be added in itunes before uploading the file. You can only change the Name and Artist Fields after the fact.
3. Files are uploaded via a link that sends you to web browser.
4. Files are also modified through web browser.
5. Could not upload mp3 as the server appears to be off or down.

Future tips and notes

There is an itunes U forum at
http://discussions.apple.com/category.jspa?categoryID=211

There is a Itunes U utility and uploader some guy built for Mac OS X only called Woolamaloo
http://itunes.uic.edu/Woolamaloo.html

Around 9pm I kept getting this error if I clicked on the Classes section
It would open firefox and display

Not Found

The requested URL /cgi-bin/itunesu-timeout.cgi was not found on this server.

---

Apache/2.2.3 (Debian) mod_python/3.2.10 Python/2.4.4 PHP/5.2.0-8+etch11 mod_ssl/2.2.3 OpenSSL/0.9.8c mod_perl/2.0.2 Perl/v5.8.8 Server at mv-podcast.case.edu Port 443

Pre-itunes meeting notes from 7-17-2008

itunes U

Design

-There seems to be two templates or looks.

1. The standard 600 x 300 image with links to the right of the banner and smaller icons.

Example: https://deimos.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/BrowsePrivately/cmu.edu

2. Banner acroos the top, larger album icons, topo downloads and search functions

Example:

http://deimos.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Browsev2/itunes.stanford.edu

-This is what I like as far as navigation and layout and look (not necessarily artwork or slogans)

Other People’s Content

-Carnegie Mellon has high quality content (Beyond the Classroom)

1. Daniel vs Robophone Pop Up

2. Student testimonials –Pittsburgh

-University of Nebraska at Lincoln (Backyard Wildlife)

1. Episode 1 Backyard Wildlife HD

-A lot of stuff ie Courseware and stuff is poorly recorded audio.

Formats

-Audio

· Audio files (AAC, MP3) with appropriate file extensions (.m4a, .mp3). For best results during playback, Apple recommends converting MP3 files greater than 32 megabytes (MB) to AAC format. For AAC audio files, Apple recommends the following specifications:

· Audio Format: Baseline Low-Complexity Profile with AAC-LC (Music)

· Data Rate: Up to 160 Kbps

· Channels: Stereo in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov formats

· Output Sample Rate: 48 kHz

· Encoding Quality: Better

Deciding Which Audio Format to Use

The most common Internet audio file formats you might encounter are AAC and

MP3. Although MP3 is widely used, the AAC format offers several advantages,

especially when creating content for delivery:

• This newer format uses more advanced technology.

• It offers better compression than MP3, which means higher quality results and

smaller file sizes.

• The format is compatible with iTunes and iPod. (Even listeners who do not have

iPod can still listen through iTunes.)

• It supports chapters. (Your listeners can jump to a specific section of your content.)

An enhanced podcast can be divided into chapters, allowing listeners to quickly

navigate to specific parts of the podcast or content. Each chapter can have an

associated piece of artwork.

• The format provides the ability to incorporate URLs and pictures set to appear at

certain times during playback of audio files. (Images are visible within iTunes and

on iPod with color display. URLS are accessible within iTunes.)

Note: You can choose to make your content available in both formats (MP3 and

AAC), or your listeners can use iTunes to convert AAC files to MP3 files.

What Is Metadata?

Information about information is called metadata. For example, an audio file

contains audio information. The name of the person that created the file, the length

of the file, title of the file, description, and so on, are examples of metadata a file

might contain.

Metadata is useful for several reasons:

• The iTunes and iPod user interface is built from the metadata. For example,

clicking the Artist category would yield useless results if you didn’t enter

information for the artist metadata.

• It makes browsing and searching much more efficient and helpful to your

audience. Listeners can search by the information in the Artist field, search by your

groupings, or any other category.

• It supports and reinforces the content. For example, in an educational context,

metadata meets the needs of different learning styles. There are visual learners

and those who learn better by reading text. A speech of a political leader could

include the text of the speech that listeners can read as they hear the speech, and

it could include

Video

· Video files (MPEG-4 with H.264 compression) with appropriate file extensions (.mp4, .m4v, .mov). For best results with iPod, Apple recommends using MPEG-4 with H.264 compression with the following specifications:

· Video Format: MPEG-4 with H.264

· Data Rate: Up to 1.5 Mbps

· Image Size: 640 x 480 pixels

· Frame Rate: 30 frames per second

· Key Frame: Every 24 frames

· Audio Tracks: Baseline Low-Complexity Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps

Formatting Video for the iPod or Apple TV

Although iTunes can play a variety of .mp4, .m4v, and .mov video formats, Apple TV

and the iPod require more specific formats.

The iPod supports up to 640 x 480, while Apple TV supports up to 1280 x 720. To

optimize for both platforms, it is recommended that your source file is at least 640

pixels wide and that you use the built-in iPod converters in Compressor (H.264 for

iPod), QuickTime Pro (Movie to iPod), or iTunes (Convert Selection for iPod). Each of

these maintains the aspect ration of your source file and results in an M4V file

containing H.264 video (Low Complexity version of the Baseline profile) and AAC-LC

audio. If you want to maximize the screen area of a wide-screen TV, your source file

should have an aspect ratio of 16:9 (for example, 640 x 360). If you want to maximize

the screen area on the iPod, your source file should have an aspect ratio of 4:3 (for

example, 640 x 480).

Kubit's iTunes Initiative

We're going to begin work on the iTunesU initiative.  Therefore, I'd like to see the following completed when I return after vacation.

 
 

1. Please take some time to benchmark existing iTunesU sites and note particular ones that are well designed.  We can refer to them as examples.  Please share those noted.
   
2. Sean will create accounts for each of you so you can log on.
   
3. Rosemary has a brief "guide" that contains some useful information.  Please ask her for a copy.
   
4. Please experiment with building the home page using the graphics guidelines noted in the guide.
   
5. Build a couple albums (with cover art) and upload some content (the intent here is to become familiar with the process.
   

 
 

Please note key learnings as we progress.  We'll discuss when we start meeting on a regular basis

Anycast Test

Below is a list of items that I (Mike Becher) tested with Anycast. I focused on the parts of the unit that we will use most often. I have not tested any of the switcher effects (wipe, picture in picture) or the internal cg. To this point, the only problem that I have with Anycast is convincing my wife that we really need one of these at home. I love it. Everything (inputs, outputs, both audio and video) is mappable/routeable. The only thing that takes getting used to is the way the some of the menu's are structured. Audio, for example, has 3 or 4 different menus that would be more intuitive if they were put together.

2/26/08

Successfully imported several graphic images (.tiff, .tga)

*CG graphics need to be 720x540

* logos need to be 160x240 (make sure 'save transparency' is check when saving alpha)

Switched (cut, dissolve) between 2 Hitachi cameras in studio

-composite inputs 1 & 2 successfully tested

2/27/08

Successfully fed RBG (powerpoint) into input 5 (display needs to be set to 1024x768 or will not show up in anycast) – looked great.

2/28/08

Successfully input pzm mic requiring phantom into input 2

Successfully input shure mixer into input 1

Successfully input DVD video/audio into line inputs 7 & 8.

Successfully recorded program output and isocam 1 to HDD mediapak at the same time – it created 2 separate .avi files. Resolution contained some noise but not bad. Tried to take into Avid/Final Cut. Couldn't open the file on either system. Recorded as .avi in ext3 system format. Sean will burn to cd and I'll try to import into Avid or Final Cut.

2/29/08

Sean open files and placed on FTP. Downloaded files to mediapak. Imported into avid successfully. Both sound and video. Little bit of noise in video. If we decide to use the HDD as a backup, Sean will place a workstation near head-end that runs linux. After recording is complete from Anystream, we'll take the mediapak to this workstation and copy the files to the desktop. When copying is complete, remove ext3 formatted mediapak from the reader and replace with a NTFS formatted mediapak. Copy the files to the NTFS mediapak and take into an Avid suite and import the files using the Mediapak reader.

Successfully test audio inputs 3 – 6.

Successfully tested all audio outputs (program l-r, aux1 l-r, aux2 l-r, mix l-r). Fed tone and wireless mic into Anycast, then alternated tone/wireless mic output to shure mixer, monitored with headphones.

Successfully tested dv inputs and recorded dv program out to shredder 2000 (Steve's favorite deck.) Recorded wireless mic and switched between canon hd, hitachi, and powerpoint recording to mini-dv on shredder 2000. Playedback tape successfully.

Calibrated internal tone reference level to -14.

03/12/08

Mike has started a nice repository of information here as well as test results.

I thought I would add to it with current production experience:

Production: CSCRM Seminar.

Location: Wolstein Auditorium

Scenario: Single Camera shoot, PowerPoint, Intro by Host at Podium, Single Presenter, Q & A

Notes: As you may already know it's a tight fit for shooting behind the seats in Wolstein. However, it lent itself appropriately for side saddle shooting with the Anycast positioned snuggly between me and the camera. The small projector stand (P9) worked nicely as a table for the Anycast to set upon. I used the mediapac as an external drive for primary recording to AVI and did a DVCam iso in the camera with program audio fed from the Anycast. I could have iso recorded this to the mediapak as well as program but sided on being cautious this time out. It was a cool setup. I should have taken a picture. I produced the program record tightly, a couple seconds of the opening PowerPoint slide with a dissolve to the host speaker and then a fade to black at the tail. Then End.

I copied the file (16GB AVI) from the mediapac to the Linux machine desktop and then copied it to the FTP Server Submission watch folder for an apparently seamless workflow to Case TV.

I noticed a considerable improvement in PowerPoint slides.

Here's the link to Anycast Production on 03/12/08: http://tv.case.edu/actions/tv2/tv?play=true&id=8878&filter=Academics

Here's a comparative link to a similar previous production on 01/09/08: http://tv.case.edu/actions/tv2/tv?play=true&id=8155&filter=research

Pete