CompuServe Messages

John, >>how does VLAN interface with your decks? And how does in work in conjunction with your Alladin? Does not the Alladin take over that function or is there another aspect to VLAN that you will continue to use?>> VLAN handles all the deck protocalls, start, stop, preroll all that kind of stuff, also insures that the edits occur at exact frame accuracy. OZ PCE does all the interface to the VLAN network. My version is mouse driven but I learned editing with the first versions of OZ so I never used a traditional edit console. But OZ does support a traditional jog pod add on. OZ also controls the Alladin directly, there is no machine control with the Alladin. The Alladin can be used as a standard switcher via RS-232, but OZ has a special interface that lets you select and preview effects directly from OZ. Very nice interface, designed to work specificly with the Alladin if you have one. You only need to fire up the Alladin interface for building you own effects or CG stuff. I also use the OZ system with a Video-in a-window card so everything is right there on the one screen, Video, EDL, Clip bins, CG, still frames & switcher. This is real desktop video production. I'm waiting for my PVR with digitizer to arrive, and that will add the NLE part to my system. The one really nice feature of the Alladin is the ability to design your own effects. Unlike the toaster of the Sony DFS series, you can warp, twist, stretch, shrink or do anything to a video signal. All controlled via timeline type editing. You can start full frame, ball up the video, flatten it out, and then warp fly it off the screen. anything you can imagine you can do. The Alladin comes with predefined sets of effects, page peels to standard SMPTE wipes. Many of the effects that I used to have to generate in VP can now be done real time on the Alladin. Cheers, Tom