CompuServe Messages

We use an LVR-5000 (hopped up) here in Autodesk's Image Development lab. I say hopped up because we got it 4 years ago for doing the Bored Room and simply upgraded it as improvements came. It is a crucial element in our lab and is responsible for all video animations we render. Without it, none of our animations projects would have come in on time. My suggestion is to get the LVR-5000a. I'm pretty sure it has the drop-out compensator (A MUST) built in plus it has both RS-232 and RS-422 support. You'll need the RS-422 support if you plan to use this device with any standard editing systems. (like another Betacam or Calaway editor) It has a decent transcoder built in for RGB, YRB and Composite. The time it takes to lay down a segment of video is about the fastest way you can currently go, not to mention playback speed can be varied or reversed with ease. We've found it indispensable for doing animation tests as you can easily flip between single video frames for study. One drawback of this machine is support at on-line facilities (at least as we've found it.) You have to convert to another format when you want to do your on-line editing. Another drawback is it's write-once recording. Anything you record is there until armageddon. It will work with the Lyon Lamb, I used it that way for a while but at the time the software LL had would pre-roll the LVR. It took as long as going to a Betacam! (they must have resolved that by now) I use it with a Diaquest controller and have had great success (witness all the videos we've produced.) The Diaquest runs it in RS-232 mode, not 422. This requires me to switch the machine between the two modes for when I want to record from the Vista or edit with the Calaway. Not a big problem. (Greg promised to let me play with his code but I guess he's too busy <hehehe> Greg- will your code work in 422 mode?) I all in all I think it's an excellent choice for a purchase, I would be surprised if you didn't find it as important to your animation needs as we have. Jamie