#Sanyo
28 messages in this thread
>> The Matrox Animation Xpress Professional Digital Animation Recorder
>> will also be added as soon as it ships.
Huh? Was 'dat?
Dan
Dan, E-Mail me you Address/Phone I'll send you a Brochure. Briefly:
The Studio-Xpress in an EISA-bus motion JPEG compression/decompression
card that provides record and playback at full CCIR-601 resolution,
30 frames (60 fields) per second in 24-bit true-color. Suggested
$2195! James M. Murphy
>> The Studio-Xpress in an EISA-bus motion JPEG
compression/decompression card that provides record and playback at
full CCIR-601 resolution, 30 frames (60 fields) per second in 24-bit
true-color. Suggested $2195! <<
Do you need an Illuminator Pro to hook the Studio-Xpress to?
Therefore, a typical combo would be $3695 + $2195 = $5890. Is that
accurate? TIA.
Martin,
>> Do you need an Illuminator Pro to hook the Studio-Xpress to? Therefore, a
typical combo would be $3695 + $2195 = $5890. Is that accurate? TIA. <<
Yes! However if you were smart enough to buy a Matrox Illuminator Pro board in
the first place then it's only an additional $2195.<BG>
James M. Murphy
James,
>> Yes! However if you were smart enough to buy a Matrox Illuminator Pro board
in the first place then it's only an additional $2195.<BG>
Back when I bought my targa+, almost 2 years ago, Truevision was about the only
contender. Matrox may have had an Illuminator 16 or something but that wasn't
good enough. Seems like Matrox may have a slight edge over Truevision in the
price/features race. That may change with this Truevision DVR vapourware thing,
if it ever condenses into anything tangible.
Martin,
>>> Back when I bought my targa+, almost 2 years ago, Truevision was about the
only contender. <<<
MY GOD! Martin!!!!! How can you stand working with such OLD Technology! <g>
Don't you know the cycle is 6 Months and OUT Now!! <BG>
>> Seems like Matrox may have a slight edge
over Truevision in the price/features race. That may change with this
Truevision DVR vapourware thing <<
Well if their support is as good on the DVR as it is currently only the
current/remaining crop of Die-Hard Dealers will be enjoying it. <g>
As a new dealer I wanted to give Truevision a shot but they blew it big time in
the support department. As a small company I can't afford a two week or
sometimes NEVER call back cycle. That reflects on ME.
James M. Murphy
James:
>> As a new dealer I wanted to give Truevision a shot but they blew it big
>> time in the support department. As a small company I can't afford a two
>> week or sometimes NEVER call back cycle.
Maybe it's your personality! <g,d,& r> We have never had any problems
getting through to Truevision, and have a direct line to some of
their engineers! In fact, when I noticed a problem in their AT-Vista
ADI driver around a year ago, they re-wrote that portion of the code
and I had a new driver within a week! And I know they just came out
with a new driver again for 3DS3 last week, before Autodesk even
started shipping R3! Although, I must say, we didn't have to call
them often, we find their boards rather easy to install and support.
Greg,
>> We have never had any problems getting through to Truevision, and have a
direct line to some of their engineers! <<
Perhaps it has something to do with the Size of your orders….as a
new dealer they wouldn't even give me a direct line phone number…in
fact I was told point blank that as a new dealer I was too small to
deal with directly and that _I_ would have to go through distribution
for my support etc.
( Before you ask! In a letter Dated February 1, 1993 signed by
Allison Hoyland..ok.)
I also was told that until I was able to give them a substancial
order and prove to them it wasn't a one shot deal that was the end of
it…period! Their Europeon Rep. was the last person to respond to
any of my calls for assistance and he promised a call back from
Indiana which never came….I also had a "_small_" client, Wisconsin
Public Service Corporation…..leave 3 calls directly by them go
unheaded and add to that 4 calls by me and two messages on their
forum which never were addressed. That's just one instance.
Sure Public service bought the Targa+ 64 over a year ago…is that
any reason to ignore them now!
I'll tell you who solved the problem….it was Nik Grant at
Autodesk….who was willing to spend 3 hours on the phone with us
until we got it solved.. kudos to Mr. Grant and Autodesk and Shame
on Truevision for being so narrow minded.
Small Companies don't always stay small or go away. I'm sure if you
were starting over in this business Greg, you would probably be
experiencing the same problems….then again yours is a rather unique
situation. <g>
I hope you understand that as a small business I need to deal with
companies that are willing to support me while I'm still small and
growing….it's just too damn easy for these corportions to say ta'
hell with the little guys.
This is the kind of short sited thinking that has gotten many an
electronics Company in Big trouble in the past…Markets change
technoligies change, companies grow, some vaporize overnight….I've
been in the electronics business since the 70's and Nothing surprises
me…..except the fact that we don't learn from our mistakes.
I can't understand Truevisions attitude towards small startups….it
just boggles the mind when you consider thats where the future comes
from….YOU KNOW Greg!
The Little Guy Who was too Dumb to realize it was an impossible
task…so he went right out and did it anyway!
I seem to be rambling but that's nothing new…..I love this business
I wouldn't have stuck around for 20+ years if I didn't…it's just
that companies like truevision really dissapoint me…they really do.
Then again….it's thier loss. James M.( for Matrox <BG> ) Murphy
>> Truevision
Just to let you know, we don't (and never have), buy direct from them.
We only became dealers for them after 3DS came out, so I can't claim
a long history, either!
And remember, three years ago we were only 5 people, hardly what I'd
call a large company! (We are at 16 now.)
Who knows?
Greg Pyros
Greg,
>> three years ago we were only 5 people <<
I'd be real happy if I could provide employment for 5 people in this industry
today.
Like you say….Who Knows?
As long as we're happy doing what were doing.
Murph'
Here! Here!
Think I'll hoist one on that one James, hell, if I had a
scooter I'd hit the roadhouses.
Merlin
Ditto's Merlin….I really miss the ol' 72 FatBob. Damn it….I
gotta make enough money next year to get a new scoot. Kinda hard to
not hear that distant thunder on long dark nights. Murph'
I too yearn for the wind and the rumble. I guess if my
business ever crashes completely I have enough stuff here to sell for
bike and road money. (I like having back-ups). I hear them go down
the street and unless I am real busy, it rather bothers me. Oh well,
I made that choice, I am happy for now, but nest year or the one
after that, I will be pulling up at one of those ADESK parties or
SIGGRAPHS on my new scooter, (g)
Again, sorry to hear about your unfortunate experiences, re:
Truevision. You've got Greg's side of it, now here's mine:
CSA is a Truevision Master Dealer (purchasing direct), presumably both
due to the quantity of sales & quality of support on their products
since 1985. So, yes, we usually get good technical response from
Truevision, perhaps because of the age of the relationship. Certainly
things have been weird as the Rasterops on & off merger finally
happened, and changes occurred in the distribution system.
BTW, as Master Dealers, we are able to resell product to dealers who
wish to purchase product from us, rather than your working through a
national distributor (like Tech Data, Access, Ingram, etc.).
Does Truevision pay you to answer tech support questions in there
forum? If not, they ought to. I can't recall ever seeing them give a
useful answer to anything technical over there, but you usually come
through.
When I was trying to figure out which board to buy, I found it
absolutely impossible to get ahold of anyone at either Matrox or
Truevision. I understand how a super-mass volume company like
Diamond can't be expected to give much pre-purchase support on $250
SVGA cards, but for professional grade boards that cost $1500-$4000,
you ought to be able to talk to somebody.
The main reason I went with a Targa64+ was that I knew it would work.
Also, while we're beating on Truevision, what the heck is the deal
with all these nifty utilities that they provide with the board but
don't give you any documentation on? I've figured out some of them
by experimentation. Whenever somebody asks them for documentation,
they tell them to go buy the developer's kit for $50 or whatever it
costs. Why the heck did they go to the trouble to print all those
super glossy color manuals and leave out the docs for the utilities?
They can't be selling enough developer's kits to add much to their
bottom line.
Bailey
Thanks. I wouldn't mind if they free-flagged me over in the
Truevision section, but they don't. I WAS the one to suggest they
get on Compuserve originally, though. I wouldn't rag on them too
much – *I* get excellent support, and they've proven to be pretty
helpful on Compuserve. That is, they will often make a phone support
call to someone in need, once the issue is brought up in their forum,
because it's more personalized, and they can work through it faster
and more thoroughly than they probably can in a message. Thus, they
make use of EMAIL and phone for a more in-depth response than gets
posted openly.
As for the utilities, some of them become self-explanatory once you
have the info on the Targa registers or .TGA file format (info which
is in the Developer's Toolkits). I don't provide much in the way of
docs for anything I write, either. Many of these utilities were just
things popped out by some tech w/a current need, and I think it's
great that they're even willing to distribute their work. Too much
documentation makes it seem like a real product, and can be construed
to place an obligation on the company to support it.
I have to talk for Truevision like always, Baley <g> I'm not the
Kevin-like high class dealer type, neither the Gus-like advanced
programmer type (you can say that this guys have the necessary
support because theis relations or whatever). I have speak with you
about this before, you and James know my GREAT opinion about tech
support in Truevision, not only in CI$ but also by the phone and his
dealers. However, I know that, because my good comments, you will
continue to thinking that I'm an Indianapolis native and Jerry
Thompson my cousine! <g> But I'm not from Indianapolis neither
Jerry's cousine. I started to get good support the first time I got a
problem with the Targa+, long time ago, BEFORE I and Jesus become
involved with the specialized computer press. I remember the Big Boss
of Truevision Inc. Europe sending me an e-mail via Compuserve and a
fax to Techex madrid to get my problem solved, a problem that I
posted in Truelink. Anyway, as you now (and I think that both James
and you should have this in mind) I CAN'T make a PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
an UNIVERSAL fact. I understand that you guys have had bad tech
experiences, but also understand that there are a lot of people with
good experiences. And that apply to all companies that are in the
market. If all costumers are as unsatisfied as you, I'm sure that
Truevision will not survive in the fierve video field competition.
ana "with a new ID" /krazy images
I really gotta stop ragging on Truevision….they have a good product
and those few people who would talk to me were nice enough. The
timing was critically bad on their part….I was a Newly Authorized
Multimedia dealer trying to impress a Billion Dollar Client and
getting absolutly nowhere with the vendors tech support….not a good
way to keep Fortune 10 companies attention. Left a very long lasting
bad impression on me and my client. The Client is still considering
future purchases through me but I can't help but wonder how well we
came accross with a one week no call back from the Vendor….You know
what I mean..Ya' I _am_ a Small operation but I don't need people
like truevision looking down their noses at me over it….OOPS! There
I go again. I guess I just better shut up about it and stay away
from the topic. I doubt if I'll ever be able to recommend any of
their products now or in the future based on this and a few other
similiar experiences I've had with them.
On the other hand….I am real happy with Matrox….of course someone
else will probably tell me they had the same kind of feelings towards
Matrox that I have towards Truevision….so it goes. <g>
Before I get unhitched in time here I better rape this up and thank
you for the call back on this one. I also could use your Phone
Number….I seem to have lost it and may want to pass some truevision
people on to you. HEY!……It COULD Happen!!! <BG> James M. Murphy
James,
Here's my info, including phone#:
Kevin Krell
Computer Support Associates
2050 Bundy Drive, Suite 270
Los Angeles, CA 90025
voice: 310/820-4004
fax: 310/826-5710
And hey! My experiences as a Matrox dealer were not so hot. At the time, they
had their act together for CAD, but the Multimedia group was a little
disorganized (plus my French-Canadian is non-existent).
RE: AT VISTA ADI driver.
Is the new R3 driver available for download anywhere, or should we call
Truevision ?
Thanks
That driver ships with R3.
– G
Frank:
It's included with R3, but if you have any problems, let me know. We beat
it up pretty good here, and haven't had any problems with it.
In fact, just finished the title sequences for "Mysteries of the Ancient
World", a CBS special, with it, all rendered at 1008×486 with alpha split
for the matts, and it worked wonderfully! Talk about hi res images!
Greg Pyros
I don't know anyone who can afford an almost $2k piece of equipment
(targa+) and then dump it in 6 months in favour of the next best
thing. Besides, the Illuminator Pro's best features have only just
been released. They've been talking about this and that for years,
delivery takes a little longer <g>.
>> I don't know anyone who can afford an almost $2k piece of
equipment (targa+) and then dump it in 6 months in favour of the next
best thing. <<
I hope you understand I was kidding. I was just pointing out the
obviously short life cycles products in the Electronics experience.
Isn't this topic regarding the Sanyo something or other ?
Right Marty,
Actually if anyone is interested in more information about this outstanding
single frame animation VTR (I've been told not to shamlessly promote the
product openly on line) Please E-Mail me your Address and Phone Number.
We've formed a Sanyo Buyers Club Deal of sorts and will be taking names for
early delivery.
Special Buy-In Pricing Etc. Etc.
Just E-Mail all Enquiries to James M. Murphy 71165,1306.
Or you can CAll me directly at: (414) 435-7345 or (414) 437-3898.
James M. Murphy
Actually, James, I should have mine in a day or two — but I AM
interested in knowing whether the Sanyon can emulate another deck
(reason being that the Fast Video machine doesn't yet have a Sanyo
driver and it may be many months before it does).
I had read early on in the Sanyo literature that it used the same
"industry standard" command set — does this mean I could select
another deck that IS supported and those commands would be sent (via
232, I suppose) and be understood?
Is it a Done deal? Or have you got time to get in to our buy-in?
>> I had read early on in the Sanyo literature that it used the same
"industry standard" command set — does this mean I could select
another deck that IS supported and those commands would be sent (via
232, I suppose) and be understood? <<
I can only assume Yes at this stage since I don't have another decks
driver or the Fast Video machine, to try this out with.
Actually you would do better going directly to the source….I've had
a similiar disscussion with BCD who supplied the Animation Controller
and Beleive me it is a BCD Controller…..I suggest you give Bob
Howard at BCD a Call, if he can't get specific enough, he'll put
someone on that can ….their Phone number is (BCD) 405-843-4574.
Let me know how you fair with BCD. Please let me know about the deck
too! I just spoke with Gus this afternoon and he mentioned you were
getting one. You're welcome to join Club Sanyo. <BG> James M. Murphy