#1970's with VM
4 messages in this thread
Hi, my name is Hal Waterhouse, and I use an Amiga 2000 '030, 55MHZ machine
with the setup described below. I've done weddings in the past, an
insructional video, and a Trade Show booth "bait" video for a printing
company. I would like to do more of the latter in the future, but I've
been limping along with a "Cuts only" type system, using the framestores
in my Toaster to simulate an A/B roll fade.
Is the Sony SVHS, as are the AG1970s? And I thought that it was not a good
practice to mix the two types of machines?
I >>>WAS<<< about to make the purchase of a new 1970 and make it into
the record deck and then hook the entire thing up with an Ami-link
A/B roll editor. Is this not a good idea? I think the whole set-up
would cost the $3,500 you mentioned.
If anybody works with the low-end system I use here (2 1970s and an Amiga
with the Amilink A/B Roll editing, Toaster-based) and has made the
transition to a true A/B roll with 3 VCRs, I would like to talk to you
about the difficulties(?!?), or the ease of use, etc.
Thanks,
Hal
Hi Hal,
OK, here are the reasons why I suggest you go with a higher end deck when
using a computer edit controller. Most higher end decks will have timecode on
them, and this will not only make them more acurate but a heck of alot faster
to work with. Why is timecode so important??? well when you edit with an edit
controller the computer is in controll of the deck and you realy can't grab a
jog shuttle and eyeball it. You will find that your creativity will suffer
while you are working with technical issues and trying to get frames to match.
Now I don't know if the AmiLink controller will handle timecode from a 1970
( either LTC with a Crlson Strand mod. or with VTC ) but the deck is still not
frame accurate. As I stated in a prior post FAST work realy well with the
1970's with VITC but I would still like to have a couple good frame accurate
decks feeding tape to my VM.
OK, now on to the speed issue. If you work with timecode it will take you
alot less time to cut tape, and here is why. If you don't use timecode you will
have to use controll track to edit with. Controll track is nothing more than
the deck counting pulses. It is also used to run the counter on the front of
even consumer grade decks. The draw back of controll track editing ( besides
the fact that it is very inaccurate ) is that the tape has to be rewound to the
begining, and the counter reset, each time it is loaded into a deck. This is
because the counter is reset each time a tape is loaded. In addition you can
not do a full fast forward or reverse with a tape using controll track. You
must stay in search mode. Why??? well bnecause the video head must stay in
contact with the tape so that it can continue to count pulses.
>>> I thought that it was not a good practice to mix the two types of
machines?<<<
Hmmmmm……. I have never heard this before and anyone would be hard pressed
to convince me of it. I suspect that it is a rumor put out by equipment
manufactuers to get you to buy only Panisonic, Sony, JVC etc…
Hope this helps,
Michael W. Towe
Falcon Video Productions
Santee Ca.
Michael,
I guess what I meant to say was, that indeed since the 1970 is a
non-timecode deck then it would perhaps not be a good thing to run the
1970 with the Sony, because it was timecode capable. (Not because of the
brandnames). I sometimes don't explain myself so very good. 🙂
BTW, Amilink controller does use timecode for its instructions but I think
that it is counting pulses (with the 1970s only, I know that it can handle
the larger timecode capable machines, it has a list a 1/2 mile long )just
as you said…. I have a timecode generator (been using it for "time code
window dubs"), that supposedly can lay down time code on one of the audio
tracks, but cannot figure out what to do with the time code after it is
there. Amilink says to always keep the AG1970 on pause, (with the tape on
the heads) so as to be more frame accurate, and talks about pulses even
when the controller does everything in HRS/MIN/SEC/FRAMES.
Do you then use the 1970s as Players, with time code laid on one of the
audio tracks, and then use the Sony as a recorder, with its time code
track seperate from the audio tracks? Am I confused? >>>YES, I AM<<<
!:')
Thanks for your time……
Hal
Toastin' up some slices, while zortchin' down the Digital Dirt Road
o/~ Goin' to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come o/~
Hi Hal,
>>>I guess what I meant to say was, that indeed since the 1970 is a
non-timecode deck then it would perhaps not be a good thing to run the 1970
with the Sony, because it was timecode capable.<<<
Well thats not a problem either. And as I suggested in the earlier post,
you will want to run the timecode deck on the record side.
>>> I have a timecode generator (been using it for "time code window dubs"),
that supposedly can lay down time code on one of the audio tracks, but cannot
figure out what to do with the time code after it is there.<<<
Once you have the timecode on the tape you then have to bring it into a
edit controller that can read the timecode. Unless the deck has a timecode
reader on board and can send the timecode info to the controller. Also with the
1970 you will have to do a modifocation to the deck that will let you output
the linear audio track independently of the HiFi trcks. The deck itself will
only let you mix the tracks. There is a company in Southern Califonia that
makes a mod for this. The name of the company is Carlson Strand and you can get
there number out of just about any copy of Video Maker magazine.
>>>Do you then use the 1970s as Players, with time code laid on one of the
audio tracks, and then use the Sony as a recorder, with its time code track
seperate from the audio tracks?<<<
I do use the 1970's with timecode but I use VITC. This is a timecode that
is recorded in the video area of the signal. The timecode that is recorded on
an audio track is refered to as LTC. I can use VITC since the editor I use (
FAST Video Machine ) will read the VITC timecode and I use a cammera that can
generate it ( Panisonic AG-455 ). On the Sony deck I use LTC time code that is
recorded on audio channel 2 ( some decks will have a seperate channel that is
dedicated for LTC timecode but with most you will have to loose an audio
channel to record LTC to it) My edit controller does not have to read the
timecode from this deck since the deck has the reader on it, and passes the
timecode information to it via the RS-422 cable.
Hope this clears it up a little,
Michael W. Towe
Falcon Video Productions
Santee Ca.