#Exabyte video Vs. Sony
8 messages in this thread
John,
Have I been missing something? This sounds "wonderful"! Where can learn more?
Please don't let me buy that multi-gig tape backup before I learn more about
this system. We are using a Targa +/Diaquest/7750. It was a very big step up
from FLC files, but I still have that terrible nagging feeling that I am
squandering my youth on mediocre output…
Donald
Donald – John T. is out of town skiing, lucky devil but maybe I can
answer your question. What John is referring to is an Exabyte 8500 or
8505. With this Tape Drive and a driver provided by ASDG which works
in a 32 bit application in Windows you can transfer rendered images
at 720×486 to an Abekas DDR with conversion done from TGA to YUV and
color correction. What is required is an ASPI compliant SCSI
controller, the 8500 or 8505, and the ASDG driver and the Windows.
The cost is around $3000 total more or less depending on whether you
have an ASPI compliant SCSI controller. This does not replace your DQ
and 7750 as you will still need them for tests. But with this
configuration you can send an 8mm tape to a service bureau and have
the animation transferred to the Abekas at D1 quality or Beta SP or
any other format the service bureau provides. The ASDG driver also
supports a whole range of file formats. ASDG can be contacted at
608/273/6585 for more info. John T. should be back in a few days.
John,
That sounds like just the right thing. We've just moved to Minnesota, I just
installed three SCSI cards and I am shopping for a BIG tape drive and an
animation service bureau.
As we were moving I had the nightmare of having to finish a project as
soon I could unpack a machine, then racing it out to a "service
bureau", only to discover that I had been snookered by a clever
salesman… We ended up sending the data over three times in three
different formats before they got the stuff up, and then a guy sat
there for three hours dragging each frame across his Mac desktop and
"dropping" them one by one to the VTR…only to have the terrible
salesman come back and try to bill me for all of those hours…
Then, only a few days later to discover that a new 1 gig drive onto
which I had dumped everything of any importance went dead as I was
running a backup…
This Exebyte (?) deal sounds like it might save me some grief. So,
you buy the tape drive, then you buy this ADSG Windows driver…and
they tell you where to send it for the incredibly cheap Abekas
output… Sounds Great!
Do you like the Exebyte as an all-around backup? Is it a good value? There
are a lot of high capacity tape drives out there, does ADSG only work with this
one?
Thanks,
Donald Newlands
Donald – I've shopped around and the Exabyte is not only the industry
standard, it also seems to be the best value for the money. John T.
has a favorite place in S.F. for doing his transfers, FTI but to give
you an idea of what types of "service bureaus", actually Post houses,
are involved in providing this service here is a short list.
Action Video Hollywood – Manhattan Transfer NY, NY. Pacific Video
Resources S.F. – Digital Post & Graphics Seattle The Post Group
Hollywood – Video Post Graphics Dallas TX.
All highend facilities. But actually any facility with an Abekas can
do it if they have an Exabyte which many do as the DDR has a built in
facility for back-up using the Exabyte format.
I cringe when I hear stories like what you experienced with the tape
drive and the "service bureau". This is always a concern when using a
"service bureau" but the names provided are very professional
facilities with a typical 24 hour turnaround.
The exabyte is a great all-around backup, and I think a very good
value when compared it to Colorado or Mountain, where I got cost
estimates of 2 times greater at a minimum. With this setup you can
also reverse the process, ie do rotoscoping of the highest quality
only limited by your source material and its format. If you're
interested I'll email you some more particulars.
I'm back!!! I don't want to work anymore, just ski for the rest of my life
(after my back gets done being sore <g>) =).
John Tissavary (La Luna cie)
John
>> I don't want to work anymore… <<
Me neither, I want to get on 50 foot sloop and Island hop with my animation
system. Not at all practical, but that's what I want to do. &^)
That's me with goggles
-JE
>>Island hop with my animation system<<
All you need is a Honda generator, a couple hundred grand, and you're in
buisness! <g>
>I'm back!!! I don't want to work anymore, just ski for the rest of my life
I haven't gone skiing since the Alps 5 years ago. Talk about
withdrawal!! A few friends are skiing right now, but in Indiana.. so
I passed. It'd be like animating on my old 386.. not worth the time.
My knees were the things that killed me after a good week.. but well worth it.
I'm jealous.
JNJ