Frequently Asked
Technical Questions MovieRecorder
What are the limitations of
the demo version?
DVI version
vs PCI version
What are the
differences between the PCI and the DV version?
What are the advantages of the DV version?
What are the advantages of the PCI version?
Hardware
What converters do you recommend for the DV version?
What Video Card do you recommend for the Video Card
version?
How do I know if my converter or my Video Card is
recognized by MovieRecorder?
Can I connect a Firewire device to the Mac while recording
video clips with MovieRecorder?
Can I control MovieRecorder using external devices like GPI
or MIDI?
Can I control GPI devices using MovieRecorder?
The newer
MacPros’ slots have fixed PCI Express lane
configurations. How does this impact using multiple cards
in a system.
Two cards
configurations / OnTheAir Video
Can a single computer be used to input
two different video streams.
Can I use OnTheAir Video products and MovieRecorder
products on an Apple SAN.
Is it possible to ingest media using MovieRecorder and
output the ingested clip with the second video card using
OnTheAir Video while OnTheAir Video is outputting on the
same workstation?
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What are the limitations of the demo version?
The demo version is only limited by the fact that
Movierecorder will quit after 10 minutes of use.
DVI version vs PCI
version
What are the differences between the PCI and the DV
version?
The main difference is that the DV version uses an external
DV converter to input the video signal, and the PCI version
uses an internal PCI video card (Decklink, KONA,...) to
input the audio/video signal. There are also some
differences in the number of video inputs, of video formats
and of flexibility.
What are the advantages of the DV version?
The main advantage of the DV version is that it can ingest
several Video signals on one computer. For MovieRecorder
there is no limit, you could chain as many DV converters as
you want but there is, of course, the limit of the hardware
(Disk and CPU). We recommend not to chain more than 3 DV
converters on one
computer. The necessity to have more than one signal going
in one computer (for economic or other reasons like field
recording on a MacBook Pro) is the primary reason to use
the DV version of OnTheAir Video. OnTheAir Video DV main
disadvantage is the limitation to the dv format.
What are the advantages of the PCI version?
The PCI Version is much more flexible than the DV
version specially regarding the video formats that can be
used. MovieRecorder in the PCI version can ingest in a lot
of video codecs. The only important limitation is that it
can't ingest files that are working with GOPs such as
as mpeg-2 or H.264 codecs. But MovieRecorder can ingest DV,
DVCPRO-25, DVCPRO-50, MPEG-4, M-JPEG, DVCPRO HD, ProRes,
IMX, AVI (and many more codecs, just test them before
important recording!). You can input only two signals on
one computer using two decklink cards in the same computer.
your text
Hardware
What converters do you recommend for the DV
version?
Since this market is evolving constantly, we cannot test
all versions of every model of converters there are on the
market. So we recommend you try the application with the
converter you're planning to buy and make
sure it works ok. Generally, we found the Canopus
converters to be the most reliable, but we noticed a few
problems when using cell phones very close to the low-end
models like the ADVC-100. Alternatively, you can also use
any DVCam or DV VCR or camera as a converter (provided it
has an iLink input).
What Video Card do you recommend for the Video Card
version?
Since this market is evolving constantly, we cannot test
all versions of every model of PCI video cards there are on
the market. So we recommend you try the application with
the PCI card you're planning to buy and make sure it works
ok. Generally, we found the Decklink Video PCI Cards to be
the very reliable. The KONA should work very well, but we
are currently making long tests on it. Until now, we found
no problem using it, but you should also test it with your
configuration to be sure.
How do I know if my converter or my Video Card is
recognized by MovieRecorder?
DV version : When you start MovieRecorder, if the
UserInterface window shows up, it means your FireWire
interface has been recognized. If it doesn't open, your
FireWire interface is not recognized
PCI version : When you start MovieRecorder, and if you
click on "Capture Settings", if you click on "Source" Tab,
you will see there a list including your Video Card. If
not, then check if your drivers are installed, check also
if no other application such as Final Cut Pro or OnTheAir
Videouses the Video Card.
Can I connect a Firewire device to the Mac while
recording a video Stream with MovieRecorder?
DV version : No, we do recommend that you do NOT connect or
disconnect anything while MovieRecorder is recording. The
reason is that a bus reset might occur, interrupting the
ingest. If you are not recording, there's no problem
connecting/disconnecting a FireWire device.
PCI version : Yes, as you are not using the Firewire bus to
input the video, there is absolutely no problem to connect
or disconnect any Firewire device.
Can I control MovieRecorder using external devices
like GPI, Telnet or AppleScript?
Yes, MovieRecorder can be controlled through GPI, Telnet or
AppleScript. For GPI, you can use GPI Commander, our USB to
GPI converter . We also provide full AppleScript and Telnet
support.
Can I control GPI devices using
MovieRecorder?
Yes, you can control any GPI device from OTAV. When you
start or stop a recording, you can send a GPI information
through our USB to GPI Commander interface. This interface
has 8 outputs and 24 inputs.
The newer MacPros’ slots have fixed PCI
Express lane configurations. How does this impact using
multiple cards in a system.
This is really an issue regarding use of additional cards
such as a Fibre Channel card. 4 lanes is a lot more than
what a Decklink or AJA card needs. The Fibre Channel card
can still perform very well in one of the "slow" slots
(still much faster than old PCI-X systems.) This said,
there is no impact on MovieRecorder performance, of for
that matter the performance of any of the Softron Media
applications.
For most use with 2 Decklinks and one Fibrechannel card,
you can set Expansion Slot Utility to set number 2 with
four lanes in slot 3 and 4 and one lane is slot 2. You will
then put the Decklink cards in slot 3 and 4 and the
FibreChannel card in slot 2. The Decklink card in slot 4
will show of as Decklink 1 and the one in slot 3 as
Decklink 2.
Two cards
configurations / OnTheAir Video
Can a single computer be used to ingest two or more
different Video streams at the same time.
Yes, but you will need to buy a Movierecorder licence for
every input.
When working with a FireWire interface such as a camera,
VTR FW deck or FW converter, MovieRecorder DV can input up
to four channels of video.
When using two Blackmagic Decklink cards, the PCI version
MovieRecorder can input two channels of video. (AJA drivers
currently do not support multiple cards in a single
MacPro.)
In both instances, hard drive disk speeds must support the
video throughput.
Can I use OnTheAir Video products and MovieRecorder
products on an Apple SAN.
That is the recommended and most often used configuration
for multiple users of all Softron products.
Is it possible to ingest media using MovieRecorder
and output the ingested clip with the second video card
using OnTheAir Video while OnTheAir Video is outputting on
the same workstation?
Yes – providing you use two cards. You can use
MovieRecorder to ingest using one of the Blackmagic cards
while OnTheAir Video is playing out a playlist using the
second Blackmagic card. OnTheAir Video playlists can be
edited during playout. The only limitation is that the clip
being played cannot be modified during playback and that
the next clip in the playlist cannot be changed 10 seconds
before playout.
What makes this even more interesting is that you can
actually start ingesting a reference movie that can be
brought into Final Cut and edited while the ingest
continues. As long as the edited clip is exported from
Final Cut as a self-contained QuickTime file, it can be
dropped into the playlist.
This is extremely useful when you want to output the most
up to date information.