Advice on setting up for Post

[Stereo Missile]

Hi guys,

I'm a composer/producer but recently doing a lot more work to picture and getting asked to do the sound mix and sound design for more video / web projects and need some advice about a few things:

Firstly, I need to set up a dedicated video monitor and video playback device. Currently I am running PT 12.1 on a Mac Pro 2009 OS 10.8.5, 24Gb Ram with HDX1 and an Avid S6. I have 1 free PCIe slot, not sure if I have a spare internal power lead for the slot though as my graphics card uses one power lead, so I may need to get a power splitter cable. My Mac has firewire 800, but no thunderbolt. Another consideration is that my Mac is in a separate machine room, so I need to do a cable run of around 8-10m to the video monitor. I may at some stage also want to run a video split to the studio for ADR, although it's not an immediate priority.

So here are my questions:

1. What PCIe video card should I get? AJA? Black magic? Will I need to use SDI to get the video signal that distance or is HDMI ok? How accurate do I need video sync to be, and how can I achieve that?

2. Recommendations on a video monitor or tv? Doesn't need to be big as I will be sitting close, so around 24" or a bit larger is fine. Doesn't need to be high end, something mid range or affordable is fine as long as the picture looks decent.

3. Finally, I am an experienced engineer and I know how to mix, but I would like to find some reference or learning material that is specific to the art of post mixing, with up to date workflows etc. I don't need anything basic on how to use protools or plugins etc, I already know all that, more about the artistic side of it and workflow as well as technical requirements such as loudness etc.

Thanks in advance guys! :)

[reichman]

1. I prefer AJA.

2. A good consumer TV is fine. Get a sync measurement device so you can dial in the audio-video delay exactly (http://www.sync-one2.co.uk/)

3. Big topic. Honestly, it sounds like you have a great facility and a good business sense. Hire a re-recording mixer to do the first few gigs.

[Stereo Missile]

Thanks Nathaniel!

Can you get consumer TV's that will accept different frame rates like 25p, 24p, 30p? (I'm in OZ so mostly 25p but I also do some film scores at 24p).

Yes I am definitely leaning more towards the AJA stuff from what I have been reading - wondering if I should go down the Kona 3G route, or even if I should bite the bullet and upgrade to a trashcan and go thunderbolt with a T-Tap.

Thanks for your advice mate, much appreciated!

[Chief Technician]

Originally Posted by Stereo Missile

Can you get consumer TV's that will accept different frame rates like 25p, 24p, 30p? (I'm in OZ so mostly 25p but I also do some film scores at 24p).

You will have to buy what most manufacturers call a world model. Samsung used to make a few. The last world model my employer bought was an LG.

[reichman]

or even if I should bite the bullet and upgrade to a trashcan and go thunderbolt with a T-Tap.

I love that my nMP and the T-Tap fit in my gig bag and have near-genlock quality sync at a fraction of the size and cost. Everyone should have a T-Tap.

Obviously, everyone has different needs, but when I was pricing out the options to stay with my ye olde giant Mac Pro, vs. a Mac mini or iMac, the new black Mac Pro was sometimes cheaper in total cost because you could attach more inexpensive dead-end Thunderbolt devices. For example, if you have a Mac with only a couple of TB ports, you have to buy expensive TB devices that have TB loop-through.

[Stereo Missile]

Thanks guys!

Ok so if I want to do gen lock, do I have to have an avid sync hd? Or are there other alternatives? If I can get near gen lock with a t-tap then how much do I really need gen lock?

[Stereo Missile]

One other thing, can you use a computer monitor to view video from the HDMI or SDI output of a kona or BM card at different frame rates? I'm mostly working at 1080p25 but sometimes 1080p24 for film. Would be nice to have an affordable TV or monitor that can play back any of the usual frame rates, picture quality is not super important as long as it is acceptable.

I've been trying to research TVs and monitors from manufacturers websites but they just don't tell you this stuff, there is nothing about frame rates only refresh rates. The only things I can find that specifically state they can play back different frame rates and formats are basically broadcast monitors, but I don't want to spend $3-4000 on a broadcast monitor, I'm not doing color grading!

Searching for "world models" for TV's has drawn a complete blank so far.

Any ideas guys? Thanks so much for all your help!

:)

[reichman]

In my home rig, I have a 1920 x 1080 computer screen with HDMI that plays 23.976, 29.97, and 29.97DF with a T-Tap just fine. Haven't tried 25 on it, but I suspect it would be okay, too. These screens are so cheap, it's worth buying and trying.

[Chief Technician]

Originally Posted by Stereo Missile

Thanks guys!

Ok so if I want to do gen lock, do I have to have an avid sync hd?

Yes.

Originally Posted by Stereo Missile

Or are there other alternatives?

No.

Originally Posted by Stereo Missile

If I can get near gen lock with a t-tap then how much do I really need gen lock?

If your t-tap is gen locked, and the incoming video (Pro Tools) is not gen locked, then your t-tap's video output will not be gen locked unless the t-tap also acts as a time base corrector. I doubt that the t-tap can do the duties of a time base corrector.

You need the video signal coming into the t-tap to be gen locked before it enters the t-tap. This is why both the Sync HD and the t-tap need to be gen locked. If the Sync HD is gen locked, then the video output of Pro Tools is gen locked, and if the t-tap is gen locked, then the video output of Pro Tools continues to be gen locked at the t-tap output.

[8dB.co.uk]

Tests on the T-TAP without any reference have shown it to be very stable and consistent. Most digital only cards are. The problem arises if you need to lock your ProTools to another machine, or if you are recording your ProTools video output, which is an unlikely scenario.

So, unless you want to run Satellite, you really honestly do not need the Sync HD.

If you are always running tapeless single system, in the box, then you will be fine on internal syncs.

Think about it - why, especially on a "p" format, do you need tri-level line sync?