2 man setup

[Sndnerd]

I'm putting to together my list of hardware must-haves to get my 2 man mixing system off the ground. The plan is to have 2 HDX rigs- dial/music/picture/print on one and SFX on the other. Given that most of my projects mix and print nicely with 1 HDX as-is i'm hoping this will be enough horsepower. My question is how do I go about setting this up. I plan on aquiring 2 sync HDs. What else am I missing? will the main rig be the master sync, loop synced to the other sync HD? I'm having a hard time finding info on how to set this up...

[antonis]

Assuming you're working with picture you need a video output card from on of the most used vendors (i.e. AJA, Blackmagic or Avid).

You need to sync the two HD rigs and the video card to the same ref. That means that you'll need a word clock distro (I have a Nanosyncs HD linking a HDN to HD3 and an AJA card for example).

The two Sync HDs, as you mentioned.

A control surface that supports two operators or - obviously - two different surfaces.

Remember, one of the HDX rigs will be your video satellite.

[Sndnerd]

Great, that's what I suspected. Yes I should have mentioned, I have a blackmagic card and D-command 24ES x2. So if I'm running picture/blackmagic card from the main rig (dial/music) I can't use this Sync HD as video ref? I have to get another unit for this?

[antonis]

From frame accurate sync the "star system" for word clock sync should really be employed here. That means that house sync gives ref to the video card and to the two SYNC HDs *** individually ***.

If you work for TV and do not need to flip between frame rates, a house ref and DA could suffice. In real life this is hardly the case and a wordclock master generator is needed.

Theoretically, when working with short-form material one might juuuust get by without video reference. It would be unprofessional, but one rig could have clock reference as internal in the Session Setup window and then serially wordclock a second HD system via the first one. In this case, a second HD is could even be unnecessary.

But while mixing down long-form or a feature then there is no question about it. You will never be certain that what you hear is 100% in sync with what you see. Add to it that with PT11HD Blackmagic cards are known to drift and AJAs are currently a better alternative.

Do you really want to second guess yourself every time you hit play if for example your foley or ADR is in sync?

[Sndnerd]

Ok yes I can see I will be needing to go the star system route then. For syncing the video card, It looks like my BM Intesity pro doesn't have a sync input .. am I right in thinking I need a card that does, such as BM Decklink?

[antonis]

Aye. Decklink would do but if you're in the market for a new card check out the AJA range. There is quite a bit of info online why the AJAs are current better offer a more stable sync.

[Sndnerd]

Looking into an Aja card as well as the Gen10 for house sync. Huge thank-you for your help with this.

[smurfyou]

Big thumbs up for the Aja card and Gen10.