Media Station

[N-G-NEER]

whith little fanfare Digi has been updating the Media Station and the discription seems a bit illusive. Can anyone explain what this is? and what it can do? At first look it seems to allow for laybacks from Protools but that's something we've been doing from the app for many years. So just what does it do, and what are the pluses verses the minuses.

Thanks

[Richard Fairbanks]

I'm not sure if this is the answer you are asking for....

These bullet points are copied from digi's website:

Record audio and video directly from tape
Import an EDL and batch digitize from tape
Open and re-digitize an existing sequence from an Avid editing system
Render all effects
Import/export an AAF sequence from/to Pro Tools systems
Lay back audio and video to tape
Export audio and video sequences in digital format

If you have a 192IO, SyncIO, and either MOJO or V10, Media Station will digitize your audio and video. Up to 8 channels of audio is handled properly by your 192IO instead of a couple of analog inputs on someone's MOJO. Media Station will read an EDL or Avid sequence and digitize your audio from it, allowing you to conform time-coded source audio from 9 pin machines in a tradition manner. It will be updated to be compatible with new versions of Pro Tools on a single machine (in theory you should not have to maintain two operating system installations to use both apps on a single machine). Once you've got all the audio and video you need from an EDL or Avid sequence, you may export it as an aaf sequence for use with Pro Tools. This is just like exporting from an Avid. Because Media Station supports most quicktime formats, you can import or export quicktime movies.

Without Media Station, but with supported video hardware, Pro Tools can record video and audio directly. That can be a convenience but it cannot read EDLs and does not import or export quicktime movies. Pro Tools will only digitize video in DV25 resolution. You need an Avid or Media Station to use 1:1 video.

Media Station is UNLIKE an Avid in that most editing operations are inhibited. You will not be able to cut a show on it!

If you need to layback audio to tape you can do that within Pro Tools the way we always have. However, if there is a need to layback audio and video simultaneously, Media Station should be able to do that without tieing up an Avid. In other words, it has the necessary video output tools that Pro Tools does not. This might be useful in some facility workflows.

The three big points for me are: Media Station supports Digi's audio hardware, it reads any standard EDL format and digitizes (conforms to the timeline) multichannel audio from it, it supports import/export of quicktime movies.

[N-G-NEER]

Thanks Richard,

Your always up on so many of these little things. Right now I output from an avid into protools but this is a new shop and I am a one man band so to speak. So at this juncture this isn't something of value to me but I will keep it in mind as the company grows.
Again thanks so much

[CD Productions]

"Media Station will read an EDL or Avid sequence and digitize your audio from it, allowing you to conform time-coded source audio from 9 pin machines in a tradition manner."

Do you still need Machine control for this, or does Media composer supply the 9pin machine control?

[Wellnitz]

Hi charles,

i have MS software bought with a mojo. I was very dissapointed, cause for PT i use the sync I/O for machinecontrol. To use MS you need to switch the rs422 cable, as ever for avid, to a usb keyspan and avid serial cable.

Mojo creates a mxf videofile and i can´t convert that to a meridien 20:1 file to use it with meridien hardware. the same vice versa, a video file 20:1 from meridienhardware converted to a dv 25 mxf file for mojo.

The first problem was to find out that MS 1.6.1 doesn´t work with 10.3.9. Only 10.3.7.
After uninstalling MS PT wasn´t running. I had to make a new PT installation.

So hopefully Richard can inlighten my old german soul with a bit of MS information if it is possible to convert meridien files to mojo or mojo files to meridien?

Thank you Richard in advance.

Jochen

[Richard Fairbanks]

Gosh, Herr Wellnitz, I am sorry to say I have retired my meridien hardware so I do not have any experience doing what you want to do. You say you cannot import JFIF 20:1 files into Media Station, right? This is contradictory to what Digi says on a page linked by this product page

All other standard-definition Avid resolutions can be imported and transcoded to DV25 so Pro Tools system users with Avid Mojo can still work with sequences created in any Avid editor. MXF video and audio are also supported.

It indicates that you should be able to import your meridien files for Pro Tools. I'm not sure about the other direction, though. As I said, I don't have any experience with your exact needs.

For the record, I don't think Media Station is as good of a value as it should have been, but at least it is capable of doing conform with 9 pin machines. It does not require a separate machine control purchase for that, and the USB to 422 serial interface is not expensive at all. Overall, I get the feeling Avid/Digi spent much of their initial development deciding what features NOT to include. They were very careful in that way.

[bad jitter]

Tape? What's that? Is it something that somebody used in the last millenium?

Record audio and video directly from tape
Import an EDL and batch digitize from tape

[Wellnitz]

Thanks Richard,

i ´ll do another test with the meridien files. What makes me worry is that in MS i cannot import the mxf file created with the mojo.
The best way IMHO of working with MS and PT is to buy a patchpay for remote control, so you can easy switch from sync I/O to Keyspan.

@ bad jitter:

how do you think the tv stations get their films, blockbusters , series, etc.?

my 2 cents

Jochen

[TVPostSound]

have MS software bought with a mojo. I was very dissapointed, cause for PT i use the sync I/O for machinecontrol. To use MS you need to switch the rs422 cable, as ever for avid, to a usb keyspan and avid serial cable.

Keep the Keyspan for Protools, it works better than the Sync I/O for serial control.

[Richard Fairbanks]

yeah tape. We could have used MS 6 or 7 years ago, in a major way, but better late than never! Tape is not quite dead yet.