Sound Devices PIX 240 ProRes/DNxHD Video Recorder with EPIC

[Paul Isaacs]

I had similar issues last weekend, when it was very cold approx 0-5 degrees, first I assumed it was a power issue, so switched to AC power for the Pix. I believe it's a media issue, we were not using the only approved samsung media & ours has a minimium temp spec of 0 degrees.

Tech Services from sound devices are looking into this, they were surprised by our problems as the other specs greatly exceeded what is required. We were recording to the highest quality pro res.

Playing back on the Pix gives green screens, on a Laptop the action freezes. Sometimes the video output of the pix would freeze however it's screen looked PK. Those takes were always useless.

Please download the latest firmware v1.04 which addresses this corruption issue.
http://www.sounddevices.com/download/pix-firmware.htm

It is worth keeping one eye on our website for latest firmware - always good to be running with the latest code as this will have the latest bug fixes and new features.

Paul Isaacs
Technical Development Manager
Sound Devices

[Mark Crabtree]

Those of us currently recording on the Pix have lots of options on looks. Red Log Film or Red Gamma 2, each with looks we can transfer from Red Cine X Pro or just using in camera adjustment. With DNXHD at 220 Mbps we can go flat or go for the grade in camera and it looks pretty great either way but since it's only a 10 bit codec I'm wondering if it's it better to grade in camera instead of shooting flat and grading more heavily in post? So far I am liking the in camera grading approach the best but I'm still in testing. Can you share your experience?

[kylebainter]

Hey guys.. I am on an indie short with a Pix 240 with firmware 1.04. Day two just got done... Here are my impressions. Build quality seems great. Functionality seems awesome. I did have it freeze on me one time during playback of dailies today... Just a simple restart got it working. I tested shooting overcranked and then played back from Epic to pix... It picked up the timecode and filename. I think that is AWESOME!!!!!

Now the bad...

I had about 5 clips imported into FCP that had timecode starting at 00:00:00:00. I had 2 clips that were at random timecodes that we never shot. This is a total no-no since the whole reason we had this unit is to edit off these files, and then online with the RED files. Without accurate timecode, this unit is COMPLETELY worthless.

SD has acknowledged the problem from a DVX thread I found whle searching when I was panicking when I noticed this....
Link: http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread...-freerun/page3

Weird part is, I went back and looked at those clips on the pix, and the correct timecode shows up... So to be honest, I don't understand. Maybe its a FCP thing?

So... yes it has potential... Serious potential, but these bugs still need worked out.

[Matt Mayer]

The timecode is related to a file header issue that has been fixed in firmware 1.05 which was released today.

http://www.sounddevices.com/download/pix-firmware.htm

Fix: DNxHD macroblock artifacts in low light conditions.
Fix (PIX 240): Random incorrect start timecode in quicktime file.
Fix: Audio signal is no longer lost when removing the video input.
Fix: PIX will now report “No media present.” when trying to format a CF or SSD that is not mounted.
Fix: Horizontal image tearing in recorded file when converting SD to HD.
Fix: General improvements to system robustness.
New: Input PsF Detect option adds the ability to force the PIX to interpret PsF video signals that appear incorrectly as 1080i as 1080PsF.
New (PIX 240): SDI flag – Panasonic (Varicam) rec start/stop mode specifically for use with Panasonic Varicam that uses different protocol for flags than other Panasonic cameras.


Matt Mayer
Sound Mixer
Applications Engineer
Sound Devices, LLC

[stu aull]

Matt - we really appreciate your direct responses here on REDUSER, not to mention the speed with which SD responds to any issues! Am going to buy a 240, so this is great to see.

Stu Aull
Alaska

[bert tan]

Hi Matt ,

I have a Fan problem when i fix the arm on the mounting point , the fan got hit at the back cover .

bert

[kylebainter]

The timecode is related to a file header issue that has been fixed in firmware 1.05 which was released today.

http://www.sounddevices.com/download/pix-firmware.htm

Fix: DNxHD macroblock artifacts in low light conditions.
Fix (PIX 240): Random incorrect start timecode in quicktime file.
Fix: Audio signal is no longer lost when removing the video input.
Fix: PIX will now report “No media present.” when trying to format a CF or SSD that is not mounted.
Fix: Horizontal image tearing in recorded file when converting SD to HD.
Fix: General improvements to system robustness.
New: Input PsF Detect option adds the ability to force the PIX to interpret PsF video signals that appear incorrectly as 1080i as 1080PsF.
New (PIX 240): SDI flag – Panasonic (Varicam) rec start/stop mode specifically for use with Panasonic Varicam that uses different protocol for flags than other Panasonic cameras.


Matt Mayer
Sound Mixer
Applications Engineer
Sound Devices, LLC

Thanks Matt,

Downloading now!

[Ken Kosub]

OK now that's cool! Going to have to me me one.

[Matt Mayer]

Matt - we really appreciate your direct responses here on REDUSER, not to mention the speed with which SD responds to any issues! Am going to buy a 240, so this is great to see.

Stu Aull
Alaska

Stu,

We do try to keep up with all of the Video boards, but if anyone has a pressing technical matter, it's best to call in to Tech Support or post on our forums at forum.sounddevices.com.

Matt Mayer
Sound Mixer
Applications Engineer
Sound Devices, LLC

[Matt Mayer]

Hi Matt ,

I have a Fan problem when i fix the arm on the mounting point , the fan got hit at the back cover .

bert

Bert,

Not quite getting what you mean. Do you mean that connecting a mounting arm to the 1/4-20 mount point is causing interference with the fan on the unit?

Matt Mayer
Sound Mixer
Applications Engineer
Sound Devices, LLC