LCD monitor or LCD cable problems?

[Carlos Filipe Sousa]

Hi all. Since we unpacked the RED ONE we had trouble with booting it. Going through this forum helped to know that long boot times were to be espected.
But ever since the first boot, sometimes we had nothing but the "booting..." info on the lower line of the back lcd. So, disconnecting and trying to boot up again, one or two more times did the trick.
Last friday on a shoot, doing a standard battery replacement, the camera left the all crew standing for an hour looking at me waiting for the tumbs up and "ready to roll" from me.
Quite a nightmare. It just freezed on boot, done several booting attemps and nothing. Eventualy it started working.
I knew the disconnect-the-LCD-cable-thingy on boot, and that's the first thing I do when the boot fails.

But when it started working, I plugged the LCD back on and the camera just frooze.
Disconnected the cable again and I was able to get response while going through the menus. Connect again and freezes.

I tried to get the LCD working, as it was the only attached viewfinder option I had, but not a chance.
Eventualy I finnished that shooting with HD-SDI->HDlink->23cinemadisplay viewfinder.

Gone through the forum, tried the "disconnect everything and press the power button for 5/10secs" and nothing.

As I can understand this, the LCD stopped working or the cable is having some short circuit problems, or the intermitent problem with the camera since day one finaly stopped being intermitent.

Before we think about sending RED ONE and LCD from Portugal to USA, can any good soul here try to helps us on this? We're booked for the last three days of September...

Cheers

Carlos Filipe
Portuguese Avid|DS Operator
RED ONE at Porto, Portugal -by betoken

RED ONE #1964, build 16 3.2.5

 

[Frank Weeks]

This has been discussed before and is something many have experienced.

Keep searching this area.

It has happened to me only once. It was the only time I attempted to boot from a single battery and no Switchtronic dual battery mount. I had always used a dual battery mount with one or two Batteries4broadcast bricks. I was trying to configure the lightest setup I could find for use on my stanton Jib. No EVF.dual battery mount etc. The dual battery mount includes a voltage regulator, This leads me to believe that part of this problem might be a (over) power issue. I have booted hundreds of times and only that single instance caused that problem. It is a strange and frustrating bug they are working on.

Good luck

 

[Jeff Kilgroe]

Double check that everything is properly connected. All cables in and they 'snap' into place.

If it keeps happening, set up a trouble ticket at the RED web site and try to contact RED about it.

 

[Carlos Filipe Sousa]

Thanks Frank and Jeff.
Is there any way to check if the cable is working? pin-outs? can I test the cable using a multimeter for pin-to-pin connectivity?
And the LCD monitor, besides getting a 2nd RED (not an option in here as RED neighbourhood is really far, far spaced)

Thanks for your input

 

[Frank Weeks]

Carlos

You can find the pin outs on the download of the operations guide (appendix C). If you don't have it, it's in the support section at red.com.

 

[Carlos Filipe Sousa]

Thanks Frank, I should have RFM...
I'll give it a go right now checking continuity and cross-talk.
Tomorrow we'll issue a support request, right now we'll let te bomb squad have their needed rest.
Cheers from Portugal
Carlos - RED LCD not working - Filipe

 

[Carlos Filipe Sousa]

Well, the update here:
The camera shots normally, the lcd cable is tested and passed, the LCD is tested and OK.
The only thing is the red is not outputing image to the LCD.
We have reflashed build 16, and the same.
I'm about to upgrade to build 17 and see how it performs and go back to 16.
Any input is welcomed.

Cheers

 

[Brent Carter]

Carlos, have you done a Tech Support incident ticket on RED.com Contact Us page yet? How did you verify LCD and LCD CABLE were ok? On another RED ONE?

BC

 

[Carlos Filipe Sousa]

Hi Brent,
Yes you're right, we've tested on another RED ONE.
We have already contacted Brian, who told us to test first the cable and LCD, and we found a way to do it.
LCD and cable are all right, the camera just won't output and it actually just left alone with the lcd plugged, it will boot on its own, giving some crazy white flashes first (through the hdmi/hd-sdi outs, not the lcd).
Again, if we don't connect the LCD the camera records, plays back and performs wonders, as expected. Right now we'll be carrying a huge 17'' "viewfinder" to the next gig, next Sunday to Wednesday.
Then will be time for us to resort back to you guys, - you're not thinking of coming to Portugal next week, and bringing some wrenches, hein?!
Most probably the RED ONE will have to be sent to you, right?

Cheers

 

[Carlos Filipe Sousa]

Hi again Brent,
Didn't quite answer your question: no, we didn't contact and issued a Tech Support incident ticket on RED.com Contact Us page.
Since will be using the camera as-is Sunday to Wednesday, and we just finished yesterday trying all the diff possibilities with the cable pin outs continuity, cross-talk, LCD checking and reflashing all again, only now we will do it.
If we envisioned a realistic way of getting the camera to you, fix time and then back to us in less then a week, we could have done it monday. But the tests are tomorrow, less than a week just didn't seam reasonable.
Thanks

 

[Bill Goehring]

I've never been able to boot up with the LDC connected from the very beginning. (#348 delivered in February) With each new firmware build, I hoped it would begin working, but no love.

I returned the LCD cable once early on at RED's request, but they determined that there was nothing wrong with it. Lately, I've been waiting for an email from RED stating that they are ready to swap out the old audio board and compact flash interface, because, when I return the camera for this work, I expect to get the LCD issue resolved.

It will only be a few more months before the warranty runs out, so I am eager to get it taken care of while it is in their hands. If, in the process of getting this resolved, I am allowed to upgrade to the 7" Pro model, I'll be happy to chip in the difference in cost between the two. But, in any event, I want this problem resolved once and for all.

 

[Carlos Filipe Sousa]

Hi BillG,

I believe the issue is with the camera / CPU itself, not the LCD.
You've read allready there are plenty of guys happily booting their cameras with everything attached and working flawlessly, and others (probably more then the first ones) that need all kind of settings to get it to boot.
As soon as we get the job done wednesday will catch a plane and go to LA... then maybe not...
We'll just ship it...

Cheers