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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Anything like R3D Data Manager, but free

Hmmm.
So this client want all the security of a certain program, but is too stingy to pay for it?

If so,let him find for himself, don't refer to anything because if it does not work out, YOU will be blamed.
 
R3D Data Manager is worth every cent on a hectic set. If your client is such a tight-a.., don't even work thim him. He'll try the same thing on you!
 
Timely subject....

Ive posted a compare page comparing the features of various free and paid apps against R3D Data Manager.

http://www.r3ddata.com/compare/

This outlines the reasons why I started developing R3D Data Manager on Aug 1 2007, right as the first Red Ones were released. The table has been updated since my first incarnation of it on that day, but only by adding features to R3D Data Manager, not by other programs.
 
Just finished my fourth Red project with r3d Manager handling the backing up. Great peace of mind. I had originally looked for other possibilities but ultimately decided it was the most comprehensive software for the job.

When things get hot on set is when you realize you get what you pay for.
 
R3D Data Manager adds safety and efficiency - that's what you're paying for.

You can copy and back up all you want for free, and you don't need software to do it, you just drag and drop. And say a small prayer.

The question is what price is your client willing to pay for the "safe" and "efficient" part.

Backing up your small prayers with a solid, inexpensive technology isn't such a bad idea....
 
and it's $79... c'mon! It takes time to develop solutions and good work should be compensated. Maybe the producer is working for free? ;)

Michael
 
There are ways to get under the hood and do the verifications without buying software. My guess is your client has no interest in that.

So, he can either drag and drop onto another hard drive, burn clips to several Dual-Layer DVDs or Blu Ray, or if he has an LTO or DLT backup system(probably not) he can get the files onto an archive medium.

But for $79 plus the cost of a hard drive, he can have R3D Data Manager which will make the process easy, safe, and reliable.

Most of the time, drag and drop works fine. I am not a lucky person, so I never take my chances with "most of the time". I'll certainly be the one that gets burnt. I opt for R3D Data Manager or a system like the one from 1Beyond that make sure your data gets to it's destination intact.
 
Data Management, Verification is effective process which may costs the entire shoot, if something goes wrong. Digital is accessible faster and efficient and not cheap alone.
 
I was getting really excited about R3D Data manager, then I came across this:
Activate product in the middle of Siberia (without internet access)
Click to expand...
So I have to fly to Siberia to activate? This is outrageous!!! Also, I would not want to give up my internet access...


Seriously though - If I do a drag-and-drop, is there a chance of a mistake sneaking in? I've been doing drag'n'drop since the later 1980s, without a problem? Have I just been incredibly lucky?

When doing multiple copies at once, do they happen slower, i.e. if one copy took 4 minutes, would 3 copies also take 4 minutes, a bit more, or 3 times as much?
 
Martin Weiss said:
So I have to fly to Siberia to activate? This is outrageous!!! Also, I would not want to give up my internet access...
Click to expand...

Well - if you happen to find yourself in Siberia, you can still activate the product. Works equally well on set too. :)

Martin Weiss said:
Seriously though - If I do a drag-and-drop, is there a chance of a mistake sneaking in? I've been doing drag'n'drop since the later 1980s, without a problem? Have I just been incredibly lucky?
Click to expand...

Do you feel lucky? Well, do ya? :)

I dont think you can been copying terabytes of information since the 1980s. With the Red, you'll be creating some of the biggest media files to date. And the copy on the Red Media, is the only copy that exists. Wouldnt you like to ensure it copied correctly before you erase it?

In addition, once you visually verify one copy of the footage (to make sure the data is valid image data), you know that all other copies are also valid, since they have the same checksum. And in the future you can do verify the data at the speed your hard drives can read, not real time of the footage.

And yes, finder does not report a lot of errors - it just silently drops the error. Most bond companies will not accept just doing finder copies without some sort of data verification.

And lest we forget we are humans. After 14 hours on set, its best to have the least amount of ways we can screw up the shoot. With just a single click we can copy all the footage to all the destinations and make sure it arrived safely.

Martin Weiss said:
When doing multiple copies at once, do they happen slower, i.e. if one copy took 4 minutes, would 3 copies also take 4 minutes, a bit more, or 3 times as much?
Click to expand...

On the mac version, it depends on the source media. Each copy is a separate read from the source, so with the Red Drive it will take longer because of the seek times. However, with the upcomming windows version it reads from the source once, no matter how many destinations you have. This means that the total copy process is as slow as your slowest destination, but there are no seek issues so the overall transfer speed is faster.
 
Totally agree with the sentiments here. Free? Against $79? Get a life Mr Producer!

Conrad, after Windows, will there be Linux? I've laid down the $$ for the Windows version but Linux could have it's attractions. Just askin'.
 
Kristin Stewart said:
When will the next Windows version be released ? And what will be the improvements ?
Click to expand...

Im hesitant to say what the windows version will entail. To get the stability where it needed to be, we had to rip out some features. Now we are starting to add features back in with different methods, and tracking performance.

Id say we are about a month out. However the last 10% always takes 90% of the time - just ask any developer. :)
 
Shane Betts said:
Conrad, after Windows, will there be Linux? I've laid down the $$ for the Windows version but Linux could have it's attractions. Just askin'.
Click to expand...

There probably isnt as much of a market for the linux version, so its a bit harder to justify. That said, most of the windows code to date is POSIX compliant, so adding a GUI may not be the hardest thing. We need to get the windows version out pronto, and after that we'll look at the written code and market and see if we can get it to linux also.
 
profoto said:
Is there anything like R3D Data Manager, but free.. My client wants to safely backup the only drive he brought to set.

Von
Click to expand...

I have R3D data manager, but unfortunately stopped using it because of how long it took to transfer the data to 2 drives after it did all the checksums (producer's don't like paying overtime) plus it kept crashing on me. I think it's a brilliant piece of software, and look forward to the updates.

If you want free... I suggest you do what most do, and scrub through every clip. Verify, using your camera report, how many clips you need to account for. I make a habit of always connecting with scripty on set to verify that we both have the same information.

Good Luck!

-r
 
Every RED tech or DIT should have a means to copy *AND VERIFY* all data being worked with on-set. OSX and Linux have ways to do this built right into the OS, Windows does too, in a way, but there's several freeware solutions too. ...so there is no excuse to not do this!

Programs like R3D Data Manager are great. They provide a user-friendly interface and extra features related to RED workflow. For $79 it's a cheap and good solution. Also a lot quicker and more convenient than doing manual comparison verifications from a command line, which is the free solution in most cases.

I know I'm providing more free advertising here, but one can pick up the R2E LEMO to eSATA cable bundled with R3D Data Manager and get a $20 discount.
 
I am writing my own program because I can, maybe you can do the same. Also, remember, make sure you have good quality back up drives!!! Spend some money, its worth it.

I'll share my program with the community when I finish it. Anyways, good luck.
 
I use HashCheck on Windows. Free, open source and easy to use:

http://code.kliu.org/hashcheck/

What I do is run this on the *.RDM folder on the RedDrive before transferring it to backup media, then the chain is verified from the original onwards. Just save the MD5 file along with the RDM folder and always copy them as a pair, and you'll always be able to check if a file has been corrupted or not transferred properly no matter what OS you use, since MD5 hash files are platform agnostic.

HTH

Paul
 
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