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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 :)

Building a mobile DIT station

wanted to update you guys, I finally bought a new mac!

by not buying it ahead of time I had to settle for the top of the line stock rMBP that just came out. I left for the job too fast to build a custom one. I would of liked the slight processor upgrade but no time for it basically. this mac combined with my Rocket X kick some full debayer ass in general. i can fit it all in two pelicans...a 1510 for my rocket x with sonnent enclosure and tb cable. and a 1600 for my mac, small drives, cables, accessories. its pretty good mobility wise. doing an Arri prores film on it right now, super fast and easy...but even r3d files are fine when the rocket x is added... sure its not some elaborate cart, but it works fine for my purposes...one day commercials, low budget indie films, stuff of that nature... im happy i started using resolve too for this job, since between that and the new avid i now have .cine support for my phantom files! things are looking good!
 
Mike Halper said:
[/LIST]What is this exactly? I don't see an SSD reader on their website. Just the recorders.
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I assume that he just means a drive dock. Something like this (First one that popped up on Google, so don't take this as a recommendation) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...153066&ef_id=seNNGShNAgAAxY8:20140821120308:s

I keep a drive dock in my DIT Kit at all times. I haven't used it in about a year and a half (since the last time I did a shoot with the BMCC, ironically). But I keep it in case I ever for whatever reason need to crack open a drive enclosure and hook into a HD directly. Or if a camera shows up to set that uses SSDs or the like. No matter the shoot, I've got an SxS reader, RedMag reader, CF/SD card reader, and Drive Dock. I've had more than a few "Oh crap, Nick, we got a Red today. Shit. They didn't put a reader with it. What are we gonna doooooooo?!" and always chuckle because it's not a problem. Same idea with the Drive Dock. Useless when you don't need it, but when you need it, you're the hero.
 
Nick Pasquariello said:
I assume that he just means a drive dock. Something like this (First one that popped up on Google, so don't take this as a recommendation) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...153066&ef_id=seNNGShNAgAAxY8:20140821120308:s

I keep a drive dock in my DIT Kit at all times. I haven't used it in about a year and a half (since the last time I did a shoot with the BMCC, ironically). But I keep it in case I ever for whatever reason need to crack open a drive enclosure and hook into a HD directly. Or if a camera shows up to set that uses SSDs or the like. No matter the shoot, I've got an SxS reader, RedMag reader, CF/SD card reader, and Drive Dock. I've had more than a few "Oh crap, Nick, we got a Red today. Shit. They didn't put a reader with it. What are we gonna doooooooo?!" and always chuckle because it's not a problem. Same idea with the Drive Dock. Useless when you don't need it, but when you need it, you're the hero.
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Yeah, there's quite a few of them. I use a 4 bay one for creating HDD backups (if the client can't support LTO tapes). Example: http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-SATA-Drive-Docking-Station/dp/B006K25H9G/

Incidentally, this is my first post. I wanted to contribute because this thread (and others) has been really helpful to me.
 
Careful with those Plugable hotswap readers. They get super hot due to lack of fans. The drives vent well IF there's airflow across the top but if you burry it inside a DIT cart you can prematurely fail a drive after a long hot exterior. Let it run for a few hours and put your hand on top and you'll know what I mean. I like the Firmtek and use the Plugable whenever I have ventilation (or studio work).
 
@ Jason. I usually have a portable desk fan blowing air on the inside when I'm in hotter conditions outside. Haven't had any issues yet. I love throwing a spare 2tb drive in it for daily time machine backups.
 
Considering putting one together with the parts I have now.

Pelican 1600
LCD display
small form factor PC
external drive
RED MAG reader

Any tips on the following:

portable power
carbon fibre material
ventilation
mounting the display
and how to attach these to the case

Any tips are welcome :)
 
I'd suggest a VENTed 2U sliding drawer. You can slip your tie downs through various vent holes and it cuts down on the weight.

I'm looking for a 3U of the same thinking. For Portable hard drives, SSD readers, and the keyboard and mouse when I pack up.

Stephen Brock said:
3rd/4th 2U space: A flat rack shelf for tying down AC adapters, a Lacie eSATA/Thunderbolt hub, and Sonnet Qio CF4.
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Not just a UPS standby unit. For uninterrupted protect you need an Online UPS with zero transfer time. Even a couple MS can ruin your data and raid. It happened to me on an APC 1500 standby unit.

Knowledge is power.

Robert Bluemke said:
Even if you carry the UPS in a separate bag, I highly recommend having it in the mix. Nothing kills a hard drive faster than cutting power midway through a data move.

I went with a Pelican 1510 as I travel with my setup a lot, but I do dig the rack mount kit. Nice work!
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Thought I'd share our latest couple of DIT kit builds - we've recently finishing building out systems in a few different sizes for productions of different scales. Different strengths for each of them.
Hopefully someone finds this helpful!


Our 'Sparrow' kit. Built around a 13" MBPr, Sonnet F3, various readers. UPS runs in a separate case to save weight. Tends to get booked by jobs where the AC or similar is also running data (no dedicated wrangler or DIT), also we take it on smaller jobs.



I don't seem to have a photo handy of our mid-sized 'Kestrel' kit all built out (will swap this out after I snap one) but it's built around this 4U Road Ready case (above), a 15" MBPr, dual Sonnet F3s, a Mercury Rack Pro (runs in clone mode for 3.5" client drives) and an APC UPS. Replaced our original kit built around the SKB 4U Flyer case.



Our 'Condor' kit. Sort of a compact cart. Built around a Mac Pro, Stardom DR8-TB, 17" rackmount monitor, custom rackmount VESA arm (pictured with Dell monitor), shelving for client drives and readers, TrippLite UPS. Currently on a long-format drama TV series.
 
I've been looking at using one of Nine-Volt's Digicase Pro systems as the basis for a mobile workstation.

5RoZXfT.jpg


It won't be a powerhouse but by using a laptop (thunderbolt enabled), small RAID system (Pegasus 2 M4), and an Ultrastudio Express (as well as a bunch of other stuff) I could perform data wrangling duties and portable DIT functions (minus transcoding due to the old MBP I have). When I get enough cash to upgrade the laptop I'll relegate my 2011 MBP to waveform monitoring duties via Scopebox. I may even get the Digicase Lite for it to sit in.

The above case can also be mounted onto a tripod or stand.

Beyond that I'll be looking to modify the case so I can run data and power pass throughs out the back.
 
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Richard Strong said:
I've been looking at using one of Nine-Volt's Digicase Pro systems as the basis for a mobile workstation...
Click to expand...

Im trying to figure their pricing and packaging.

Does anyone know why you have the option of one to three Easy Release plates?

That part confuses me.

The DigiCase package is enticing.
 
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Eric Santiago said:
Im trying to figure their pricing and packaging.

Does anyone know why you have the option of one to three Easy Release plates?

That part confuses me.

The DigiCase package is enticing.
Click to expand...
They have the easy release plates so you can mount the entire thing onto a tripod. Why up to 3? I have no idea.

IQGgUbJ.jpg
 
Richard Strong said:
They have the easy release plates so you can mount the entire thing onto a tripod. Why up to 3? I have no idea.
Click to expand...

Maybe to place on different sticks, stands, etc..?

I can see a lot of use with the DigiCase Pro alone.

I can mount my OSEE LCD on that using the VESA on a custom post.
 
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