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Epic audio question / problem

axel ebermann

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Hey guys,

I shot with an Epic-X today.

As a precursor: I am one of those people, who think that in 2012
- the day of Video and Red Raw, it should be possible to record
sound directly into camera.

Call me funny.

So because I had heard some horror stories about running sound into Epic
I did a test:

Shooting at 5:1, 29.97fps. Firmware Version 2.0.5
Microphone level out or Sound Devices 302 via Innocinema/Action Products XLR adapter directly into camera.

It all worked beautifully.

So today on set we plugged in sound. Set levels. All green and lovely. Just into the shoot,
camera stationary on sticks, our sound leaves us.
The inputs go to 'Red' suggesting there is no sound cable detected (it was in there - we did not change anything).
We saw absolutely no sound coming in on the meters.

Rebooted camera. Same thing.

Then the DIT tells us there is actually sound on the footage - and at a quite reasonable level. According to him it just sounded
a little 'tinny' - aka sound signal not happy.

Anybody can enlighten me on that ?



P.S.:

What particularly gets on my nerves about this that I still have to argue with people that 'Red One cannot record sound'
because there were glitches in the beginning. My Red One never had a sound problem ever - period. Ever.

But I just feel that now the discussions are starting again with Epic sound. Especially as - according to production - there
was sync / drift issue that last time they recorded sound on Epic. And it pains me greatly.

We were all good on this shoot because we were triple back upped with external sound recorder, TC slate etc.. Still I do
not like dealing with these kind of issues and particularly not with the discussions that follow it....
 
Your setup is fine, and I'm not at all surprised to hear you say the sound quality on EPIC is good - because it is.

The issue where you got a red dot along side the meter sounds like a bug, can you send me a copy of the LOG file to stuart@red.com

Also when you e-mail I'd be interested who the production was that claimed sync / drift....
 
Had exact the same problem yesterday, will email you to stuart
 
No Audio

No Audio

Your setup is fine, and I'm not at all surprised to hear you say the sound quality on EPIC is good - because it is.

The issue where you got a red dot along side the meter sounds like a bug, can you send me a copy of the LOG file to stuart@red.com

Also when you e-mail I'd be interested who the production was that claimed sync / drift....

At the risk of sounding really stupid: I have 2 Epics build 2.05
I have had no success what-so-ever getting sound out of the cams.
I get the Green indicator, good indicated levels, good sound in the headphones, but when I play back in camera: No sound
When I load the .r3d files in Premier Pro 5.5 I get picture but no sound. (I'm running 29.97 project, no varispeed. 5K FF 8:1)
Without sound, I have 2 very expensive paper weights.
With my R1s I was able to record 8 channels (4 on each camera) for hours without any drift in pic or sound with external tri-level sync.
Recording out of camera is not an option, my current equipment has cost me every bit of money I have.
So, is there a way for me to get the audio? I have our first recording tenitavely scheduled for this Saturday.
I'm not complaining, I just need to know whether or not I need to cancel production and wait like I had to a few years ago with the R1s.

Thanks,

Dave
 
No Audio

No Audio

Your setup is fine, and I'm not at all surprised to hear you say the sound quality on EPIC is good - because it is.

The issue where you got a red dot along side the meter sounds like a bug, can you send me a copy of the LOG file to stuart@red.com

Also when you e-mail I'd be interested who the production was that claimed sync / drift....

At the risk of sounding really stupid: I have 2 Epics build 2.05
I have had no success what-so-ever getting sound out of the cams.
I get the Green indicator, good indicated levels, good sound in the headphones, but when I play back in camera: No sound
When I load the .r3d files in Premier Pro 5.5 I get picture but no sound. (I'm running 29.97 project, no varispeed. 5K FF 8:1)
Without sound, I have 2 very expensive paper weights.
With my R1s I was able to record 8 channels (4 on each camera) for hours without any drift in pic or sound with external tri-level sync.
Recording out of camera is not an option, my current equipment has cost me every bit of money I have.
So, is there a way for me to get the audio? I have our first recording tenitavely scheduled for this Saturday.
I'm not complaining, I just need to know whether or not I need to cancel production and wait like I had to a few years ago with the R1s.

Thanks,

Dave
 
Audio is not enabled in playback. Hopefully one day Red will enable this much needed feature.
To hear audio in premiere cs 5.5 you need to apply a hack as adobe does not support epic audio yet. (there is a hack in the workflow thread)
If you don't want to apply the hack to premiere you can successfully hear your audio in the latest version of Redcine x. You can also export your audio track from Redcine and import it in premiere. Yes I know it's quite a hassle right now to work with audio.... But we don't really have the choice until 1)red enables audio playback and 2)adobe updates their plugin to support audio...we don't know when either will be implemented...could be one week or 6 months...
 
Yes had this bug too. Just unplug sound cables and plug back in. Have to do it after every batt change or reboot.

Eric is right! This happens with my camera too and Red support suggested to unplug and replug the small 3.5mm plugs. So it must be some kind of bug as
we shouldn't have to do this all the time of course. I believe Red has mentioned that audio playback will be enabled just after NAB roughly.
 
I am on a shoot now and no meters, it's kind of unnerving. BUT! My Panasonic monitors with audio meters are saving the day! They see the sound levels embedded in the HDsdi. Unfortunately, I am explaining to sound and others that gather "it's just a bug, it's still early in the world of Epic....".

I will try the unplug re-plud of the inputs tomorrow
 
Thank you very much. I will try that when I get home tonight.
I tried installing Redcinne X 506 multiple times last night without success. It keeps complaining that a .dll is missing. It's there in the next level up the tree. I made sure it was not blocked etc. but still no go.
Installed in different locations, but same thing. (Win 7 64).
Again thanks, this is a much better solution anyway, (if it works).
Dave
 
We're experiencing the same issue - works fine, then not - replug and it comes back. Please can this be sorted with an update - it makes us and the kit look embarassingly poor. It's frustrating to have to apologise for the camera and very worrying that this will happen as the client looks on and it all confirms their fear that 'Red is flaky'. Love the camera, by the way...
 
Yep, feels like I have gone back in time as well.... The old slate (which we had buried) has come out of hiding... Feels like Im shooting film again.

This is one important thing I would like sorted as well. Good simple plug in easy loud, clean audio... (Like the RED ONE had) ...

PS. Got my new RED audio cables. They are very well made. I've ZIPPY tied them onto my side arm and they just dangle nicely to the rear of the camera ready for a mic.. Nice and simple..
 
Mark, we are all waiting for you to start asking for audio playback in a new thread...it worked when last time and we got playback pretty fast after that... :)
 
Just in case it helps anyone, Sony Vegas Pro 11 can play back Epic/Scarlet files including audio. I believe they have a free 30 day trial, might tide someone over until the bug is fixed
 
I had the same issue with red lights but replug and it comes back...

On a different note but relevant to this thread I've had trouble with monitoring levels going out to headphones. Turn them all the way up and they still are weak and seem to fluctuate. But LCD monitoring looks good and sounds good after bringing files into computer.

Anyone else have a weak headphone level?
 
Yes, headphone outputs are very low and have a slight delay.

EPIC is sooo close to the perfect camera for us. I hope audio gets some attention soon!

Kevin
 
Yes, headphone outputs are very low and have a slight delay.

EPIC is sooo close to the perfect camera for us. I hope audio gets some attention soon!

Kevin


Thanks Kevin,

Good to know it's not just me, at least this time :)
 
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