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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 :)

iPad as viewer?

Shawn Nelson

Shawn Nelson

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Questions for those using the iPad as a dailies viewer! Are you just loading some 720p proxies into itunes, then making a playlist pertinent to the shooting day so then anyone who grabs an iPad just goes to that playlist? Or is there some other app out there that allows people to bypass iTunes and get the downres proxies onto the iPad directly? Or has anyone tried just streaming the dailies over h264 so nothing gets loaded onto the iPads?
 
This will be a lot easier once ipads have the iOS 4.2 with AirPlay, then you can just load a playlist in itunes and stream it to the ipad.
 
Shawn Nelson said:
Questions for those using the iPad as a dailies viewer! Are you just loading some 720p proxies into itunes, then making a playlist pertinent to the shooting day so then anyone who grabs an iPad just goes to that playlist? Or is there some other app out there that allows people to bypass iTunes and get the downres proxies onto the iPad directly? Or has anyone tried just streaming the dailies over h264 so nothing gets loaded onto the iPads?
Click to expand...

Most folks are using Air Video - http://www.inmethod.com/air-video/index.html;jsessionid=E2E164E7893F17398FD5A382E62EABCF

You get free server software for PC or Mac - you have to buy the iPhone or iPad clients. I know a few folks who simply rent the iPad as part of the kit.

You create a local network, password protected - and stream the files that way.

Basically you set the watch folder to the folder you render your H264s to - very simple and works great.

I'm involved with a real-time, hardware based solution for this task - and hope to announce details soon - but Air Video works great.
 
okay, so this works if you are physically on set (clients, producers, director on lunch, etc). But what about to take an iPad back to the hotel to watch the day's footage? Then you're away from the server.
 
Erik Larsson said:
Should be possible as long as the server is online:

http://www.inmethod.com/air-video/remote-access.html
Click to expand...

That's one method. Another method is keeping a closed network at the hotel that also contains the media. It can be FTP's during the shoot - or a drive is just plugged in at the hotel. Another method is to actually load the quicktime clips onto the iPad prior to wrap - but some studios, etc. do not want the media to be local - only streamed.
 
A few different ways to set this sort of thing up, but Air Video makes it pretty simple and is definitely the most popular. I think once iOS 4.2 arrives for the iPad in November, Apple's own AirPlay will make this stupid-simple and free.
 
Mark L. Pederson said:
That's one method. Another method is keeping a closed network at the hotel that also contains the media. It can be FTP's during the shoot - or a drive is just plugged in at the hotel. Another method is to actually load the quicktime clips onto the iPad prior to wrap - but some studios, etc. do not want the media to be local - only streamed.
Click to expand...

And some will not permit streaming of any sort, in which case the iPads are preloaded with that particular days dailies and used as a self-contained viewing device.
 
Jonathan Stevenson said:
This will be a lot easier once ipads have the iOS 4.2 with AirPlay, then you can just load a playlist in itunes and stream it to the ipad.
Click to expand...

I may be mistaken, but wasn't airplay described as working frn iPad/iPhone/iPod to appletv? I can't recall them ever mentoning iTunes to iPad.
 
M Most said:
And some will not permit streaming of any sort, in which case the iPads are preloaded with that particular days dailies and used as a self-contained viewing device.
Click to expand...

Yes 100% true - but - IMO - streaming is safer, and more "controllable" than a physical device that can (and often does) get "lost" - like a DVD, etc.

Yes, it's possible to hack into a stream and pull the data - but there are additional IT security measures that can be implemented.

Studios and Networks are using web streaming dialies solutions such as DAX and PIX more and more - dailies streaming is here to stay.

http://www.daxsolutions.com/d3System/howitworks2.html
http://www.pixsystem.com/ph_prod.php

But yes, Mike's point is well taken - you need to find out what policy your client or client's parent company has with respect to dailies distribution.
 
Mark L. Pederson said:
Yes 100% true - but - IMO - streaming is safer, and more "controllable" than a physical device that can (and often does) get "lost" - like a DVD, etc.
Click to expand...

I don't necessarily disagree. But our opinion doesn't really count when a studio is involved.

Studios and Networks are using web streaming dialies solutions such as DAX and PIX more and more - dailies streaming is here to stay.
Click to expand...

While that is certainly true, it is also true that at least two major studios have their own internal systems for digital dailies distribution that are not done over the global Internet, for a number of reasons. Getting on those systems as a vendor usually requires a security audit, something individuals are not likely to pass.
 
Using Air Video here too - works great.

In relation to this question - is there a WiFi booster (or external antenna) for a Mac Pro that anyone can suggest?
 
Mark L. Pederson said:
You mean like an Airport?
Click to expand...

Hehe - that's what I'm doing now... I'm usually broadcasting from my van which means I might not always be within WIFI range of the set and I would like to avoid having to set up an additional Airport between my van and the set - so I'm looking for a way to either mount an external antenna or some kind of booster on my van - effectively giving me between 5-600 meters of coverage.

Have you tested how many streams a regular Airport can provide?
 
Tony Lorentzen said:
Using Air Video here too - works great.
Click to expand...

Hi Tony,
Can you briefly outline how Air Video fits into your on-set workflow? I gave it a whirl today...works as advertised. Are you posting circle-takes into a watch folder for people to grab and watch as needed?
 
LiVE PLAY - Wireless Video Playback

LiVE PLAY - Wireless Video Playback

When the iPad was originally announced a while back, my friends Steve Freebairn, Chris Peariso and I got really excited about what we considered would become the heart of the best video playback system ever. Since then, more friends and colleagues like Deanan DaSilva, Dean Devlin, David Fincher, and Stevo Brock have been working together to increase the potential the iPad brings to the set.

The main reason we got excited was not the in-hand HD quality of the iPad, nor the mobility or size of the device, rather the potential for meta-data. iPad is still in its infancy and there are a lot of ideas that we cannot yet incorporate into iPad until the iOS version 4 is released later this year. But until then, there is a product we have been working very hard on that is starting to get used on productions that already take advantage of our on-set data systems, OUTPOST. We call this new system LiVE PLAY.

LiVE PLAY is not a monitor or a replacement for video village, rather it is the replacement for cumbersome, slow, large, costly and often inefficient video playback systems. LiVE PLAY can be fully automated, untethered, inexpensive, and in some forms does not require an operator. But above all, the pillar of strength regarding LiVE PLAY is the logging and transferring of meta-data from the set to post in near real-time. As more creatives in the production community become acclimated to progressive tools and technology (such as iPads and RED cameras) so should our ability to raise the bar-offering more control, more information, better response time, higher fidelity, more customization, and better communication in ways that are superior to previous iterations of the process. One of the saddest things I see creatives do is switch from film or tape to the RED camera and literally change nothing else. While I'm confident they can still get a good picture, they are unfortunately throwing away so much potential that they're probably better off sticking with film and tape in the first place. In other words, as advocates for a changing media ecosystem, we need to insure that the tools and processes we are developing are not as good as film and tape, rather that they are unmistakably superior. While that's no easy task, and I don't pretend to have all the answers, I do think we are on the right track.
Here is a link to a video I made that demonstrates where we see the combination of meta-data and video playback coming together.

http://www.lightirondigital.com/LightIRON_Digital/LIGHTIRON_OUTPOST_2.html
 
Thank you very much for developing this Michael! This is going to be very useful! Will it be possible to add greater specificity about which parts of the take are good? E.g. rather than just saying the beginning of the take is good, to be able to set the in and out points of what is considered good as the take is being viewed. I.e two buttons for in and out. Actually even better would be multiple in and out points. E.g. the first 4 seconds could be good, and also 6 seconds somewhere in the middle, but the rest is not so good. Having the ability to not just specify one period, but multiple periods, is very useful.
 
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