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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 :)

OpenRed One

D

Dan Kanes

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So...

Wanted to get the ball rolling on an idea and see what people thought of it.

With the release of the Epic - what if Red were to allow a more open usage of the Red One system?

Some examples:

-User Modified Firmware options - open source coding of new plugins and improvements to the operating system of the Red One.

-Open hardware modifications - the option to replace the Drives in the Red Raid with SSD's or other high end notebook sized drives.

-The ability to use non-Red CF cards, etc. for recording modes higher than 2k...

While these options might not be the most stable for production environment - they would make for a very nice afterlife for the R1 as an enthusiast product. End user modifications make for fun and exciting use of a product many years after flagship products have taken the place of older ones...


Please discuss and feel free to add your thoughts.
 
It almost sounds like You are already writing the RED ONE off. With the new M-X sensor upgrade and super solid platform (in comparison to other D-Cinema cameras), You can expect the RED ONE to continue to be used for quite some time...

Just my two cents...

Peter
 
I think that the last thing that RED needs right now are open (and hence usually divergent and poorly documented) standards for firmware, hardware, or software.
 
Dan Kanes said:
....

-Open hardware modifications - the option to replace the Drives in the Red Raid with SSD's or other high end notebook sized drives.

-The ability to use non-Red CF cards, etc. for recording modes higher than 2k...
Click to expand...

These two won't be for exclusive R1 usage and therefore affect the Epic/Scarlet cameras as well, doubt that RED would go for that.

And I believe if you don't care about warranty, you could do pretty much all you want to your R1 already....
 
Peter Majtan said:
It almost sounds like You are already writing the RED ONE off. With the new M-X sensor upgrade and super solid platform (in comparison to other D-Cinema cameras), You can expect the RED ONE to continue to be used for quite some time...

Just my two cents...

Peter
Click to expand...

I'm not writing the Red One Off at all - I'm just trying to illustrate the kind of hobbyist level modifications that can continue to expand a system later. I know Red is very "Open" as it were - but for example if there was a simple firmware flag to allow non red drives to be placed in the Red Raid, and a message that pops up and says - non red drives installed - click to cancel or click to confim and use there would be expanded and continued usability.

Of course I'm sure people here are going to say That's BLASPHEMY! It has to be RED ONLY!

To close out the R2Lemo - Esata cable with a firmware update to the drives was a seriously bad move I think. Now with half the Red Drives out there failing to work on Firewire 800 ports with seemingly no way of repairing them, we're forced to use FW400 or USB to download. That's lame. There should be the option of 3rd party drives and cards with plenty of proper warning.

This is something that can be repaired or modified for User level fixes.
Ciao for now:seeya:
 
Dan, I do see Your point and I am not bluntly enforcing "RED product ONLY" policy. The reason for RED to only allow the cameras to work properly with RED media is very simple - stability. I have done a ton of research into alternate media (especially SSD) and was even able to circumvent the firmware limit (this was before the RED RAM was actually available and we needed badly media for heli shoots), but after close discussion with Jarred where he explained me the reasoning behind their policy, I've completely understood and terminated my research. If You use Your own media, that was not properly tested by RED, You may or may not (most of the time "may") end up with some issues on the set. From camera unable to properly save the data to actual data going missing and tons of other issues in between. While this is perfectly OK with Your own research - this is unacceptable on a real production. And believe me - pop-up notifications or not - there will be always some smarta** that will use untested media on a real production. The consequent bad reputation will have a cascading effect and RED will be unable to trace, understand and resolve such a issues, since would not know what have You actually done. This will even further damage RED's image. And these guys have worked blood and tears to get to where they are today. Once You really think about this You will understand why Your ideas (even thou perfectly logical) are simply not realistic and actually directly against RED business model...

No hard feelings...

Peter
 
I'll take Graeme's work any day over the work of some guy in his basement - seriously.

I think the "brilliance of crowds" is overrated.
 
I have a slightly different idea. How about actually redesigning the RED ONE body to make it better in terms of heat-management, connection/button-layout, overall design (ie. not making the top round) and maybe swap the screen with a color LED or e-ink display? RED could offer it as a body-upgrade.
 
One thing I'd like to see however is a "hook" into the camera allowing full control over the camera via the USB port - maybe through a USB wifi stick inserted into the camera?
 
Who need hackers for red when you can simply beg Red to implement something you need for a fee.
 
The idea was never meant as a slap in the face to the brains behind the R1... It's actually a compliment - all of my favorite electronics have had modifications over the years beginning with my Beloved Apple II.
 
Dan,

What broken drives are you working with? Have them sent back to Red and get fixed. It would be nice if the lemo to esata cable still worked, but the thing that broke it fixed a serious problem with the drives.


Dusty
 
Rob Ruffo said:
I'll take Graeme's work any day over the work of some guy in his basement
Click to expand...

Isn't Graeme just a particularly well funded guy in a very expensive basement?

That being said, RED updates already tend to feel like a lot like this:
http://bit.ly/Wjtf4

When, if ever, they stop support for RED ONE, I'm sure the "hack"wagon will get rolling.
 
Zack CC said:
Isn't Graeme just a particularly well funded guy in a very expensive basement?

That being said, RED updates already tend to feel like a lot like this:
http://bit.ly/Wjtf4

When, if ever, they stop support for RED ONE, I'm sure the "hack"wagon will get rolling.
Click to expand...

Funny thats exactly how I pictured him, secret underground lair filled with cameras, computers and a giant 28k monitoring screen with Graeme sat in front of it saying "the quality in not good enough yet... we must improve the codec..."
 
Tony Lorentzen said:
One thing I'd like to see however is a "hook" into the camera allowing full control over the camera via the USB port - maybe through a USB wifi stick inserted into the camera?
Click to expand...

Thats a pretty good idea there Tony - In a studio setup, I would rather manage control / looks and other stuff via a laptop anyway. Not to mention a crane remote. I wonder if you could use an iPhone for the control brain..

You could also build a pretty slick logger that would gather data and send it to the lappy.. then again, I have no clue about what can or can't be done outta that usb port..

EDIT: Screw the laptop - iPhone for looks too!
 
Last edited:
Jay Gannon said:
Funny thats exactly how I pictured him, secret underground lair filled with cameras, computers and a giant 28k monitoring screen with Graeme sat in front of it saying "the quality in not good enough yet... we must improve the codec..."
Click to expand...

:-) you guys are so funny....

Graeme
 
Jay Gannon said:
Funny thats exactly how I pictured him, secret underground lair filled with cameras, computers and a giant 28k monitoring screen with Graeme sat in front of it saying "the quality in not good enough yet... we must improve the codec..."
Click to expand...

Add about 1000 yellow minions at his feet all looking at him in awe, and I agree.
Jay
 
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