Review: Roland OCTA-CAPTURE 8/10-channel USB 2.0 audio interface

Many of the affordable pro audio interfaces that are available on the market have a maximum of two balanced microphone inputs, and few of them include hardware-based limiting, compression, or gating. Among the special features of Roland’s OCTA-CAPTURE is the fact that it contains 10 total audio inputs, of which 8 are balanced microphone inputs. The OCTA-CAPTURE allows recording to a standalone audio recorder and/or to a computer. At least when used with a computer and a compatible piece of audio software, the operator can even record all of the available inputs on individual tracks, which provides extra flexibility in post-production, i.e. to mute a cough, or to re-adjust volume or equalization of any particular source after-the-fact without affecting any other source recorded simultaneously. The OCTA-CAPTURE also features onboard compression and gating. In this article, I’ll cover the OCTA-CAPTURE’s features, setup, preamp quality, compatible audio software, and then offer my conclusions.

Adobe & Avid attract FCP-defectors with special discounts

When I began publishing my FCP-exodus articles last year, even some other ProVideo Coalition magazine writers thought and commented that my words were an exaggeration. However, now some of them are defecting from Final Cut Pro, and several other award-winning editors are doing the same. Part of the enticement to jump ship are the special crossgrade pricing being offered by Adobe and Avid, and part is the fact that they need either features which are currently missing in FCP X and/or the need to import FCP 6/7 projects in their new editor. In this article, I’ll round up the crossover pricing from Adobe, Avid, and SingularSoftware, which has reversed its prior policy based upon this new era of turmoil in video editing tools. I’ll also offer some quotes from editors who have moved or declared intentions to move.

FCP7 back for Enterprise/new features for FCPX within weeks

Yesterday (July 6, 2011) Apple reportedly held a briefing in London. According to Arnold Kim of MacRumors.com, Alex4d summarizes tweets by attendee @aPostEngineer which reveal the nine points, which range from FCP7 licenses being back for Enterprise, XML i/o coming for X soon, AJA support for tape in X, xSAN support for X. Here are the nine points, verbatim:

Adobe Premiere Pro CS 5.5 brings better handling of medium framerate videos recorded as PsF

You may have noticed that even many late model AVCHD cameras shoot medium framerate progressive video (i.e. 1080/25p and 1080/29.97p) as PsF (Progressive Segmented Frame), meaning that they (unfortunately) record 25p-over-50i and/or 29.97p-over-59.94i. This regrettably occurs with both consumer and even some of the latest professional AVCHD cameras with the mentioned progressive framerates. Fortunately, this practice doesn’t damage the internal AVCHD video recording quality to any perceptible degree since the encoder knows that it’s progressive, but unfortunately it makes the video more susceptible to being mistreated later on, either by a video editing program which mistakenly thinks that it is interlaced and consequently de-interlaces it when importing it into a progressive timeline, or by an HDTV set that does the same thing. Unnecessary de-interlacing is a bad thing and should be avoided when bringing progressive footage into a progressive timeline… or into a progressive display device, like an LCD, Plasma, or projector. One of the best ways to prevent unnecessary de-interlacing is by recording the progressive signal natively (not as PsF), but that’s not the case with many cameras when shooting 1080/25p and 1080/29.97p. This article will clarify the issue further, explain how we overrode it manually with Premiere Pro CS 5 and Media Encoder 5, and how the 5.5 upgrade resolves it automatically!

Izzy Video produces free 2:39 FCP X video tutorial

Our colleague Israel (“Izzy”) Hyman of Izzy Video has produced and published a free 2:39 Final Cut Pro X video tutorial. Yes, I said free. Yes, I mean 2 hours and 39 minutes, and yes, it is extremely well organized and well presented, and demonstrates that FCP X (despite several initial limitations) is extremely powerful. I have invested the time into seeing the entire production, and have absorbed it. I must applaud, congratulate, and thank Izzy for investing the considerably more time producing it. Finally, I must encourage any video editor to invest the time to absorb it also, and then (if you agree with me) you can applaud, congratulate, and thank Izzy too. The tutorial is divided into 26 digestible chapters, so you don’t have to watch it all in a single session.

Apple publishes urgently needed FCP X FAQ

Apple has just published the following FAQ for FXP X, in which the company answers previously unanswered questions and commits itself to adding certain missing features. Here they are.

PluralEyes for FCP X: a public statement from the creator Singular Software

The creator of PluralEyes, Singular Software, has received lots of questions about PluralEyes and Final Cut Pro X. There are nine questions, which cover compatibility, availability, policies, and price regarding PluralEyes for FCP X. Here are the answers.

How to pick Mac video editing software after the FCP X launch

After the launch of FCP X 1.0, Mac users can finally analyze which video editing software to choose depending upon key features. Now there is finally a recent version to compare from Adobe (Premiere Pro CS 5.5), Apple (Final Cut Pro X 1.0), and Avid (Media Composer 5.5). Since Apple has ceased to support FCP 7 as of the release of FCP X, the possibility of using FCP 7 under MacOS 10.7 (Lion) is unpredictable. [UPDATE: Apple has stated that FCP7 will run under Lion.] This article will cover three key features which may be critical to your current or upcoming projects: multicam (or the capability of auto syncing clips from multiple cameras, whether or not some of them have stopped recording during the event), full use of a professional i/o interface (like the ones from AJA, Blackmagic, Matrox, or MOTU), and the inboard capability of incorporating and viewing closed captions. Since as of October 2010, closed captions are legally required in the USA even for certain web videos (details ahead in this article), this will be of increasing importance to many editors.

Panasonic AF100 joins forces with Sony encoder for 25p Euro spot in Miami

Recently I was put in charge of the technical workflow for an HD 1080/25p real estate commercial spot to be shot in Miami, Florida, and broadcast in several European countries. I suppose my years of writing articles and giving seminars about 25p workflow in (ex) NTSC countries had something to do with my being chosen. This article covers: why director Rubén Abruña chose the Panasonic AF100 rather than the Sony FS100, the lenses used, how the Sony “Beyond XDCAM-HD” encoder in the nanoFlash recorder achieved a superior 4:2:2 recording, the technical workflow used in the production and post, and even how we were able to display the final 25p spot on the client’s segregated HDTV set (which normally rejects anything 25Hz or 50Hz) without having to convert the signal. You’ll also be able to view and hear all four language versions of the 30-second spot: Castilian, English, French, and Italian.

Untapped features in Sony NXCAM’s new HDMI output

Sony’s latest NXCAM cameras fortunately feature unprecedented new features with their live HDMI outputs, including uncompressed 1080p at 50p or 59.94p, timecode, and even RGB 4:4:4 capabilities as an alternative to the standard YUV 4:2:2 modes. They also offer special pulldown modes for 23.976p (2:3), 25p (2:2), or 29.97p (2:2) (model dependent) with flags to help an external recorder reverse-telecine and recover the original, pure progressive signal. This is great for those of us that —for certain projects— want to record an even better signal than what’s possible inside of the camera with AVCHD. However, today’s external HDMI recorders don’t yet support these new features. This article is about which NXCAM models include these new features, more details about them, and the response from each external recorder manufacturer about the likelihood of supporting these features, either in their current —or future— models. We’ll also explore which new NXCAMs say farewell to 29.97p.

AJA KiPro Mini review + commentary

Like a miniature version of the original KiPro from AJA (which I reviewed in October 2009), the KiPro Mini performs many of the same functions (although not all of them) in a fraction of the space —and at a fraction of the cost— and is designed to dock onto the back of many professional camcorders, while it makes a higher quality recording than that is possible internally with most of them. With a flood of other 4:2:2 dockable recorders reaching the market (and one that existed previously which recorded MPEG2 8-bit), this article will attempt to point out the KiPro Mini’s unique virtues, so you’ll have a better idea why it may —or may not— be the best one for you.

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