Roland QUAD-CAPTURE: the little sister of the OCTA-CAPTURE

ProVideo Coalition readers who are into audio gadgets probably read my recent full review about the OCTA-CAPTURE from Roland. This article is about the OCTA-CAPTURE’s little sister, the QUAD-CAPTURE, and covers the differences between the two units, as well as its relative preamp and ADC (analog>digital conversion) quality compared with similar devices. Both of the two sisters connect to a computer via USB. One of the first things you’ll notice is that the QUAD-CAPTURE’s name insinuates more microphone inputs than it really has.

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.

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.

Do you work in the broadcast industry? What does “broadcast” mean?

Do you work in the broadcast industry? What does the word broadcast mean to you? If you work for a radio or TV station or network in almost any capacity, you probably consider yourself to be a broadcaster. If you’re a stringer (an independent videographer who shoots news for TV), then you probably consider yourself to be a broadcaster too. If you manufacture or sell “broadcast” cameras or other equipment, then you probably consider yourself to be part of the broadcast industry. There was a time when people questioned whether a particular camera, recorder or other device was “broadcast quality” or not. As a certified translator, I am very aware of a particular word’s many nuances, especially when someone asks me to translate that word. In this article, we’ll explore and define different meanings of the term broadcast in various contexts. Then these meanings will become reference points for upcoming articles.

PluralEyes for Premiere Pro CS5 (Mac) reviewed

If you ever record dual-system audio or multiple camera angles without synchronized timecode, you’ll wonder how you ever survived without PluralEyes added to your editing software. Users of Premiere Pro CS5 for Mac who are aware of PluralEyes for other editing programs will be happy to know that a version of PluralEyes is now available for their preferred app too. This article will go over PluralEyes’ general features and then illustrate the specific workflow used with Premiere Pro CS5 compared to the way it works with other video editing software.

TecnoTur 6 (Castilian): interviews with Escuchalibros, RAMM Animation, and actress Carla Sánchez

TecnoTur episode 6 in Castilian (aka “Spanish”) is now available. In episode 6, we learn about Venezuelan actress/model Carla Sánchez’s latest projects, and we briefly discuss Allan Tépper’s book Unleash GoogleVoice’s hidden power for 3G, WiFi, and free international roaming. Then we present the 2nd part of our interview with Rafael Andreu of RAMM Animation, whose projects have included the Castilian version of Sesame Street (Plazo Sésamo in Latin America or Barrio Sésamo in Spain). Finally, we discuss audiobook production with Victoria Mesas García of Escuchalibros of Spain. Here are details about how to hear TecnoTur free, or become a subscriber.

Adobe’s US$99 Premiere Elements for Mac: a first look from a pro video perspective

Last week, I attended Experience Adobe CS5 Production on a Mac here in Miami. Interestingly, the seminar was organized by a local reseller called Enhanced View Services, although promoted via Apple Events, and the actual presenters were from Adobe and Apple. Even though there was a presentation from Apple before and after the Adobe presentation, I estimate that 75% was about Adobe’s CS5. Many ProVideo Coalition readers know that I have written several articles about Final Cut Pro workflow, and more recently, I’ve published several about Premiere Pro CS5, and I will continue to do so. In addition to saying hello to the people from Apple and Adobe and hearing even more about CS5, I really wanted to see whether there would be any mention of the new US$99 Premiere Elements for Mac, which had been announced earlier in the week… and if not, I wanted to ask questions about it. In this article, you’ll find out more about what happened at this event, and the surprisingly positive answers I got about Premiere Elements for Mac.

TecnoTur 5 (English): interviews with SingularSoftware (PluralEyes + more) and OWC (iMac w/eSATA)

TecnoTur episode 5 (English) is now available. In episode 5, Carla Sánchez and Allan Tépper discuss RIM/Blackberry’s new podcast consumption application. Next comes Larry O’Connor of OWC (Other World Computing), creator of the revolutionary eSATA modification for certain Apple iMac computers, as well as SSDs (Solid State Drives) and other products. Finally, we converse with Bruce Sharpe of Singular Software about 3D/stereo editing workflow, PluralEyes, DualEyes and their latest application, Presto. Here are details about how to hear TecnoTur free, or become a subscriber.

An open letter to Apple’s iTunes Podcasting Team

Dear Apple’s iTunes Podcasting Team:
We love podcasting, and we love the fact that Apple’s iTunes has helped to facilitate the growth of this relatively new medium since 2005 with iTunes 4.9. Congratulations on releasing iTunes 10 now, in 2010. This letter is to point out three key areas where you need to improve the user experience of podcast subscription and commenting, especially with regard to podcasting in worldwide markets and with its use with mobile devices, and in some cases where some of your competitors (i.e. Google/Android and RIM/Blackberry) already offer podcast subscription apps which are much more user-friendly than the current iTunes podcasting experience. Oh, and of course, there will be one more thing!

TecnoTur English episode 4: interviews with AJA, DVKitchen, and Carla Sánchez

TecnoTur episode 4 (English) is now available. In episode 4, Allan Tépper converses with Carla Sánchez, a USA-based Venezuelan actress, model, and spokesperson. Next comes Josh Mellicker, creator of DVKitchen, the program which is TecnoTur‘s favorite application for calculating, encoding, posting, and embedding video for the web and the most popular mobile devices, including iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch, Blackberry, and Android devices. Listeners of TecnoTur can get a special discount on DVKitchen when purchasing it directly from the manufacturer by entering a promotional code. DVKitchen is compatible with Matrox’s MAX hardware accelerator for H.264 encoding, which is available both as a standalone card, or as a factory-option with any MXO2 interface device. Finally, TecnoTur converses with Bryce Button of AJA, who tells us about AJA’s latest announcements from the entire product line. Here are details about how to hear TecnoTur free, or become a subscriber.

TecnoTur episode 2 (English): Radio Lollipop + Matrox’s announcements at NAB 2010

TecnoTur episode 2 (English) is now available, and includes an interview with Radio Lollipop, and with Matrox regarding all pro video announcements at NAB 2010. Brittany Smith of Radio Lollipop —an international radio network based in the UK, with affiliate stations in children’s hospitals throughout the world— tells TecnoTur about her background in commercial radio, and her current position at Radio Lollipop. Then Rubén Abruña and Allan Tépper travel to NAB 2010 in Las Vegas and interview Wayne Andrews, a Matrox pro video product manager. Wayne tells us about ProRes422 encoding in Windows, compatibility with Avid MC5, and MAX 2.0 with scene analysis and VBR encoding.

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