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Thread: Unpredictable Movie Playback Speed

  1. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by z6p6tist6
    In reference to problems running everything off the same drive...Is it worth attempting running my content off of an external FireWire hard drive? Is this anywhere near fast enough to consider? I'm not sure if the computer would have FW400 or 800.
    Phil
    With firewire - the speed of the interface isnt important - whats important is that the drives that all these boxes use are just standard ide drives.
    It the drives inside these things that arent too great - if you need 4 layers of playback,
    If you just need 2 layers, then firewire is ok

  2. #12
    Thanks Richard!

    The show was a huge success, and I was very pleased with my first use of Catalyst.

    I appreciate the comments from everyone and look forward to working with the technology quite a bit more in the near future.

    I did not get a chance to try using a Firewire drive for my content, though I probably would in the future as there definitely were some issues I was having that were more than likely tied directly to the fact that I was streaming from the same drive as my operating system and application.

    Check out a few pictures of the show:

    Pic 1 (w/ Catlayst)
    Pic 2
    Pic 3
    Pic 4
    Pic 5
    Pic 6
    Pic 7 (w/ Catalyst)

    Cheers,

    PG

  3. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by z6p6tist6
    Thanks Richard!

    The show was a huge success, and I was very pleased with my first use of Catalyst.

    I appreciate the comments from everyone and look forward to working with the technology quite a bit more in the near future.

    I did not get a chance to try using a Firewire drive for my content, though I probably would in the future as there definitely were some issues I was having that were more than likely tied directly to the fact that I was streaming from the same drive as my operating system and application.

    PG
    Phil.
    Thanks for the pictures.
    This wasnt your machine? You couldnt put another drive inside it? Rather than use firewire?

    Did you create your own movies - or did you use all the stuff on the machine?

  4. #14
    The box was a demo unit that we were trying out. I had never used Catalyst before, so it was basically a 'trial by fire'. I think if I were to use the same rig again I would definitely try a firewire drive for content storage. I actually had a couple on hand, but by the time the idea came around, the show was already upon us, and I didn't want to make any hardware changes.

    The first output was sent to one of two projectors at a time. One of the projectors was a 3000 lumen unit used for projecting onto a flown in 12x16 screen. The second was a 6500 lumen unit used for projecting onto the cyc (as seen in two of the photos above).

    The second output was sent to two identical 2000 lumen projectors used for aerial effects over the audience. (One of the projectors was switched to 'rear projection' so that they would mirror each other. Thanks to Brad Schiller for the recommendation.)

    Most of the content I used was stock Catalyst content. I also pulled some clips off of some DVDs for use during the light show.

    During two or three sequences of the show, I used the Catalyst for slideshow duty, which allowed me to do some very nice movement and transitions with still photos that would not have been possible using PowerPoint. I found the image speed feature to be a lifesaver...and I beat my head against many walls because of it. Just like the mspeed feature on Cyberlights, but I kept forgetting about it.

    Hmmm. I think that sums it up.
    -------------------
    Phil G. Gilbert, Jr.

    Sigma Productions

    Austin, TX

  5. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by z6p6tist6
    The box was a demo unit that we were trying out. I had never used Catalyst before, so it was basically a 'trial by fire'. I think if I were to use the same rig again I would definitely try a firewire drive for content storage. I actually had a couple on hand, but by the time the idea came around, the show was already upon us, and I didn't want to make any hardware changes.

    The first output was sent to one of two projectors at a time. One of the projectors was a 3000 lumen unit used for projecting onto a flown in 12x16 screen. The second was a 6500 lumen unit used for projecting onto the cyc (as seen in two of the photos above).

    The second output was sent to two identical 2000 lumen projectors used for aerial effects over the audience. (One of the projectors was switched to 'rear projection' so that they would mirror each other. Thanks to Brad Schiller for the recommendation.)

    Most of the content I used was stock Catalyst content. I also pulled some clips off of some DVDs for use during the light show.

    During two or three sequences of the show, I used the Catalyst for slideshow duty, which allowed me to do some very nice movement and transitions with still photos that would not have been possible using PowerPoint. I found the image speed feature to be a lifesaver...and I beat my head against many walls because of it. Just like the mspeed feature on Cyberlights, but I kept forgetting about it.

    Hmmm. I think that sums it up.
    You will have to test a firewire drive on your machine to see how well it works.
    Firewire is no faster than simply adding an additional ide internal drive.

    Yes the 'Mspeed' or image speed parameter is vital for smooth image movement.
    DMX isnt stable enough to do this by itself.
    and DMX is never synchronised to the video refresh rate.
    Moving lights get away with this because they have mechanical inertia that helps smooth the movement.

    ---

    I hope you found it easy enough to understand.
    I wanted to design something that people could do useful work in - in less than 30 minutes - from their first encounter.

    I think its vital in the age of super - complex computers, that things get simpler to use, rather than more complex.

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