And talking of hi-def

[tom hardwick]

I did another tom-show at Finchley last night and was asked why I didn't spend more time on workflow and file-based storage. Well the problem with 'workflow' talk is that each and every one of us finds a way that works for us and continues down that (hopefully successful) path.

So if I talk of file transfers from SDHC card to my Windows XP machine
using the Sony Content Management Utility for opening in Edius 6.05,
maybe 2% of the video population will know what I'm talking about.
They have Mini DV tapes in SD and HDV, they have i7 PCs running
Premiere CS5 and Macs with FCP and Media 100.

So I now tend to keep that side of my talks fairly bland, and answer
specific questions if I can. Backup is always a hot topic now we're
file-based and that's easier to address. But look at Michael Slowe and me - we end up with documentaries about people yet from beginning to end our kit, storage, acquisition, computers, programs, converters and so on are all completely different. Yet we both want big bright sharp 16:9 pictures up on that screen, so our end product is exactly the same.

I bet my BDs play on your Blu-ray player, dear reader. The only bit of Sony kit that I distrust is their BD players and what did I spot in the Finchley hardware Tower? A Sony BD player. Sure enough, it refused to play two of my BDs, discs that I'd has tested on Samsungs, Toshibas, LGs and Panasonics. Anyway, it went some way to strengthen my argument that spinning discs are NOT the way to archive your files (or even keep your movies on for that matter).

Good audience though, loads of interest and questions, and they were all over the little Panasonic SD900 at half-time.

tom.

[Dave Watterson]

This is a problem for magazines and websites too, Tom. In our hobby - as in many technical ones - people need specific information related to the equipment and software they use. For a few years you might assume that the majority of IAC members worked either with Casablanca or Adobe Premiere and so some details could be given. Now there are many fine editing systems, each of which is controlled in different ways.

Recently I had to grab trial versions of several edit packages to produce some tests. I am used to switching between software packages ... I have lost count of how many different word-processors I have used over the years. My starting point is that they all have to get the same results. That means there will be some way to do x or y or z. All I have to do is find it.

That learning process involves some cursing, trial and error but it rarely takes more than a day or so to achieve most of the normal things. To become an expert with the software would, of course, need much more time and patience, but few of us need to use all the powers of fancy programs.

However I frequently meet people who are not confident with computers and for whom such a change of software would cause a major panic. They are not sure what to try. Often they do not even understand how to search in google for helpful advice.

How can we help them?

-Dave