Eric, what's your thoughts on this?

[Derek]

Eric, can you take a look at this: DV Rack by Serious Magic.
It looks excellent, but i'd like your thoughts on it, please.

Anybody else wishing to pass comment, feel free

http://www.seriousmagic.com/dvrack.cfm?crntPage=0

[Corey]

One thing about virtual racks (I've used Propellerhead's Reason, the Godzilla of all convoluted software racks as well as dozens of similar VSTIs) is that you either like them or you don't. For people who are used to using hardware racks, software racks are a tough transition. For those who have never worked with a hardware rack, it's just a case of how fond you are of intricate controls, etc. A dual monitor system helps *a lot*...

Corey Milner
Creative Director, Indigo Rose Software

[eric_darling]

Corey's points, as usual, are very good and deserve heavy consideration. I swear this guy is the 21st century's version of Huomo Universale. Anyway, I digress...

I think the software scopes, provided their reliability is verified, is a great idea. But it's hardly revolutionary. Any NLE worth its salt has a TBC, waveform, vectorscope and audio level monitoring built right inside. So, if you're doing editing on your computer, chances are most of the truly useful features will already be addressed.

I know a guy who runs Final Cut Pro on his G4 Titanium PowerBook laptop like this all the time - runs his DV signal in and records it live with TBC adjustments based on FCP's scope readings. No big deal.

I think watching video on a computer monitor as your *only* monitor is dangerous. It's great to verify that you've got signal routed properly, perhaps, but for anything else, especially color calibration, you're just chasing your tail.

The other stuff is fluff.

All a pro really needs to analyze video signal is a waveform monitor and a vectorscope. To make adjustments, a TBC (time base corrector).

[Corey]

Eric's point about computer monitors vis-a-vis real world color/contrast accuracy is a very good one. I'm only speaking from Photoshop experience, but trying to match what you see on your screen with what actually comes off the printer's press has always been very tricky, I can see how that would be crucial for video too. There's practically a niche industry around this...

I'm going to paint my new nickname on my next skateboard:

--> Huomo "Sleepy" Universale

Just keepin' it real...

Corey Milner
Creative Director, Indigo Rose Software

[Derek]

Thanks, guys

I might just give it a go and see how i get on with it.

[Corey]

Cool, let us know how it goes Derek, I'll be very interested to know...

Corey Milner
Creative Director, Indigo Rose Software