Can I suggest a few more of us read release notes?

farss wrote on 9/19/2008, 4:47 AM
I know they're a pretty dry read but I get the feeling a lot of grief and egg on face could be avoided if more of us read them. Especially before entering into tirades of abuse against the developers and/or other forum members.
More than once those having a bit of dummy spit have been attacked and told they were lying and yet, next release what they've been complaining about was fixed.
On the other hand it's a bit pointless firing a broadside at the developers if they've already listed it as a known issue, even moreso if they've also told you how to fix / work around the problem.

While I'm at this, checking out the knowledge base and white papers can pay big dividends. A 10 second read there revealed the answer to an issue I've seen people here have major problems with, I even spent 15 minutes on the phone with a FCP user today explaining the same thing to him.

Bob.

Comments

Grazie wrote on 9/19/2008, 5:23 AM
"I even spent 15 minutes on the phone with a FCP user today explaining the same thing to him."

Which was?

Grazie
tcbetka wrote on 9/19/2008, 5:33 AM
Amen Reverend...

As someone that has helped develop applications in the past, it never ceases to amaze me how there are people who assume that a released product should have no issues. It just isn't possible! Applications these days are simply too complex, as users demand more & more & more features. If the developers corrected each & every issue in a piece of software before moving on to the *next* version...that company would be far behind the competition before too long. Now I am not saying that it's acceptable for a company to leave unsquashed bugs lying about indefinitely, and thus I think one of the best measures of a software publisher is how long they support a previous version while releasing new versions.

As a new Sony VP/Cinescore/DVDA user, it's good to hear that there are "realistic" release notes available for this software--that the developers actually point out some of the known issues. At the very least it seems to indicate that someone is actually working on them! And if the way SCS has treated me as a customer thus far is any indication, I bet they are making great efforts to resole these issues.

TB

Robert W wrote on 9/19/2008, 5:38 AM
I always read release notes to decide whether an update resolves critical issues for my system. If it doesn't I generally stick with what I am using.
baysidebas wrote on 9/19/2008, 7:04 AM
Release notes? Is that something found in the manual?
bStro wrote on 9/19/2008, 10:23 AM
On the download page for any SCS application is a link for the Release Notes. It's a separate file / page from the manual.

Rob
farss wrote on 9/19/2008, 2:09 PM
"Which was?"
How to use a Sony VCR to capture HDV.
The device can be set to DV, HDV or Auto. "Auto" is a very bad choice, the VCR will set the 1394 interface to DV until you play a HDV tape then it'll change the interface. That then causes the OS to use a different driver and mount a different device. An application trying to capture video sees this is as the device being not connected until you restart the app but that will change if you power cycle the VCR.
Users very easily reach the conclusion that the VCR is faulty / intermittent, try changing firewire cables and finally, in desperation scream at Bob over the phone for renting them "defective" equipment.

Bob.
ushere wrote on 9/19/2008, 4:21 PM
on the money there bob - as you pointed out to me before....

'auto' seems not the way to go any more! whether on my m15 vcr or v1p, pd170, et al.

back a few years and i don't even remember there being an 'auto' anywhere. did beta sp / 1" / GVG, etc., ever have auto buttons....

leslie

farss wrote on 9/19/2008, 4:53 PM
"did beta sp / 1" / GVG, etc., ever have auto buttons...."

I don't think so however the HDV VCRs / cameras are the only device that I know of that can use different protocols on the same interface.

By comparison the J30 VCRs playout any Sony 1/2" tape format, BetaSP, DB, SX and IMX. No matter which format tape you put in the VCR both the firewire and SDI/9 pin interface work exactly the same. About the only way you can get yourself confused in between 525/625 (NTSC / PAL) but even then all the commands to the deck are the same and the data format used to transport the video is the same.

Same applies to the D8 cameras / VCR that'll playout all the 8mm formats, it all comes out as DV..

I think the reason the HDV VCRs/cameras have that Auto functionality is if you want to use them just to preview tapes directly out the analogue ports / LCD. If the device is not in auto it will only play the format you've specified.

Bob.
apit34356 wrote on 9/19/2008, 5:38 PM
Right on, Farss! ;-) SCS has always had "release notes" as long as I can remember. They have always pointed known issues or just discovered problems before release date, ( maybe black frames were not detailed out with a work around). But one really needs to review the release notes, not all products play well together.