Elantric's Computer

Started by Elantric, May 25, 2012, 07:39:08 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.



Elantric

#202
My arcane hurdle - trying to get Firewire audio interfaces to work on a decent Laptop PC running Windows 8.1.

Expresscard Firewire adapter are reliable, but Laptop PC's with ExpressCard slots are rare in 2017

an arcane adapter path that is supposed to work is using:



Startech USB-C to Thunderbolt 2 adapter
https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-Thunderbolt-Adapter-Compatible-DisplayPort/dp/B019FPJDQ2


> Apple MD464LL/A Thunderbolt 2 to Firewire adapter


Firewire 800 to Firewire 400 cable


> Firewire Audio Interface ( MOTU 828MKII)   

With MOTU Windows Firewire Audio Driver
http://motu.com/techsupport/technotes/driverlog

vmarks

I was waiting to see if there was going to be a MOTU unit at the end of this chain.

I once saw a computer that had a stack of upgrade sockets on its CPU, originally a 286 equipped with adapters to make it accept a 386, that adapted to accept 486, and that adapted to accept a Pentium. Imagine, if you will, a stack of adapters as thick as a hamburger at the 9 Dollar hamburger joint. Unsurprisingly, it would not boot, but did get nice and warm, generating an awful smell in the process.

Elantric

#204
Quote from: vmarks on September 29, 2017, 11:21:09 AM
I was waiting to see if there was going to be a MOTU unit at the end of this chain.



Other times I'm still capturing SD video from a  Firewire Sony VX-2100 
or connecting a Matrox Video system or Firewire Audio mixer or Gibson RIP Audio box for Dark Fire.


vtgearhead

Quote from: vmarks on September 29, 2017, 11:21:09 AM
I was waiting to see if there was going to be a MOTU unit at the end of this chain.

I once saw a computer that had a stack of upgrade sockets on its CPU, originally a 286 equipped with adapters to make it accept a 386, that adapted to accept 486, and that adapted to accept a Pentium. Imagine, if you will, a stack of adapters as thick as a hamburger at the 9 Dollar hamburger joint. Unsurprisingly, it would not boot, but did get nice and warm, generating an awful smell in the process.

I remember those from back in the day when desktop machines cost a bundle.  You were luck if even one level of adaptation worked.  No chance for that conglomeration.  But, I would like to see pictures!



Elantric



Elantric

Good up to date article by Peter Kirn  on life with a Windows 10 laptop
http://cdm.link/2017/12/long-term-hands-razer-blade-14-creative-laptop/


Elantric

http://cdm.link/2018/04/adobe-dropped-quicktime-effects-vjs-looking-solution/

Adobe drops QuickTime support, as visual artists look for a solution
Peter Kirn - April 5, 2018  18 Comments     
The story: Apple leaves QuickTime securities unpatched on Windows; Adobe drops support in their product line. But that leaves creative people stuck – including live visual artists. And now they're looking for solutions.

First, here's the sequence of events – and if you've been watching the general mayhem in the US government, you'd be forgiven for missing what was happening with, like, QuickTime for Windows security.

First, from the US Department of Homeland Security (really, even if the headline looks more like Macworld):

Apple Ends Support for QuickTime for Windows; New Vulnerabilities Announced [US-CERT Alert (TA16-105A)]

And from a private security firm:

Urgent Call to Action: Uninstall QuickTime for Windows Today [TrendMicro]

To follow that advice, you can perform that installation on Windows as follower (macOS users aren't impacted):

Uninstall QuickTime 7 for Windows

That is, Apple had already dropped QuickTime for Windows development, including fixing security vulnerabilities – and this known one is bad enough to finally uninstall the software. It's a Web-based vulnerability, so not particularly relevant to us making visuals, but significant nonetheless.

Developers should already have begun removing dependencies on QuickTime some time ago. But because of the variety of formats artists support, this starts to break some specific workflows. So here's Adobe:

QuickTime on Windows [Adobe blog]

And before you get too smug, Mac users, you can expect some bumps in the road as cross-platform software generally tries to get out of QuickTime as a dependency. That could get messy, again, with so many formats out there. But let's deal with Windows and Adobe software.

What works: uncompressed, DV, IMX, MPEG2, XDCAM, h264, JPEG, DNxHD, DNxHR, AVCI and Cineform), plus "DV and Cineform in .mov wrappers."

What breaks: Among others, Apple ProRes (the big one), plus "Animation (import and export), DNxHD/HR (export) as would workflows where growing QuickTime files are being used (although we strongly advise using MXF for this wherever possible)."

Moreover, Adobe is dropping QuickTime 7 codec support on all April releases of their full CC product line:

Dropped support for Quicktime 7 era formats and codecs [Adobe support]

Adobe advises customers to move to newer codecs, but that isn't always an option. PC World have a tough appraisal of the situation (one I'm sure Adobe could live without):

Adobe on QuickTime: You're up the creek without a paddle [PC World]

That's by Gordon Mah Ung, the editor who has been around this business long enough not to mince words.

David Lublin of Vidvox writes CDM to let us know that in the short term, this also impacts Adobe software support for their high performance, open Hap format (plus DXV and many other legacy codecs VJs may tend to use). I also spoke with Mark Conilgio of Isadora, who said he was sad to see QuickTime support go, and that it would prevent cross-platform file support, Isadora 3 will remove QuickTime dependencies and work with native file formats on the respective platforms.

Hey, Adobe: Get Hap!
A silver lining: this may be a chance to "shake the tree" and convince Adobe to add native support for Hap, a high performance format that leverages your GPU to delivery snappy playback, ideal for live and interactive visual applications. And given that's an open source format, and unlike anything else available, that'd be great. There's already a proposal online to make that (hap)pen:


VIDVOX
@VIDVOX
It is probably a long shot, but it looks like someone started a petition to get Adobe to natively support the HAP codecs for export...https://adobe-video.uservoice.com/forums/911311-after-effects/suggestions/33853372-support-the-hap-codec ...

6:24 AM - Apr 5, 2018

Support the HAP codec
The HAP codec, which is massive in the live video industry, is no longer supported. Please bring it back? It would be very nice.

adobe-video.uservoice.com
22
See VIDVOX's other Tweets
Twitter Ads info and privacy
https://adobe-video.uservoice.com/forums/911311-after-effects/suggestions/33853372-support-the-hap-codec

Hap was built in collaboration with talented developer Tom Butterworth. And Adobe has incorporated his code before: in 2016, Character Animator added support for Syphon, the inter-app visual texture pipeline on Mac:
https://www.adobe.com/products/character-animator/features.html

Work with Hap right now
For Hap support – and you really should be working with it – here are some immediate solutions.

Encoding to Hap from the command line using FFmpeg

Converting movies to the Hap video codec

But I'd love to see Adobe support the format. It's just a codec; there's no real UX requirement, and the code is there and flexibly licensed.

Meanwhile, perhaps this is a nice illustration of how important it is that live visual art move to open, cross-platform de facto standards. It makes work and art future proof and portable, and removes some overhead for developers making both free and commercial tools. And given that computers are based on many of the same architectures, it makes sense for the ways we store video and express graphical information to be portable and standardized.

For Vidvox's part, there's a nice summary on their page of what they support – and a lot of the formats they're championing can be used by developers on Windows and Linux, not just macOS:

Open Source At VIDVOX


https://vdmx.vidvox.net/blog/opensource

mchad


I may have asked this before or the answer is in this thread somewhere but...

what is the state of DAW software and Win10?

I imagine it would be nice and smooth given 10 has been around for a few years. I've still got a PC build to finish but I haven't bought an OS yet. You can still get Win7 on Ebay. I've done some research and Win10 Home or Pro will do but need to get the full retail version not OEM. I'm happy to keep researching (in fact it is vital) but need some sane (and sage) advice.

Thanks

rolandvg99

Not much between Windows 10 and MacOS regarding audio performance. My 2014 ASIS TP300LA runs Ablteon Live 10, Cakewalk by BandLab, Harrington Mixbus32C or Reaper just as well as any MacBook AIR. Only thing is lack of thunderbolt, but my Motu 8M runs almost as fast connected to a regular USB 2.0 port. If you need to use multiple soundcards: try Dante VIA or ASIO4ALL.


If you can afford it: buy Windows 10 PRO. Easier to control the update regime.
To V or not to V: That is the question.

My little Soundcloud corner

mchad

Quote from: rolandvg99 on April 23, 2018, 02:38:07 AM
Not much between Windows 10 and MacOS regarding audio performance. My 2014 ASIS TP300LA runs Ablteon Live 10, Cakewalk by BandLab, Harrington Mixbus32C or Reaper just as well as any MacBook AIR. Only thing is lack of thunderbolt, but my Motu 8M runs almost as fast connected to a regular USB 2.0 port. If you need to use multiple soundcards: try Dante VIA or ASIO4ALL.


If you can afford it: buy Windows 10 PRO. Easier to control the update regime.

:)

Elantric

http://www.smpte-sbe48.org/oldnews/0311news.php
This is a picture from 1956; any guess as to what it is before you see the answer below?



A 5 megabyte "hard drive" storage unit, Jim writes: "this will make you appreciate your 4 gigabyte flash/thumb drive even more now!

Elantric


Elantric


Elantric

#219


https://www.yahoo.com/news/apple-making-2018-imac-pro-160204816.html
Apple is making 2018 iMac Pro, MacBook Pro repairs even harder
Digital Trends  Arif Bacchus,Digital Trends 2 hours 47 minutes ago
Reactions  Reblog on Tumblr  Share  Tweet  Email

Apple is using new proprietary diagnostics software when repairing 2018 iMac Pro and MacBook Pro models. This locks out these products from repairs at third-party stores and forces owners with these models to get repairs at Apple.
Apple is locking down certain Macs from third-party repairs, according to a report from MacRumors. Impacted models include the iMac Pro and 2018 MacBook Pro, which have advanced security features, and must pass certain Apple Service Toolkit 2 tests for successful repairs.

Citing internal documents distributed to Apple's Authorized Service Providers, the report reveals Apple is using a new Service Toolkit 2 software lock. This essentially ends up making iMac Pro and 2018 MacBook Pro models useless if they are not repaired at specific locations approved by the company. The locking software impacts any repairs on the 2018 MacBook display assembly, logic board, top case, and the Touch ID board. Also impacted by the lock are any repairs on the logic board or flash storage present on the 2018 iMac Pro.

In both cases, if these systems are not repaired using the Apple Service Toolkit 2, the service will be rendered incomplete and the system won't boot. Considering the recent hardware-based hacks, this is reportedly meant as a security measure intended to protect the Apple T2 chip, which holds encrypted storage information and Touch ID authentication.

Per a separate report from Motherboard, only Apple's Authorized Service Providers will have access to Apple Service Toolkit 2, so this means these repairs can't be completed at independent repair shops.

"For Macs with the Apple T2 chip, the repair process is not complete for certain parts replacements until the AST 2 System Configuration suite has been run. Failure to perform this step will result in an inoperative system and an incomplete repair," explains the documentation.

When compared to HP, Dell, or Lenovo, Apple is known for putting up a walled garden of protection around its products, so this should not be too surprising. However, the news is a concern for consumers who may be looking to skip Apple and repair their devices solo without any help.

In fact, Apple and many other tech companies were recently involved in lobbying against right-to-repair laws, which aim to give consumers more rights and access to resources to repair their products free of any first-party intervention. Apple has yet to comment on the report, but considering the controversy inherent in this story, you might hear from the company soon.

Elantric



Elantric



Elantric

#224