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My girlfriend has one of these, ethernet-connected to her router and thus available on her home network.  However, in order for any computer, Windows or Mac (what about linux?) to access it, it is necessary (aside from any hacky-workarounds that may possibly exist) to install the Iomega Home Storage Manager.   This makes volume(s) offered by the NAS appear, on the Mac in Finder under SHARED, or on a Windows machine as additional drive letter(s).

To acquire the Iomega Home Storage Manager, go to https://iomega-eu-en.custhelp.com/app/platform/p/1031,1043 or else try https://iomega-eu-en.custhelp.com/ and click on [Desktop Network Storage > Home Media Network Hard Drive].  May need to establish and login-to an iomega support account (free) first.

I wondered at first about enabling the NAS as a Mac OS Time Machine (backup) disk.  An iomega article I saw suggested that should be possible, for iomega firmware 2.0 and above.  But the disk as it stands is NTFS-formatted - because when it was set up we had only Windows machines.  Now that disk contains much material in that NTFS.  I guess it might be possible to partrition the disk e.g. to keep the existing NTFS and add alongside it a HFS+ partition for Time Machine to use.  But it’s guesswork that carries risks (of disruption/damage to existing contents).  We want an easy geeking-minimal life, so maybe better to repurpose that NAS and get a purpose-made Apple Time Capsule instead. Either way, the evening wears on, so I’ll shelve that idea/investigation for now…

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Carbonite was drawn to my attention by a colleague, Mr. True, while we were discussing cloud-based services.

So here I just web-trawled a little. From that, it sounds like:

• One must be wary of the “small print” about throttling.
  • Then again could anyone reasonably expect massive video file type storage for such a low price?
• One alternative is Mozy
  • Some people find this better in terms of bandwidth,  service level and applications quality
  • It has apps for both iphone and android.

http://www.carbonite.co.uk/company

• Carbonite automatically backs up new and changed files. You don’t have to do anything
• One of Carbonite’s key advantages is offering unlimited backup for one fixed price
  • e.g. £41.95 / Year
• PC & Mac
• Carbonite for iPhone allows you to browse and share files from your iPhone.
• Carbonite uses the same technology as banks to encrypt your data making it completely secure so only you can ever see it.
• We have our own data centers where the the disk arrays are far more reliable than your computer’s hard drive.
• Limitations?
  • “Bandwidth throttling - Yes (35GB, 200GB)” (?)
  • “Default max file size” (?)

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r22910253-Rant-Carbonite-Backup-is-not-unlimited-as-they-claim

• 2009-08-23, thedragonmas:
  • I have used both Carbonite and MOZY. I had Carbonite for 2+ years, worked as advertised, had over 450 gigs backed up no problem, always maxed out my connection. However, problem came from their client, which is a buggy piece of shit.
  • Switched to mozy, managed to re-back up all 450 gigs in 2 months using my Sprint EVDO Cellular (I get awesome speeds on my data card!).
  • Real problem with Carbonite is, when you select to backup “Everything” it in fact, does NOT backup everything. Such as video files, files over a certain gig size and what not, which will then need to be done manually.
    With MOZY, when I told it to backup EVERYTHING, it DID BACKUP EVERYTHING!
  • I am now a happy MOZY Customer. I am now pushing over 1tb of backed up data.
  • Only problem I have now, is if I need to restore my data, you get 30 days to restore your data before it is removed from their servers, and my present internet connection, that is not possible
•  2009-09-11, Kramer:
  •  I was uploading about 5GB/day for the first 50GB or so and then was throttled back significantly after that.

Following-on from my earlier post, Mobile Video Editing Hardware: Thoughts, Ideas & Dreams, where I considered an eventual migration from my laptop to a luggable PC, my thoughts veered (possibly having spotted cash-icebergs among them) towards an alternative solution:

• Use the laptop for lightweight editing & compositing.
• Use the desktop as a number-crunching RADI-attached server.

The two could be linked by:

• Remote access / remote sessions (some of which via smartphone)
• DropBox, e.g. have an active folder where I can drop Adobe Premiere XML and have it processed remotely by Adobe apps installed there.

Some links:

• http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/01/11/virtualisation_at_home_part_2/
  • (There’s no equivalent “_part_1″ page.  I guess it’s just “Part 2″ of that guy’s story).
  • DIY virtual machines: Rigging up at home, by Trevor Pott, 11th January 2012 14:33 GMT
  • Personal Virtual Machine (PVM) (in use) for about seven years with retail boxed version of Windows XP.
  • VM has been moved from virtualization platform to virtualization platform over the years … the most recent incarnation … inside Hyper-V.
  • …nothing beats Windows Server 2008 R2. It comes with a top-notch virtualisation platform (Hyper-V), and added RemoteFX support with Service Pack 1. You can still use the desktop operating system for all your HTPC needs, and a single Server 2008 R2 Standard license allows you to run both a host copy and a single virtual instance of Server 2008 R2.
  • In my case, the host instance does little more than play movies on the projector via VLC. The virtual instance of Server runs my Plex media server, and aggregates my many storage devices into a single share using DFS.
    • Presumably “DFS” refers to Microsoft’s Distributed File System.
• Shuttle Inc (Taiwan)
  • (MBR’s suggestion)
  • http://uk.shuttle.com/products/productsDetail?productId=1477
    • Small, quiet, hardware-configurable systems.
    • May be a sensible basis for a modular luggable?
  • http://www.okobe.co.uk/ws/product/Shuttle+SH67H3+Barebones+Personal+Computer+FH67+Socket+1155+Intel+H67+Black/1000065737?ref=1q4bs
    • Shuttle SH67H3 Barebones Personal Computer (FH67 Socket 1155 Intel H67) (Black)

Want a mobile “suitcase” editing system, something more (and more expandable) than a laptop but not too expensive.  Primarily to be used for Adobe CS5.5 for media enhancement / editing / compositing etc.

Nearest I found was NextDimension’s range around $7000 I think (but just guesswork - could be way off - would need to get a quote).   That would (if true) be around £4500 at current rates.  Plus import…  NextDimension call such machines “flextops” (Maybe they coined the term? Google searches on it mostly come up with them.)

Apart from the (mil/broadcast-lite but me-heavy) price, it might possibly be undesirably heavy to lug around much.   If so (just guessing, not assuming), it would make more sense to go for a modular quick-setup system.  So, starting to “think different” in this direction:

• Standard tower, capable of taking new CUDA etc. graphics cards etc. as they emerge, but no need for more than say a couple of disks, maybe if SSD could even get away with just a single disk? (For system and media - inadvisable for traditional disks of course, what about for SSD’s?  I have much to learn about SSD’s though).
• “Laptop-Lite” to talk to it.  With robust shuttered-stereoscopic HD monitor.
• Gigabit network to NAS fast storage (SSD and/or RAID ?).

Maybe in that case it would be far more logical/affordable to use an existing laptop as a client working together with a luggable tower server, sufficiently light and robust for frequent dis/re -connection and travel.  And remote access of course (no heavy data to be exchanged, assume that’s already sync’d).  And some means to easily swap/sync applications and projects (data) between laptop and tower, giving the option to use just the (old) laptop on its own if needed.  All such options are handy for the travelling dude (working on train, social visits etc.) who also occasionally has to do heavy processing.  Then would just need a protective suitcase for the tower, plus another one for a decent monitor for grading etc.

I certainly won’t be spending anything just yet, but it’s good to have at least some kind of “radar”.

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I have a Sony XDCAM-EX clip at 1280×720p25 to be transcoded to ProRes, so it can be used as source for iMovie (for another user on another machine).

In principle it should be very simple: go on Mac, use Compressor to transcode the XDCAM footage to ProRes.  But as usual, things are pernickety…

Sequence:

• First tried dragging the XDCAM [.mp4] file into compressor.
  • Not recognised.
  • Likewise the BPAV folder.
• Next, I transcoded the XDCAM footage to “MXF for NLEs” format, using the Mac version of Sony Clip Browser
  • Not recognised.
•  Next, opened the XDCAM Transfer app.
  • In this app, open the XDCAM’s BPAV folder.
  • The footage displays OK but how do I export it to a QuickTime [MOV] file?
  • Looks like I can’t.  It only offers to export to an [MP4] file.
  • Instead, I guess I’ll have to open it from FCP.
• FCP
  • I opened a random existing FCP project.
  • The footage is 720p but the project/sequence settings are arbitrary (unknown to me)
  • FCP: File > Import > Sony XDCAM…
  • It imported to somewhere … but where?
  • FCP Browser: file > RightClick > Reveal in Finder
  • It was at [/Volumes/GRm HFS+/_Media/_Projects/2010-05-30 (Esp) Alison Doggies/020 Source/Sony XDCAM Transfer/SxS_01]
• File System:
  • In other words, at whatever destination was last used by some app - presumably XDCAM Transfer or possibly FCP
  • The destination path was in fact specified in XDCAM Transfer, under its Menu: [XDCAM Transfer > Preferences > Import]
  • Moved the file instead to [/Volumes/GRm HFS+/_Media/_Projects/2009-11-22 (JRM) Lady of the Silver Wheel]
• Compressor:
  • Open it in Compressor
    • Drag it to the “job-strip” (my term) in Compresor.
  • Compressor displays data about that clip (e.g. 1280×720, 25 fps)
  • Select jobstrip settings:
    • Select Setting
      • Settings: Apple > Formats > QuickTime > Apple Pro
        • Name: Apple ProRes 422
        • Description: Apple ProRes 422 with audio pass-through. Settings based off the source resolution and frame rate
    • Apply (Drag) Setting to Jobstrip
  • Destination
    • Leave destination unspecified.  Then it will be the same folder as Source.
  • Processing (transcoding) of this footage (1280×720p25) took about 3 minutes (on MacBook Pro 2009).
  • Result was not that much bigger than the original:
    • Originally recorded [.MP4] file: 1.19 GB
    • Rewrapped [.MOV] from XDCAM Transfer: 1.14 GB
    • ProRes [.MOV] from Compressor: 1.97 GB

Video-editing on-the-move (e.g. on a train) using a MacBook Pro (laptop) with Sony Vegas 9 (64-bit) as NLE (under Boot Camp / Windows 7), my practical experience was that a GRaid Mini external drive was far, far better than a 5400 rpm Western Digital “Passport” drive.   Consistent with the dual use of the MacBook, I partitioned the drive for both NFTS (Windows) and HFS+ (Mac OS), 50-50%.  Due to Boot Camp limitations (explained below), up till now I only ever used it “tethered” to its own mains-based power supply.  But now I see it can also be used mobile, powered from the MacBook - something that up till now I could only achieve under Mac OS, not under Windows.

When using Boot Camp / Windows on the MacBook, I initially tried the shirtpocket-sized Passport drive because it was small, light and powered from the laptop’s USB port.  While its data throughput wasn’t too bad, at least for single-channel HD editing (especially when only 1280720), when it came to cuts from one video clip (hence, in my case, video file) to another, there was a frustrating delay every time.

I also have a GRaid Mini drive, but it wasn’t obvious at first how to use it mobile when using Windows (on a MacBook).  That drive consists of two 7200  drives in RAID-0 configuation (striped, giving speed but no redundancy), and appears just like any single drive to the computer (no RAID management etc. needed).  The drive has not only a USB (2) port but also FireWire 800 (FW800) and eSATA ports.  While the latter two options work fine with the MacBook under Mac OS, they don’t work under Boot Camp / Windows.  I have tried many times and trawled many forums, no solution is apparent.  Under Mac OS the eSATA drive would ordinarily plug into an ExpressCard adaptor plugged into the laptop’s ExpressCard slot, but under Boot Camp / Windows, the ExpressCard slot doesn’t work, while for the FW800 port under Boot Camp / Windows, it appears to work at first but eventually crashes as a device when it attempts to communicate data (e.g. when copying files).

When connected only by USB to the MacBook under BootCamp / Windows, the GRaid Mini is not powered from that port, hence up till now I have relied on a mains power supply to that drive.  However, I discovered if, after first connecting by USB, you subsequently connect also by the FW800 lead, then the drive takes power from the FW800 yet communicates data via the USB lead.   Hooray!  I can use it on-the-move then!

The order in which the leads are connected is vital.  If by mistake the FW lead was connected first, then the drive would sense that as the data communications route, and subsequently fail in use.  It is vital that the USB connection is made first.  Likewise, on disconnecting the drive (following “ejection” by the computer’s file-system), disconnect the FW drive first.  The rule is FW lead: connect last disconnect first.

My experience of editing with the GRaid Mini is far more fluid hence more pleasurable and efficient.  Totally worth it.  None of the per-cut delay effects of the 5400 rpm Passport drive.  And now it can be used on-the-move, even with Boot Camp / Windows on a MacBook.  I just wish Apple would fix that Boot Camp isue with FireWire and ExpressCard ports!

This is a problem I encountered some time ago, when I was running Boot Camp v3.1 on my MacBook Pro.  Since then I upgraded to v3.2.  I know there’s a v3.3 around but before upgrading I thought it worthwhile to see whether v3.2 had fixed that problem (especially since I couldn’t rule out the possibility of v3.3 reintroducing it).   Only one thing to do: prevaricate test.

• Copy file from GRaid Mini (GRm) to Desktop:
  • 2GB fine
  • 12GB appears ok initially but then fails (to zero b/s transfer rate, then the Grm device “no longer exists”, at least until reboot)
• Reverse: 2GB fails (same way) almost immediately.

OK not good thus far…

Next tried an alternative approach: run W7 as a Virtual Machine on Mac Os via Parallel.  I have Parallels v6.  Forum search revealed that there is no FW support in either v6 or v7, though the developers seem interested in knowing why people want it.

• 2GB GRm to W7 Desktop: ok
• The reverse: ok.

Had to stop there due to other work - and a very full W7 disk.

The next workaround to consider is attaching a NAS.  Ethernet bandwidths can be 1Gbps, hence more than FW800’s 0.8 Gbps, though I wonder if there could be any issues of lag / latency in this approach.  I’ll do some research and put up another post about this idea.

I attended, working on one of the camera units.  Had a great time, learnt lots, at all sorts of levels.  Even how to make good use of the Movie Slate application on my iPhone!  Link: http://www.fstopacademy.com/

Just for the record, currently this works:

• On Mac Pro, in Windows (XP):
  • Choose any folder. For example:
    • On the RAID, this could be either of the two partitions:
      • NTFS_RAID (an NTFS partition)
      • RAID_ProAVIO (an HFS+) partition
  • Then [RtClk > Sharing and Security… > Sharing > Network sharing and security:
    • Share this folder on the network: YES
    • Allow network users to change my files: YES
      • Because some tools create “sidecar” files e.g. audio peaks or video indexes.
• On Mac Book, in Windows 7:
  • From a file-browser, be it Windows Explorer or part of the File>Open feature of an application, go to [ Network > aComputer > aFolder ]
    • Tested by playing file in Windows Media Player and in Sony Vegas (video NLE).  Worked fine.  Latter added a [.sfk] sidecar-file to the RAID-folder.
    • Worked both for source on NTFS partition and for source on HFS+ partition, except the latter gave rise to prolonged “hourglass” delays before the file was accessed/linked, following which the video played smoothly.
• What doesn’t work:
  • Unable to see Mac Book from Mac Pro.
  • Also, when MacPro is in Mac OS, MacBook W7 Windows Explorer > Network lists the MacPro as [MACPRO-2E4124] yet cannot connect to it, blaming a firewall (presumably the one on MacPro).
    • Network Error: Windows cannot access \\MACPRO-2E4124
    • Tried exiting Kapersky (on the MacPro>MacOS) but no change.
    • Tried stopping MacPro firewall (via Preferences > Security) but no change.

I audio-recorded some lectures by using the Voice Memo app in-built on my iPhone 4.  How does one get such recordings out of the phone and into an audio editing (or indeed audio/video editing) app on Mac or PC?  Here’s what I found, mainly by experiment:

• For a Mac:
  • The iTunes app allows you to transfer/sync an iPhone’s Voice Memo audio recordings onto the computer.  In iTunes, under the device representing the phone, there is a Voice Memos folder. Inside this there is a list of recordings (objects) e.g. as follows:
    • 1  ✓ 21/09/2011 09:33
    • 2  ✓ 21/09/2011 10:43
    • 3  ✓ 21/09/2011 11:01
  • These entries correspond to M4A (FourCC=”MP4A”) files.
    • These files can be transferred (moved/copied) as follows:
      • Copy a file by dragging it out of Voice Memos folder in iTunes’ interface.
      • Move a file by dragging it out of iTunes’ user-specific Voice Memos folder in file system.  That folder is described below.
    • Additionally iTunes can export MP3 equivalent copies of the files:
      • iTunes (Voice Memos): Recording >RtClk> Create MP3 Version
  • The files are stored at (in my case) at:
    • /Users/davidesp/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media/Voice Memos
      • 21_09_2011 09_33.m4a
      • 21_09_2011 10_43.m4a
      • 21_09_2011 11_01.m4a
  • The nature of the files:
    • These files are stated by Mac’s Finder to be of type “MPEG-4 audio”, and are about 30 MB per hour.
    • VideoSpec is able to analyse them, it reports:
      • Container: M4A - QuickTime
      • Encoding: MP4A (FourCC), constant bitrate of 64 kbps, 16 bits, 44.1 kHz, stereo
        • However it makes no sense to encode stereo from a one-microphone device and indeed when imported to an audio editor (Audacity 1.3.13 beta) it only produces a single mono track.
  • Audio Editing/Processing (cuts/envelopes/effects e.g. dynamic range compression) was subsequently achievable by any of these:
    • Audacity (1.3.13 beta) can import the M4A file.  My (multi-platform) old-familiar.
    • Garage Band (e.g. as explained at http://macmost.com/editing-audio-files-in-garageband.html).
    • SoundTrack Pro (but can’t simply drag the file in - instead have to use File>Open).  OK but a little clunky (in my “newbie-to-this-app” opinion)