Pix240 is a piece of junk

Discuss any kind of off board video recorder here.
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snuforeo
Posts: 16
Joined: September 12th, 2011, 3:59 am

Pix240 is a piece of junk

Post by snuforeo » April 30th, 2012, 11:56 pm

I've tried this thing on the F3, as well as, the EX3. I know, the EX3 will really have no advantage with 10bit... but I thought I would try out the recorder in a relatively safe situation. Nope... just as with previous shoots - the output is upper field... and when you go into the camera and change 'record to 1080p/30' the on board processor just sucks... and you get all sorts of fun aliasing and artifacting in the image.

Just thought I would post this so no one wastes their hard earned $3k on this paper weight. B&H won't post a review like this... Sound Devices should just stick to what they do best... sound.

Bullsh*t...
Paul Ream
Posts: 6
Joined: January 3rd, 2012, 2:57 pm

Re: Pix240 is a piece of junk

Post by Paul Ream » May 1st, 2012, 3:43 pm

snuforeo wrote:... and you get all sorts of fun aliasing and artifacting in the image.
I don't.
Sounds like you, or your particular machine, are doing something wrong? I see you've also posted about 'digital hits' on both your PIX and KiPro mini's. I'm not seeing those on mine either. Maybe there's a clue here?

I own a Ninja, KiPro mini, NanoFlash and PIX240. Without a doubt the PIX is by far my favourite and most reliable recorder, (and my clients).
snuforeo
Posts: 16
Joined: September 12th, 2011, 3:59 am

Re: Pix240 is a piece of junk

Post by snuforeo » May 2nd, 2012, 4:32 am

Not sure Paul. Although I'd be interested in how operator error can cause digital hits. A faulty SDI cable... a bad chip in the camera... maybe (we'll let that one go for now). Back to the PIX240... now in fairness, maybe I just got a lemon... after all, I bought this in the hey day of when everyone scrambled to get the PIX.

However, I feel o.k. to suggest that the PIX is garbage after, yet, another shoot yesterday where I got a white pulse (almost seems like an interlace issue) when I output to the PIX. Funny that this did not show up on the SxS cards.

No... I feel pretty confident that this will not be my recorder of choice. If you like the PIX that much, I'll be happy to sell you this one at a discount... say $2900.00?
alisterchapman
Site Admin
Posts: 431
Joined: February 1st, 2011, 7:43 pm

Re: Pix240 is a piece of junk

Post by alisterchapman » May 2nd, 2012, 9:11 am

For starters, do you have the latest firmware installed.

Have you correctly set the PsF flag in the PiX240. Don't forget that the EX cameras like the vast majority of progressive video cameras output PsF when you shoot progressive, which is Progressive within an Interlace signal.

Are you using certified CF cards? The very high data rates of ProRes will be pushing the CF cards to the very limit. Are your CF cards genuine cards and not fakes that you may have unwittingly purchased?

There are hundreds of people using PiX240's perfectly successfully and getting great results. You are entitled to your opinion but I am changing the title of the thread to something more appropriate.
Paul Ream
Posts: 6
Joined: January 3rd, 2012, 2:57 pm

Re: Pix240 is a piece of junk

Post by Paul Ream » May 5th, 2012, 10:14 am

snuforeo, I know how you feel. I never managed to get my KiPro mini to work reliably… Massive heat issues, corrupt recordings, crashing software etc. Basically it was a piece of junk. I sent it back to AJA and got it replaced with another that turned out to be even worse! Very unhappy - and very unhappy clients too.

It would be easy for me to say all KiPro mIni's are junk and they have big heat issues that prevent serious use on long recordings. However, I can't get around the problem that there are still many people using KPM's successfully. Either I had two lemons or I was doing something wrong?

I bought the PIX240 in desperation and all the issues disappeared. Even on many arduous jobs, it's worked faultlessly ever since.
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