UPDATE: Appearently IOMMU (at least for AMD chipsets) conflicts with Blackmagic drivers. If you’re having trouble getting anything out of Media Express, try that.
Secondly, the latest version of the Media Express finally fixed the packaging issue!
Hey Reader!
I purchased a few weeks ago a Blackmagic Intensity Pro to allow me to capture video specifically because they had Linux support, in my case Ubuntu 10.10.
Unfortunately, due to some lazy web admin, all the linux driver download links were out of date. Some digging in the readme file later, I determined that all of Blackmagic’s PCI-E hardware shares the same driver.
Great, now I have an updated driver that will install but wait, the Media Express package has the same issue! GRRRR!
So fixing the problem locally, and getting a little more intimate with dpkg , I decided to email the Blackmagic dev and try and get them to fix the issue.
Flash forward to now and Media Express 2.3 is released and still won’t install on Ubuntu (or probably any debian system for that matter) so I’ve taken it upon myself to show people how to fix the problem themselves.
Step 1: Grab the driver tar.
Step 2: Extract the version of the deb for your arch (i386 or amd64)
Step 3: Now we’re going to extract the contents of the deb so we can re-roll it with the modified control
dpkg -x "path to deb""destination folder"
and
cd "destination folder"
Step 4: Now that we’re in the extracted folder, we need to drop in the modified control file.
mkdir DEBIAN && wget http://files.aehunter.net/control ./DEBIAN
Step 5: Re-roll that deb! Cd in to the previous directory and run
dpkg -b "destination folder""Whatever you want to call the output"
Step 6: Install your now working Media Express package!
I’ve sort of reached the place in the path of working as a camera assistant that I’ve gotten fed up with lugging cases around by hand. Wouldn’t it be so much easier if everything was on wheels?
That is the conclusion that I came to at least and which led me on a quest create my own
I’ve based my recommendations off of what other camera assistants I’ve worked with use in the field.
Build List:
Rubbermaid Cart (2 shelves) – $249
Plywood – <Find out>
2 Rigid Pneumatic Casters (8″) – $35 each
2 Swivel Pneumatic Casters (8″) – $39 each
Rottblott’s Discount Warehouse stocks all the parts listed here at decent prices, but for the rubbermaid cart itself, I set out to find a better price.
First and foremost, the cart just need to meet whatever needs you have, nothing more. If a Fishprice wagon is enough to haul your stuff around in, then all the power to you.
Most camera assistants in Toronto at least use rubbermaid two shelf carts. They are lightweight, sturdy (250 lb. per shelf) and relatively inexpensive compared to carts marketed at the film industry.
I managed to do so via Craigslist, finding exactly what I was looking for for $75. As with any bargain, there was a caveat. One of the legs holding up the second shelf had at one point in time, been broken and repaired with a piece of steel and some bolts. I am pretty distrustful of things like that (purely to avoid having an embarrassing accident on set). It passed the sit test and can hold at least my weight and as a further measure I filled the cracks with some all purpose epoxy.
Once you have your parts, it is a simple matter of removing the existing casters, cutting the plywood to size (allowing for an 8″ lip at the front of the cart for holding your tripods) and affixing the new wheels. If you want to get really deluxe, purchase a Mitchell Mount Hi-Hat from a professional camera equipment seller and bolt it to the handle end of the top shelf.
Update 10/10: Holy crap, well it looks like some people have actually found this useful and requested that the name be changed to make it easier to find, so here you go!
Ok, so this is another one of those “I spent hours searching for this answer and stumbled upon it out of sheer luck” posts that hopefully will help someone else.
Do you have the Sennheiser MM200s? Do you have an HTC Magic (or any Android bluetooth device)? Are you having issues getting the two of them to play nice and pair? If you answered yes to these questions, then I have your solution.
First, the solution:
1) Turn the receiver on by holding the Play/Pause centre button.
2) Hold either the left or right button till you see the LED start switching between blue and red.
3) Your phone (or laptop or whatever) should now see the device and be able to pair with it. (NOTE: The passcode is 0000)
Now why would I need to post the solution to something that should be obvious? Well I blame it on poorly written documentation. The quick start guide only specifies holding down the Play/Pause button for five seconds (which coincidentally if you followed their instructions and charged the device before hand, turns the device off). Once the device it turned on however the pairing keys change. Starting to see how this could get confusing?
Well, I hope that this has helped on your quest to use what incidentally is a great pair of headphones.
, I decided to email the Blackmagic dev and try and get them to fix the issue. 