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Zodiak 3 ME

3 replies [Last post]
Tue, 04/25/2006 - 09:33
smoffatt
User offline. Last seen 14 years 25 weeks ago. Offline
Joined: 25 Apr 2006

I have a 2 year old Zodiak 2 1/2 Me. Yes they're discontinuing it, but I can still upgrade to a 3 ME and am considering it. I've punched on the 250, 300, 4000, Zodiak, and Kalypso. I'd really like a physical 3rd ME instead of it being on the PGM/PST row. With the upgrade I'll feel like I'm punching on an ME all of the the time. In a news environment my director/tds aren't going to like it. Can anyone tell me if it's worth it?

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Sun, 04/30/2006 - 00:21
#1
kschneider
User offline. Last seen 3 years 27 weeks ago. Offline
Joined: 18 Aug 2005
I fully agree. If you have a choice between a full M/E or a half M/E (Pgm/Pst), I can't see any advantage to a half M/E. More capability is always better plus you can always dumb down a full to a half. My vote is for the full M/E. :-) -= Ken =-
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Wed, 04/26/2006 - 09:52
#2
Bob Ennis
User offline. Last seen 4 years 36 weeks ago. Offline
Joined: 24 Aug 2005
The fact is that if you make your 2.5 M/E Zodiak into a 3 M/E, you aren't really losing anything. Yes, you're punching on a full M/E instead of just a Dissolve-only bus, but no one says that you can't treat that 3rd M/E just like the old 1/2 M/E. OK, so you can do wipes on PGM, and you get 4 more keyers - the DSKs now move over to the dedicated DSK area instead of being tied to the 1/2 M/E Transition area (although you can still link them). But if you turn off the wipe button, you've pretty much got what you have had up until now. Kalypso & SONY 8000/9000 TD's have been switching on a 4th M/E for years - some of them use PGM/PST as an actual M/E, and many do not. I haven't had any feedback from them that having a full-blown M/E as your final PGM output is a problem. Your Directors can still treat PGM/PST as the 1/2 M/E that they're used to, if they choose.

Bob Ennis

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Tue, 04/25/2006 - 12:40
#3
Matt Saplin
User offline. Last seen 2 years 11 weeks ago. Offline
Joined: 29 Oct 2005
Here's my 2 cents (not really worth exactly that much, tho)... First, what exactly is left out on the 2.5 vs. the 3 ME Zodiak? Having come from a similar background on a 250 and Sony DVS-8000 (also a 2.5 ME switcher), I think that the functionality of a full ME on PGM/PST is very helpful, especially in a news or sports environment. You've already grown leaps and bounds over what a 250 could offer (4 keyers per ME, advanced timeline effects, TEs, clip store), now you'll also have that full 3rd ME plus the 3 additional downstream keyers. Good real estate. Cost ($$$) wise, I'm not sure what to say. As a Director/TD, I'd prefer to have the option of using PGM/PST as a full ME. The Directors in your plant may not like it initially, but it will give them some other options as the shows grow and become more complex. Although, I'm spoiled now that we've replaced our Sony DVS-8000 with a Kalypso... ;-) I'm sad to see the Zodiak discontinued...I thought that it was a great mid-market switcher, especially for plants that needed to replace a 250 or a 300, but couldn't go for the Kalypso. Matt
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