It was an MLS game for Toronto and it was a pretty simple show. They were sharing some cams with the HDnet show and we ended up just dissolving. No replay move.

haha thanks Paul, not exactly the news I wanted to hear.....how did you work around the lack of a profile?

Having been on a Metro truck before I will say this, be prepared for a long day. The last time I was on Elmer (as in fudd) and the profile was inopperable. Actually, just about everything in the truck was inopperable.

I haven't used a spotbox yet, but you shouldn't have to configure anything. You'll use the interface on the monitor and your mouse to do your recording and loading, then your Lance for clipping and playback. Sometimes you'll have a dedicated computer monitor for it... or it might be on your switcher's menu panel monitor. Just make sure you name your own distinct clip, so you don't blow away somebody else's material. It will make total sense when you see it... maybe add 5 minutes of "learning" time to your day. - Kim

Thanks Kim Is is like a spotbox where there are 4 dedicated channels and they have to be configured for input or output? or are the channels always set up playbacks and records?

It's really easy. The EIC can give you a 2 minute run-through and you'll be fine. Ask the EIC for advice on what mode to run it in / how to deal with timecode... they seem to know best how their Profile is behaving in their truck. You just create/name a clip, load it, then use the interface to record your material. You'll control your load with the mouse rather than the Lance. Once you've recorded your stuff, load the clip to the B Channel and then it's business as usual with the Lance. Again, super-easy to figure out on the interface. You only have to record on your A channel, then you can just load it over to your B side. If you happen to have a C & D channel, they can be really handy for building your looping backgrounds - just know you might have to ask tape to feed these separately if C & D use a different file format - ask the EIC. Be sure to open the VU meter window so you can verify audio. This is so nice since the Fast Forward drives / VU meters are usually back in tape. And if you'll do the show on that truck again soon... protect your clip after the show and ask the EIC if you can leave it on the drive. Then you can skip the load the next time! Have fun... - Kim