[quote="Rick"]As Lou mentioned, it's pretty disgusting when crewers are looking for operators and they say "no experience required!" That is a pretty pitful state of affairs for our profession and their on-air look. It just goes to show you how much they truly think about the job we all do each and every day[/quote] Yes Rick, you are definitely right! And the studio productions I am working on are completely different. By the way, when we go out with an OB-Van, we mostly have at least one day for the preparations and not only a few hours (and there is no Kayak on the trucks I've been working on). You have much more experience with outside productions than I have, but I know what you mean. Chris

[quote="Chris Boden"]We have a Kayak in one of our studios since April. I'm not sitting in front of it every day, but when I do, i feel very safe. In my opinion it's easy and intuitive to operate it.[/quote] No offense to you Chris, but studio operation and working in a remote environment are two different things. You walk into a studio and things never change unlike a remote where you have 6 hours or so to build a show which includes load in elements, map the switcher, set cue points, build effects and transitions not to mention check facilities and of course label. There is little time to play around and that is why talk about ease of use! As Lou mentioned, it's pretty disgusting when crewers are looking for operators and they say "no experience required!" That is a pretty pitful state of affairs for our profession and their on-air look. It just goes to show you how much they truly think about the job we all do each and every day. [quote="Mongo"]I knocked out a replay effect faster than I ever could with a Kalypso/Zodiak, because I have a timeline with text that tells me exactly what is going to happen at a given point. If I make a mistake, it's easy to fix. Sure, there are a few things I don't know how to do yet, but once I get those questions answered, I'm pretty happy with it. Get trained on it, and you'll see that it's not as bad as you're making it out to be.[/quote] No offense to you either Mongo, your right, I think there maybe a lot of things you don't know how to do yet, but I'm not talking about a replay move. Replays are a piece of cake to do on a Kayak. I'm talking about ease of operation in the terms of set up and other effects which use multiple elements including animations, graphics and transforms (DVE if you will). I was trained on the DD35 years before and while this slightly different, it is basically the same in repsect to it's operation. The bottom line is, it's just not as straight forward as a Kalypso or Zodiak full stop.

We have a Kayak in one of our studios since April. I'm not sitting in front of it every day, but when I do, i feel very safe. In my opinion it's easy and intuitive to operate it. You can program a coloured bunch of effects in a short time, and the ability to assign nearly every single existing parameter to be stored in a keyframe is extremely comfortable. Yes, it has a few bugs, but when you know where to find them you can find workarounds for the most of them. I'm really not sure if we were happier with an 8000 or a Kahuna, although I like the idea of Snell & Wilcox to build a switcher that is more innovative. I really would like to get the chance to work with it, because I saw it at the IBC this year and I was really impressed. But back to my first time on the Kayak: it was really very good. Chris

[quote="Rick Tugman"][quote="tomkaltz"]It takes longer to build things than a Kalypso but I believe it is more flexible in some respects. I'm just glad I got to air. I was kinda stressed.[/quote] I think that is where the whole problem lies in respect to the acceptance of this switcher. I'll quote you Tom, "It takes longer to build things than a Kalypso". That is it in a nutshell and the whole problem. You also said, you were "just glad you got it to air", that shouldn't be the case! Nobody should be stressed - quite frankly it's just not worth it and life to too darn short. It should be easy to program and not so convoluted as it is. Thompson/GV should make this switcher more user friendly and quicker to program like the Kalypso. The two products should merge together in a evolution of a new product and not utilize the old Philips software that is out dated! Their way of doing things was never perfect and it needs to be changed. They may think they got it right, but in reality and working in the real world, they got it dead wrong. Simplicity is the key and functionality is what we all look for as TD's. With today's shows there is just not enough time to play around trying to make something work that is so simple to program on a sister product.[/quote] Rick, I've got to agree with you 100%. The acceptance of this switcher is disgusting. Further, when you have crewers saying "no experience required" it's pretty insulting.

Mongo, I have learned the Grass 3k/4k on my own along with the Kalypso. I have had factory training on the Sony 7K and 8K, NMT/Philips supplied training on the DD35 and about the same amount of training provided by a Thompson/Grass Valley trainer on the Kayak. I like the DD35 better then the Kayak. I like the Kalypso the best and then the 8K. I just wish Sony had an upgrade program for owners of the original 8000.

Rick, I've gotta disagree with you. The Kayak IS simple to use once you learn how. The learning how is the problem here. I knocked out a replay effect faster than I ever could with a Kalypso/Zodiak, because I have a timeline with text that tells me exactly what is going to happen at a given point. If I make a mistake, it's easy to fix. Sure, there are a few things I don't know how to do yet, but once I get those questions answered, I'm pretty happy with it. Get trained on it, and you'll see that it's not as bad as you're making it out to be.

[quote="tomkaltz"]It takes longer to build things than a Kalypso but I believe it is more flexible in some respects. I'm just glad I got to air. I was kinda stressed.[/quote] I think that is where the whole problem lies in respect to the acceptance of this switcher. I'll quote you Tom, "It takes longer to build things than a Kalypso". That is it in a nutshell and the whole problem. You also said, you were "just glad you got it to air", that shouldn't be the case! Nobody should be stressed - quite frankly it's just not worth it and life to too darn short. It should be easy to program and not so convoluted as it is. Thompson/GV should make this switcher more user friendly and quicker to program like the Kalypso. The two products should merge together in a evolution of a new product and not utilize the old Philips software that is out dated! Their way of doing things was never perfect and it needs to be changed. They may think they got it right, but in reality and working in the real world, they got it dead wrong. Simplicity is the key and functionality is what we all look for as TD's. With today's shows there is just not enough time to play around trying to make something work that is so simple to program on a sister product.

I walked into a BTN soccer game having never seen the kayak in my life. I couldn't attend the training in Ohio because I was traveling. At first I was finding my way around just fine but I just couldn't wrap my head around how timelines are built. It took me forever to understand their way of doing things. After slowly figuring everything out I did get to air and I had a the effects I needed done. I do like the switcher. The panel is a little quirky as well as the differences between the switcher touchscreen and the sidepanel but like most have said it is a very capable switcher. It takes longer to build things than a Kalypso but I believe it is more flexible in some respects. I'm just glad I got to air. I was kinda stressed. It was like the first time I worked on a Sony 8000.

Like I've said in another thread, I thought mine went pretty well. With the set day, it gave me plenty of time to get effects built.

Mine was OK. Not terrible but still I feel like I needed more time before the show to make sure everything was "right".