AJA Control Room - Manual (Page 20)

AJA Control Room v1.0 www.aja.com 20
Tape Deck Timing Adjustment
Both Capture and Edit-To-Tape operations employ Timecode for executing seamless
frame-accurate operation. Latency in communication between devices can cause delays
of several frames depending on the signal format and tape machine being used. To fine-
tune timing between the tape deck and your computer and AJA edit device I/O, open
AJA Control Room Preferences and select the Serial screen.
Figure 22. AJA Control Room Serial Preferences Screen
In the following procedure, you will use the Capture Offset for Capture timing and
Output Offset for Edit-To-Tape. Offset values presented are in whole Frames and tenths.
Offset Adjustment: The procedure is basically the same for both Capture and Edit-to-Tape adjustment. You
will enter an Offset value and then capture or output-to-tape a number of clips while
checking the resultant timecode accuracy. We recommend ten edits or captures (with
timecode burn-in output from the VTR) be examined.
Machine and Video Format
Changes:
If you use multiple tape deck types, you will want to perform and record these
adjustments for each. Timing can vary between deck manufacturers and models. Also,
changing video formats between 30 fps video (eg.1080i 29.97) and 50 to 60 fps video
(720p 59.94) may require offset adjustment. Our experience indicates required offsets
will be approximately:
• 2.0 frames for 30 fps formats
• 1.0 frames for 60 fps formats
Capture Timing
NOTE: For Capture testing, you can use Batch Capture to quickly generate a series of sample
captures.
Capture Adjustment Procedure: 1. Enter your Capture Offset (1 frame for this example).
2. Set an IN Point for the Capture noting it’s timecode.
3. Set a 2 second Duration or an OUT Point.
4. Click the Tape Capture button to start the capture.
5. When Capture is complete, double-click on the clip
in the bin to enter Playback mode.