Help with ESS recording

[Larry Arpin]

I cannot seem to figure this out. I connected the DVD outputs to Aux in RCA to 3.5. I can hear the sound coming from the DVD through the GS. Renzo's box to ESS plugin and switched to ESS to the right. But I cannot figure out how to have the DVD control the GS.

So what am I doing wrong or is there something else I need to do?

I've included a picture of the hook ups.

I really want to figure this out.

[Douglas Meltzer]

Larry,

Your connections are correct. I may be mistaken, however I don't believe Renzo's box works the way you assumed. If you're recording or just syncing playback, it's a matter of cueing up a recognizable frame in the projector gate (first frame of the studio logo or first frame of the title), then with the ESS setting on the Renzo box set to off, place the projector in either record or play mode. It will not start since the ESS on the box is off. Then play the DVD and when you get to that recognizable frame, switch the box's ESS setting to on. The projector will go into record mode (or playback) and your sync should be very close. You can adjust it using the GS's fast/slow controls in the rear.

Note: You might want to start with headphones plugged into the rear of the GS. The audio output during recording can be very loud....

[Larry Arpin]

With a little help from Doug, Renzo's box, and A LOT of patience I managed to re-record my first feature back to English. I gradually got the hang of it, starting the GS and flipping the switch of Renzo's box. The only major problem I had was after I re-recorded reel 1 I noticed a lot of crackling noise in the soundtrack. I thought maybe it was the GS, but close examination of the main track I noticed it was not evenly smooth like a pre-striped track from Kodak. I watched reel 2 that I hadn't recorded yet and the crackling was there in the other language. So I figured it was one of Derann's bad stripes. It was a dark brown stripe, not the grey one. So I was forced to record the sound on the balance stripe only, which seemed to be just fine and worked well.

[Douglas Meltzer]

Larry,

Nice job! I'm constantly surprised at how good the quality of the audio can be on that thin little bit of mag stripe.