Pulse 2

[daveallenav]

Anyone own or used an AnalogWay Pulse 2 3g?

I have heard of some reliability issues with AW products, buttons falling off?!

 

 

We're looking for a multiformat scaler switcher with;

At least one analogue input

A number of HDMI or DVI inputs

At least two HD SDI inputs

HD SDI out

Preview out

 

I keep seeing units by Extron, Kramer, Barco that look good at first glance but have no Preview!

I'd use the BMD Atem but I need scaling too as clients still turn up with VGA.

 

[jason5d]

The tvone c2-7100 has what you need.

Make sure you get the version with lots of buttons

as they are hard to use without.

[sleepytom]

TVOne is an option, but it is pretty horrible to use compared to the pulse.

 

Pulse2 is a decent enough switcher, I used one on 2 jobs in Spain last week. It has the general difficulties of being made by Analog Way and its a little clunky to operate but it does the job. The new RCS software control for it is pretty decent and makes it easier to get to grips with its functions beyond the basics.

 

The Roland / Edirol vision mixers are worth looking at too, they are much more tactile for doing camera cut on and they have good scaling options and all the needed input and output formats. Theyt have much better monitoring than the Pulse / TVone things as they have inbuilt multiviewers

 

Barco have the PDS which is OK too,

 

Panasonic HS410 is also an option if you get the right add on boards for your needs.

[AHYoung]

Ive got Barco PDS 902, Panasonic Hs410 and various TV One and Kramer, and we have supplied a few systems based on Atem switchers, We have looked at all the options including AW Pulse and id recommend the Barco PDS if its a scaling switcher you want

its got 4 universal video / vga ins, 4 dvi in, 1 3gsdi plus main and preview outs on dvi and vga plus 3g out. Its a true anything in / out unit and super solid. It will need a sdi - hdmi convertor{or component} if you want 2 sdi ins though... theres various versions and there one with and without preview, ive got the all the options version and its decent, but it cost...

 

 

For a camera heavy job id use the Panasonic as its got a multiviewer etc etc. Id also not bother with the input boards as you can get all the black magic convertors you need at a fraction of the price and they seem to work fine.

 

 

Also meeting your list would be a combination of a BM Atem Production Studio plus a versatile switching scaler like a Kramer vp728 feeding all the non standard graphics sourcesto one of the hdmi ins. Its a software control panel obviously but its going to give you pretty much everything you need in a 2u rack for a lot less than the other options...

[Pete McCrea]

I'd echo AHYoung - if you can cope with a single HDSDI, then PDS902 3G will be spot on. We have PDS901's ( no preview - have ScreenPRO II for when you need preview) in stock, and I kind of wished we went 902. Panasonic AV-HS410 is also a good solid vision mixer.

[daveallenav]

We bought a TvOne C2-8130 but everyone hates it. Seriously counterintuitive piece of kit.

 

'General difficulty of being made by AnalogWay'....?

 

This is more for graphics and computing stuff. We have a Tricaster and the Panasonic HMX100 for camera stuff.

 

I think we will get a PDS902 on demo. Any idea if Barco on Bracknell hold demo stock?

[Pete McCrea]

Unless your one of the direct Barco accounts, you'll need to speak to Jane Pryor at RGB Comms and arrange a demo with them. 99% certain they have PDS902 in demo stock.

[sleepytom]

Analogway stuff is all kind of odd, I guess I just don't get on with the menu structure. It's not as bad as TVOne's idea of a menu but it is a long way from the ease of use that Barco / Folsom manage.

[Phill Power]

Been using AW kit for a fair number of years now and they seem to be getting more reliable with each generation. I've never personally experienced buttons falling off, but the old OCTO switchers used to suffer from sunken buttons with road use/abuse due to the internals shifting. The old Pulse also suffers from randomly wiped EDIDs meaning the DVI inputs stopped working, but I've heard that can be caused by hot-plugging connectors.

 

The Pulse2 is a nice bit of kit and the 3G version ticks all the OP's boxes. The control software is based on the Livecore stuff their bigger units use and runs on Adobe Air, so you can run it on a Mac or a Windows machine - and you can use it live unlike the old Pulse poc .exe!