New April 2007
AEC-mBOX-2

Contact/Buying Information

Contact us for more details or if you wish to place an order. We manufacture these units and can usually ship quickly. Go to the Adrienne Electronics home page and look around. You may find that you are interested in some of the other products that we make.

Telephone

(800) 782-2321 or (702) 896-1858

FAX

(702) 896-3034

Postal address

7225 Bermuda Road, Unit G, Las Vegas, NV 89119

Electronic mail

General/Sales/Support Information: (    i n f o @ a d r i e l e c . c o m    )

 

This device is replacing our older 'AEC-BOX-2' and 'AEC-BOX-1' models, which have been in production for many years. The same input/output functions are supported, but in a more portable, versatile and smaller package. The price is also lower than the AEC-BOX-2. The new AEC-mBOX-2 model supports both RS-422 and RS-232 communications in each unit. The cable connection determines which is used. The RS-422 connection matches that of a standard VTR remote control port, and as a result of that connector pin assignment, the RS-232 connector signal pins are at non-standard locations. These units will include both a power cord (power from a USB port plug) and a custom RS-232 serial cable. This serial cable is provided to enable easy testing and troubleshooting when used in connection with the provided software (CD). The software is PC based and requires a standard COM port to work. The provided CD is BOOTABLE, so no software installation is required. There is also some additional files that allow for testing in a Windows setup via the HyperTerminal program. There are three modes of operation available on each unit. The most common is the 'VTR emulation' mode. The other two modes are ASCII and Binary. These other two modes can be operated in either a broadcast (just send/transmit the time code data after each frame is read) or polled (send only upon request) method. The 'VTR emulation' mode is demonstrated in the 'Option B' picture below. The user manual in pdf file format is also included on the CD. The CD files can also be downloaded from the 'Downloads' page of this web site if you want to take a look anytime.

The biggest advantage that the 'Option B' provides is the live capture of the SAME TIME CODE when multiple units are used in connection with a multiple camera shoot. We have customers that do this to handle/record more than 10 simultaneous live SDI feeds, each with the same time code tags. No additional time to ingest from tape, no expensive VTR, no tape! This is just what many Apple Final Cut Pro users have been looking for to enable a cost effective method of getting accurate matched time code when performing a live (camera(s) direct) 'Capture Now'.
(Get an expert's input on how to use this device with Final Cut Pro here or choose the 'Final Cut Pro Guide' in the upper left)
 

Here is how we put it in our printed literature:

Capture live SDI + LTC Time Code straight into Final Cut Studio. Interface LTC into
AJA KONA/IoTM or Black Magic Design via RS-422 Machine Control Connector.

Synchronize your on-set/live video capture to the rest of your world. Use an Adrienne Electronics μBOX to read the on-set/live LTC time code
and insert into Final Cut recordings. Using the μBOX allows Final Cut to “think” that it is recording the output of a VTR that it is controlling. This allows the Mac computer running Final Cut to act as a digital VTR itself, replacing the need for stand-alone digital tape recorders, saving you thousands in additional time and equipment costs. Simply connect the μBOX between the LTC time code source and the AJA/Black Magic Design RS-422 port. The μBOX reads the time code and provides the “time” to Final Cut via AJA hardware breakout cable as if it were a real VTR responding to a time code status request. This DB9 connector on the μBOX acts as the ‘remote’ connector of VTRs. In short, the μBOX acts as a ‘virtual VTR’, providing the live time code instead of the ‘off tape’ time code that a VTR usually provides. This unit works with similar PC based systems that also have RS-422 machine control ability. For example: PC with Adobe® Premiere® with AJA XENATM card and Avid® Media Composer/Xpress/Mojo.
(Get an expert's input on how to use this device with Final Cut Pro here or choose the Final Cut Pro Guide in the upper left)

Specs:
Model: AEC-μBOX-2 (with VTR emulator/Virtual VTR firmware)
Power: 5 Volt DC or RS-422 port powered, approx. 0.1 Watts
LTC* input: Standard BNC jack
Serial: RS-422 I/O (also supports RS-232 I/O)
Dimensions: 4.5 x 2.75 x 1.25 inches (L x W x H)
RoHS compliant & CE mark approved
Weight: ~7 oz (190g) (not including cables)
Price: $395

*LTC input levels of 100mVpp to 5Vpp are readable. LTC Input
impedance > 10kohms. Reads all LTC bits simultaneously, at speeds
1/10x to 2.2x, bi-directional, DF/NDF, in both the forward and reverse
directions. SMPTE/NTSC, EBU/PAL and Film frame rates (30, 29.97, 25, 24, 23.98, ...)

Copyright © 2006 Adrienne Electronics Corporation
Last modified: 05/03/07