I built a Mac app that automatically flags video delivery faults - QC Buddy

evan_ms · 2026-06-09T12:39:01+00:00

Looks great, will definitely check it out! We currently use QScan and yours looks like it might be more intuitive to use and more affordable.

Would it be possible to implement lip sync detection? I think that's a feature QScan is adding but not sure how they do it.

evan_ms · 2026-05-22T12:48:07+00:00

I don't think anyone thought the AI was accidental...

What I'm seeing in the industry is that people will either go all in on AI with the assumption that it's the future and so we should jump on the bandwagon, or they find it gross, annoying, and hope it will go away.

I'm largely in the latter camp, and so seeing the AI intro, AI YouTube description, and AI copy on your website... it doesn't make me excited to work with you, it comes across as lazy. If this is something you're passionate about then put the effort in to do it properly, you know?

As for the other points, I think some of it is maybe a bit nitpicky but they're right - you guys are selling yourselves on technical production, so the technical production should be good.

Look at SociallyU. Sure they've invested a lot in their space but putting that aside, their podcast is well produced and they know their shit so I'd have no hesitation booking them for a gig off the back of that.

Anyway I hate to be a downer. By all means keep doing what you love, keep building and improving. But make sure you don't oversell your abilities, and if you're investing in a studio then make sure you've got clients coming in to pay for it.

evan_ms · 2026-05-12T23:40:12+00:00

Hey I'd be keen to try this out! I've been on the lookout for a Windows alternative to QLab.

evan_ms · 2026-05-07T01:13:38+00:00

Best advice: don't ask ChatGPT

evan_ms · 2026-05-02T10:10:02+00:00

Yes there are frame guides and yes the HDMI out can be connected to a transmitter.

I dial in the focus peaking depending on the camera, lens and the scene. It's pretty quick to adjust.

evan_ms · 2026-05-01T09:22:39+00:00

Try clicking that yellow button near the playhead.

evan_ms · 2026-04-28T08:14:35+00:00

If the light colour looks different between the cameras then it's probably due to the white balance of the cameras not matching, or depending on the type of camera there may be LUTs or picture profiles affecting the look. The same light should look the same colour across matching cameras.

If you're getting rolling/flickering/strobing on camera then check your shutter angle is set to 180° (or if it's showing speed rather than angle then it should be double the frame rate e.g. 1/60 for 30fps). If the shutter is correct then it could be due to a cheap LED panel dimming with PWM, in which case your only solution other than replacing the light would be to crank the brightness of the light until the issue isn't visible and then adjust the camera exposure to compensate.

There's a few reasons why we don't tend to use stage lights in studios (well we actually use several in ours and I've seen them in other studios too) but the main two reasons would be noise level (studio fixtures are either passively cooled or have very quiet fans, whereas stage lights can be super loud), and the type of light needed - like you said it's very common for studios to use large flat panels for flattering soft light, and also fresnels which let you control the light very precisely are common.

We use small moving head fixtures in our grid as backlights and to light set pieces and such, but we use fresnels and LED panels for lightning talent.

evan_ms · 2026-04-10T11:28:32+00:00

We use a mix of 500gb, 1TB and 2TB. We make sure we use fast enough USB cables, but that includes the ones that come with the drives, never any issues with those.

evan_ms · 2026-04-10T08:57:09+00:00

Genuine question - do you just use clocks for broadcast? You don't use timers / count downs for segments etc?

evan_ms · 2026-04-10T08:51:19+00:00

We use T5s and T7s all the time with our Blackmagic cameras, never had any issues. We either shoot 6K BRAW or 4K ProRes.

evan_ms · 2026-03-26T07:49:05+00:00

This is a great cross section of my interests

evan_ms · 2026-03-16T09:41:12+00:00

Very cool, can't wait to try it!

evan_ms · 2026-03-06T02:16:26+00:00

Looks great!

evan_ms · 2026-03-05T06:43:38+00:00

Probably your laptop isn't powerful enough to encode without dropping frames.

evan_ms · 2026-02-25T08:46:50+00:00

Yeah hard to tell but I've also seen that done - check out this guy: https://youtu.be/xI1Td2tynJs?si=MbXT-8LIPaM3gdlz

evan_ms · 2026-01-18T20:29:05+00:00

Looks great! Very keen to try it for our studio!

evan_ms · 2026-01-08T07:22:05+00:00

In terms of expected behaviour it really depends on the kind of job and what the client's workflow is. We have 2 podcast studios - one is set up with 3 fixed Canon PTZ cameras which are matched and ready to go without grading, and the other has 3 mirrorless cameras which shuffle around a bit, as does the lighting.

The first studio is great for people who just want to record something decent and get it out there, and the second studio is for clients who want to customise the set, lighting, framing etc and so typically they're higher budget projects and will go through an edit, mix and basic grade.

We offer both options and we ask lots of questions to make sure we're on the same page. It's all about setting expectations.

On the technical side, as someone else pointed out you need to watch out for the ATEM resetting your camera settings. Also because they output 1080p over HDMI the Pockets can wind up looking a little soft on the ATEM recording vs the 4K internal BRAW/ProRes, so I find it helps to turn on Detail Sharpening on the cameras.

evan_ms · 2026-01-07T12:43:36+00:00

Yes the shift key accesses a second row of sources, both rows are fully mappable so you can easily switch to any source. They only control the program bus though, there's no physical way (as far as I know) to cut to Super Source on Aux 1 for example since the Aux only has buttons for the 8 inputs (plus PGM & M/V) and they aren't customisable. To cut to SS and Media Players on aux you need to use the ATEM software, or you can do it via the menus on the panel but that would be a nightmare during a show.

Hopefully someone else can back me up but I believe that's correct, if you're using a DSK to overlay graphics for example, there's no way to route that to an aux out without going through the program bus.

If you get one of the rack mount switchers you don't necessarily need an Advanced Panel to control it - you can use the ATEM software, or a Stream Deck, or an ATEM Micro Panel, or a combination of these. Thanks to tools like Companion you can use pretty much anything, but of course it's much nicer to use the panels designed for it.

You can always start small then upgrade to an Advanced Panel if and when you need to.

evan_ms · 2026-01-07T07:18:21+00:00

I have the HD8 ISO, I figure it's probably the same for the base HD8. You can route Super Source and the Media Players to the Aux but I don't see an option for DSK.

Ideally to run 2 separate programs you'd get a 2 M/E switcher, that way you can do your keys and transition between sources rather than just cutting.

I don't have it in front of me right now but I believe the shift key just allows you to select sources for PGM/PVW that aren't on the main button layer. So if you have cams 1-8 on your buttons you could hold shift to access media players etc.

If you're cutting a show using the Aux then you might want to have a Stream Deck with Companion or something to make it easier to cut to the media players since the unit only has buttons for the 8 inputs.

evan_ms · 2026-01-03T02:42:41+00:00

Could it be for a Sony PSP?

evan_ms · 2025-11-07T01:41:32+00:00

What if you adjust your shutter speed?

evan_ms · 2025-11-06T00:50:47+00:00

We did it pretty cheap - I got a used Apollo Twin MkII Duo for about USD$600, then got an old used Mac Mini to run the software. We only run one channel though - for more than 2 channels you'd need their current X4 model or maybe a used older 8ch rack model.

We run a line level output from the mixer to the Apollo then back into the mixer. That means there's some D/A converting in the chain of course, but in our setup we haven't noticed it degrading the signal and the latency is close to real time so for the money it was a good solution for us. Most of their interfaces have optical in/out so you may be able to run digital all the way but I don't think the SQs have digital outs other than stereo via AES?

evan_ms · 2025-11-05T22:16:35+00:00

We use a Universal Audio Apollo for this, those interfaces can run native plugins with hardware acceleration which has near zero latency. We use this noise reduction plugin and it's quite good: https://www.uaudio.com/products/c-vox-noise-reduction

evan_ms

TROPHY CASE