Buyer Beware: Crappy (and expensive) SMR Hard Drives On the Rise

I noticed some sneaky behavior on the part of Western Digital while shopping fr a 4TB bare drive. I've used WD Red NAS 4TB for a white for archiving and I like them overall with a OK price/performance ratio.

I was surprise to see on the comparison table between regular Red NAS and Red Plus NAS that the former was SMR and the later CMR. Really?

CMR is the Conventional tech, SMR is the Shingle tech that's not as good, with slower performance and not as reliable.

The old regular WD Red was CMR, but now it is SMR, and is sold at the same price, for a lesser tech, even though SMR is less costly to produce.

If you still want CMR (you should) you have to upgrade to WD Red Plus for $10 more. Nowhere does it say which is what. Hello WD? The giveaway is the large cache on the SMR drive for identical capacity.

So no more WD Red regular SMR for me. I haven't bought the Plus version either, I switched instead to Seagate Ironwolf for the time being.

Price is identical to the WD Red Plus but it's often on sale for $99.99. Performance is fine, it also runs quieter and cooler than the old WD Red.

Seagate clearly states the tech in the description, WD please do the same, lack of transparency is eroding consumer's trust in your brand.

For more info on SMR and CMR tech, read this excellent article by ArsTechnica.

For more info on WD Drives, see this blog page:

For more info on Seagate Drives, see this webpage:

Final Cut Pro 10.4.10 Refuses to Update

Tried everything with the App Store today. It shows Updates available for FCP (10.4.10), but the Update button does not work, not for FCP, not for Motion, not for Compressor. Nothing happens. What a pain Apple.

Had to delete FCP (10.4.9) and install from the App Store (Cloud icon.) That installs the whole app to the current version, it just takes much longer.

But why? Why?

Adobe Encore CS6 asking for a Serial Number at launch

 Encore CS6 is asking for a serial number at launch even though I am a CC sub. That's new.

Adobe offers this help:

https://helpx.adobe.com/encore/kb/cant-write-image-fie-larger1.html

Basically sign off and sign in again to "sync" the apps.

I tried to sign off and back in a few times and nothing worked. I tried to sign in with Premiere CS6 instead of Premiere CC and it started in trial mode.

But then that didn't help Encore.

At that point I contacted Adobe and spent a minutes with a rep, no help.

" We do not support encore anymore , so please visit http://community.forum/ Please contact  1800-833-6687.  If you want me to connect you with our subject expert the please share your contactable number, preferred timing to call and your time zone."

I left my phone number and timing info, and I tried one more time to sign off and back in.

I launched Premiere CS6, it asked if I wanted to start in trial mode or sign in. I did sign in and then I launched Encore and this time IT WORKED!

I cancelled my phone support request.

All right, back to normal now!

Encore CS6 on macOS 10.14.6 Mojave.

Holly Molly!!  Pro Video Formats update from Apple today! Version 2.1.2

Final Cut Pro update next?? Soon... ??!! TODAY!! FCP 10.4.9 update for Mojave and Catalina.

Link to Pro Video Formats 2.1.2 on Apple.com is also here: https://support.apple.com/kb/DL2050?locale=en_US

Doesn't look so different from 2.1.1, "Canon" name dropped from the XF-HEVC codec, no mention of MXF this time.

If you want to know which version is installed on your computer, follow Apple's instructions: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207249

I have multiple versions on mine, probably because I have a backup disk currently connected, so it shows all the old versions as well. Most current 2.1.1.

What's new in the App Store?

Final Cut Pro X 10.4.9, Motion 5.4.6 and Compressor 4.4.7 updates! That's what!

Final Cut Pro: How To Move A Clip Without Affecting Connected Clips

A very powerful modifier In Final Cut Pro, when you want to move a clip WITHOUT affecting connected clips. Because of the Magnetic Timeline behavior, any connected clip will move together with the adjusted clip, which is GREAT most of the time. Some other times I want connected clips to stay where they are.

To do that, hold down the Grave Accent (`) key and drag the clip to another location in the timeline using Select or Position tool. It also work with the Trim tool which is my favorite. Hold (`) and drag the clip with the Trim tool will modify its start/end point without moving any connected clips. FANTASTIC! Try it! It'll save you loads of time.

Check: https://support.apple.com/guide/final-cut-pro/connect-clips-ver7a77ef9e/mac

And open the submenu: Edit clips in the primary storyline without affecting connected clips.

Pro Tools Not Loading, Stuck Scanning Plug-ins

A common problem with Pro Tools not loading and stuck at the "Scanning Plug-ins" level is a corrupted Plug-in or a stray 32bit plug-in.

Plug-ins are stored in System HD/Library/Application Support/Avid/Audio/Plug-Ins, or in System HD/Library/Application Support/Digidesign/Plug-Ins.

I checked that no plug-in was 32 bit by showing the Kind column in the Finder window. Kind: Pro Tools Plug-In (32bit) will point at the culprit(s.) In my case all plug-ins were 64bit.

So I remove all plug-ins (I moved then to the Unused folder) and restarted Pro Tools, it automatically re-installed the default plug-ins. I then moved back the unused plug-ins one by one, actually manufacturer by manufacturer into the plug-ins folder and tried laughing Pro Tools for each batch until it froze again. In my case that was the WaveShell that caused the hang.

The fix was to update Waves Central, and in Settings select Clear Central cache. On Wave Central relaunch, I then selected Repair. The Wave Shell and plug-ins got fresh installs.

That's it, that fixed the problem for me, back to editing and mixing!

Tips For Location Sound Recording In The Time Of COVID-19

Here are a few tips when recording sound on location.

- Protect yourself: don a mask and possibly gloves, else wash your hands regularly, stay 6ft apart.
- Do not use lavaliers microphones.
- Use directional "shotgun" type boom microphones.
- Position yourself upwind.
- Protect and clean the equipment.

The best equipment at the moment is a shotgun microphone on a shock mount with a long enough boom to be 6ft away from the subject.

Outside you must use a windscreen, that's difficult to clean, so wrap it loosely in a soft plastic bag or a large piece of plastic cling-wrap. The hit on sound quality is not too bad.

Stay as far as your microphone allows (most long shotgun have more reach than short ones), and boom from above. The largest particles fall on the floor, so miking from below is not a good idea.

Try to keep the air / breeze in your back, so that it doesn't carry the particles towards you.

At the end of the session, remove and throw away the plastic wrap.
Before packing, clean the boom and hard surfaces with alcohol or soapy water (check manufacturer guidance.) Remove and discard your gloves or sanitize/wash your hands.

Stay healthy!

Check out the Schoeps Covid-19 page.