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Home: Inactive Forums: Casablanca Users:
Need Your Expert Advice......

X-Charlie
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Sep 24, 2002, 2:18 PM

Post #1 of 9 (1291 views)
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Need Your Expert Advice......	Can't Post

I use to be in the video production business a few years back, and I got out to take a long needed vacation. Now I am firing up to get back into the business after all these years, and I am looking at two thingsd that I need honest opinions on. I have to decide between the Kron and the Prestige. Some dealers have told me that the Kron is the way to go and some have said that the Prestige is the way to go. I am stuck there because I know that they are trying to make sales, and some of them will tell me anything.
Any advice on which one to go with as I get closer to leaping back into the business? I film fishing videos, and have few "talents" that are eagerly awaiting me to return to work.
Thanks for any help you guys can offer. This forum is great.....

X-Travis_Gomer
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Sep 24, 2002, 2:48 PM

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Re: Need Your Expert Advice......	Can't Post

Hi,
They are telling you to go with the Kron because they will make more money.
But I would go with the new Prestige if you were choosing from the two. The Prestige is much faster then the Kron and it will have some more features then the Kron will have with the Smart Edit Software.
They both virtually do the same thing, the only major difference between the two is the Kron can hold more video with MPEG2 then Prestige NativeDV. And the Prestige will have a 1gig processor, the Kron has a processor that is about half of that.
With the Prestige you will be able to "rip" cds into your audio window. The Kron will not do this.
The Kron price is $3995, and the Prestige price is $3495
With these two systems you will be limited in your creative mind. With a PC Based system, your creative mind can run wild. Even for a fraction of the cost.
Adobe has just released the newest version of Premiere 6.5 and this program is better then ever. It has a lot more features and a killer title program. Put that with a Matrox/Pinnacle system and you will be editing very fast.
Yes, there is a learning curve with a PC Based system but it is well worth it. With the Kron/Prestige there is a very little learning curve to get you up and running again.
What type of videos are you going to be creating?
What did you do before when you were in the video biz?
Travis "Gomer" Robinson
Gomervegas@cs.com
www.avio.us

X-Charlie
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Sep 24, 2002, 3:47 PM

Post #3 of 9 (1290 views)
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Re: Need Your Expert Advice...... [In reply to]	Can't Post

I am going to be shooting and producing some bass fishing videos for a couple of tournament pro's. Before I started editing, I was in the military for several years.
Thanks for the tips. It helps a lot.

X-Cal
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Sep 24, 2002, 7:51 PM

Post #4 of 9 (1290 views)
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Re: Need Your Expert Advice...... [In reply to]	Can't Post

: The Prestige is much faster then the Kron and it will have some more features then the Kron will have with the Smart Edit Software.
Rendering times of the Prestige and Kron are approximately equal. They will be running the same software so any differences will be hardware driven and the fact that the Kron additionally has MPEG2 storage modes in addition to native DV storage
: With the Prestige you will be able to "rip" cds into your audio window. The Kron will not do this.
If one installs the optional SmartEdit software the Kron will rip audio CDs also.
I would recommend you take a "test drive" of both systems (and any PC-based system you might be considering) before you make your final decision.
Cal

X-Arny
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Sep 24, 2002, 8:12 PM

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Re: Need Your Expert Advice...... [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hey Charlie,
The Kron also has a SCSI bus which you can plug into on the back of the case which the Prestige does not, this allows you to run SCSI drives in an external case or you could use a Pioneer 102 DVD burner for burning "Glass Master" DVD's if you plan on selling a lot of copies this is certainly worth considering.
Despite recommendations about PC's there are many issues with them including software and hardware conflicts but can be very good systems if put together by someone who knows what they are doing, there is also the learning curve of the PC systems so it is a matter of time and if you have enough.
Cheers,
Arny
: I am going to be shooting and producing some bass fishing videos for a couple of tournament pro's. Before I started editing, I was in the military for several years.
: Thanks for the tips. It helps a lot.

X-Dave
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Sep 25, 2002, 12:19 AM

Post #6 of 9 (1291 views)
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Re: Need Your Expert Advice...... [In reply to]	Can't Post

The Prestige looks like the way to go to me if you want an appliance. My own dealer says he uses his Cassie Classic and AVIO more than KRON. There is a new Matrox RTX100 with Adobe 6.5 that can be had as a $3000 turnkey system (ready to edit) that Adobe has been touring with. It's sweet.
If you used to use hardware (switcher, proc amps, BETA Decks, scopes, etc) you should look at the VideoToaster2. Everything looks and works like it's hardware equivalent. It'll cost you about $10,000 for a turnkey system. It's uncompressed D1 quality. You could edit and/or put a network production on the air with it and some people are. Yes, we have one and our clients (and competition) are blown away by what we can do.
Blessings,
Dave.
P.S. We have and use an AVIO. These days we mostly use it as a back-up storage unit. We live switch and output to the AVIO as well as the RAID array and tape. It saved us once and that was enough to justify keeping it.

: I use to be in the video production business a few years back, and I got out to take a long needed vacation. Now I am firing up to get back into the business after all these years, and I am looking at two thingsd that I need honest opinions on. I have to decide between the Kron and the Prestige. Some dealers have told me that the Kron is the way to go and some have said that the Prestige is the way to go. I am stuck there because I know that they are trying to make sales, and some of them will tell me anything.
: Any advice on which one to go with as I get closer to leaping back into the business? I film fishing videos, and have few "talents" that are eagerly awaiting me to return to work.
: Thanks for any help you guys can offer. This forum is great.....

X-Banned_Bob
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Sep 30, 2002, 8:58 AM

Post #7 of 9 (1290 views)
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Re: Need Your Expert Advice...... [In reply to]	Can't Post

: I use to be in the video production business ...
: I have to decide between the Kron and the Prestige ...
Just curious ... if you've been in the production business already, why do you feel you must decide between these two units? Is someone going to give them to you as a gift? 8-D

X-Charlie
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Sep 30, 2002, 11:19 AM

Post #8 of 9 (1290 views)
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Re: Need Your Expert Advice...... [In reply to]	Can't Post

The dealer I usually do business with is a MSUS dealer. I haven't really looked at any other systems, but I have had computer based before, and the constant freeze-ups burned me.
These were just the two that I figured I would decide between.

X-Banned_Bob
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Sep 30, 2002, 5:00 PM

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Re: Need Your Expert Advice...... [In reply to]	Can't Post

: The dealer I usually do business with is a MSUS dealer. I haven't really looked at any other systems, but I have had computer based before, and the constant freeze-ups burned me.
A lot has changed in almost 6 years since the Casablanca was easier and cheaper and PCs were a pain in the butt to do video on.
Today, the PCs are much easier to get up and going, much cheaper than the current crop of Casablanca machines, are infinitely more versatile, and a much better choice for even semi-experienced editors. Casablanca series are nice to learn basic storyboarding on, but for serious work you'll waste a lot of time on the "workarounds right out of the box". Plus you can more than double the original purchase price to get all the basic features that other systems include for free.
Yes, I still own and use my dozen MS products. But they are extremely limited, so if you're only gonna have one tool in the box, get the swiss army knife, and leave the phillips screwdriver on the shelf.
Email me if you want to talk.