E•Logger

Digital video recorders offer the ability to log video and audio errors. That’s great, but the problem is that the error logs are stored internally, with no way to save or print them.

Enter E•Logger, which will “watch” your tapes and log all video and audio errors.

E•Logger also can log time code breaks and discontinuities on both digital and analog recorders and players.

Simply load your tape, rewind if necessary, enter a reel name and click the Log Tape button. E•Logger will put the tape into play and log any and all errors. At the end of the program, your log will be ready to be printed out, saved to disk or both.

Send your tape off to air with a clean bill of health, or back to mastering with a detailed record of errors.

Or start digitizing your video for editing with a clear picture of what the time code situation is.

E•Logger starting an error log.

System Requirements

E•Logger runs on virtually any Macintosh with a greyscale or color display of 640 x 480 or larger, and System 8.1 or later, up to OS 9.2.x. It works with 68040 or PowerPC machines, which means you can use an inexpensive used Quadra, Performa, Powerbook or any PowerMac model to run it.

For control and communication with video decks, the Mac must have an RS-422 serial port—Modem or Printer on pre-B&W G3 Macs, or later models with a PCI Serial Port expansion card, such as the KeySpan SX Pro or other serial port expansion card. Since only a single port is required, this opens the possibily of using that old PowerBook you’ve had laying around wondering what to do with.

(For example, we recently bought a used Powerbook 3400 for use as a testbed on eBay for well under $200. It’s a perfect platform for E•Logger.)

E•Logger will not work with B/W G3 or G4 Macs with USB ports using a USB-to-RS-422 adapter.

E•Logger’s memory requirements are modest; it will run well with 2 MB of memory assigned to it.

Video Machines

E•Logger works with any video recorder or player with RS-422 control capabilities. For logging time code breaks and discontinuities, it will work with both analog and digital machines of any format.

It can log errors when used with broadcast digital video recorders, including DigiBeta and HD decks from Sony and D5 decks from Panasonic.

Please note that analog decks, including standard BetaSP machines, don’t support the extended protocol that allows E•Logger to log errors.

E•Logger Pricing

E•Logger is $99.95. A ten-foot serial cable to connect from the Mac’s serial port to the RS-422 ports on video recorders is available for $20.00. (E•Logger will work with the RS-422 serial cables supplied with all nonlinear editing systems. If you already have one such cable, you’re set. If not, you can make one yourself from instructions we supply, or can purchase one from us.)

If you need multiple seats, additional registrations of E•Logger are $50.00 each.

E•Logger is distributed via internet download from our web site from the link below. Initially, it will run in demo mode. To unlock E•Logger from demo mode, you can order a serial number below. Once you’ve downloaded E•Logger (see link below), run it and note the Registration Code in the Register window, accessed under the Edit menu. Send us the Registration Code and your payment information, and we’ll return a serial number that will unlock your copy of E•Logger.

Note: E•Logger installs itself on a particular computer, and will run unlocked only on that computer. If you transfer it to another computer, it will reset to demo mode. We provide for one computer upgrade each year at no charge.

Downloading the E•Logger Demo

E•Logger is available for download as a demo. The manual is an Acrobat Reader file, and the package is available in either StuffIt or BinHex encoded StuffIt format. E•Logger can be unlocked from demo mode by phone, email or our web site, as described above.

If you're not a registered owner, E•Logger will run in demo mode. In demo mode, there are a number of functions that are disabled - described both in the manual and in a startup screen - but enough of E•Logger is enabled to let you see how it works.

Click here to download the E•Logger demo

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