[quote="Bob Ennis"]I guess that IF the keyers operate differently from a flip-flop mode, the SONY guys believe that "if you want to use it, go ahead but also learn the limitations & learn to work around them".[/quote] I prefer the Sony mentality.... give the users the tools, allow them to decide to use them or not. TD's know better than software engineers how to switch shows.

Mike - To be honest, I don't know how the SONY handles keyers in non-flip-flop mode. The only reason that I know about the mode is because we asked to sotfware guys to modify the module behavior to be able to do the split fader control of the Main & Sub sides. I found out about the left or right side delegation when I commented to one of the engineers that I thought that the wrong side of the fader was talking to the Main side...he took about 5 seconds to open the menu page & swap the behavior via the soft button, then looked at me as if to say "didn't you know about that?" But I do know that operators in Japan run the switcher in non-flip-flop mode all the time, and are having no issues with keyers - either the behavior IS intuitive, or the operators have gotten used to any idiosyncracies that might result from the mode. I do know that one of many reasons that the GV guys didn't do a public release of the modified software was the mentality that "we have to protect the users from unanticipated behavior". I guess that IF the keyers operate differently from a flip-flop mode, the SONY guys believe that "if you want to use it, go ahead but also learn the limitations & learn to work around them".

Bob, how does Sony address the keyers/fader bar position on the 8000 when you have the busses in the Non-Flip-Flop mode? I use the 8000, original series, for NHL and NBA and I have never tried it. This thread is bringing back memories of 1600's and 1680's with an A52 or A53. Anyone for a barn door wipe to replay?

Eric - I remember testing this A/B non-flip-flop mode on Kalypso a few years ago while I was still doing testing at GV. As I recall, there was a potential sale to a Japanese customer who wanted this feature, so the engineers started trying to make it work. They added a button in Suite Prefs that changed the behavior to the Flip-Flop and as I remember it, you could do this on an M/E-by-M/E basis, but I could be wrong. The software was an "X" version, meaning pre-alpha (something that that sometimes do for a one-off modification for a specific customer). We got it to work OK, but there were a lot of operational issues. Those folks who remember the 1600 may remember that in order to add a key, you had to move the lever arm to the UP position, DOWN dropped the key. We found that with 4 keyers, there was no intuitive way to determine how to add one key while you dropped another key, or no way to change the background by moving the lever arm down while at the same time add one or more keys (or adding some keys & dropping others). So the software did the no-flip-flop quite well for backgrounds, but had the potential of bagging a user when you started messing with key transitions. The software was never offered as a general release. And Mike - as to which side of the fader does what, that is also a menu selection on the SONY, so you can choose which side of the bar controls the Main or Sub side to your preference. We found that out at NAB when we demonstrated the split-fader module with MP II.

Not to hijack the thread back to the first question, but are we all in agreement that Kalypsos don't have this option?

Rick, OK, I give Sony's engineers some points for creativity BUT trying to remember which side of the fader controlled which side of the ME would have drove me nuts the first few times I saw it. Scott, the 1680 also worked like the 1600 series, except I want to say, on the PGM/PST bus. I think the CDL switchers also had "Flip-Flop" on all MEs. They had it before GVG I believe.

[quote="greg"]Eric, I know this should go in the sony fourm but since you asked here. Is there a way to disable the that feature on the sony? back to your question... I dont' even think this is a feature of the kalypso, at least I have never seen a way to do it. greg[/quote] Yes there is..... it's in the setup menu in the SWTICHER setup. It's called BUS TOGGLE and it's on menu page 7334 My favorite thing that I know of is that Sony sells Split Fader modules, where the fader bars actually split! I couldn't figure out what in the heck they would be for in this day and age. At NAB I saw them use the split fader so you could control the MAIN and SUB in Split M/E mode without having to delegate. The left side controlled the MAIN M/E and the right side controlled the SUB M/E. The cool thing was that the little button that locked the fader together must have some switch in it. Becuase if you locked them together it would only operate the fader for which side of the M/E was delegated on the panel. I loved it. RE

Eric, I know this should go in the sony fourm but since you asked here. Is there a way to disable the that feature on the sony? back to your question... I dont' even think this is a feature of the kalypso, at least I have never seen a way to do it. greg

Didn't they use to call this "Flip-Flop" when this feature came out??? (The American Way- as described) Something the 1600 series did not do, that was the big "sales pitch". This way you knew "B" was always preset, "A" was on-air.