RedMote - Please Red

[Elizabeth Lowrey]

Well . . . there you go. The RED difference. Don't see Mr. Canon responding to users at 11pm

That's really it, when you clear away all the dust. Some of the "little" things with RED can be infuriating (I recently learned, for example, that the onboard audio on the Epic I'd ordered a few days before and will receive in the next week or so does NOT support line level input, such an axiomatic given on a professional camera that my mouth almost hung open in disbelief when I read a post revealing the Epic didn't support it. But what gives me the confidence to know that all will be made right in the end is the fact that this company is such a personal labor of love for its founder, and so much of his own ego and self-image (in the best possible way) are tied up with how his products perform. I obviously wasn't turning cartwheels over reports about the REDmote, but I also had confidence it would get worked out with firmware or some other fix.

[Jannard]

Let's get one thing straight. We have no idea what we are doing.

We are learning as we go. And we are just dumb enough to expose every move in front of God and everyone.

Bear with us. This is a process. No company wants to solve issues more than we do. Trust me.

This is difficult stuff. If it was easy, the other guys would have already given you 5K at 120fps in the size of a matchbox.

We appreciate your patience and aim to deserve your loyalty.

Jim

[Les C.]

Let's get one thing straight. We have no idea what we are doing.

We are learning as we go. And we are just dumb enough to expose every move in front of God and everyone.

Bear with us. This is a process. No company wants to solve issues more than we do. Trust me.

This is difficult stuff. If it was easy, the other guys would have already given you 5K at 120fps in the size of a matchbox.

We appreciate your patience and aim to deserve your loyalty.

Jim

Years ago, I had a $150K logic analyzer in my bedroom, working on debugging what was the fastest super micro in the world (or so we claimed in Byte magazine).

So, I quite understand what drives an entrepreneur and what building up a startup (mine was smaller, only 72 employees here and in England), where you are breaking new ground - and boldly going where no one has gone before, is all about.

I'm very impressed, especially with all the real-time threads the RED must be handling - and when I looked at the circuit board break downs. Wow!!!

I really do think its FABULOUS what you've accomplished.

I also believe that it's very easy to focus on the the new fun exciting things though (and who wouldn't want to), rather than saying to the staff that there's a problem with the side handle where parts are falling off and were're going to pull that off the assembly line and totally focus on that issue until the design is fixed.

Of course, while that is easy for me to say, with no direct knowledge of the inner workings of your company.

You are currently balancing 1000 things, many projects in motion, deadlines to make, productions schedules, ahhhh! So I do understand when things are not perfect, and still believe that you will 'make it all right in the end' - or I wouldn't have ordered the REDmote.

A humble suggestion. On issues like the Side Handle & REDmote, where there are threads on continuing problems, maybe if there were a RED policy statement of 'we will make it right even if we have to replace it with a different design'?

I don't want to have to worry about my warranty or whether I'll get stuck with something where the batteries keep falling out.

I want to be able to buy, fully knowing that RED will stand behind every product, even if there are design flaws initially, RED will not leave any customers unhappy.

I kind of feel that way now (or I wouldn't have ordered), and I hope that's the way it is, but ... a direct statement to that effect (probably unrealistic due to the lawyers) - would probably increase sales from people who are on the edge and deciding whether to buy.

Great job anyway!!! You haven't created just a mundane product, you're created a 'work of art' - used to create art.

That's really it, when you clear away all the dust. Some of the "little" things with RED can be infuriating (I recently learned, for example, that the onboard audio on the Epic I'd ordered a few days before and will receive in the next week or so does NOT support line level input, such an axiomatic given on a professional camera that my mouth almost hung open in disbelief when I read a post revealing the Epic didn't support it. But what gives me the confidence to know that all will be made right in the end is the fact that this company is such a personal labor of love for its founder, and so much of his own ego and self-image (in the best possible way) are tied up with how his products perform. I obviously wasn't turning cartwheels over reports about the REDmote, but I also had confidence it would get worked out with firmware or some other fix.

In all fairness, that's been common knowledge for quite some time. The plain vanilla box will not support that.

I believe their forthcoming pro-audio module deals with line level, do some research in the threads.

[Elizabeth Lowrey]

In all fairness, that's been common knowledge for quite some time. The plain vanilla box will not support that.

I believe their forthcoming pro-audio module deals with line level, do some research in the threads.

Les, I think you're overlooking or reacting a bit defensively to my point. It may indeed be "common knowledge" to those who spend quite a lot of time on these boards (I don't, no purchaser should have to to obtain basic information about the camera, and there is a HUGE volume of posts dealing with a dizzying array of topics to follow anyway). But it would not at all be "common knowledge" by looking at the official product page for the Epic, the document held out to the public that summarizes the camera's features and upon which reliance will be placed in purchasing. Since line level audio input is supported even on my sister's 15 year-old compact VHS camera (and on every single prosumer or professional camera that I've ever encountered), it's fair to say that its omission from a $50K plus camera package is more than surprising and highly deviant from industry norms, norms which form the basis for unwritten terms of contracts all the time (pardon the former lawyer in me, it comes out sometimes no matter how hard I try to suppress it)

Beyond that, though, and to go to what Jim stated, these are ultimately petty annoyances to perfectionists like me who see in RED a mirror for their own maverick creativity and relentless pursuit of excellence. Please understand that there is no commercial company on earth that -- purely based on philosophy and leadership -- I would rather give the majority of my life savings to. And when you consider the camera I'll be getting in return, it's an epic no-brainer (pun intended).

[Terry VerHaar]

Any more notes on the charging thing? After just a couple days with my REDmote and my Scarlet, the one thing I see is that my REDmote also seems to NOT fully charge. :-(

NOTE: Haven't upgraded firmware yet, so...

[Les C.]

Les, I think you're overlooking or reacting a bit defensively to my point. It may indeed be "common knowledge" to those who spend quite a lot of time on these boards (I don't, no purchaser should have to to obtain basic information about the camera, and there is a HUGE volume of posts dealing with a dizzying array of topics to follow anyway). But it would not at all be "common knowledge" by looking at the official product page for the Epic, the document held out to the public that summarizes the camera's features and upon which reliance will be placed in purchasing. Since line level audio input is supported even on my sister's 15 year-old compact VHS camera (and on every single prosumer or professional camera that I've ever encountered), it's fair to say that its omission from a $50K plus camera package is more than surprising and highly deviant from industry norms, norms which form the basis for unwritten terms of contracts all the time (pardon the former lawyer in me, it comes out sometimes no matter how hard I try to suppress it)

Beyond that, though, and to go to what Jim stated, these are ultimately petty annoyances to perfectionists like me who see in RED a mirror for their own maverick creativity and relentless pursuit of excellence. Please understand that there is no commercial company on earth that -- purely based on philosophy and leadership -- I would rather give the majority of my life savings to. And when you consider the camera I'll be getting in return, it's an epic no-brainer (pun intended).

Elizabeth - I didn't mean to sound harsh, but it's in the manual which you can download before you purchase. As a lawyer, I'm sure you understand the Latin: caveat emptor.

I certainly understand your frustration with missing a feature that you feel is important, but ... that's just a design choice they made and as RED is bringing out the Pro IO module, I very much doubt that it will change. The hardware is set in stone right now, so ... I'm afraid you'll have to find a workaround.

I've got a $1500 pre-amp that I can stick line or mic levels into, but ... there's extra circuitry needed to do that in a fashion that doesn't degrade the signal, and maybe RED was running a little tight to fit more components inside that thankfully small box? I don't know, I'm not an audio engineer, but I'm sure RED hired one to design their circuits.

You can make your own pad to drop line to mic level http://www.epanorama.net/circuits/line_to_mic.html or I'm sure find a commercial pad if you search a bit - http://www.thebroadcastshop.com/sale...LA&aid=froogle .

[brett mayfield]

Of four REDmotes received, 2 had non functioning Enter buttons.
I also lost signals on 2 of the REDmotes from less than 5 feet away from the cameras, which were already difficult to pair wirelessly to start with.
Now I cannot get them to update, although theyre connected with the proper IP, to save my life.

[Les C.]

Of four REDmotes received, 2 had non functioning Enter buttons.
I also lost signals on 2 of the REDmotes from less than 5 feet away from the cameras, which were already difficult to pair wirelessly to start with.
Now I cannot get them to update, although theyre connected with the proper IP, to save my life.

Are all the problems with REDmotes received over time, or just recently?

I've read a lot about Enter button problems, but 2 out of 4 units with the Enter problem??

Pull it out of the box, first time you press Enter, and it doesn't work?

I'm trying to reconcile in my mind how that can happen if they are tested before being shipped?

When I get my oil changed for $30, there's a checkoff of every test they make.

The REDmote not a cheap product to buy, and gets a bit more expensive with each RMA.

This is discouraging, as I have one on order.

[brett mayfield]

All 4 were ordered at the same time and after the waiting period we received all of them at the same time. Right out of the box two of them had enter buttons that didnt function (in fact one didnt even depress). The units turned on but no selections could be made. We contacted red and brought them into RED Studios in Hollywood (but they can do an RMA as well) and they fixed them right up and we had them back within a week.

[Les C.]

All 4 were ordered at the same time and after the waiting period we received all of them at the same time. Right out of the box two of them had enter buttons that didnt function (in fact one didnt even depress). The units turned on but no selections could be made. We contacted red and brought them into RED Studios in Hollywood (but they can do an RMA as well) and they fixed them right up and we had them back within a week.

As you had direct contact with RED at their office, did you happen to ask them how that could happen - or anything about their testing procedures?