Buf Technology Sport-HD User manual

BUF Technology, 12335 World Trade Drive, Suite 11, San Diego, CA 92128
Telephone: [phone] www.buftek.com Fax: [phone]
High Definition Replay System
INSTRUCTION MANUAL
VERSION: 110930

Version: 110930 Sport-HD INSTRUCTION MANUAL Page 2 of 20
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................................................4
FCC RADIO FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE STATEMENT ................................................................................4
WARRANTY STATEMENT.....................................................................................................................................4
OVERVIEW .............................................................................................................................................................4
QUICK REFERENCE..............................................................................................................................................6
INSTALLATION ......................................................................................................................................................7
BASIC OPERATION...............................................................................................................................................8
COLD BOOT...........................................................................................................................................................8
OPERATION.................................................................................................................................................................9
SELECTING CHANNELS.......................................................................................................................................9
RECORDING...........................................................................................................................................................9
PLAYBACK.............................................................................................................................................................9
REVERSE PLAYBACK ..........................................................................................................................................9
PLAYBACK WITHOUT TBAR..............................................................................................................................10
CUE POINTS.........................................................................................................................................................10
CREATING AND TRIMMING CUE POINTS ...................................................................................................10
MARK BACKTIMING.......................................................................................................................................10
VIEWING AND USING CUE POINTS .............................................................................................................10
DELETING CUE POINTS................................................................................................................................10
PREROLL..............................................................................................................................................................11
FUNCTION KEYS (F-KEYS).................................................................................................................................11
SLO-MO SPEED PRESET KEYS ...................................................................................................................11
QUICK CUE KEYS ..........................................................................................................................................11
BUMP I/O (TBAR REQUIRED)........................................................................................................................11
SCAN.....................................................................................................................................................................11
CLIP SCAN ...........................................................................................................................................................12
SHUTTLE..............................................................................................................................................................12
ERASING RECORDED MATERIAL.....................................................................................................................12
PLAYLISTS...........................................................................................................................................................12
PLAYLIST SETUP...........................................................................................................................................12
QUICK PLAYLIST CREATION........................................................................................................................12
PLAYLIST PLAYBACK...................................................................................................................................12
LOOPING ..............................................................................................................................................................13
STATUS DISPLAY................................................................................................................................................13
REMAINING TIME DISPLAY...........................................................................................................................13
REMAINING TIME IN SLO-MO.......................................................................................................................13
TIMECODE POSITION DISPLAY ...................................................................................................................13
MENU DISPLAY....................................................................................................................................................13
HOME DISPLAY..............................................................................................................................................13
PLAYLIST DISPLAY .......................................................................................................................................14
MENUS.............................................................................................................................................................14
CUSTOMIZATION......................................................................................................................................................15
PERSONALITY MENU ITEMS .............................................................................................................................15
SAVE PERSONALITY.....................................................................................................................................15
RECALL PERSONALITY REGISTER.............................................................................................................15
RECALL DEFAULTS.......................................................................................................................................15
CALC VS. PHONE STYLE NUMERIC KEYPAD............................................................................................15
DDR SETUP ITEMS..............................................................................................................................................15
EXTERNAL REF (SD CHANNELS ONLY).....................................................................................................15
SET INPUT LEVELS (SD CHANNELS ONLY)...............................................................................................15
EXT DDR CONTROL (NATIVE/ODETICS).....................................................................................................15
EXT DDR SOFTWARE UPDATE....................................................................................................................16
RECORD SETTINGS............................................................................................................................................16
INPUT VIDEO SEL ..........................................................................................................................................16
TIME OF DAY & DATE....................................................................................................................................16

Version: 110930 Sport-HD INSTRUCTION MANUAL Page 3 of 20
COMPRESSION (SD CHANNELS ONLY)......................................................................................................16
TV STANDARD SEL........................................................................................................................................16
DELETE CLIPS................................................................................................................................................16
DELETE NON-PL CLIPS.................................................................................................................................16
CLEAR CUES NO DELETE ............................................................................................................................16
ERASE ALL VIDEO.........................................................................................................................................17
FORMAT DISK!!!.............................................................................................................................................17
REC END MODE..............................................................................................................................................17
MAXIMUM RECORD DURATION...................................................................................................................17
OPERATIONAL PREFERENCES........................................................................................................................17
CHANNEL QUANTITY ....................................................................................................................................17
RECUE WHEN PLAY......................................................................................................................................17
BUMP AUTO START.......................................................................................................................................17
KNOB SENSITIVITY........................................................................................................................................17
JOG MAX SPEED............................................................................................................................................17
JOG SENSITIVITY...........................................................................................................................................17
SCANNING SPEEDS............................................................................................................................................17
PLAYLIST SETUP MENU.....................................................................................................................................17
CUE POINTS.........................................................................................................................................................18
SET PREROLL......................................................................................................................................................18
F-KEYS SETUP MENU.........................................................................................................................................18
MISC MENU ITEMS..............................................................................................................................................18
VERSION AND TEST......................................................................................................................................18
LED BRIGHTNESS..........................................................................................................................................18
MENU & STATUS DISPLAY ANGLES...........................................................................................................18
INITIALIZE UNIT..............................................................................................................................................18
COLD BOOT.........................................................................................................................................................18
SPECIFICATIONS......................................................................................................................................................19
VIDEO....................................................................................................................................................................19
AUDIO ...................................................................................................................................................................19
CONTROL RESOLUTION....................................................................................................................................19
POWER .................................................................................................................................................................19
ENVIRONMENT....................................................................................................................................................19
DIMENSIONS/WEIGHT ........................................................................................................................................19

Version: 110930 Sport-HD INSTRUCTION MANUAL Page 4 of 20
INTRODUCTION
FCC RADIO FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE STATEMENT
This device complies with part 15 of FCC rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) this device
may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including
interference that may cause undesired operation.
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a class A digital device, pursuant to Part 15
of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when
the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio
frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful
interference to radio communications. Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful
interference in which case the user will be required to correct the interference at his own expense.
Changes or modifications not expressly approved by BUF Technology could void the user’s authority to operate
this equipment. Shielded cables must be used with this equipment to maintain compliance with FCC regulations.
WARRANTY STATEMENT
BUF Technology warrants that the equipment it manufactures is free from defects in materials and workmanship.
Equipment that has been operated within its ratings and has not been subjected to mechanical or other abuse or
modification and has failed because of such defects, will, at the option of BUF Technology, be repaired or replaced
if it is returned, freight pre-paid, to BUF Technology within two years from the date of shipment. Equipment that
fails under conditions other than described herein will be repaired at the price of parts and labor in effect at the time
of repair.
The disk drive used in the Sport-HD Replay System is not warranted by BUF Technology. Please refer to the
respective disk drive manufacturer for warranty information. When Sport-HD is disconnected from its power
supply, power should not be reapplied for at least five (5) seconds. Failure to follow this procedure results in “short
cycling” of the power and could cause permanent damage to the disk drive. Also, the disk cartridge should never
be removed from or installed into Sport-HD while power is connected.
This warranty is in lieu of all other warranties, express or implied, including, but not limited to, any implied warranty
of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. BUF Technology is not liable for any consequential damages.
OVERVIEW
The Sport-HD Replay System is a multi channel replay system consisting of a Sport-EX control panel with TBar
and one to six separate RM-HD Replay Recorder hard disk replay recorders. Separate single channel HD video
servers are used, so record and playback operations are separate and cannot occur simultaneously (recording
must stop when in playback mode). One HDSDI input and output are provided per channel which carry eight
channels of embedded digital audio in addition to the video signal. Two channels of analog audio are provided
which replace the first two embedded channels if used. Power supply to each RM-HD Replay Recorder is 12VDC
at 3A maximum. Power to the Sport-EX controller is provided by the first RM-HD in the system.
All recording and playback operations are controlled by the operator via the SPORT-EX control panel. Channels
can be selected together, independently, and/or in any combination. Memory for up to 1000 cue points allows
instant cueing of any or all channels to the same point in time. Cue points are referenced by the clip from which
they are made, and by timecode within each clip that may begin at zeros or the time of day when recorded. Clips
are named as they are recorded using the next available cue point number. When a new cue point is manually
marked, it automatically remembers the clip that was playing or recording, which is recalled each time the cue point
is used. Clip names are handled transparently to the operator, however a cue point that denotes a recorded clip is
indicated by a period (.) after its number, and can be deleted, but not changed. Ten playlists of up to 100 cue
points can be programmed and played with seamless cut edits. Cue points or entire playlists can be looped
indefinitely.

Version: 110930 Sport-HD INSTRUCTION MANUAL Page 5 of 20
SPORT-EX CONTROL PANEL

Version: 110930 Sport-HD INSTRUCTION MANUAL Page 6 of 20
QUICK REFERENCE
To best learn Sport-HD, feed channels with test sources (tape, off air, or DVD), and outputs to monitors. Don't use
static pictures for testing, the more motion the better. Start with displays, F1-Fx, REC, MARK, CUE, PLAY, SLOW,
KNOB, SCAN ( , ). Play with it until you are comfortable, then move on to PLAYLIST, LOOP, BUMP I/O.

Version: 110930 Sport-HD INSTRUCTION MANUAL Page 7 of 20
INSTALLATION
1. Install the RM-HD1 and/or RM-HD2 SPORT-HD Replay Recorders in a 19 inch rack using standard mounting
methods. The rear of the units may secured if desired using separately purchased rack ears (required only in
high shock applications).
2. Connect HDSDI IN of each channel to a feed from a camera, CCU, or an input selection router.
3. Connect HDSDI OUT of each channel to a video switcher, distribution system, and/or monitor.
4. Connect HD or SD video reference to REF input (standard bi-level SD blackburst or tri-level HD sync signals
are adequate). Reference is optional but important for frame accurate multi channel systems or when timed
signals are required by the production switcher.
5. Optionally, connect up to 2 channels of line level analog audio inputs and outputs to the XLR connectors on the
units (+4 professional levels, not -10 consumer levels). Alternately the HDSDI IN may be fed through a digital
audio embedder and/or the HDSDI OUT may feed a digital audio disembedder to add/extract embedded digital
audio to/from the HDSDI signals. Eight channels of audio are available using embedded signals.
6. Using the 15 foot (5 meter) RJ45 cable, connect the PANEL connector of the first (CH-1) RM-HD unit to the
AUX-E connector on the TBar. Using a short RJ45 cable, connect the AUX connector on the TBar to the main
control panel RJ45 connector. In applications where the control panel must be located farther than a 15 foot
cable will allow, an extension system is available that allows up to 1000 meters of distance.
7. Using a short RJ45 cable, connect the PANEL connector of each successive RM-HD unit to the previous
channel's NEXT connector. This is how the channels are assigned to the control system.
8. If time of day timecode is available, connect it to the TC connector on the Sport-EX TBar.
9. Connect the 12VDC, 3A (minimum) power supply to the power input of each RM-HD and apply mains power.
The displays of the control panel should light up and the lamps on each RM-HD disk should light. After about
25 seconds, all channels should be finished booting and recording/playback should be possible.
10. Press SETUP, STOP, UP arrow to CHANNEL QTY, ENTER. Type the number of channels on the keypad (1-
6), ENTER. F1 through up to F6, depending on the number of channels, are channel select keys.
11. Double-tap a channel select F-key to control all channels. Select a single channel with a single tap. Hold one
and press others to select some channels. The red LED above channel select keys indicate the channels
being controlled. The green LED above one indicates which channel is shown on the STATUS display.
12. Select the type of HDSDI signal that is to be used on each channel as follows: Select one or more channels.
Press SETUP, REC, use the UP and DOWN arrows to INPUT VIDEO SEL, press ENTER, UP and DOWN
arrows to input type (INTERLACE, PROGRESSIVE), press ENTER. Also set the frame rate (field rate if
interlaced): DOWN arrow to TV STANDARD SEL, enter, UP and DOWN arrows to the frame (or field) rate
(59.94, 50). These must both be set correctly or recordings will playback black and playback will not cue.
13. Optionally, enter the time of day and date using the menu (if timecode is applied, only the date is relevant):
Press SETUP, REC, UP/DOWN arrows to SET TIME OF DAY, ENTER, and enter the time of day (HHMMSS)
in 24 hour format (add 12 to hours for PM, 00 for 12AM), ENTER, enter date (YYMMDD), ENTER, HOME.
14. Make a test recording: Press REC, wait at least five seconds, press CUE, the STATUS display should read
CUED. Press PLAY, all channels should play back the recorded video. If CUED does not appear and/or video
does not play back on any channels, check the HDSDI type and rate (step 12) and check input/output signals
by inserting a BNC barrel between the input and output cables in place of the suspect RM-HD to see if input
HDSDI feeds through to the output monitoring. If it checks OK and you are sure the HDSDI is the same format
as set in step 12, the disk may be bad or may need formatting.
WARNING: Whenever power is disconnected from an RM-HD, always wait at least 5 seconds before reapplying
power. Failure to follow this procedure results in “short cycling” the disk drive power and, on rare occasions, could
cause permanent damage to the disk drive. Avoid applying unreliable power that is susceptible to repeated
interruptions or “brown outs”. The disk drive is not covered under the Sport-HD warranty.

Version: 110930 Sport-HD INSTRUCTION MANUAL Page 8 of 20
BASIC OPERATION
1. To select a channel for control, press its F-key (F1 for ch-1, etc.). Double-tap the F-key to select all channels.
Hold the F-key and tap others to select some channels. The red LED lights above channels selected for
control, the green LED lights above the status channel (the channel shown on the STATUS display).
2. Press REC to start recording. A cue point is automatically created. Cue points are tagged with time of day.
Always records on an unused part of the disk(s) so existing material cannot accidentally be recorded over.
3. Stop recording and scan back at 6 times normal speed using the reverse scan ( ) key. The forward scan
key ( ) scans forward. Hold for scan, release for still. Turn the knob to fine tune the position (jog mode).
4. Press PLAY to playback at normal speed (play mode) or press F7, F8, or F9 to playback in slo-mo at ¼, ½, or
¾ normal speed. Use the TBar to adjust slo-mo speed; the knob for jog.
No button pushes are needed to change between play, slo-mo, and jog modes. All the way up is play mode,
move down for slo-mo, still at the bottom. Then just turn the knob for jog, TBar back up to return to slo-mo.
5. During recording or playback, press MARK to create a new cue point.
NEW: For better accuracy, hold down MARK to back-time the cue point by the amount of time it is held.
6. Press CUE to cue playback to the location that MARK was hit, or press PREROLL to cue 2 seconds earlier. If
multiple channels are selected, they will all cue to the same point in time.
7. To select any cue point, BUT NOT cue playback, enter the cue number on the keypad and press ENTER.
To select any cue point, AND instantly cue playback, enter the cue number on the keypad and press CUE.
8. Hold ENTER and hit F1-F6* to store a quick cue. Anytime a quick cue key is hit, playback is instantly cued.
9. To change the current cue’s out point (end), hold the OUT key and press MARK. Normal or slo-mo playback
will pause exactly at the out point. To resume playback, press PLAY or a slo-mo key. Playback will again stop
at the end of the recording. To cue to the out point, hold OUT while pressing CUE. Hold OUT and press
PREROLL to cue 2 seconds before the out point.
10. To change the in point (beginning) of an existing cue, hold ENTER (or IN) and press MARK.
11. Clip scan: To quickly scan a loaded clip from in to out, press both scan keys ( & ) together.
As the TBar is moved, playback continually cues to the point proportional to the TBar position.
End the clip scan mode by using any playback or record function (example: turn knob to enter jog mode).
12. The STATUS display shows the time remaining before the out point. Slo-mo speed is taken into account so
the display shows the actual time it will take to finish playing. Hold IN or OUT to show timecode.
13. Hold ENTER and press PLAY LIST to add the current cue to the end of the current playlist. To edit a playlist,
press SETUP, PLAYLIST. Use the arrow and number keys to insert cues anywhere in the playlist, to delete
cues, or to insert pauses (STL). Press HOME when done.
14. To play a playlist, press PLAYLIST, CUE, then PLAY (or a slo-mo key). As playback reaches the out point of
each cue in the list, a clean cut is made to the in point of the next cue. While playing a playlist, the STATUS
display shows the time remaining in the entire list (or until the next pause), and is adjusted for slo-mo speed. A
pause (STL) stops playback and shows a still frame at the out point of the cue preceding the pause, press
PLAY to still frame at the in point of the next cue. Then resume playback as usual.
15. There are ten playlists. To select a different playlist for setup or playback, press a keypad number (0-4)
immediately before the PLAYLIST key. To add the current cue to any playlist, hold its keypad number (0-4)
and press PLAYLIST. Each playlist holds up to 100 cues.
* Depending on number of channels, F1-Fx will select channels and not perform other functions.
COLD BOOT
If the Sport-EX controller is acting strangely or not communicating with the connected channels, normal operation
may be restored by performing a COLD BOOT. See COLD BOOT near the end of this manual for directions.

Version: 110930 Sport-HD INSTRUCTION MANUAL Page 9 of 20
OPERATION
SELECTING CHANNELS
To select a channel for control, press its F-key (F1 for ch-1, F2 for ch-2, etc.). Double-tap the F-key to select all
channels. Hold the F-key and tap others to select some channels. The red LED lights above channels selected for
control, the green LED lights above the status channel (the channel shown on the STATUS display). All transport
and other functions apply to the selected channels and not unselected ones.
When the REC key is pressed to begin recording, ALL CHANNELS are automatically selected, so if you DO NOT
want to record on all channels, press and hold the first channel to record, then press others to record, and while still
holding the first key, press REC. Only the channels with red LEDs will enter record mode.
To set the total number of channels in the system:
Press SETUP, F1, the total number of channels (both HD and SD) on the keypad (1-6), ENTER.
RECORDING
To record, simply press REC. A new recording is made on an unused part of the disks of all channels; existing
material will not be recorded over. To stop recording and enter the playback mode, press any playback related key
such as STOP, CUE, PREROLL, or reverse scan ( ).
To make it more difficult to end record mode (as with important long term recording), you can set the controller to
end recording only when the STOP key is hit:
Press SETUP, REC, use the UP and DOWN arrows to select REC END MODE, ENTER, UP arrow (ONLY STOP
KEY), ENTER. Recording will stop only when the STOP key is used.
You can check the remaining record time by pressing SETUP, REC - the amount of available recording time for the
selected channel is shown in timecode format. If SET TIME OF DAY is shown, then current time of day is shown
instead; hit DOWN ARROW to show free space. The "FREE=" time displayed is approximate and can vary
somewhat depending on program content.
See SELECTING CHANNELS if recording is not to occur on all channels.
PLAYBACK
Press PLAY to play material at normal speed, or use F7 to play at ¼, F8 to play at ½, or F9 to play at ¾ normal
speed (see SLO-MO SPEED PRESET KEYS). Move the TBar to vary playback speed between zero and 100%
normal speed. So that speed changes are always smooth and don't change suddenly, the TBar does not affect
playback until moved to the position corresponding to the current speed (this assumes the speed was set by
keystroke such as PLAY or an F-key). When the TBar needs to be moved to take control, a LED above the SLOW
key flashes: green if the TBar needs to be moved up, red if it needs to be moved down. Press the SLOW key to
force playback to the TBar speed.
It is not necessary to press any keys to change between variable play (slow motion) and jog modes:
When playback is at still, simply turn the knob to jog or raise the TBar from the bottom to begin playing in slow
motion. In jog, playback moves relative to the amount the knob is turned and stops when the knob is stopped.
The FAST JOG key enters the fast jog mode which is identical to jog, but picture movement is much faster (the
knob operates with much greater sensitivity), allowing you to quickly move through more material.
Hold the HOME key while jogging for SLOW JOG, which allows moving very slowly to an exact frame.
REVERSE PLAYBACK
To playback in reverse at the current TBar speed, press and hold the SLOW key. Release the SLOW key to play
forward. Speed can be changed while in reverse by moving the TBar. If the TBar is at the top, reverse play will be
at normal speed but in reverse. To smoothly reverse speed, move the TBar to the bottom (still), then press and
hold the SLOW key, move the TBar up - speed increases in reverse. Then move the TBar back to the bottom
before releasing the SLOW key, move the TBar up. Only hold or release the SLOW key when the TBar is down at
still. In this way, you can repeatedly play through a segment forward and reverse with smooth speed control.

Version: 110930 Sport-HD INSTRUCTION MANUAL Page 10 of 20
PLAYBACK WITHOUT TBAR
Playback behavior is somewhat different if the TBar is not connected: Press SLOW to begin slow motion playback
paused, or press a speed preset key (F7-F9 by default) to start at another speed, use the knob to vary the playback
speed from 0% to 100%. Press STOP to enter the jog mode. Reverse playback is not possible without the TBar.
CUE POINTS
A cue point is a memory location that stores a particular point of recorded material, allowing this location to be
recalled at any time. For speed reasons, cue points are referenced numerically, from zero to 999.
When a cue point is created, it includes the currently playing timecode, called the IN point, and the clip filename
from which it is being made. When a cue point is used, the stored filename is automatically loaded for playback.
The cue point also contains another timecode number called the OUT point. The duration of the cue point (how
long it will play) is found by subtracting the OUT point from the IN point. The OUT point is important if the cue point
is looped or used in a playlist. It is also handy to pause playback at a certain point, and is frame accurate.
When playing at normal or slow motion speeds, playback goes to still when the OUT point is reached.
Playback is resumed up to the end of the clip by pressing PLAY or entering slow motion when at the OUT point.
The OUT point is ignored when in jog mode making it easy to jog beyond the OUT point.
The duration of a cue point is shown on the MENU display because it is useful information. The OUT point can be
observed by holding the OUT key.
CREATING AND TRIMMING CUE POINTS
A new cue point is created by pressing the MARK key. Cue points are created sequentially from 000 to 999.
To change, or trim, a cue point’s beginning (IN point) to the current position, hold ENTER and hit MARK.
Often, the IN isn’t exactly where you want it, so hit CUE and turn the knob to jog to the perfect point, then hold
ENTER and hit MARK.
To set or change a cue point’s OUT point (end) to the current position, hold OUT and hit MARK.
You can trim a cue point after entering it into a playlist and the trimmed cue point is inherently fixed in the
playlist too (because the playlist simply contains a reference to the cue point’s number).
MARK BACKTIMING
A unique feature of the Sport-EX controller is called variable mark backtiming. This feature applies quick and
effortless compensation for the amount of time taken to hit the MARK key after “replay worthy” action was
observed and evaluated. Events that are worthy of replay generally are not apparent until after they occur.
Also, it is common to want some amount of action prior to the event to be included in the replay. Variable mark
backtiming is a powerful tool that allows the operator to perfectly mark a cue point, or at least get very close to
the optimum IN point the first try, eliminating or reducing the need to trim the IN point. Backtiming subtracts the
time that the MARK key is held down from the point at which it is first hit to create the mark point. The idea is:
Think about how long ago the beginning of action that should be included in the replay occurred, and hold the
MARK key down about that length of time. While MARK is held, the IN point runs backwards, the amount of
which can be viewed on the STATUS display following the ‘M’ indicator. When released, the backtiming ends,
leaving the marked point placed with unsurpassed flexibility. Speed is taken into account, so if MARK is held
during slow motion or shuttle, backtiming works as expected. It also works when marking the OUT point.
VIEWING AND USING CUE POINTS
The cue point shown on the MENU display is called the current cue point.
The CUE key cues playback to the current cue point’s IN point.
The PREROLL key cues playback to 2 seconds before the cue point (or the beginning of the clip).
Hold OUT and hit CUE to cue to the current cue’s OUT point.
Hold OUT and hit PREROLL to cue 2 seconds before the OUT point. (You can then play the last 2 seconds.)
To make a cue point current without affecting playback, enter its number on the keypad and hit ENTER.
To make a cue point current and cue playback, enter its number on the keypad and hit CUE.
The RIGHT/LEFT arrow keys change the current cue to the next/previous cue point.
Hold IN and hit the RIGHT/LEFT arrow keys to also cue playback to the next/previous cue point.
DELETING CUE POINTS
Cue points can be deleted in various ways, see the RECORD SETTINGS menu. DELETE CLIPS deletes a
specified range of cue points and erases the recorded clips included in that range (“record” cue points, marked