DSE

I read this forum daily, take the things I don't understand or perhaps agree with, copy them to my PDA, and share them with my instructor to either a; understand better b; attempt to do or be told why I shouldn't attempt them Only "smart" thing is that my EP's/malfunction motto was drilled into my head as a musical theme since I'm in the entertainment world. While kicking out of a top to bottom line twist with slider up to the canopy, I could hear my instructor's voice badly singing as I crossed 2500 after starting at 4500. Cleared by 2K. I learned why I had the problem, and if I truly learned, it'll become a smart experience rather than a scare.

Now we're on the same page. There is a reason that the DVD burner set tops don't do direct firewire burns from a camera, but will do it from authoring software. Stupid reason, but it's because of how Euro copyright management is in place. It's a copyright issue. the high end set top systems do burn from firewire, but you're talking in the range of 3K and higher. You can use authoring software for the project, but not render. ADS "Instant DVD" captures the vid as an mpeg file, and burns straight to disk via Firewire.

Depending on the model of settop and how it's set up to communicate, some software authoring tools will see it while others won't. For example, I use Sony DVD Architect for some DVD authoring, and Apple DVD Studio Pro. Sony DVD Architect won't see my Sony set top as a burning device, but DVD Studio will. On the other hand, DVD StudioPro won't see my Pioneer unit, while my Sony software will. I've pretty well locked in to using external DVD burners in 1394 cases, like you can get at any computer store. Cheap, and it's just like an external drive, and ALL DVD authoring tools will see it.

Just to make things easier, this isn't true anymore for some of the newest camera's. These DO output highres video through USB2 only, no more firewire. Not the PC109 though. While there are a *few* cams that are using USB2, they are, and will continue to be few. Sony calls it iLink, Apple calls it "firewire" and the rest of the world calls it IEEE1394. All the same thing. USB2 is unreliable for speed on ingest/output because it relies on the computer processor for routing/busing. iLink/1394/Firewire doesn't. It has its own bus resource. HDV, DV will virtually always have 1394 output on it. Even tho DV is practically dead, the legacy it generated is carried on in virtually all formats, including HDCAM providing a downconvert, XDCAM HD doing the same, etc. 1394 will be the standard for a long, long while.

If you're using an external DVD recorder as in a 'set-top' unit, Sony does only talk to the recorder via firewire. But...the computer is firewire out, and Sony DVD Architect sees most of the externals as just that; a DVD burner. If it's an internal DVD burner, it uses a different access, and it's visible in most every DVD authoring tool. Does that clarify a bit for you?

Anyone out there know of a dealer in the US for the Xdream lenses? I need 4 of them yesterday, and haven't been able to make contact with them in Germany. 37mm mount is what I'm after.

Your life was always in your hands, unless all eight of those were tandems. Yeah, that's so. I guess what I meant was that I was trusting him to impart the information I needed to graduate. I actually re-started the class with a different instructor and there were several things I'd not been taught in the first class.

I went AFF plus a bit of tunnel time. AFF worked well for me. I don't know if one discipline is better than the other because I've obviously not experienced them, but AFF seems to be very popular. Gather all the information you can, at jump school be sure to ask lots of questions, and be confident in your instructor(s). If you don't feel confidence in the instructor, if they intimidate you, if they feel a need to skip over...don't be afraid to ask about another instructor. My first instructor at one dropzone was constantly taking calls on his cell while I was in the class, so I left that class and got another. My life is in his hands until I make my 8th jump, so I wanted to be sure the instructor was focused on me, not his upcoming competition. I'm very much a newcomer too, but was only in AFF a month back and already have over 60 jumps, so be prepared to get addicted. But safety is first, obviously.

there is a tutorial on just this at: www.vasst.com/training/ohci.htm

For the record, you didn't cause the drama. That was someone else. I too, ordered the DVDs (both of them) Looking forward to watching them. Regarding the rest of your post, I agree. Coaches, tunnel time, video of the jump, talking to more experienced skydivers that have exhibited maturity and knowledge...all have added up to a great jump experience and useful input to help better your own skills. Tunnel camp is on my Xmas list too, because I don't fly the plane in winter, and the DZ here closes down too. Winter is the best time for those of us that live at high altitude. Looking forward to receiving that T-shirt, Matt.

Hydroguy isn't being confrontational, he's being sensible. He's not freaked out over someone watching a vid. Gotta say though, your passion for something so small suggests you're probably either incredibly good at what you do, or incredibly deluded. Passion does that. But it's just a $40.00 video. Actually, $80.00, cuz I bought two. But I bought "Willing to Fly" as well, so maybe my 130.00 purchase will get me 4 mins of tunnel time value, and at the end, I'll be able to train my own falcon, too. Or she'll teach me to fly. Like I said before...sit back, relax, take a deep breath, and drink some green tea. Watch a vid. Just not one on sit or back flying. Maybe all that time in the tunnel has warped your sense of being a nice person? Socialize more. It's good for the soul.

I wasn't the one claiming to be able to have a solid sit and "pretty good" headdown at 50 jumps. At 50 jumps you don't even know, what you don't know yet about freeflying and its dangers. Neither did I claim to have a solid sit, now did I? Are you sure I've only got 50 jumps? Have you ever seen someone have a headdown reserve deployment first-hand? I have; it's not pretty. Umm...No....haven's seen it. On the other hand, I have done a head down deployment very early on and blew my brand-new Silhouette in half. So I've got an idea.The bruises and pain were a lesson in themselves. What you dismiss as arrogance is experience talking. What I dismiss as arrogance is arrogance. You're right, I don't know anywhere neareverything there is to know, and likely a lot I don't know yet that I don't know. And I make no claim to the contrary. You attribute that to jump numbers, because you're more interested in using those as a gauge of merit when in truth, it doesn't hold the importance you assign to it. Nor do you know who I'm jumping with, what they've accomplished, what they watch, teach, criticize, offer, and help with. Nor are you aware of other related or non-related experience I may or may not have. Believe it or not, there really are others out there who are exceptionally talented, aside from whatever talent you may or may not have. But you apparently have all the answers, "dude." Ironic. My instructor has 7500+ jumps, most as a freeflyer. She constantly tells me how much she learns with each flight. But I'm supposed to pay attention to you and your 500? She read this thread and just walked away shaking her head. Same as I now need to do. Do you always get this worked up over someone wanting to view a DVD on a subject in which they are interested? If so, I deeply pity you.It's gotta suck to be that pathetic. Since you don't fly with me, you've got nothing to worry about. It's just a DVD that *I* bought. You don't have to watch it with me. Relax. Take a deep, calming breath. Step away from the computer. Drink less caffeine. Sleep more. Life is short as it is. Misbehave a little if it helps you blow off stress.

Daniel, maybe this will help you...I'm an often unlucky guy. I'll probably die being stupid, asleep at the wheel, or showing off under a canopy. Like many skydivers, I ride a motorcycle (too fast), I paraglide (in inappropriate winds) I scuba dive (and don't decompress as long as I should), and I do dumb things like try to head-down fly when I don't have the correct skills I need. I used to ride buckin' horses too. And in virtually all of these extreme activities, you have to sign a blanket death waiver saying that you, and you alone are responsible for what may take place. You are responsible for the decision to put on the rig that the packer may have accidentally put the bag in upside down, closed the flaps in the wrong order, left the PC uncocked, looped the bridle the wrong way, stowed the toggles improperly, etc. He/she may have done ALL of those things, but YOU chose to put the rig on, right? YOU choose to jump from the plane wearing it. On top of that, in just over 50 rides in the past month, i've: -had a tandem cutaway on my first jump (this was due to a demonstrated packing error) -had line twists from riser to nose, slider couldn't come down for nearly 2000 feet after deployment. This *could* have been a packer, but likely was as much my lack of deceleration after being in sit-fly and not noticing altitude until I hit 4500. I was going around 140 according to my Altitrack. Either way, I didn't remember to use my hands to pull my risers until I'd been kick-twisting for nearly 1000 feet. I drove myself below the decision altitude point but recovered. I made an adult decision to stick with it for 500 feet more, because I was moving fairly slowly by then. -was hit from above by another skydiver dicking around trying to show me CRW (except I wasn't aware he was gonna do that, and it's scary when another skydiver hooks his foot into your canopy if you've never had that happen), -I witnessed a near-fatal mid-air collision between two skydivers yesterday as they were jumping a celebrity passenger and were too close to the tandem (skydiver error). Both tandem master and camera person are in serious pain, one with a slice on his neck that looks like it came out of a morgue. It's black, blue, bloody, and this guy has 10,000 jumps, 35 years in the sport, and patents in the industry. But he f@#$! up. And realized his error once he hit the ground. It's a very dangerous sport. If you can't take totlal, utter, complete, undeniable trust in yourself, in the ability of the instructor to provide you with information that you'll use to save your life in the event of a malfunction, bad wind, high speed bird flying by in your face, or jump plane failure, then you honestly should not consider moving forward at all in this sport. Packers have errors, usually causing lineovers, horseshoes, hard openings, or missing hackeys. YOU need to: watch them pack so you know they're doing the job. Learn to pack yourself so you are solely responsible trust that no one wants to kill you when you are on the ground. In the air, EVERYONE wants to kill you. Every other skydiver is your enemy. When two bodies are moving in the same airspace at 130mph, each is wary of the other. You look out for each other, but know that they care more about their own ass than they do yours in most instances. At 130 mph, if either of you screws up, chances are very good you'll be dead. Most people that are seriously injured or die in this sport do so because they forget the rules, because they are showing off, because they are attempting something new without proper prior investigation, or because they forgot to check their gear. It's not like the supermarket where you go and pick up a product and buy it without looking. You MUST learn to check out your rig, looking at everything your instructor teaches you to look for. You MUST ask a lot of questions because it's YOUR ass you're required to protect. You MUST be constantly aware of your gear, yourself, and the environment. If you're asking these questions now, then you have no trust in the people in the sport. No one wants to kill you intentionally, unless your ex-spouse works at the DZ, then maybe you've got something to worry about. If you have no trust in the people in the sport, they can't reciprocate. They won't trust you. And they'll tell you next to nothing. And you'll be in a dangerous space if you don't "get it." This is a sport that with careful planning, every precaution taken, experience remembered, and all aspects diligently checked, problems can still occur with fatal or serious consequences. It's called "shit happens." Winds can nail you, snakes bite you on landing, you might get struck by lightning, you might land on someone's pike-topped fence, you could find yourself landing in a river and drowning, your leg harness could catch part of your manhood and cause pain beyond imagination (I have personal experience with this one, still blue 3 weeks later) you could have a rental rig that has a loose leg and you didn't check it and you fall out, etc, etc. etc. Most of it boils down to you. Skydiving is mostly about two things, IMO. 1. Learning to trust yourself in the air, allowing you to be in the moment, not worrying about what happened earlier, and not what's gonna happen later today. 2. Social life with other skydivers. Learning from them, experiencing their experiences vicariously, seeing a different world through the eyes of identically crazy but well-meaning people. Daniel, I implore you...if this is the "where" you're starting from, you need to go back to GO and re-roll the dice, and skip this particular adventure. Skydiving isn't for everyone at all, and if you start off questioning the wisdom that has allowed this sport to be established, you could find yourself in the air questioning the wisdom that has allowed you to save yourself. Almost too late. You are completely in charge, the boss, the jefe, the king of the world, GOD when you're in the air between earth and exit. If you are contemplating anything outside of landing safely, then you should not be in the sport. If when the plane leaves the ground you don't have confidence in your rig and your ability to manage it, you should not be doing this. If you have second thoughts about the wisdom of throwing your body out of a plane that isn't burning or about to crash, then you should listen to that voice. I'm still very much a newbie at skydiving, but have lived most of my adult life in the sky in some form or fashion. Always, you are responsible. Just don't do it. And feel good about the fact that even if you don't complete AFF and you go on in life to be whatever you're gonna be, and whatever activity you choose, know that for even a few hours, you were among the elite daredevils of the world, and that you've already accomplished something that many people only dream about. And for the rest of your life, you'll know you've taken off in more airplanes than landed in them. Long post, but Daniel, we're talking about your life here. If you can't be totally, unerringly, and emotionally devoted to your confidence in yourself and trust in others...then you shouldn't be doing this. At least not right now. Remember, blue skies are always there, even many years down the road. I had a jump at 22 years, btw, and was scared pissless. Wondered about it for 20 years. Now I'm aggressively in the sport at age 44. Maybe your time is later. There is no shame in walking away.

Matt, you're absolutely entitled to your opinion. You could offer me all the free advice in the world, but coaches that are filled with themselves usually end up wasting my dime while they show off, thinking they're "teaching" me something. Been there, done that, not interested. Did I say I was *good?* Did I suggest that I don't believe I have tremendous room for improvement? Or did I suggest that I've learned to perform the moves that get me into the initial positions required to be able to sitfly? Your arrogance is astounding. Hmm...coupla grand to travel to a tunnel for a coupla days with the chance of "coaching" from a smarta$$ like you, or XXX no-cost flights in my plane plus a 40.00 video.... Gee...tough choice, yeah? I've learned from kids with 20 jumps that kick ass over skydivers with hundreds of jumps. Number of jumps isn't an indicator of body control, merely an indicator of many times you've chucked your body out of an airplane and walked away. There are absolutely world-class freefly coaches out there, guys like L. Bates who live in a tunnel in winter and coach/compete in summer. The guy is a total star, but you'd never know it, because he treats everyone with respect. In all my flights with him, I've never once heard him utter a bad word, or condescending tone to anyone, "dude." On the other hand, it's summer and maybe I like a 40.00 video late at night when I'm relaxing and want to fill my brain with something other than "American Idol." Since I'm in the sport for self-enjoyment, I don't care much about competition. As a coach at SkyVenture Colorado, you're definitely the kind of ambassador their competition needs. Hopefully a lot of people view this thread. You'd be wise to make fewer assumptions about who you're pissing at, "dude."

....given that I've already learned to sitfly and fly headdown quite well as a solo, ground coach, reading books, this forum, talking to others, practicing on the ground, and having a few minutes tunnel time in Orlando... What I'm struggling with is my transitions, and I'm pleased to watch a video that costs me very little in comparison to visiting a tunnel where I don't know the people, have no reason to have faith in their teaching abilities, let alone the time off of work. Whether you agree or not, I see it as a valid investment in myself and my skills, as opposed to driving off to an unknown. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe you're wrong, but bottom line is it's my dime. If I glean ONE thing from the information presented in the DVDs, then I'm ahead already. Tunnel time is probably a better investment when I have the money and time required to travel. For now, 40.00 isn't much. Being condescended to doesn't bolster my confidence in SkyVenture Colorado, either. Condescending coaches don't sit well with me. Just my .02 as a poor indigenous skydiver.

I got no problem with doing both. Nearest tunnel is 9 hours away in Las Vegas. Nearest DVD player is an arms length away. I'm confident I can learn from both. Thanks for the pointers, guys!

I guess it would be dependent on several factors, but here in Utah, most cutaways end up at least a mile out due to seriously shifting winds around 1500 feet as a result of the Great Salt Lake, freeway, and farms. (grass to water/concrete) A tandem rig once fell somewhat near the runway, but the others I've seen were significantly farther than 600 feet. One was approx 1.5 miles. Then again, it's also very flat around the DZ with no forest or tree areas.

with a range of only 600 feet....it seems to be less than ideal, no?

Where can I find these DVDs? They're not listed on the classifieds?

ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 will this have any bearing on my ability to link my laptop to a dvd recorder via firewire? jt No, just on how fast or slow you can render. Which you will have to do anyway... I just got a new laptop 4 days ago: dual core 2400, g-force go 256 mb, 1gb ram, 2x 80gb 5400 rpm harddrives. And it is FAST

Do you know which WA lenses have the least barrel distortion (while maintaining the high resolution suitable for HDV)? Thanks! There really isn't one. BandPro says they've got one under test for the A1 (which would work for the HC1) but I've only seen a little info on it. You might call Jeff at 16x9 and ask him if it's shipping yet. You can download a res aspect chart, shoot it, and find the "sweet spot" of the lens you've got. I'm confident that you're confusing the DSP, causing the "tunnel" that gives you color timing errors.

Illegal to use the emergency flares in Utah, don't know about other states tho. Not terribly related, but I was going to buy a Silhouette 200 from a demo jumper here that only has 150 jumps on it. There are several small burn "marks" from flares on it, and a couple of small patches in the nose from flying "thru" other jumper's smoke. On my first jump with it, it blew up with a 3" hole in the top of the canopy. Rigger figures fabric was weakened by a small burn and it tore from there.

Since everyone else has answered most of your questions, I'll only comment that I'm at Skydive Utah virtually every day. Today, I went to Skydive Ogden for the second time, was told to give it another shot after a really poor experience the first time. Since Hill AirForce base was having their big airshow, we went over. It was a repeat of our last experience. I'll keep going to Tooele instead. (Skydive Utah) They've got a great FJC, my partner just started it,. Certification/novice status is nowhere near 1300.00 at Skydive Utah. Call Heather or Debbie; they'll give you the scoop. They also just took on 2 new AFF instructors, both very communicative and capable guys. I think they've got around 10 AFF people there. Yes, you can certify on a weekend, except they don't do jumpschool on Sat. You can do your second tandem on a Friday, start jump school on Friday, jump again on Friday, and finish your AFF on Sat. That's about what I did. Took me Sat/Sun/Mon to complete it all. I took jump school after having several tandems in Hawaii. PM me if you need any other Skydive Utah info.

Irishflygirl, I'm happy to help, drop me a PM or other mail. Your first jump DVD can be salvaged, most likely. Making a copy with a Miranda extraction, or with any nuimber of similar tools, will get you a new copy. It can then be reauthored, etc.