Panasonic Video Mixer Tips
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Please Note:  We DO NOT sell or provide support for video mixers.
We offer instructional videos on the Panasonic MX-50, MX-30 and AVE-7.
Click here for Instructions Videos.

Jitter-free Stills

On either the Panasonic MX-50, MX-30, AVE-7 or AVE-5 video mixer, just turn on the “Paint” (posterization) in the digital effects section of the mixer and leave the Paint level turned all the way down. This digitizes the picture just enough to stabilize any graphics keyed in over it, not to mention the video picture itself if it happens to be frozen still.

In & Out Of Digital Effects

If your video productions become choppy because of the sudden appearance of mosaic, paint, strobe, etc., try feeding your input video source to the same input on both busses (channels), select “Mix” as your transition mode, and engage your digital effects (mosaic, paint, strobe) on only one buss.

Start your video playing on the buss that isn’t “FX’d” and when the time comes to introduce the respective effects, perform a smooth dissolve over to the buss with the effects. This will remove the abruptness associated with merely pushing the mosaic, paint strobe, trail, A/V synchro, etc. right in the middle of a scene.

Calling Up the Demo Modes

On the Panasonic MX-50 video mixer, you flip the switch on the back of the unit to enter the factory demo mode. On the Panasonic AVE-5 video mixer, the demo mode can be accessed by powering it up while simultaneously holding down the WIPE button, the Source 1 button on the “A” buss and the Source 2 button on the “B” buss. On the Panasonic MX-30 video mixer, power it up while holding down the WIPE and MIX buttons. Make sure that you have a video source assigned to both the Source 1 and Source 2 inputs to appreciate each of these mixer’s capabilities.

Marcrovision Defeat

The annoying color and brightness shifting that accompanies pre-recorded video tapes as a copy protection, can be defeated by running the video signal through most mixers (from Panasonic, Videonics, Sony). Though the copying of copyrighted material is illegal, this clean-up process of the video signal, if nothing else, makes viewing the pre-recorded tape less distracting. (On the MX-12, the signal must pass through the “A” buss in order to achieve this effect).

Drop Shadows for All

Since the technique demonstrated on the MX-50 Volume II instructional video (available from Studio 1 Productions) for adding drop shadows to picture-in-picture window wipes can be sized to suit, the procedure will fit the AVE-5/7’s several pre-set sizes of P-I-P. (The Panasonic MX-30 video mixer already comes standard with a drop shadow mode).

Compression in the Still Mode

You can have a compressed still picture in a square wipe pattern by turning on the compression mode with the square wipe and use the T-Bar to size the P-I-P. Press the “still” button for whatever buss is compressed. The P-I-P will freeze, however, once it is pre-sized and frozen, you cannot change its size, but you can change its location with the positioner joystick. As a matter of fact, your can freeze both busses in square wipe compression mode. Just make sure that you use the T-Bar for transitions and not the Auto-Take button (which will dump the freeze). Also, realize that your freeze will be dumped anyway entering or exiting the compression mode.

Buss Switching in the Program Out Section

For straight cuts between the “A” and “B” busses, you can go directly from, let’s say, Source 1 on the “A” buss to Source 3 on the “B” buss by switching at the Program Out section in the upper right-hand corner of the Panasonic MX-50 video mixer and you won’t get the slight digital freezing between cuts, either. This might be the easiest for some of you for live-switch, multiple camera venues. And, available on your “Preview” monitor is the video signal that emits from the “Effect” buss. Essentially, you could pull off a four-camera live-switch shoot with a total of just two monitors: a Preview and a Program. While sending your signal from the “A” buss, just bring down the T-Bar to the “B” buss and set up your next camera shot while viewing it on the Preview monitor.

Time Base Correctors and Video Mixers

If you are using a stand-alone time-base corrector the TBC should always follow the video output of a playback VCR, not after your digital mixer. If possible, connect the appropriate sync cables from the mixer to the “sync in” on the TBC and to the “external sync in” jacks on the playback VCR if it has one. This insures that all three pieces of equipment are “marching to the beat of the same drum.”

Long Video Cable Runs When Live Switching with a Digital Mixer?

I’ve run 150 foot long composite video cables with no problems and speaking with other videographers who do live switching they have run 350 foot long composite cables with very good results. For best results use heavy-duty broadcast composite cable, not Y/C cables. Y/C cables have a tendency to create Chroma shift due to the color portion of the signal and the luminance portion arriving at two different times, this is called Y/C Delay.

More On Composite Video Signals

I am shooting in S-VHS format and feeding my mixer with a S-Video signal. If I come out of a digital mixer with a composite output will I have a regular VHS signal? No. You will still have a high quality S-VHS video signal. However, to get the best dubbing capabilities from S-VHS and Hi8, use the Y/C (S-video) connections. This way, the luminance and Chroma portions of the video signals will remain separated and reduce the chances of “cross-talk” between the Chroma and luminance components.

There is a common misconception that is the type of connections or cables used determines the video format of the signal. Such as composite equals VHS and Y/C equals S-VHS. This is not true. The connection cables do not change the format of a of the signal. In other words, just because you are using a composite cable, doesn’t mean you are not getting a high resolution signal. For example, a composite video output from a Betacam SP source does not mean it will be a VHS signal. What you will have is a very high-quality Betacam SP video signal traveling along a composite video cable. It is only when that signal is recorded onto a VHS VCR that is becomes a VHS video signal.

Please Note:  We DO NOT sell or provide support for video mixers.
We offer instructional videos on the Panasonic MX-50, MX-30 and AVE-7.
Click here for Instructions Videos.