Syncing Video and Audio using Tentacles

Testing Tentacles to synchronize via Timecode the video files of my Canon 5D Mark III DSLR to the sound files of my Tascam HD-P2 audio recorder. The camera doesn’t have a TC input, so I record it to the mic input on one of the camera’s audio tracks. The HD-P2 however has a real TC input so I set it to slave to the external TC. In Final Cut Pro the two clips couldn’t be made to match, no matter what I tried. Using the Tentacle Sync software supplied with their hardware however it was really quick to export a perfect clip!

Load the Tentacle Software at Tentacle’s Homepage and have a go with my two original files that you can download here:

[download_link link=”http://mixedtinkerings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/BWF-05.wav”]Audio File[/download_link]

[download_link link=”http://mixedtinkerings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/E87A1546.MOV”]Video File[/download_link]

HD-P2 powered with LiPo

One of the big downsides of the Tascam HD-P2 audio field recorder ist that it runs on 8 AA batteries. They don’t even last a day and it’s not very fast to change them all out in the middle of a production day.

So I decided to make an adapter to connect my 3S 3000mAh LiPos to it. I simply cut up the cord of its AC wall adapter and soldered two XT60 connectors to the open ends. This way, the AC adapter can still be used, but the new short adapter cord is perfect to connect to the LiPos. To be able to detect low voltage in the LiPo cells I simply hooked up a small LiPo alarm to its balance plug.

This setup proved to be very useful and the 3000mAh battery lasts at least one and a half days!