ALEXA Mini SUP 5 · Release Notes All data subject to change without further notice. A. Introduction We are proud to announce the release of Software Update Package 5.4 for the ALEXA

R E L E A S E N O T E S

ALEXAMiniSUP5.4SoftwareUpdatePackageSUP5.4.13

Date:August17th,2018

ALEXAMiniSUP5.4 Page2of10ReleaseNotes Alldatasubjecttochangewithoutfurthernotice.

TableofContents

A.Introduction..........................................................................................................................3 OverviewofFeaturesIntroducedwithSUP5.4....................................................................3 ChangestoPreviousVersions...............................................................................................3 UpdateInformation..............................................................................................................3 Downgrading.........................................................................................................................3 AdditionalSoftware...............................................................................................................3

B.NewFeaturesinSUP5.4........................................................................................................4 SupportofMVF-1withnewViewfinderPanel......................................................................4 MasterGripsStatusIndication..............................................................................................4 ImprovedTimecodeBehaviourinRegenMode....................................................................4 CenterMarkOption“SmallCross”........................................................................................5

C.KnownIssues.........................................................................................................................6 KnownIssuesFixedinSUP5.4..............................................................................................6 KnownIssuesinSUP5.4........................................................................................................6

D.UpdateProcedure...............................................................................................................10 DownloadandRegistrationProcess....................................................................................10 HowtodownloadaSoftwareUpdatePackage...................................................................10 CameraUpdateProcedure..................................................................................................10


A.IntroductionWeareproudtoannouncethereleaseofSoftwareUpdatePackage5.4fortheALEXAMini.ThisversionexpandsfunctionsfortheALEXAMiniasindicatedbelow.SUP5.4includesimportantbugfixesandmajorimprovementsandwestronglyrecommendinstallingthisupdateatyourearliestconvenience.Wehighlyrecommendthatyoutakeyourtimetogothroughthesereleasenotesandtheknownissuessectionofthisdocumentbeforeyoustartusingthecamera.Ifyouhavenotdonesoalready,pleasemakesureyouregisteryourALEXAMiniusingouronlinecustomerregistration.Yourregistrationensuresthatyoureceiveinformationaboutfuturesoftwareupdatesassoonastheyareavailable.Youcanfindtheregistrationhere.Formoreinformation,pleasevisitwww.arri.com/alexamini.ForalistingofanswerstofrequentlyaskedquestionspleasevisittheALEXAMiniFAQs.IfyouhavequestionsorfeedbackregardingALEXAMinipleasefeelfreetocontactus.

OverviewofFeaturesIntroducedwithSUP5.4

§ SupportofMVF-1withnewViewfinderPanelStartingwithserialno.12000,theALEXAMiniMVF-1includesanewOLEDviewfinderpanel,offeringnewbrightnesssettings120,200and300Nits.

§ MasterGripsStatusIndication

§ ImprovedTimecodeBehaviourinRegenMode

§ CenterMarkOption“SmallCross”

ChangestoPreviousVersions§ Menu>Userbuttons>MasterGripsuserbuttonshasbeenrenamedtoLBUSdeviceuserbuttons

UpdateInformationCamerasshouldalwaysrunthelatestSUPsoyoucanbenefitfromthelatestimprovements,featuresandbugfixes.However,wedonotrecommendinstallinganewSUPinthemiddleofaproduction.Detailedinstructionsfortheupdateprocesscanbefoundattheendofthisdocument.SUP5.4containsupdatesforallcomponents,includingtheviewfinder.Theupdatemaytakesignificantlylongerthanpreviousupdates.Theviewfinderwillswitchoffintheprocessanddoesn’tgiveavisualfeedbackoftheupdateallthetime.Makesurenottopoweroffthecameraduringfirmwareupdate.

DowngradingDowngradingtoSUP4isonlypossibleonceinarow.SUP5.4includeshardwarerelatedupdatesthatdonotallowinstallingSUP4asecondtime.IfyouhavedowngradedtoSUP4andforsomereasontheinstallationcouldnotbecompleted,youneedtoinstallSUP5againbeforeyoucandowngradeandinstallSUP4again.ForadowngradetoapreviousSUPversion,thelicensefileoftheinstalledandofthepreviousversion(mini_fw_update_aes_x.x.x.lic)needtobeavailableontheUSBmemorystickunder/ARRI/A-MINI/LICENSES/.

AdditionalSoftwareARRIrecommendsupdatingARRIRAWConverter(ARC)version3.4.5orlowertoversion3.5orhigherwhenusedwithSUP5.xfiles,especiallywhenusinguserpixelmapsandwhenHDRlooksareusedfortheprojectcolormanagement.ThenewHDRcolorspaces,Rec-2100PQandRec-2100HLG,areincorrectlyinterpretedasREC709inpreviousARCversions.Thiscanleadtoincorrectimagecolorprocessingandcolorspacemetadataintheexportedrenderedfiles.


B.NewFeaturesinSUP5.4

SupportofMVF-1withnewViewfinderPanelAllALEXAMiniMVF-1fromserialno.12000onwardshaveanewOLEDviewfinderpanelbuiltin,becausethepreviouslyinstalledviewfinderOLEDpanelisnolongeravailable.ThisnewviewfinderpanelwillonlydisplayanimagewhenusedwithSUP5.4andhigher,andwillnotdisplayanimagewithversionsbelowSUP5.4.Thepanelcomeswithanewcalibrationandnewbrightnesssetting,withoptions120,200and300Nits.EVFgammaisfixedandequivalenttotheLiftedsettingoftheprecedingviewfinderpanel.Thefactorydefaultbrightnesssettingis120Nits.AllexistingMVF-1willnotbeaffectedbythischange,andwillcontinuetofunctionasbefore.

MENU>Monitoring>EVF/Monitor>Settings>EVFbrightness

MasterGripsStatusIndicationThestatusinfolensdataoverlaysforiris,focusandfocallengthnowindicatewhetherornotanARRIMasterGripcontrolsalensaxis.AssoonasaMasterGripgainscontroloveranaxis,thenameofthecorrespondingoverlayishighlightedwhite(examplebelow:Irisaxis):

IrisnotundercontrolofMasterGrip

IriscontrolledbyMasterGrip

ThisindicationisespeciallyusefulwhenusingoneMasterGriptocontrolfocusandiris,switchingbetweenbothaxes.

ImprovedTimecodeBehaviourinRegenModeCompatibilitywithSMPTEcompliantgeneratorsthathavecausedintermittentwarningsinthepasthasbeenimprovedforRegenmode.StartingwithSUP5.0thecameraappliedastrictqualitycontrolonthetimecodesignaltoensurethatthesourcewouldworkwithJAMSyncmodeandtuning.ThischeckhaspartlybeenremovedinREGENmodetosupportgeneratorsthatcomplywithSMPTEspecifications,butdonotmatchtherequirementsfortuningthecamera.Asaconsequencesometimecoderelatedwarningswillnotshowanymoresothatoperatorswillhavetotakegreatercarethatthetimecodesignalappliedtothecamerawillmatchtheprojectsetup.Thewarningsthatwon’tshowinRegenmodeanymoreare:

§ LTCInframerateisincompatiblewithprojectframerate(mixingintegerandnon-integerframerates)§ LTCIndropframeconfigurationmismatch(camerausesdropframe,sourcedoesnotorviceversa)

InbothcasesthecamerawillnowshowthewarningTimecodesynchronizationisrequired.§ LTCInframeratediffersfromprojectrate(mixingintegerormixingnon-integerframerates)


CenterMarkOption“SmallCross”ThecentermarksettingforEVFandSDIhasbeenextendedwiththeoptionSmallCross.

MENU>Monitoring>EVF/Monitor>EVFOverlays>CentermarkMENU>Monitoring>SDI>SDIprocessing>Overlays>Centermark


C.KnownIssues

KnownIssuesFixedinSUP5.4FollowingknownissueshavebeenresolvedintheSUP5.4release:

§ AudioplaybackonSDIoutputsandheadphoneoutmaybenonlinearwhenplayingbackProResclipswithprojectrate59.94p.

KnownIssuesinSUP5.4ThisisalistofknownissuesfortheSUP5.4softwarepackage.

Accessories

•RecordStart/StoponCanonHJ18B4lensIncasethestart/stopfunctionontheCanonHJ18B4lensisnotworkingwiththeARRIB4MountandconnectedHirosecable,pleaseexecutea"Resetall"onthelens.

EXTSync

•ChangingSDIsettingswhilerunningoffsyncspeedTheSDIoutsmightnotbeinsynctoeachotheranymorewhenSDIsettings(SDIframerate,SDIformatand/orSDIimage)arechangedwhilethecamerasarerunningoffspeed(sensorfps!=projectfps)inEXTsyncmode.Inthiscasechangethesensorfpssettingbackandforthonthemastercameratore-establishSDIoutsync.

•FalsealertswithslavecamerasconnectedbutnotyetconfiguredFalsealertstatesareissuedwhenslavecamerasareconnectedtoamastercamerabutarenotyetconfiguredasslavecamera.WhensettingupanEXTsynccluster,firstenableallslavecamerasandmasterlast.

FrameGrab

•FramegrabsdonotworkduringplaybackofinterlacedS16orHDclipswhenplaybackispaused.Inordertoperformaframegrabrewind,hitplayanddotheframegrabattheappropriateposition.

•FramegrabsfromARRIRAWplaybackFramegrabstakenfromARRIRAWplaybackmayexhibitdifferencesinpixelbrightnessontheedgesoftheframe.

Inputs/Outputs

•SDIoutputswhenusingtimecodesyncWhenusingatimecodesignalassyncsource,theSDIoutputsmaynotbepreciselyinsynctothesyncsource.ForpreciseSDIoutsynctosyncsourcepleaseuseatri-levelgenlocksignal.

•Monitoringin3.2Kwith1.3xanamorphicdesqueezeEVF/MonitorandSDIoutputsmayshowscalingartifactsin3.2Krecordingmodewith1.3xanamorphicdesqueezeenabled.Theartifactsarelimitedtothemonitoringoutputs,theydonotaffecttherecordings.

•1.3xanamorphicdesqueezeisnotavailableforUHDSDIoutput1.3xanamorphicdesqueezeisnotappliedtoUHDSDIoutput4226G,DL4226Gand4223GDL.

•MomentaryimagelossonSDIoutputswhenconnectingasyncsourceTheSDIoutputsre-synchronizewhenconnectingagenlockortimecodesource.Whilere-synchronizingashortimagelossmayoccur.


•1.3xanamorphicdesqueezeisnotavailableforEVFzoom1.3xanamorphicdesqueezeisnotappliedtotheEVFzoomimage.

•TemporaryimagelossonSDIoutputswhenconfiguring6GWhenchangingtheSDIoutputto6G,orwhenchangingtheSDIoutputfrom6Gtoanotherformat,bothSDIoutputsmayexhibitashortimageloss.

Media

•ProtectionagainstcrossplatformCFast2.0formattingissuesOnlyCFast2.0cardsthathavebeenerasedonALEXAMiniorAMIRArunningSUP4.0(orhigher)canbeusedforrecording.ThisisforprotectionagainstissuescausedbydifferentCFast2.0formattingschemesusedbyothercamerasmanufacturers.

Metadata

•TiltandrollmetadatanotaccurateTiltandrollvaluesinmetadatamaynotbeaccurateenoughtobeusedforVFXapplications.

Playback

•ClipswithHDRlooksburned-inwillnotbecorrectlydisplayedonMVFandEVFWhenplayingbackaclipthathasaHDRlookburned-in,itwillnotbecorrectlydisplayedonMVFandEVF,sincebotharenotHDRcapableandnotone-mappingisapplied.Thisisamonitoringproblemonlyanddoesnotaffecttherecordedfootage.However,wegenerallydonotrecommendburninginlookswhenshootingHDRcontent.

•InternalcameraplaybackofProRes4444XQclipsIncameraplaybackofProRes4444XQclipsmayshowjitterorahorizontallydividedframe.Therecordedclipisfine.

•InPausemode,interlacedclipsonlyshowhalfverticalresolutionThisbehaviorcanonlybeobservedwhenplaybackismonitoredontheSDIoutputs.

•BrowsingcliplistwithcamerabuttonsmaynotupdateclipselectioninmonitorUsingthebuttonsonthecamerabodyforbrowsingtheplaybackcliplist,maynotupdatetheselectionoftheclipinthecliplistdisplayedintheviewfindermonitor.

•InterlacedclipsjitterverticallywhenplayedbackwithSDIoutputnotsettointerlaced.ThisonlyaffectstheplaybackinSDI,therecordingiscorrect.MakesuretoalwaysmatchSDItheoutputconfigurationtotheprojectconfiguration(e.g.:60iclipstobeplayedbackwith60iSDIoutput).

•ActivatingPlaybackdoesnotdisablepeakingPleasedisablepeakingmanuallyincaseyoudonotwantpeakingduringplayback.

Recording

•CamerasometimesdoesnotprompttoformatanonARRI_UDFCFastcardWhiletheMVFDisplayissettoliveviewmode,thecamerawillnotprompttoformataCFastcard,eventhefilesystemonthecardisnottheARRI_UDFfilesystem,butFAT32,ExFATorother.

•StartrecordingfromplaybackinMPEGorARRIRAWmodeStartingaMPEGorARRIRAWrecordingdirectlyfromplaybackcanfailwitherrormessage:"RecordingstoppedduetoFPGAfailure.Pleaserebootcamera."Pleaseexitplaybackbeforestartingtorecord.

•StartrecordingfromplaybackStartingarecordingdirectlyfromplaybackmaynotwork.Inthiscaseasecondpressoftherecordbuttonisnecessary.


•IncorrectremainingtimedisplayedinintervalrecordingUsinghighercapacityCFast2.0cardsforintervalrecordingmaycausewrongremainingtimedisplay.

•NoiseReductionin"Strong"modeThe"Strong"modeinNoiseReduction(availableinS16HD,3.2K,4:32.8Kand4KUHD)mayresultinimageartifactswithfastmovingobjects.Werecommendtestingthisaccordinglybeforeusing"Strong"mode.

•PowerlossduringrecordwithCFast2.0cardsACFast2.0cardmayneedtobereformattedwhenitisremovedduringrecordingorintheeventofasuddenpowerlossoccurswhilethecameraiswritingtothecard.Thecamerawillindicatetheerrorwithawarningmessage.Pleasefollowtheinstructionsinthewarningtoavoiddamagetothecardorfurtherrecordings.Noactionisrequiredifnowarningisdisplayed.PleasecontactARRIserviceformoreinformationorifyouencounteranyfurtherissues.

•LimitedscalingqualityinHD-SDIoutputswhenrecordingin2KTheresultingimagequalityisconsideredassufficientformonitoringbutmaybelimitedforrecordingthesignalasthemasterrecord.Thisisduetothedownscalingofthe2KresolutiontoHD.PleasesettherecordingformattoHDwhenrecordingHDontheHD-SDIoutputasmasterrecord.

•Errormessageformaximumclipsize.Onveryrareoccasions,thecameramaystoprecordingandreport"Recordingstopped-maximumclipsizereached".ThiscanonlyoccurwithimagecontentthathasverylittledetailandusingacodecwithlowdataratelikeProResLT.

•ChangingExposureIndexorWhiteBalanceduringrecordWhenchangingExposureIndexorWhiteBalanceduringrecorditispossiblethatasingleframecontainstwodifferentimagecharacteristics.

•LimitedamountofreelsonCFast2.0cardsRecordingonCFast2.0cardsislimitedto15reelspercardinProResandARRIRAWMXF.Ifthemaximumnumberofreelsisreached,recordingisstillpossibleifnofurtherreelneedstobecreated.

SUPUpdate

•TimezoneanddaylightsavingtimearesettodefaultwiththeSUPupdate.PleasemakesuretosettimezoneanddaylightsavingtimeaftertheSUPupdate.

Timecode

•SyncingmultiplecamerasusingtimecodeWhensyncingmultiplecamerasusingtimecodesyncandtimecodemoderegen,someoftherecordedclipsmayexhibitatimecodeoffsetofoneframewithprojectratesabove30fps.

•SyncingthesensorviaLTCtimecoderequiresaprecisiontimecodegeneratorAprecisiongeneratorwithlowjitterisrequiredwhenusinganLTCtimecodesignaltogenlockthecamera.DevicesthatworkwithoutaproblemasstandardLTCtimecodesourcemaynotworkasLTCgenlocksource.

Usability

•MotorcalibrationrequestwhenlensfileiseditedonWCU-4WheneditinganactiveLDAlensfileonWCU-4andaLDSlensisattached,thecameraissuesalensmotorcalibrationrequest.Inthiscaseyouhavetocalibratethemotorsonceagainbeforeeditingthelensfile.

•TheWaveformexposuretoolissilentlydisabledwhenoutputprocessingissettoALEXAClassic709ALEXAClassic709outputprocessingwhileshootingHDRcontentdoesnotworkwiththewaveformexposuretoolandissilentlydisabled.UserbuttonsandtheEXPbuttonontheMVF-1viewfinderwillhavenoeffect.


•CAPserverframegrabwhilecameraisinplaybackAframegrabtriggeredthroughCAPserverduringinternalcameraplaybackgrabsaliveimagefromthesensorinsteadofaplaybackimage.

•TiltandrollreadingsinstatusoverlaysElectronichorizonoverlayandtiltandrolloverlaymayshowfalsereadingsifthecameraorientationdoesnotallowforadequatecalculationofeitherrollortiltvalue.

•UpdatedEFmountsnotcompatiblewithSUP4releaseRevertingthecamerasoftwaretoSUP4doesnotdowngradetheEFmountsoftware.AnEFmountthathasbeenupdatedwithSUP5.xwillnotworkinthatcase.

•SimultaneoususeoftimecodemodejamsyncandgenlocksyncisnotsupportedWhenusingtimecodemodejamsyncorwhenusinggenlocksync,thecameraadjustsit'sinternaloscillatortomatchthesourceclock.Henceusingacombinationoftimecodemodejamsyncandgenlockisnotsupported.

•MirrorimageverticalflipisnotappliedtoframegrabWhenusingthemirrorimagesetting,onlythehorizontalflipisappliedtotheframegrab.

•AnamorphicdesqueezecannotbedeactivatedformonitoringwithsomeformatsAnamorphicdesqueezecannotbedeactivatedformonitoringwiththeProResHDAna.and2:39:12KAna.recordingformats.

•UsersetupscreatedwithearlierSUPsarenotcompatiblewithSUP5.xUsersetupscreatedwithSUP4orearlierSUPscannotbeloadedwithSUP5.x

•Starlite-HD5ARRIcanchangesettingsortriggerarecordingevenifUIisnotdisplayedonscreen.IftheStarlite-HD5ARRIisconnectedtoaSDIoutputshowing"CLEAN"output,settingsmaybechangedwithoutnoticewhentouchingtherespectiveareasonthescreen.PleasemakesuretheStarlite-HD5ARRIisconnectedtoanSDIoutputthatissetto"PROCESSED"toseethetouchinterface.

Viewfinder

•CalibrationappliedtensecondsafterinitialconnectionWhenconnectingaMVF-1withthenewOLEDviewfinderpanelbuiltinforthefirsttime,itmighttakeuptotensecondsbeforethenewviewfindercalibrationisloadedandapplied.

•Viewfindermayshowscalingartifactsin4:32.8KmodewithanamorphicdesqueezeTheartifactsarelimitedtotheviewfindermonitoring,theydonotaffecttherecordings.

•ForMVF-1uptoserialnumber2150whicharenotupgradedtotheneweyepieceTheviewfindersometimesmaynotswitchonasitusesaproximitysensortoactivatetheOLEDdisplayonlywhiletheeyepieceisinuse.ApproachingtheMVFatanunfavorableanglemaycauseitnottotriggerproperly.

•ZOOMorSURROUNDVIEWatverylowframeratesTheMVF-1/MONITOR'simagemomentarilyfadeswheneitherzoomorsurroundviewgetactivatedorde-activatedatverylowframerates(below5fps).


D.UpdateProcedure

DownloadandRegistrationProcessYoucanfindtheSoftwareUpdatePackage(SUP)intheALEXAMinidownloadsection.YouneedtoregisteryourALEXAMinicamera,alongwithyourcameraserialnumber,toaccesstheSoftwareUpdatePackage(SUP)download.ExistingALEXAcustomerswithanactiveaccountforthedownloadsectioncanusethisaccount,unlessotherwiserequested.ASUPcanbeinstalledonthecamerabyusingaUSBstickasdescribedindetailbelow.

HowtodownloadaSoftwareUpdatePackage§ Ifyouhavenotregisteredyet,pleasegototheALEXAMinidownloadsectionandscrolltothe‘ALEXAMini

SoftwareUpdatePackagex.x'section(where‘x.x’istheversionnumberofthedesiredSoftwareUpdatePackage).Click'Please->registertogetanaccount.'TheALEXAMinicustomerregistrationpagewillthenbeopened.

§ Fillintherequesteddataandmakesuretoputintheserialnumber(s)ofyourcamera(s)intheformatofK1.0003873-xxxxx.Don'tforgettoagreetotheregistrationtermsattheendofthepage.

§ Whenyouhitthe'CreateAccount'button,thesystemwillsendyouaconfirmationemailwithalinktoactivateyouraccount.Afterfollowingthelink,awelcomeemailissentcontainingthelogincredentials.Pleaseloginandnavigatetothedownloadsectionagain.

§ Whenaccessingthesoftwarepackagedownload,youwillbeaskedtoagreetothetermsandconditionsofthisdownload.Assoonasyouagreetothesetermsthedownloadlinkisreleased.

CameraUpdateProcedureTheALEXAMinisoftwareisupdatedwithaUSBmemorystick.TheSUPwillupdatetheALEXAMinicameraalongwiththeViewfinder(MVF-1),CCP-1andthelensmount–providedtheyareconnectedtothecamera.

§ Afterthedownload,pleasedoubleclickthedownloadedfile(*.zip)tounpackitorunpackitmanually.Thiswillplacetwoupdatefiles(*.SUPand*.lic)andtheSUPreleasenotesontoyourcomputer.

§ Ifnotdonebeforehand,preparetheUSBmemorystickforusewithALEXAMinibyconnectingittothecamera:pleasenavigatetoMENU>Media>PrepareUSBmediumandpressCONFIRM.ThiswillcreatetherequiredfolderstructureontheUSBstick.

§ ConnecttheUSBsticktoyourcomputerandplacethedownloaded*.SUPfileinthefolderARRI/A-MINI/SUPontheUSBstick.Thenplacethedownloaded*.licfileinthefolderARRI/A-MINI/LICENSESontheUSBstick.

§ Makesurethecameraisconnectedtoacablepowersource,orispoweredwithafullbatterytoavoidpowerlossduringtheupdateprocess.

§ Performafactoryreset.§ RemoveCFastcardfromcamera.§ ConnecttheUSBsticktothecameraandnavigatetoMENU>System>Update.§ SelecttheSUPfilefromthelist.§ Inthefollowingmessage,pressCONFIRMtostarttheinstallation.§ Aftertheupdateprocesshasfinished,asuccessmessageisdisplayed.§ Ifyouhavebeeninstallingtheupdateusingthewebremotemakesureyoucleanyourbrowser’scache,

otherwisethebrowsermaynotshowthewebremoteofthenewsoftwarecorrectly.§ MakesureyousetthecorrecttimezoneintheSystemTimeconfiguration.§ TheMVF-1andthelensmount(s)needtobeattachedtothecamera.SUPsnotonlycontainupdatesforthe

camerabodybutalsoforMVF-1andlensmounts.Toensureflawlessperformance,pleasemakesureyourMVF-1,CCP-1andlensmount(s)areupdatedaswell.

ForadowngradetoapreviousSUPversion,thelicensefileoftheinstalledandofthepreviousversion(amira_fw_update_aes_x.x.x.lic)needtobeavailableontheUSBmemorystickunder/ARRI/A-MINI/LICENSES/.

Documents

ALEXA Mini SUP 5 · Release Notes All data subject to change without further notice. A. Introduction We are proud to announce the release of Software Update Package 5.4 for the ALEXA