Zaxcom Maxx, Zax-Maxx User Manual

USER MANUAL
Published November 2014
Software Version Maxx 2.13
Zaxcom Zax-Max
Mixer – Recorder - Transmitter
1
KNOW YOUR MAXX .................................................................................................................................................... 6
RONT PANEL ........................................................................................................................................................................... 6
F L
EFT SIDE ................................................................................................................................................................................. 9
R
IGHT SIDE ............................................................................................................................................................................. 10
R
EAR ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 11
H
OME SCREEN / METERS .......................................................................................................................................................... 12
H
OME SCREEN EXPLAINED ........................................................................................................................................................ 14
Time Code ....................................................................................................................................................................... 14
Headphone Selection ...................................................................................................................................................... 14
Battery Indicator ............................................................................................................................................................. 14
Save Indicator ................................................................................................................................................................. 14
Card Information Field .................................................................................................................................................... 14
MAIN MENU ............................................................................................................................................................. 15
METADATA PAGE ...................................................................................................................................................... 15
PLAYBACK CONTROL PAGE ........................................................................................................................................ 16
RECORD CARD / MIRROR MENU ................................................................................................................................ 17
M
IRROR MODE OPTIONS .......................................................................................................................................................... 17
W
RITE SOUND REPORT ............................................................................................................................................................. 17
P
RIMARY RECORD MENU .......................................................................................................................................................... 18
Choose Primary Folder .................................................................................................................................................... 18
Delete Last Primary Segment .......................................................................................................................................... 19
Format CF Card ............................................................................................................................................................... 19
ISO Attenuation............................................................................................................................................................... 19
ISO Attenuation Enable ................................................................................................................................................... 20
Edit Current Folder Name ............................................................................................................................................... 20
M
IRROR ENABLES .................................................................................................................................................................... 20
M
IRROR SETTINGS MENU ......................................................................................................................................................... 21
Mirror Mode ................................................................................................................................................................... 21
Folder to Mirror .............................................................................................................................................................. 21
Start Segment ................................................................................................................................................................. 21
End Segment ................................................................................................................................................................... 21
File Type Select ............................................................................................................................................................... 22
File Resolution Select ...................................................................................................................................................... 22
File Naming Style............................................................................................................................................................. 22
M
IRROR OPTIONS .................................................................................................................................................................... 22
RECORD ROUTING ..................................................................................................................................................... 23
FADER ASSIGN MATRIX ............................................................................................................................................. 24
S
ETTING A FADER ASSIGN CROSS POINT ........................................................................................................................................ 24
MEMORY MENU ....................................................................................................................................................... 25
S
TORE / RECALL MEMORY ........................................................................................................................................................ 25
LEAR FADER ASSIGNS ............................................................................................................................................................. 25
C F
ACTORY RESET TO DEFAULT SETTINGS ....................................................................................................................................... 26
S
TORE / RECALL USING MIRROR CARD ........................................................................................................................................ 26
2
ABOUT MAXX PAGE .................................................................................................................................................. 27
MODE MENU ............................................................................................................................................................ 28
S
AMPLE RATE ......................................................................................................................................................................... 28
TC
TRANSPORT ....................................................................................................................................................................... 29
RE-RECORD SET ..................................................................................................................................................................... 29
P A
UTOTRIM ............................................................................................................................................................................. 29
A
UTOPAN .............................................................................................................................................................................. 29
T
RANSPORT KEYS ..................................................................................................................................................................... 30
VF
ADER CYCLE ........................................................................................................................................................................ 30
VF
ADER MODE ....................................................................................................................................................................... 31
F
OLDER CHANGE ..................................................................................................................................................................... 31
AES
OUTPUT ATTENUATION ..................................................................................................................................................... 31
M
ETER PEAK HOLD .................................................................................................................................................................. 32
P
UNCH-IN .............................................................................................................................................................................. 32
INK INPUT ............................................................................................................................................................................. 32
L
TRANSMITTER SETUP ................................................................................................................................................ 33
T
RANSMITTER ENABLE .............................................................................................................................................................. 33
T
RANSMITTER FREQUENCY ........................................................................................................................................................ 33
T
RANSMITTER MODE ............................................................................................................................................................... 33
T
RANSMITTER POWER .............................................................................................................................................................. 33
T
RANSMITTER SOURCE ............................................................................................................................................................. 33
AUTO-MIXER ............................................................................................................................................................ 34
A-M
IX MODE ......................................................................................................................................................................... 34
M
IC ON THRESHOLD ................................................................................................................................................................ 34
TTACK .................................................................................................................................................................................. 34
A D
ECAY ................................................................................................................................................................................... 35
N
OISE REDUCTION ................................................................................................................................................................... 35
A
TTENUATION ......................................................................................................................................................................... 35
A
UTO-MIX ENABLES ................................................................................................................................................................ 35
A
UTO-MIXER FUNCTIONALITY ................................................................................................................................................... 36
ZAXNET SETUP .......................................................................................................................................................... 37
Z
AXNET ENABLE ...................................................................................................................................................................... 37
T
RANSPORT COMMANDS .......................................................................................................................................................... 37
P
OWER-ROLL MODE ................................................................................................................................................................ 37
ENG SETUP ............................................................................................................................................................... 38
C
OMPRESSOR ENABLE .............................................................................................................................................................. 38
I
NPUT COMPRESSOR PARAMETER ADJUST ................................................................................................................................... 38
O
UTPUT COMPRESSOR PARAMETER ADJUST ................................................................................................................................ 39
C
ARD COMPRESSOR PARAMETERS .............................................................................................................................................. 39
H
EADPHONE NAMES ................................................................................................................................................................ 39
T
RACK NAMES ........................................................................................................................................................................ 40
T
RACK NAME PRESET EDIT ........................................................................................................................................................ 40
N
OTE PRESET EDIT ................................................................................................................................................................... 41
3
I
NPUT LEVELS .......................................................................................................................................................................... 41
Slate Level ....................................................................................................................................................................... 41
Return / Analog Input 5 and 6 Levels .............................................................................................................................. 41
Digital Inputs 1-4 Levels .................................................................................................................................................. 41
Extra Input Gain .............................................................................................................................................................. 41
O
UTPUT LEVELS ADJUST ........................................................................................................................................................... 42
XLR & Aux Output Bus Levels .......................................................................................................................................... 42
Mono & Tape Output Bus Levels .................................................................................................................................... 42
P
LAY TO OUTPUTS ................................................................................................................................................................... 42
W
ARNINGS SETUP ................................................................................................................................................................... 42
LCD
BRIGHTNESS .................................................................................................................................................................... 43
LED
BRIGHTNESS ..................................................................................................................................................................... 43
T
ONE FREQUENCY ADJUST ........................................................................................................................................................ 43
T
ONE LEVEL ............................................................................................................................................................................ 43
42 ENABLE ...................................................................................................................................................................... 43
AES A
DVANCED SETUP .................................................................................................................................................................... 44
Prevent Empty Pan.......................................................................................................................................................... 44
Display Speed .................................................................................................................................................................. 44
Burn Boot loader ............................................................................................................................................................. 44
Debug Bits ....................................................................................................................................................................... 44
Upgrade Code ................................................................................................................................................................. 44
Allow Logging .................................................................................................................................................................. 44
Log Screen ....................................................................................................................................................................... 44
Slate Always On............................................................................................................................................................... 44
PRESSING THE TIME CODE KEY .................................................................................................................................. 45
T
IME CODE SLATE .................................................................................................................................................................... 45
T
IME CODE JAM ...................................................................................................................................................................... 45
E
NTER TIME CODE ................................................................................................................................................................... 46
Manually Entering Time Code ......................................................................................................................................... 46
Manually Entering User-Bit ............................................................................................................................................. 46
T
IME CODE SETUP ................................................................................................................................................................... 47
TC Mode .......................................................................................................................................................................... 47
TC Frame Rate ................................................................................................................................................................. 47
TC Displayed .................................................................................................................................................................... 47
TC Output ........................................................................................................................................................................ 47
Increment UBits .............................................................................................................................................................. 47
UB Date Style .................................................................................................................................................................. 47
Set Date ........................................................................................................................................................................... 48
Time Code Routing .......................................................................................................................................................... 48
PRESSING THE BUS KEY ............................................................................................................................................. 49
O
UTPUT BUS ASSIGN BUSSES .................................................................................................................................................... 49
T
APE/MONO OUT MATRIX ....................................................................................................................................................... 50
C
ARD TRACK TONE ENABLE ....................................................................................................................................................... 50
C
ARD TRACK SLATE ENABLES ..................................................................................................................................................... 50
4
PRESSING THE SETUP KEY .......................................................................................................................................... 51
A
NALOG SETUP MENU ............................................................................................................................................................. 51
A
DJUSTABLE PARAMETERS ........................................................................................................................................................ 51
Input Compressor Linking ............................................................................................................................................... 51
IGITAL INPUT SETUP ............................................................................................................................................................... 51
D
HEADPHONE SETUP .................................................................................................................................................. 52
S
ETTING UP YOUR HEADPHONE MATRIX ...................................................................................................................................... 52
H
EADPHONE MATRIX SETUP TO DECODE MS STEREO ..................................................................................................................... 52
PRE FADER LISTEN ..................................................................................................................................................... 53
L
ISTENING TO INPUTS ............................................................................................................................................................... 53
SETTING UP AND ENGAGING TONE ............................................................................................................................ 54
A
SSIGNING TONE TO OUTPUT BUSSES ......................................................................................................................................... 54
A
SSIGNING TONE TO CARD TRACKS ............................................................................................................................................ 54
A
DJUSTING TONE..................................................................................................................................................................... 54
NGAGING TONE ..................................................................................................................................................................... 54
E
ENTERING TEXT ......................................................................................................................................................... 55
FALSE START ............................................................................................................................................................. 56
ENG BAG OPERATION................................................................................................................................................ 57
ENG
PANNING ........................................................................................................................................................................ 57
A
UTOTRIM ............................................................................................................................................................................. 57
A
UTOPAN .............................................................................................................................................................................. 58
V
IRTUAL FADER ....................................................................................................................................................................... 58
COMPACT FLASH CARDS............................................................................................................................................ 59
SYNCING MAXX TO A DENECKE SLATE........................................................................................................................ 60
MAXX CONNECTOR ASSIGNMENTS ............................................................................................................................ 61
XLR
3 AUDIO INPUT / OUTPUT CONNECTORS ............................................................................................................................ 61
TA-5
AUDIO INPUT / OUTPUT CONNECTORS ............................................................................................................................... 61
M
ONO & TAPE OUTPUT CONNECTORS (TA-5) ............................................................................................................................. 61
H
EADPHONE OUTPUT CONNECTORS (1/4” TRS) .......................................................................................................................... 61
P
OWER CONNECTOR (HIROSE-4 CONNECTOR) ............................................................................................................................. 61
AES
DIGITAL INPUT / OUTPUT CONNECTORS (DB-15) .................................................................................................................. 62
UPDATING FIRMWARE .............................................................................................................................................. 63
PRODUCT SUPPORT .................................................................................................................................................. 64
MAXX SPECIFICATIONS .............................................................................................................................................. 65
ZAXCOM WARRANTY POLICY AND LIMITATIONS ........................................................................................................ 66
5
NOMAD LAYOUT Front Panel
Know Your Maxx
Front Panel
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
13 14 15 16 17 18
1. Wireless Camera Link Antenna - SMA connector
2. TC / REC Key
In shifted mode
A quick press opens the time code slate - additional presses will open the time code menus.
Pressed and hold for one second, puts Maxx into record.
In un-shifted mode
A quick press will puts Maxx into record.
• When in setup menu press it to access the analog input 1 setup menu.
3. Red Record LED
When illuminated indicates Maxx is in Record mode. In the Warning Setup Menu Maxx can be set up that if you are recording just to the primary folder the LED will flash red, and when Maxx is mirroring the LED will go to solid red. This is to warn the user that Maxx is not in Continuous Mirror Mode.
4. BUS /PLAY key
In shifted mode
A quick press access the bus menu – additional presses accesses additional bus menus.
When in the ENG Home Page a single short press allows you to access the quick pan matrix.
Pressed and held for one second, puts Maxx into playback mode.
In un-shifted mode
A quick press will put Maxx into playback.
• When in setup menu press it to access the analog input 2 setup menu.
5. Green Play LED
When illuminated indicates Maxx is in Playback mode.
6
NOMAD LAYOUT Front Panel
6. SETUP / STOP Key
In shifted mode
A quick press will open up the setup menu.
Pressed and held for one second, will stop recording or stop playback.
In un-shifted mode
A quick press will stop recording or playback.
A quick press with stop recording or stop playback.
7. Yellow Stop LED
When illuminated indicates Maxx is in Stop mode.
8. TONE Key
Press to toggle Tone on and off.
• When in setup menu press it to access the analog input 4 setup menu.
9. Internal Slate Microphone
10. Color LCD Screen
Daylight-readable color LCD screen.
11. HEADPHONE Knob / BACK Knob
Press knob to back out of a menu to the previous menu.
Turn knob to adjust headphone volume.
• Press and hold will enter user inputted data.
12. Star key
From the any home page, it advances to the next home page.
In the bus routing matrix and Card Mix matrix if pressed it you will add phase reverse to your cross
point options.
• In the fader assign matrix if pressed it will add trim to your cross point options.
If pressed and held while powering-up, Maxx will look for new software and start the update
process.
13. Fader 1 (4 total)
Each of four faders can be assigned to any channel or combination of channels, or act as a hardware trim knob.
14. Auto-Trim
Indicates which fader is active for AutoTrim
TM
LED (4 total)
TM
.
15. Pre Fader Listen key (4 total)
• Press to listen to Pre Fader audio from the corresponding fader.
• When in setup mode press to access the AES input setup menu for the corresponding AES inputs.
Pressing from the Meta Data menu or Track Naming menu will open the list of presets.
16. SLT key
Press and hold key to activate the slate microphone.
7
NOMAD LAYOUT Front Panel
17. Power Key
• A quick press will power up Maxx.
Press and hold for 3 seconds to power down. Release the key when the countdown reaches 1.
When Auto-Pan is ON the power key will change the panning for the active channel.
18. MENU knob / SHIFT key
From the home page press it to access the Main Menu page.
NOTE: From the AES Virtual Fader meter screen or from the ENG meter screen, when you have virtual faders engaged, you have to push and hold to access the Main Menu.
• Turn it to scroll through the items in a menu.
Press to select a menu item.
SHORTCUT: While scrolling through a parameter with a long list, pressing the MENU knob while turning it will speed up the scroll speed by 10 times.
8
NOMAD LAYOUT Left Side Panel
Left Side
1
5 2 3 4
1. Battery Door
The Silver knob rotates clockwise to lock the battery compartment door. Inside, you will find space for the battery carrier that holds six AA batteries.
NOTE: It is possible to insert the battery carrier incorrectly. Even if you insert with the contacts reversed it will do NO harm to the unit because there is reversed current protection. It just won’t turn on.
WARNING: Use ONLY NiMH rechargeable or Lithium batteries. If you use ANY other batteries, they
will EXPLODE and can SEVERLY damage or DESTROY the unit.
2. AES Input Output connector / GPI (DE-15F)
Maxx has AES 2 input pairs and 3 AES output pairs. The Input has a sample-rate conversion, allowing each input to have a different sampling-rate. Maxx will accept any unlocked AES signal with a sampling-rate of 44.1 to 96 kHz. The dynamic range of the sample-rate conversion is 124 dB, offering completely transparent conversion of digital audio from one sample-rate to another.
3. Time code Input / Output connector (BNC) - the function of this connector is set in the time code
setup menu.
4. Compact Flash Card Mirror Media Slot
Compact Flash card is inserted with the top of the card (Label side) facing down.
WARNING: Take your time when inserting a card in Maxx. The card should slide in easily. If there is
any resistance required the card is not aligned correctly and can bend the pins.
9
NOMAD LAYOUT Left Side Panel
Right Side
1 2
1. Headphone (1/4” stereo jack)
2. External Power connector (Hirose- HR10A-7P-4P)
10 to 18 VDC {1/2 A @ 12 VDC}
3. Tape / Mono Out (TA-5M)
Outputs both the tape and mono out busses. The tape and mono out are both balanced mono sources. The audio that is fed to these busses are controlled from the mono / tape bus matrix.
4. Output Bus 1/2 (TA-5M)
This is an isolated feed of the audio sent to the XLR bus outputs. The Levels are independently adjustable.
5. Return / Line Level Inputs for analog in 5 and 6 (TA-5M)
This is where a camera returns are connected. The return is wired to accept two channels of audio
so it can receive one stereo return from one camera or two mono returns from two cameras.
This input can be used as line level analog input 5 and 6.
6. Output Bus 1/2 (XLR)
Main XLR output. Levels are independently adjustable.
3 4 5 6
10
ZAX- MAXX LAYOUT Rear
Rear
1 2
1. Mic/Line-level Inputs 3 and 4 (Combo XLR-3F 1/4" Stereo )
2. Mic/Line-level Inputs 1 and 2 (XLR-3F)
11
MAXX LAYOUT Meter Screens
12
Home Screen / Meters
There are several selectable meter screens to choose from. Pressing the STAR key will toggle through the different screens. The color of the left half of the meter indicates the source type being metered:
Light blue is an input
Green is an output bus
Purple is a recorded track
The track name, bus number or input number is indicated within each meter to aid in channel identification. If a compressor is engaged, a white gain reduction line will appear at the right side of the meter when the compression is being applied.
ENG Home Screen
4 Input Home Screen
Card Track Home Screen
Output busses 1 and 2
Quick Pan Matrix
AutoTrim Meter / Virtual Faders for mixing Inputs
Input signal from XLR Inputs
Red Record Enabled Indicators - shows which tracks will be recorded
Yellow ISO Attenuation Enabled
Yellow Strike Through – Represents that
these tracks will not be recorded
MAXX LAYOUT Meter Screens
13
Virtual Fader Home Screen
AES and Line level inputs 5 and 6 with virtual fader control
MAXX LAYOUT Meter Screen Explained
14
Shows what is being listened to
in PFL mode
Home Screen Explained
Transport Status
Shows the mode of recorder RECORD, PLAY or STOP.
Time Code
Shows the current time code.
Headphone Selection
Displays which headphone matrix is being monitored. You can custom name your headphone set up - see headphone naming in the ENG menu.
If the PFL key is pressed, the name in the Headphone Monitor field is replaced with “PFL” alternating
with the selected channel number(s) as follows:
Press the PFL key corresponding to input to select a channel to PFL. If you want to listen to multiple
channels at the same time, just press and hold an additional PFL key for approximately 1 second to add that channel to the PFL circuit.
Press the headphone knob to restore normal headphone monitoring.
Battery Indicator
Displays the power source (I - Internal / E - External), a numeric display of the current voltage. Maxx will always automatically switch to the higher voltage source first.
Save Indicator
A moving pixel on bottom of screen moving right to left indicates that the Maxx is saving a parameter setting to its memory. If you power down while the pixel is moving the settings will not be saved
.
Card Information Field
Top Line - Mirror Free Space Second Line - Mirror File Progress Third Line -Time left on the Primary Folder
Headphone Selection
Battery
Indicator
Time code
ENG Panning shortcut
Matrix
Card information field
Limiter reduction indicators
Peak Hold Indicator
Trim Level Indicator Save Indicator
Transport Status
Input/Virtual Fader
Meter
MAIN MENU Metadata Page
15
Main Menu
To access the main menu press the MENU Knob. If you are in the ENG home screen and you have the virtual fader mode turned on, you will have to press and hold the menu knob for 1.5 seconds to enter the main menu. Selecting any item in the main menu will take you to the sub menus for each item.
Scroll for additional menu items
Metadata Page
This page displays and allows you to adjust the metadata.
To adjust the metadata use the MENU Knob to select and highlight one of the data fields then press the MENU Knob to highlight the field. Metadata can be edited and changed before Maxx starts recording a file or even while Maxx is recording. And metadata changes made before a record take is stopped will be reflected in that take. If you are in continuous mirror mode and changes are made after stop is pressed the file will need to be re-mirrored for the changes in the metadata to be reflected in the mirror file. You can the scene name, the take number and enter a note about the take. Maxx also features a preset list of notes you can create and recall from.
To select and enter from the preset list of notes
1. Highlight the note field
2. Press one of the PFL buttons
3. Select the preset note you want enter
4. Press the menu knob
Sample Rate TC Frame Rate Pre-Record setting
Current Record Folder, Scene, Take and Notes
Alternates between record time
& mirroring segment
Primary Card Info
Mirror Status
MAIN MENU Playback Page
16
Playback Control Page
This page controls playback of recorded files.
Segment Currently Playing
Segment Time code
Playback Shuttle Control
Turn the MENU knob to adjust
Press and turn for
10X adjustment
Playing Segment Meta
Folder playing back
MAIN MENU Record Setup
17
Record Card / Mirror Menu
The card/mirror menu sets the parameters of the primary recording and mirroring functions of Maxx.
Mirror Mode Options
OFF - Maxx will not mirror any files.
ON - Maxx will only start to mirror a file once the unit has gone into stop mode.
CONTINUOUS - When Maxx is recording, the audio is copied to the mirror folder immediately after it is
written to the primary folder. Depending on the track count, the mirror card may lag behind a bit. Not to worry, after you go into stop mode, the mirror card will catch up.
If you are finding that continuous mirroring is lagging you may be using too much of Maxx’s processing power elsewhere. Many times there are items that are on that are on are not needed. These items can often be shut off to conserve processing power and speed up the mirroring process. You can check to see that some of these items are not unnecessarily on: bus assignments cross points, compressor enables (input, output and card), high pass filters.
Write Sound Report
When selected, Maxx will create a sound report of the recorded files and write it on the mirror CF partition. The sound report contains the metadata information for what was entered. Please note to write a sound report mirror mode must be set to OFF.
MAIN MENU Record Setup
18
Primary Record Menu
Choose Primary Folder
All files are recorded into individual folders. This menu lets you choose which folder the audio files will be recorded to. To select a folder scroll the MENU knob to highlight the folder then press the MENU knob. At that point the green check will indicate the folder that will be recorded to. After selecting a folder that folder can be renamed to help identify its contents. To name the folder hit the back button to return to the primary CF menu then scroll down to the Edit Current Folder Name then press MENU Knob to change the name of the folder. The folder name needs to be nineteen characters or less, and cannot contain spaces or symbols.
The primary audio is recorded as a Zaxcom MARF file (Mobile Audio Record Format). The advantage of MARF is that if there is any power loss while recording there will not be any loss of recorded audio, as is common with all other portable recording systems. In the event of a power loss while recording: at power-up, Maxx will automatically close any open files to the point the audio recording was interrupted with no loss of audio up to that point. Even though Maxx uses a proprietary file system, it is 100% compatible with Mac or PC by using the free file conversion utility ZaxConvert. The latest version can be downloaded from
www.zaxcom.com. All MARF files can be converted to
either a BWAV or MP3 files.
Green checkmark indicates which folder receives the recorded audio.
NOTE: Mirror mode needs to be set to OFF before you can change primary folders.
MAIN MENU Record Setup
19
Delete Last Primary Segment
This page allows you to delete the last recorded segment by pressing STAR key
Format CF Card
This page is where the compact flash card is formatted. This process will take about 4 minutes to complete.
ISO Attenuation
The NeverClip™ inputs allow large signals to travel through the digital mixing engine using 32 bit floating point numbers. Once these large signals are recorded into a 24-bit WAV (or MARF) file, the advantage of floating point math is lost and these signals can clip if you don’t use a card limiter. ISO Attenuation allows ISO record tracks to be attenuated by a user selectable fixed amount of either 6, 12, 18 or 24 dB. This allows audio to be recorded un clipped, even if its dynamic range would normally be too large. This gain reduction is stored in the metadata of the WAV file so post production can restore the amplitude of the ISO tracks when necessary.
MAIN MENU Record Setup
20
ISO Attenuation Enable
This matrix allows you to select which card record tracks will be attenuate when the ISO attenuation has been turned on.
Edit Current Folder Name
Each record folder can be named to identify its contents. When naming a folder you can use up to 19 characters for each folder name.
Editing Folder Names
1. Scroll down to the Edit Current Folder Name.
2. Press the MENU knob to highlight the folder name and to access the enter text menu.
3. Name the folder keeping in mind that the folder name needs to be 19 characters or less, and
cannot contain spaces or symbols.
Mirror Enables
The mirror enable menu controls which of the tracks are copied on to Maxx’s mirror partition.
SHORTCUT: It is not necessary to remove mirror enable cross points from this mirror matrix If a primary card track is not assigned, that track will not be recorded and noting will be written to the mirror file. This allows you to leave all of the mirror tracks enabled if you like. This makes it unnecessary to change the tracks being mirrored every time you change a primary track.
Current folder name
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