SYNCABYTEHELP / SHOOT / SYNC
Sync your first shoot.
Set free-run timecode, start a session, shoot as normal, then build the timeline.
Set FREE RUN timecode
On every camera and sound recorder, set timecode to FREE RUN (or time-of-day). It must keep counting when not recording.
Start the session
On a phone or in Syncabyte Desk, name the shoot, pick the frame rate and tap START SESSION. You are the session owner. The master clock starts straight away.
Bring in the crew
Tap INVITE. On each other phone, open Syncabyte, tap SCAN SESSION CODE and point it at the code. No Wi-Fi or signal is needed. You can also send the session as a file.
Add each camera
Tap + CAMERA. Link a supported Sony camera by Bluetooth for live record start and stop, or choose SCAN A CAMERA and fill the box with the camera's running timecode for two seconds. One phone can scan every camera in turn with NEXT CAMERA.
Shoot as normal
Bluetooth cameras show ROLLING while they record. Tap MARK to drop a marker at any moment. Scan a camera again if its timecode is changed during the day.
End and send the log
The owner taps END SESSION FOR EVERYONE. Each connected device stops and sends its final log back. Tap SEND LOG TO EDITOR to share the .syncabyte file. A copy stays in Files > Syncabyte > Sessions.
Build the sync map
In Syncabyte Desk or Syncabyte Lite, open the session log. Choose the folder each card was copied to. Check the sync map, then EXPORT SYNC MAP. In Premiere Pro, use File > Import and choose the XML file.
Syncabyte Lite
Syncabyte Lite is the after-the-shoot half of Syncabyte as a web app. It opens and combines session logs, places clips and exports the same Premiere sync map as the Mac app. It runs in your browser and nothing is uploaded.
Lite reads Sony clips that still have their M01.XML files beside them, and WAV files with a timecode stamp. It cannot run a live session and does not read other camera files; use Syncabyte Desk for those. A browser cannot see where a folder lives on disk, so type each folder's full path before exporting, or relink the media in Premiere. To keep a copy for use offline, download Syncabyte Lite as a single file and open it in a desktop browser.
Syncabyte Web
Syncabyte Web is the on-set half of Syncabyte in a phone's browser, for iPhone and Android. Start a session or join one, scan each camera's and recorder's timecode, drop markers and send the log to the editor. It writes the same session log as the iPhone app, so Syncabyte Desk and Syncabyte Lite open it as normal.
To join, point the phone's own camera at the session code and tap the link. To keep it handy, open the page, tap Share and choose Add to Home Screen; after the first visit it also works with no signal. The log is kept in the browser until you close the session, so send it at wrap.
The web version syncs by timecode scan only. It cannot hear a camera start and stop over Bluetooth, link phones to each other live, or run while the phone is locked; those need the iPhone app. If a scan will not lock on a screen, choose SET BY HAND on the scan screen: type a time a few seconds ahead and tap as the device reaches it. With a connection the page sets its clock from a time server and shows SYNCED. With no connection it uses the phone's own clock and offers SCAN MASTER CLOCK: point it at another device's INVITE screen to match the two.
Install Syncabyte Desk
Download Syncabyte Desk 0.1, unzip it and move the app to Applications. It needs macOS 14 or later on an Apple silicon Mac.
This preview is not yet notarised by Apple, so macOS will block it the first time. Open it once, close the warning, then go to System Settings > Privacy & Security and choose Open Anyway. macOS will also ask for local network access so the laptop can find the phones in your session.
Common questions
Why must timecode be in FREE RUN?
Syncabyte places clips by comparing each camera's timecode with the master clock. In FREE RUN (or time-of-day) the timecode keeps counting between takes, so one scan covers the whole day. In REC RUN it stops between takes and clips cannot be placed by timecode.
Which cameras can link by Bluetooth?
Sony FX3, FX30, A7S III and A7 IV. The link uses the same Bluetooth remote service as Sony's wireless remote; it is not an official Sony integration. Accept the pairing request on the camera and the phone the first time. Any other camera can be added with a timecode scan.
What about the FX6 and FX9?
Add them over Wi-Fi: the app checks the phone can reach the camera on the network, then syncs it from a timecode scan. Live record detection over Wi-Fi is not available for these cameras.
There is no signal on set. Does it still work?
Yes. Joining by code needs no network. A device with no internet shows NO TIME SERVER and runs on its own clock; tap SCAN MASTER CLOCK and point it at the clock on another device's INVITE screen, or the laptop's session screen, to match it. You can repeat this at any time.
A phone was out of range at wrap. Is its log lost?
No. Every phone keeps its own copy in Files > Syncabyte > Sessions. Send it with SEND LOG TO EDITOR and open it alongside the others; logs from the same session combine and nothing is replaced. A phone that was out of range when the owner ended the session carries on, and ends itself when it next links up.
Why is a clip marked NOT PLACED?
The row says why. Slow and quick motion clips have timecode that does not follow the clock, so place those by hand. Other causes are a file with no timecode, or a device with no scan and no logged recordings.
What do LOGGED, TIMECODE and TIMECODE + LOG mean?
LOGGED: the clip matches a recording the phone logged over Bluetooth. TIMECODE: placed from the camera's timecode and a timecode scan. TIMECODE + LOG: Bluetooth was down, so the clip was placed using timecode learned from the camera's other logged recordings.
How accurate is a timecode scan?
The scan takes many readings over about two seconds and settles on the middle of the frame, so it is normally well inside a frame. Check sync on your first few clips, and expect to nudge a clip by a frame or two occasionally.
How do sound recorders work?
Choose SCAN A SOUND RECORDER and scan its running timecode. In the Mac app, point the recorder at its card folder. Syncabyte reads the timecode stamp inside each WAV file and adds audio-only tracks. Mono files recorded at the same moment go on separate tracks.
Premiere says media is offline.
The sync map points at the card folders where they were when you exported. If they have moved, use Link Media in Premiere and locate one clip; Premiere finds the rest. With Syncabyte Lite, type each folder's full path before exporting so Premiere can find the media.
Does Syncabyte change my footage?
No. It reads each clip's length and timecode. It never edits, moves or deletes camera files.
Contact support
Email info@wearemachine.co.uk with your iOS or macOS version, the app version, your camera models and the steps that caused the problem. Attaching the .syncabyte session log helps; it contains names and times, not footage.