The Countour Design
ShuttlePro™
THE UNIT
OVERALL
Although there are several good images on the Contour web site, I snapped a few of my own with an old Fuji digital camera (Any images clicked on this page will open in a NEW window).

The unit is a little larger than a long trackball, but not as tall. It's pretty light, but it sits just fine next to my keybaord, and there are no power problems when plugging it into the side of Apple's USB keyboard (I have the non-pro Graphite version). Some people have suggested that the cord should have been made longer, but since you can even find USB extension cables at Target, I doubt we'll see a longer one any time soon.


THE TOP 9 BUTTONS
The 9 buttons above the jog/shuttle wheel have removable caps which allow you to place lables under them so you can actually tell which button does what action. I have created a Freehand 8 and PDF template that you can use to create your own buttons, or you can use the Final Cut Pro labels that are already in the file. This file is an unfinished work, but it'll get you started.

ShuttlePro™ Button Template

Freehand 8
(Requires Stuffit Expander 5 or above)

PDF
(Requires Acrobat Reader 3 or above)

Okay, if you are interested, here are a few fuzzy shots of how the buttons caps come apart.

Then you place a small paper label inside the cap like this:

Insert
(this is a very fuzzy shot)

And then you put the cap back on starting with one side and then snapping the other side into place with a firm push. I found it easier to hold the cap upside down-with the paper just sitting in it face down, and then move the rest of the unit into place above it, so that I didn't move the paper insert while snapping the cap on. My one 'complaint' about the buttons is that they are semi-reflective, and they are raised up so as to be easier to click. When you sit back from the unit, sometimes the plastic shape of the button cap distorts the insert/label inside making it difficult to read. I have to say, though, that I love this system-no sticky labels that stick to your palm or finger tips. I did think it was strange that the top set of buttons had a silver backing, while the second set had a black backing. You can't really see the back when you have a paper insert in it-they all look the same.


THE JOG AND SHUTTLE WHEELS
In the center of the unit is a large Jog and Shuttle wheel. The jog wheel is a continuous spinning dial that can be set to move one frame at a time with the Control Panel. It has little stops or dimples in it so that as you turn it, you can actually count each frame. The Shuttle wheel is a rubberized ring around the Jog whell that snaps back when you let it go. It only moves a small amount (less than 90 degrees) in either direction, but it is pretty sensative. Using the Control Panels default settings for Final Cut Pro, it moves your footage slowly when you turn the dial a small amount and hold it, and moves your footage quickly when you turn the dial all the way and hold it.


THE BOTTOM FOUR BUTTONS
These four buttons have no caps over them, and they are much wider, with a curve that allows them to wrap along the bottom of the Jog/Shuttle wheel. My assumption is that Contour decided not to create them with caps because they are arranged with certain in-out type tasks in mind. By defaultt, in Final Cut Pro the top two are for setting in-out points, and the bottom two are for clearing in and out points. This seemed fine with me, and I haven't changed their setup. You can see from the photos above how they are arranged, and using them for in-out points just makes sense. If these are the only four buttons that have to be remembered, I don't think anyone will have any problems with that.


MY TAKE
There's only one thing I'd like to see added to the ShuttlePro™. A Function, or Shift type button that would change the functions of the buttons to a second set. You could use this to invoke different actions out of the buttons when you are doing say, log and capture, than when you are in the regular mode. Basically it would give you 26 buttons instead of 13. Maybe for version 2?? I figured they could do it now with the Control Panel and just let you decide which of the 13 buttons turned on the second set, but that might make the control panel really complicated.

UPDATE! The new drivers now have this "Mode 2" function, giving you 13 more buttons and even a new function for the Jog and Shuttle wheels! There is also a new Control Strip module that allows you to change modes within a given program. The new control panel also gives you the ability to save your settings in a file you can share with others. Overall, pretty cool.
 NEXT: The Control Panel