When will Canon embed audio on the XL- HD-SDI

[Nick Hiltgen]

SO I'm really glad that they released the xh-g1 and all that but why would anyone want an XL-h1 now (that doesn't have embeded audio and time code) when they could get the little brother that has all the same features except and interchangable lens?

The only thing that really bothers me is that canon finally released a camera to HD-SDI spec and it's 2k cheaper then the "flagship camera" so now XL-H1 owners have to spend another 2k to buy a miranda device if we want the same functions as a cheaper model. Maybe they'll offer an upgrade program?

[Chris Hurd]

Yeah that's a really good question Nick. I don't know if there's any credence to this story, but it's been mentioned before that a possible reason why Canon left audio and TC out of the SDI on the H1, was due to a SMPTE license thing. But now the JVC GY-HD250 comes along and they have it. Now Canon has it in the $7000 G1. Maybe something changed with the cost of obtaining that license (SMPTE 299M) within the past year? It's a head-scratcher all right.

[Robert Sanders]

Can the jackpack be updated with software? In other words, can a simple bios update "turn on" the audio and timecode in the HD-SDI stream?

Or will this require Canon to release an XL-H1s camera soon?

[Chris Hurd]

A firmware upgrade offer would be a nice gesture, wouldn't it? No way would it ever be free. What's it worth to you? I have no idea what a reasonable charge would be. It might even require a different board in there for that matter... who knows. That is, who knows, who can actually speak to this question publicly.

[Robert Sanders]

Yup. I was wondering the same thing about the design of the board. Part of me hopes Canon was forward looking wrt to buying that SMTP license. You know, design a board once and turn off certain features until you release future models.

I would be willing to spend around $250 for the bios update if it were truly an option. Maybe $300. But that's about it.

[Nick Hiltgen]

I'm in the same palce as robert, I would probably go around 300 bucks for the update, of course I just got my camera back from canon service (for yearly maintenance, quick turn around time) so if I had to spend another 150 bucks sending it out to them right away i probably wouldn't be too happy. I guess the whole thing seems a little fishy, or maybe just crummy, but I guess that's what you get for being an early adopter.

[Chris Hurd]

Yeah I was thinking maybe $200 to $300 but didn't want to be the first to say it. At least you guys have the advantage of walking it into Irvine. I wonder how many people have shipped their H1's in for the 50i European upgrade... maybe Canon should bundle a deal, get the 50i upgrade plus embedded audio and TC into SDI for a package price of say $600. If you ask me, the 50i upgrade is already too expensive at $500. Heck for $500 you should get the 50i upgrade, an SDI upgrade *and* a copy of Console. But that's just me.

[Jon Bickford]

I second that verdict Chris.

[Robert Sanders]

Somehow I doubt a bios update will enable the audio+timecode. One can hope, though.

[John Benton]

That would be quite smart

Originally Posted by Chris Hurd

Yeah I was thinking maybe $200 to $300 but didn't want to be the first to say it. At least you guys have the advantage of walking it into Irvine. I wonder how many people have shipped their H1's in for the 50i European upgrade... maybe Canon should bundle a deal, get the 50i upgrade plus embedded audio and TC into SDI for a package price of say $600. If you ask me, the 50i upgrade is already too expensive at $500. Heck for $500 you should get the 50i upgrade, an SDI upgrade *and* a copy of Console. But that's just me.

[Nick Hiltgen]

Originally Posted by Chris Hurd

Yeah I was thinking maybe $200 to $300 but didn't want to be the first to say it. At least you guys have the advantage of walking it into Irvine. I wonder how many people have shipped their H1's in for the 50i European upgrade... maybe Canon should bundle a deal, get the 50i upgrade plus embedded audio and TC into SDI for a package price of say $600. If you ask me, the 50i upgrade is already too expensive at $500. Heck for $500 you should get the 50i upgrade, an SDI upgrade *and* a copy of Console. But that's just me.

Well come on then chris use some of that canon pull that you have and get us embedded audio and timecode ;)

[Chris Hurd]

Geez Nick, you think I've got Canon pull? The only pull I have with Canon suits is, if I ask nice enough, they *might* let me pull their luggage carts through the airport.

[Kevin Wild]

I would also spend $300 right away to get timecode & audio over the SDI. I hope Canon is paying attention...

Kevin

[Charles Perkins]

it pisses me off that they did this. if it had TC and audio in the hd-sdi then i would be using it alot more that i do atm. the way i feel is that they screwed us good and proper. if they dont offer a firmware upgrade for free i'll probably sell my H1. if they need to chnage a componant or something i dont mind paying say $200 but more than that is out fo the question.

[Lauri Kettunen]

Originally Posted by Charles Perkins

if they need to chnage a componant or something i dont mind paying say $200 but more than that is out fo the question.

Don't know whether this really is the case, but when I recently asked for the 30F/60i/24F for my PAL version, I was told that it requires a change of component(s) and that's why it costs quite a lot. That is, with the shipping costs in total about 800 euro, which gets close to 1.000 bucks. But, if components are changed, maybe that's possible also for the audio and TC in HD-SDI.