Going Tapeless with HD100 & HD200 -- Advice?

[Lee Roberts]

Hi,

I have an HD100 & an HD200. I'm ready to bite the bullet and go with tapeless acquisition for both cams. I've read through the forums, the myriad of topics relating to HD upgrades (I'm comfortable performing an HD upgrade), etc., but I would like a little advice/input before I make my final decision. All opinions are welcomed...

- I use IDX packs on both cams
- Ideally, I would like to capture the video in .avi format and transfer to PC for editing (Premiere Pro)
- I noticed that one post mentions a 'no-power' firewire cable to help prevent toasting the FW port. Anyone have info on suppliers of this cable (a part number might be asking too much, but.....)
- I would like to use the power tap on the IDX's. Is there a downside to this plan?

Money is always an object, of course, sso I'dd like to get the most bang for the buck.

Again, any input/recommendations would be appreciated. Everytime I look at my 800 or so tapes, it kinda makes me ill. I know, I know --- why don't I re-use them? It's like asking why Howard Hughes locked himself inside a hotel room -- I'm just freakish about it. I'll probably still use tape in conjuction with tapeless unit just to have a back-up, but at least the transfer time won't be so long.

Thanks guys (and gals?),

Lee Roberts

[Bill Ravens]

I never run tape in my HD110. I capture to a Firestore FS4HD or nNovia hard drive unit. Both the nNovia unit and the Firestore run really well off of the 12v available from an IDX NP style battery system, which is what I use. I've been more than happy with this setup.

Two things to consider with this setup...
1-with no tape in the JVC transport, you won't be able to capture timecode. It's not a problem because they generate their own timecode,unless you're wanting to sync to another timecode. Every clip starts with 00:00:00:00.

2-NLE's, in particular Vegas, will drop frames from the m2t files captured with the nNovia system. Something about missing EOF's on the file. Cineform seems to have no problem reading these files, however.

[Lee Roberts]

Thanks. I think this is what I'm going to do. Someone please stop me if my thinking is wrong. I lost some brain cells hanging out at frat houses (I didn't inhale!), but I think I'm on the right track:

(I use PP on a PC - JVC HD100 & HD200)

- The FS4-HD seems pretty inexpensive, and since I need two....
- I'll go with the 40gb model. The bigger drives are relatively inexpensive, so I'll purchase a couple and do the mod (I know -- bye, bye warranty)
- I plan on mounting these to the cams and running off the power tap on my IDX bricks

One thing: I see these units are formatted as FAT32. How exactly do they handle the files when they reach 4gb? I would prefer to capture an .avi, so I'll blow by 4gb pretty quickly. Does the device simply create a new file and never miss a beat (no dropped frames)?

I presume they will not boot with an NTFS partition. That is most unfortunate......

Also, in searching around, I'm still not clear on the 'powerless' firewire cable mentioned in another post. Does it exist? And while we're at it, why would we not use this type of cable when connecting the cam to a PC? Inquiring minds want to know.

Thanks in advance,

Lee

[Bill Ravens]

Yeah, the 4Gb limit is rather a pain. You'll end up with a slew of files that you'll need to stitch back together in post. It's always worked well for me, never lost a single frame. The one advantage to the nNovia unit is the emulated NTFS formatting of the hard drive.

The 4-pin firewire cables are powerless. I would think you could use a 4-pin to 6-pin adapter to avoid the power issue, however, that increases the chance of an intermittent connection, causing file dropout/corruption. Alternatively, you could cut the power wire in the 6-pin cable.

[Brent Kolitz]

Originally Posted by Bill Ravens

Two things to consider with this setup...
1-with no tape in the JVC transport, you won't be able to capture timecode. It's not a problem because they generate their own timecode,unless you're wanting to sync to another timecode. Every clip starts with 00:00:00:00.

2-NLE's, in particular Vegas, will drop frames from the m2t files captured with the nNovia system. Something about missing EOF's on the file. Cineform seems to have no problem reading these files, however.

Bill,

Was just about to post a question on the JVC forum, when I saw this thread. Don't know if the HD110 acts the same way as my HD200, but have you found that when recording to the Firestore with no tape in the transport, the front/rear tally lights on the camera no longer work? That seems to be the case on my unit, and while it's not the end of the world, it's sort of irritating...

[Lee Roberts]

Thank you for the reply. I hadn't considered the nNovia, but after reading a little more, it does seem like an attractive alternative -- the NTFS partition is especially nice. From what I was viewing, it appears that it would be about twice the money, but I haven't checked out street prices yet.

I have to finish a 5 day shoot this week, and then I'll take a closer look at both offerings and make a decision. In theory, the solid state drive offered with the nNovia also sounds like it may have potential, but I wonder if they experience the same issues that other solid state media seem to have.

Thanks again,

Lee