1080p Capture Card - Hooray!!
 

This is news to me at least.

This link HD-SDI Express | Imperx Inc.

outlines an Expresscard/54 that accepts SDI at a fairly high bitrate. The so what is that instead of spending $1,000 for a camera mounted 1280 monitor I will instead purchase this capture card and

run the sdi cable to the card

plug the card into a 54mm to 34mm adaptor

plug the adaptor into my MBP

use my MacBook Pro 1920 screen for focus / exposure / DOF / ?

My MBP is always with me and provides a very high resolution screen - no need for an on camera monitor. The capture is near real time (2 or 3 frame delay @ 1080p / 30). They are working on Mac OSX drivers and hope to have them available w/i a month or so. The cost will be about $950 USD.

This will not float everyone's boat but may well work for me and some others :-)


BTW - their site has been slooooooo in opening up - it is the correct url though :-)

Perhaps I should have posed questions :-)

Has anyone used such a HD video capture Expresscard on their laptop? If so, what are the details and how satisfied have you been?

Also - does this look like a professional way to avoid a lesser resolution on camera monitor for those of you who have your laptop with you on assignment?

Or - is this FUNCTIONALITY in a laptop so new that there is simply very little experience to comment on?

Or is this old news and I'm just catching up (would not be the first time)?

1080i is capable using the Intensity Pro via a Expresscard.

You're gonna need a really powerful notebook such as the Lenovo W700 to use this card with. eSATA would also be a necessity for capturing uncompressed.

Jack - the Intensity Pro looks like a desktop capture card (if I understand it correctly).

What is so special about the HD SDI is that it plugs into (with an inexpensive adaptor) the Expresscard/34 slot on the MacBook Pro (which is esata).

The camera out via sdi to the HD SDI card to the MacBook Pro (15" or 17") gives you excellent computing power and a true HD monitor.

The beauty is that you are seeing your actual capture in realtime on an HD laptop screen. While I'm not into a lot of editing on the laptop you could do that as well.

I'm now trying to sort how long a run of sdi cable is allowed.

The cameras I am looking at have sdi out compliant with SMPTE 292M - from what I have read that means a really long cable length is possible. So, having your laptop connected via a 10' - 20' run is not an issue at all.

So - it looks like what I have in mind is very doable and at a cost not beyond the latest higher end on camera monitors.

Add a Magma Expressbox to the Intensity Pro and it becomes a mobile capturing solution. One person here has already done this and has posted some results.

A few things are apparent re: the Imperx card.
1- this is a frame grabber. while they say continuous data streams can be captured, I would imagine only in short 4:2:2 bursts.

2-most laptops have only one pcie slot. as such, once this imperx card occupies the PCIe slot, the only remaining available storage is onboard the laptop or out a usb or firewire port. datarates thru usb and firewire are not good enough for uncompressed, or even 4:2:2 10 bit. So, one wonders what delivery codec is being provided.

3-if image monitoring is all that you're after, i would much rather deal with an HD monitor than the weight, power needs, and clunkiness of a laptop.

Bill - let me push the points a bit for my education. My discussion with Imperx revealed that ongoing monitoring was well w/i the capabilities of the card - going beyond fame grabs. Of course - time will tell.

The Expresscard slot on my MacBook Pro would be for sdi video in - the real capture of the HD video would be on the camera of course. I am assuming that I can monitor via my laptop w/o actually capturing on the laptop. That is a big assumption on my part.

My laptop would always be with me on client shoots and would provide a much larger screen and higher resolution than any on camera option. As I have gotten older the eyesight requires more focus assist :-)

As of today I am leaning most towards the new JVC 700/Canon lens and am looking forward to early reviews.

if monitoring is what you're looking for, why not get a 7 or 8 inch HD monitor, like a Marshall or Ikan?

The answer might be the matrox MX02mini with Cineform (when they support it)

Ray - thanks - that looks like a very comprehensive device. What has dawned on me is that I am "designing" a system that does not yet exist:

JVC 700
Expresscard/34 Capture on Mac OS X
Matrox / Cineform (?)

The good news is that I have a bit of time still so maybe the manufacturers will finally start shipping the "goods" and we can get some real world reviews.

the Lenovo W700 has expansion ports on a optional dongle that include eSATA. and the option for 2 Expresscard slots comes with the laptop itself!

Only downside: It's Windows.

Zack - and that is one big downside for me :-) I am a total Mac operation and the MacBook Pros have been outstanding for me. The Expresscard/34 solution is so elegant if it delivers.

OTOH - the bigger boxes may be the way to go due to added functionality.

It loos as if I have another 4 weeks or so of reading and thinking about what best mets my needs.