Announcing the new PIX-E Series of Field Recording Monitors at DVinfo.net

Paul Isaacs · April 2nd, 2015, 10:38 AM

The PIX-E Series is a new line of camera-mounted recording monitors that feature 1920x1080 five-inch (PIX-E5 and PIX-E5H) and 1920x1200 seven-inch (PIX-E7) LCDs, a full suite of precision monitoring tools, SDI and HDMI I/O, plus the ability to record 4K and Apple ProRes 4444 XQ edit-ready files to affordable mSATA-based SpeedDrives™.

PIX-E Series - Video Devices

Come and check them out at the Video Devices /Sound Devices booth at NAB, #C6040

Steve Kimmel · April 2nd, 2015, 01:02 PM

These look very interesting! One thing of note, on the website it looks like it will only record 4K via HDMI (not SDI) -- is that correct?

Paul Isaacs · April 2nd, 2015, 01:10 PM

Yes - 4K over HDMI only.

Steve Kimmel · April 2nd, 2015, 01:13 PM

Interesting. Any future for 4k over SDI?

Also, is pricing available? Thanks.

Paul Isaacs · April 2nd, 2015, 01:43 PM

Pricing details are not available yet, but all three models will be competitive.

The PIX-E support only 4K over HDMI e.g. from cameras such as FS7, A7s, GH4 etc
PIx-E SDI supports HD up to 1080p60.

Which cameras with 4K over SDI do you want to use?

Steve Kimmel · April 2nd, 2015, 01:50 PM

Thanks Paul. Was thinking about 4K from the FS7 via SDI rather than HDMI since I feel more confident in SDI.

I have been waiting for SD to release a 4K recorder as I love the products and have been using them for years (including a PIX240i)!

Paul Isaacs · April 2nd, 2015, 02:35 PM

Thanks Steve for your kind words.

Nice thing about HDMI is its a single cable approach to uncompressed 4K. With SDI it currently needs to be RAW format (which complicates workflow) or, for uncompressed, typically 4x BNC connections ... spaghetti hell:)

And as far as a single cable 12-G SDI approach, well there's no evidence to suggest that'll become an industry wide standard.

Kris Kohuth · April 16th, 2015, 09:16 AM

The comparison chart on the website shows "4K Input to HD Ouput Scaling."

Might be a silly question, but can the scaled output also be recorded? For realtime down-conversion from an A7s or GH4 4K output, for instance? Thanks.

Sabyasachi Patra · April 16th, 2015, 11:59 AM

Hello Paul,
Will it support the new Canon C300 Mark II 4K raw? The C300 Mark II records 4K 30p max internally and by odyssey 7Q/7Q+ one can record 4K 60p. Any idea if your product is going to also record 4K 60p? At the moment the spec sheet is 4K 24p. Not even 4K 25p. Sound devices is a company I trust. If there is a future firmware upgrade path, then I would be very interested in your product.
Cheers,
Sabyasachi

Paul Isaacs · April 23rd, 2015, 09:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kris Kohuth

The comparison chart on the website shows "4K Input to HD Ouput Scaling."

Might be a silly question, but can the scaled output also be recorded? For realtime down-conversion from an A7s or GH4 4K output, for instance? Thanks.

Hi Kris

Not a silly question at all! Down-converting from 4k output to HD is going to give a better quality HD than outputting HD from the camera. At this time the answer is no, but thanks for the feature request.

Paul

Paul Isaacs · April 23rd, 2015, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sabyasachi Patra

Hello Paul,
Will it support the new Canon C300 Mark II 4K raw? The C300 Mark II records 4K 30p max internally and by odyssey 7Q/7Q+ one can record 4K 60p. Any idea if your product is going to also record 4K 60p? At the moment the spec sheet is 4K 24p. Not even 4K 25p. Sound devices is a company I trust. If there is a future firmware upgrade path, then I would be very interested in your product.
Cheers,
Sabyasachi

Hi Sabyasachi,

Thanks for your feature request for RAW. At Sound Devices, we prefer not talk about our future feature plans - we don't like to make false promises. In terms of future upgrade path, if you look at the firmware history of any of our video or audio products, you can see that they evolve significantly over time with firmware updates. At first release, we will be supporting 4096x2160 @ 24fps and 3840x2160 @ 30fps.

Paul

Dmitri Zigany · April 24th, 2015, 06:03 AM

If these would record the FS700 raw 4K to ProRes, they would be a no-brainer. Would much rather get one of these than the Atomos Shogun. Unless I can swing a Odyssey 7Q, but they are a bit out of my price range... As long as the PIX-Es don't record FS700 they are a no-go for me however.

Cliff Totten · April 28th, 2015, 07:44 PM

Hi Paul,

I'm currently a Shogun owner and I'm looking for a second unit. Your 5 inch models seem perfect.

Question:

I currently only need HDMI UHD recording so those models seem fine for me. I know that you stated that you don't discuss future upgrades. However, would there be any future benefit to me for buying the SDI recording model? If a future Sony RAW upgrade is planned, than only the SDI could model could potentially support it. (The HDMI-only model will never have RAW in the future)

Can you state that the 5 inch SDI model will never have Sony RAW in the future? If this is the case, than I will happily buy the HDMI-only model. I need to at least know that information now before I buy either of your recorders..

Also,..when will these 5 inch models get to the stores?

Thanks!

Paul Isaacs · April 30th, 2015, 09:48 PM

Hi Cliff,

I cannot state that the SDI model will or will never have Sony RAW.... I'm starting to sound like a politician:)
There are other benefits to having SDI other than RAW, if nothing other than increasing compatibility with a wider range of cameras, bit depths, 444, SDI metadata....
Note that there is only a $200 difference between the E5 and E5H.

Expect shipping this Summer, E5 first, then E5H, then E7. Sorry I can't be more precise at this time.

Paul

Jim Andrada · May 1st, 2015, 08:31 PM

I placed a pre-order for the E7. I'm sort of expecting it in September (plus/minus a month or so)

Am I more or less in the right ballpark?

I have a late December recording session planned that I want to use the E7 for and I'm hoping to get it a month or two before so I have time to familiarize myself with it a bit ahead of time.

April 2nd, 2015, 10:38 AM	#1
Paul Isaacs Sound Devices Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Middleton Wisconsin Posts: 41	Announcing the new PIX-E Series of Field Recording Monitors The PIX-E Series is a new line of camera-mounted recording monitors that feature 1920x1080 five-inch (PIX-E5 and PIX-E5H) and 1920x1200 seven-inch (PIX-E7) LCDs, a full suite of precision monitoring tools, SDI and HDMI I/O, plus the ability to record 4K and Apple ProRes 4444 XQ edit-ready files to affordable mSATA-based SpeedDrives™. PIX-E Series - Video Devices Come and check them out at the Video Devices /Sound Devices booth at NAB, #C6040

April 2nd, 2015, 01:02 PM	#2
Steve Kimmel Major Player Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 256	Re: Announcing the new PIX-E Series of Field Recording Monitors These look very interesting! One thing of note, on the website it looks like it will only record 4K via HDMI (not SDI) -- is that correct?

April 2nd, 2015, 01:10 PM	#3
Paul Isaacs Sound Devices Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Middleton Wisconsin Posts: 41	Re: Announcing the new PIX-E Series of Field Recording Monitors Yes - 4K over HDMI only.

April 2nd, 2015, 01:13 PM	#4
Steve Kimmel Major Player Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 256	Re: Announcing the new PIX-E Series of Field Recording Monitors Interesting. Any future for 4k over SDI? Also, is pricing available? Thanks.

April 2nd, 2015, 01:43 PM	#5
Paul Isaacs Sound Devices Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Middleton Wisconsin Posts: 41	Re: Announcing the new PIX-E Series of Field Recording Monitors Pricing details are not available yet, but all three models will be competitive. The PIX-E support only 4K over HDMI e.g. from cameras such as FS7, A7s, GH4 etc PIx-E SDI supports HD up to 1080p60. Which cameras with 4K over SDI do you want to use?

April 2nd, 2015, 01:50 PM	#6
Steve Kimmel Major Player Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 256	Re: Announcing the new PIX-E Series of Field Recording Monitors Thanks Paul. Was thinking about 4K from the FS7 via SDI rather than HDMI since I feel more confident in SDI. I have been waiting for SD to release a 4K recorder as I love the products and have been using them for years (including a PIX240i)!

April 2nd, 2015, 02:35 PM	#7
Paul Isaacs Sound Devices Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Middleton Wisconsin Posts: 41	Re: Announcing the new PIX-E Series of Field Recording Monitors Thanks Steve for your kind words. Nice thing about HDMI is its a single cable approach to uncompressed 4K. With SDI it currently needs to be RAW format (which complicates workflow) or, for uncompressed, typically 4x BNC connections ... spaghetti hell:) And as far as a single cable 12-G SDI approach, well there's no evidence to suggest that'll become an industry wide standard.

April 16th, 2015, 09:16 AM	#8
Kris Kohuth Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Mooresville, NC Posts: 49	Re: Announcing the new PIX-E Series of Field Recording Monitors The comparison chart on the website shows "4K Input to HD Ouput Scaling." Might be a silly question, but can the scaled output also be recorded? For realtime down-conversion from an A7s or GH4 4K output, for instance? Thanks.

April 16th, 2015, 11:59 AM	#9
Sabyasachi Patra Major Player Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: New Delhi, India Posts: 507	Re: Announcing the new PIX-E Series of Field Recording Monitors Hello Paul, Will it support the new Canon C300 Mark II 4K raw? The C300 Mark II records 4K 30p max internally and by odyssey 7Q/7Q+ one can record 4K 60p. Any idea if your product is going to also record 4K 60p? At the moment the spec sheet is 4K 24p. Not even 4K 25p. Sound devices is a company I trust. If there is a future firmware upgrade path, then I would be very interested in your product. Cheers, Sabyasachi __________________ Wild Tiger Productions http://www.indiawilds.com/about.htm

April 24th, 2015, 06:03 AM	#12
Dmitri Zigany Major Player Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Berlin, Germany Posts: 286	Re: Announcing the new PIX-E Series of Field Recording Monitors If these would record the FS700 raw 4K to ProRes, they would be a no-brainer. Would much rather get one of these than the Atomos Shogun. Unless I can swing a Odyssey 7Q, but they are a bit out of my price range... As long as the PIX-Es don't record FS700 they are a no-go for me however. __________________ Sony FS700R (3.10), A7S (2.00), FCPX Sony SEL 35, 50, 18-105mm, Samyang 16 & 35mm cine

April 28th, 2015, 07:44 PM	#13
Cliff Totten Trustee Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Florida Posts: 1,197	Re: Announcing the new PIX-E Series of Field Recording Monitors Hi Paul, I'm currently a Shogun owner and I'm looking for a second unit. Your 5 inch models seem perfect. Question: I currently only need HDMI UHD recording so those models seem fine for me. I know that you stated that you don't discuss future upgrades. However, would there be any future benefit to me for buying the SDI recording model? If a future Sony RAW upgrade is planned, than only the SDI could model could potentially support it. (The HDMI-only model will never have RAW in the future) Can you state that the 5 inch SDI model will never have Sony RAW in the future? If this is the case, than I will happily buy the HDMI-only model. I need to at least know that information now before I buy either of your recorders.. Also,..when will these 5 inch models get to the stores? Thanks!

April 30th, 2015, 09:48 PM	#14
Paul Isaacs Sound Devices Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Middleton Wisconsin Posts: 41	Re: Announcing the new PIX-E Series of Field Recording Monitors Hi Cliff, I cannot state that the SDI model will or will never have Sony RAW.... I'm starting to sound like a politician:) There are other benefits to having SDI other than RAW, if nothing other than increasing compatibility with a wider range of cameras, bit depths, 444, SDI metadata.... Note that there is only a $200 difference between the E5 and E5H. Expect shipping this Summer, E5 first, then E5H, then E7. Sorry I can't be more precise at this time. Paul

May 1st, 2015, 08:31 PM	#15
Jim Andrada Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Tucson AZ Posts: 2,211	Re: Announcing the new PIX-E Series of Field Recording Monitors I placed a pre-order for the E7. I'm sort of expecting it in September (plus/minus a month or so) Am I more or less in the right ballpark? I have a late December recording session planned that I want to use the E7 for and I'm hoping to get it a month or two before so I have time to familiarize myself with it a bit ahead of time.