new DSLR plugin
 

In case you weren't aware of it, DVFilm (the folks who make Raylight) recently released a plugin called Epic I specifically designed for this new generation of cameras and it's only $45 U.S.

From the site:
The latest generation of digital SLRs shoot spectacular HD video and give filmmakers a wide range of creative control from interchangeable SLR lenses to low-light sensitivity. However, one drawback has been the H.264 codec they use to record video. Most non-linear editing systems cannot play back these files in real time unless you have an extremely fast computer. There can also be reliability problems with a large number of files in the project. This is where DVFilm EPIC I comes in.

The EPIC I plugin for Sony Vegas Pro 9 allows you to edit DSLR's H.264 Quicktime files in real time by using our "INSTANT EDIT" method. You can edit in real time, on practically any machine! The Instant Edit method is totally transparent: that means NO transcoding, NO swapping files, NO hassles! Epic can also handle hundreds of files with hundreds of effects and transitions with excellent stability and well-controlled memory usage.

Anybody tried it yet? Any idea how they are working this "magic"?

It's done with proxies that are made automatically in the background and switched in and out automatically as well. In other words, when you are viewing half- or quarter-sized frames in the preview window for example, the video comes from the hidden proxy. But if you render full size or look at frames full size, then the original is used.

However unlike transcoding or manually creating proxies, you can start editing right away instead of waiting.

There are several modes you can choose from and three different quality levels to choose depending on the speed of your computer. We have found that it works well even on single-core laptops.

Also another big feature is it stabilizes the performance of Vegas on large quicktime projects. You can think of Epic as standing between Vegas and quicktime and making sure they both behave themselves and it prevents crashing.

It's a brand new product and we welcome any feedback here.

Marcus,

Seems like a cool tool for a good price - hats off to you for seizing a niche opportunity.

I'd just finished numerous small edits of 5d clips and was well familiar with their timeline performance (and occasional rendering crashes), so, I thought I'd give the trial a go.

What's the best support method for getting started? I went through the tut at dvfilm step by step, and reread the sony forum thread, but never did get the trial to work. Of course it was very late last night...

PS. I'll second some of the comments over at sony, seems like "the pillar is red" "the pillar is purple" isn't friendly to newbies - and we're all newbies with this one!

Thank you. Are you running 64-bit windows? Looks like due to a bug Epic is not starting the Epic Control program automatically in 64-bit windows. Until we get that fixed, you may have to start it manually (from the Windows Start menu) before running Vegas 9 32-bit. Then with the Epic proxy option turned on, if you drag a clip into the timeline you should see a progress bar pop up when it starts making the proxy.

If that doesn't fix it, submit this form, Support Request and someone in support will get back to you.

Thanks for the reply. 64-bit Win7, yes, running Vegas9-32. And yes, did have epic running before booting vegas (which will be so if one follows the tutorial step-by-step).

Marcus, thanks, I'm interested to see this work. More and more 5d/7d footage keeps coming my way. Will start things with support later in the week.

So with this plug in perhaps we won't need Cineform?

I couldn't get it to work either. The software doesn't seem to do anything.

Brian,

There as been an update to the demo: 1.0.2

I have been in contact with support and it was issued today

Epic I by DVFilm - Edit DSLR H.264 Quicktimes from Canon 5d, Canon 7d, or Canon Rebel in real time with Sony Vegas Pro 9.0

The bug prevented Windows 7 64bits users from running the application.

Finally works! Mind you that I haven't fully tested it yet, few things to sort out, but it looks promising.

Btw, support is very collaborative and quick turnaround

Rob

Epic I would be used instead of transcoding quicktimes for Vegas, yes. You might still want CineForm for other formats or other purposes.

We hope to extend Epic I to AVCHD stream files and Red files (Epic II?)but that might be a few months away at least.

I have this up and running. It's pretty cool. I had to go to control panel and turn User Account setting on/off and restart.

I just heard about Epic yesterday, was about to go to videoguys and order Cineform, now I might not.

What kind of proxies does this program create? What codec is it using?

Perrone,
The proxy file is an MXF file in the DVCPROHD or DVCPRO format. The frame size of the proxy is the same as the frame size of the H.264 file, unless you have the ½ or ¼-size options selected.

Taken from: Raylight Ultra Version 1

I still have to test it a little more, but so far I am very impressed.

I even got some EX1 raw footage on the timeline with Epic's proxies from my Canon T2i, added some transitions and effects and rendered it, worked fine.

I also did another test where I have copied my project onto another computer that didn't have Epic installed. When you open your .veg, it is referencing to the original Canon footage, just like a normal project, which is great since you can archive your project and open it years later on a more powerful machine and it would still be referenced to the original footage. You could then delete all your proxy folders and work with the available technology then.

I believe this is one of the best if not the best and most affordable solution there is right now, and it is also a time saving and disk space saving solution.

Rob

I'm thinking it might be more convenient that Cineform, So far, it doesn't really seem to add any additional work flow steps, it's as if you're working natively in h264. I get tired of juggling MPEG streamclip, DnX, Clipbrowser, Virtual Dub, Cf etc. Simple is good for me.