Future Wafain boxes will have battery option. But even today, those thinking that a workstation using uncompressed or 2:1 compression is more convenient, haven't considered all the workflow benefits.

David- How far down that "future" road do you see this being? And will there be smaller raid/price options?

And I'm just getting to the point where I do want to do uncompressed capture, and I have been looking at several different options. Problem is, most of them are neither field portable, or easily affordable. Double bummer.

That is a question for Wafian, we license Wafian the compression, they design the capture software and the hardware that runs it.

This is a very interesting discussion.
I think that Mr. Newman has a very interesting point and I would love the Waifan solution,
but personally, for me, the price, right now, is out of the question.
That is why I am looking at Mac/Kona/Raid solutions.
But I will wait for the new intelPowerMacs to come out and then update before I buy.

I totally understand where you're coming from, David. I have considered the workflow carefully, and I agree, the Wafian/Cineform combo is a great near zero compromise solution. Beats the hell out of renting an HDCAM or DVCProHD deck.

I'm sure the visual difference between SheerVideo and Cineform is basically indistinguishable. That said, I wonder if it's possible to make a virtual "mini-wafian" with a shuttle pc, an SDI card and a tiny attached LCD?

The Wafian capture software is pretty slick, has a lot of tools that are very helpful for on set work. If you can do without that, a Prospect HD Ingest license would do much the same CineForm capture work. However if might be hard to get the required CPU into a shuttle box. If you put in a Intel 955 you will be fine for 1920x1080p24 10-bit.

Well, then how about a CineForm QuickTime codec for Intel-based Macs? Is something of that sort in the works?

What about full raster 1080i? Need even more CPU power?

Yes, it is very close. Wafian was confident enough to include QuickTime on their brochures.

1080i 29.97/60Hz is also fine.

Its not just the PC/Mac. With any Mac or PC solution you also need a monitor, keyboard and mouse adding to the complexity and amount of kit you need to lug around. Certainly for occasional use or a specifc project a PC or Mac would be fine but if you were doing a lot of HD SDi work I think the Wafien offers an excellent option.

Alister- The thing is, once you have to lug a box somewhere, and plug it in, what is a mouse, a keyboard, and a flat monitor? Not much really. But, I could build a PC, and buy a car (Used) to drive it to the location, for the same or less than a Wafian.

Just curious, what is the power consumption? How long would a $100 APC UPS last?

Best,
Christopher

I would think it would be similar to a PC, minus the peripherals...

In essence, I think you're right. But, I think the biggest concern (for me anyways) is that we're talking about 5 to 10 additional components that could break or fail compared to a single Wafian box.