Hdmi/hd-sdi
 

I've read that with a Blackmagic Intensity card you can capture directly to Cineform Codec through hdmi in 24p with sound.
I was looking at purchasing a Canon Xl-H1, I believe it has an HD-SDI not hdmi port.
What would be the solution to capture cineform in that instance?
Would I need a DeckLink HD Extreme?

http://www.aja.com/html/products_converters_HI5.html


or an AJA card instead of a Blackmagic one to ingest HD-SDI instead of HDMI

Whatever your computer is set up to ingest is basically what Cineform can capture.

Vince, for the XLH1 the Decklink Extreme is fine. However I want to point out that currently CineForm's support for HD-SDI ingest and timeline monitoring (while editing) is better for AJA cards.

Currently you cannot use the Decklink cards for timeline monitoring when using Premiere with CineForm software. That may change in the future (we're working on it) but today the AJA solution is more feature rich. It'll take us a while to get the features for BM support up to the level of AJA because we've been working with AJA cards longer.

Also, the BM cards are great for capturing HD-SDI (or HDMI) through our HD Link software direct to CineForm files, but we don't support batch capture (using timecode) yet. That is supported for the AJA cards.

Thanks for the replys guys,

So I could go from the XL-H1 to AJA Hi5 to BM intensity card with sound and 24p in cineform codec, or does aja have a straight solution?

Vince, with the XLH1 you could use a Xena LHe card with Prospect HD and capture HD-SDI directly, including 24p. This card is also ready-to-go for timeline monitoring while editing.

Thanks again for the help David,

That card seems to do the trick, I've found it at around $1500, little pricey but it might have to do.
The BM intesity card is $349 and that AJA Hi5 around $400, would that solution work just as well, with sound but without monitoring?

Also I have a Sony FX1. I believe the BM intensity card can handle component ,does the Aja do this as well?

Vince, Canon does not embed audio into the HD-SDI stream, so you need to use the analog audio outputs from the camera as you record.

Correct, you cannot monitor while editing using the BM card. Overall, at least for now, the LHe card will be a more complete solution although it is more expensive. BM does a great job with their pricing.

Thanks David, you've been a big help, the AJA system seems more feature heavy than the BM card that's for sure. Although that intensity card and a Canon HV20 could give the great results I bet.

On the audio issue, is there any synch problems using HD-SDI and xlr together?

Audio sync should be fine - many customers use this configuration with great results.