The Real CODEC Torture Test: 35Mbps vs 100Mbps

[Adam Letch]

it gives a good idea of improvements, though I must confess I'm still to see any footage from this unit that indicates the possibilities it opens up. I know there's some from Oshkosh, but it wasn't too inspiring, I guess uncompressed avi or something would be good.

Mike are you any closer to having that site up to show material shot, maybe something in manner of what red has done, a media link on the convergent website where you can view before and after footage.

thanks guys

regards

Adam

[Steven Thomas]

Uncompressed would be extremely large files. Based on the 4:2:2 100mbps long-GOP samples, this appears to be the smartest move for image quality verses file size.

Just based on the fast motion examples from the EX1 XDR>4:2:2 100mbps long-GOP , this is going to move the EX1/EX3 into a new level of image quality.

[Mike Schell]

Originally Posted by Adam Letch

it gives a good idea of improvements, though I must confess I'm still to see any footage from this unit that indicates the possibilities it opens up. I know there's some from Oshkosh, but it wasn't too inspiring, I guess uncompressed avi or something would be good.

Mike are you any closer to having that site up to show material shot, maybe something in manner of what red has done, a media link on the convergent website where you can view before and after footage.

thanks guys

regards

Adam

Hi Adam-
Now that we have Quicktime support, we should be able to post 100Mbps footage from some of current customers. I know the Blue Angels use the Flash XDR on some of their flights (pulling 12Gs), but I doubt we'll ever get some of that footage. However, we do have some various outdoor footage, courtesy of Jim Arthurs, that I can post this week.

One of our customers is testing our 100 Mbps CODEC against HDCAM SR this week; that may prove quite interesting. We won't match the quality of the SR deck, but we may get very close, at a small fraction of the cost (and power, and weight and size) of the SR deck.

In all our tests thus far, the 100 Mbps 4:2:2 CODEC is virtually indistinguishable from uncompressed, even in high-motion, complex scenes. So, if you're impressed with your live camera HD-SDI output, then (IMO), the Flash XDR/nanoFlash should preserve that pristine quality.

[Michael Galvan]

May I ask, is there a current wait time on ordering one of these XDR units today?

I'm interested, but seems like your product is very much still in Beta ...

[Dan Keaton]

Dear Michael,

Yes, the Flash XDR is still in "Beta".

The engineers are very busy programming the features that we promised.

We are working very hard to achieve a rock solid device, then to add all of the features that we promised.

We were faced with with a strong demand form some that needed the unit immediately. And many of these users did not immediately need all of the features.

For example, recording an HD-SDI signal can be done with other devices. However, in some situations, such as high heat/very high humidity/high g's/limited space etc a good solution did not exist as far as I know. And the other devices consumed more power and/or had less recording time.

Michael, Mike Schell will be able to tell you the latest lead time. We have substantially increased production to reduce the delay.

[Adam Letch]

look fwd to it! Just like Red, this product once fully up & running has to change the digital video world across the board!

regards Adam

[Michael Galvan]

Originally Posted by Dan Keaton

Dear Michael,

Yes, the Flash XDR is still in "Beta".

The engineers are very busy programming the features that we promised.

We are working very hard to achieve a rock solid device, then to add all of the features that we promised.

We were faced with with a strong demand form some that needed the unit immediately. And many of these users did not immediately need all of the features.

For example, recording an HD-SDI signal can be done with other devices. However, in some situations, such as high heat/very high humidity/high g's/limited space etc a good solution did not exist as far as I know. And the other devices consumed more power and/or had less recording time.

Michael, Mike Schell will be able to tell you the latest lead time. We have substantially increased production to reduce the delay.

Thanks Dan!

I would be interested in ordering one soon ... I just need to know what current lead time there is with the product and when you would think the feature set will be complete. I'm looking to use it on a large indie feature film, but would need a lot of the "cinema" features to be in place and well tested before I can use this and be comfortable with it for this project.

[Michael Galvan]

FYI - I noticed it had a powering option for Anton Bauer brick batteries ... but I how would you use it if I wanted to mount it on the camera (Canon XL-H1S) but the battery is already mounted to the camera. Would the only other way be through D-Tap?

ALso, do you have mount options for certain cameras yet?

Thanks!

[Paul Miley]

If the 100Mbps setting is producing less blur how would this affect indie film makers? It seems a number of people are trying to achieve a 'softer' film look from cameras like the EX1 (and someone pointed out that the EX1 already has quite a sharp 'videowy' image).

Paul

[Steven Thomas]

The last thing ANYONE wants is blur produced from a compressed image. This is why something like the XDR and nanoFlash is going to really open doors for many users.

Filmic motion is due to motion blur caused by a 180 degree shutter at 24 fps.
Also, many confuse image sharpness with image detail.

One great thing about the EX series is you can actually shut off sharpening (detail) which is also known as artificial enhancement and the image still maintains image detail and clarity without having the harsh edges from artificial enhancement. This is a dead giveway for video.

Unfortunately, many of these less than $10K cameras look real soft without some sharpening.
Also, big budget films have plenty of detail. They are not compromised by having a small amount of pixel information to make up the image. The soft look is created using different lens and post work. I've seen some movies go for the pin sharp look. It's all about what you want.

[John Richard]

Originally Posted by Michael Galvan

FYI - I noticed it had a powering option for Anton Bauer brick batteries ... but I how would you use it if I wanted to mount it on the camera (Canon XL-H1S) but the battery is already mounted to the camera. Would the only other way be through D-Tap?

ALso, do you have mount options for certain cameras yet?

Thanks!

The XDR has a 4-pin XLR DC power connector - so any standard 4-pin XLR battery pack will do the trick.

Mounting options are something you would have to setup yourself at this point. The back of the XDR has numerous series of drilled and tapped (threaded) holes so it would not be too tough a deal. But the standard sheet metal bracket for the back of the XLH1 doesn't seem to match up to any pattern of these holes in the back of the XDR - I tried looking for a while at this but could not get a pattern that was usable.

[Dan Keaton]

Dear Michael and John,

We will be building Anton Bauer D-Tap to 4-Pin XLR cables in various lengths.

The Flash XDR (on purpose) has a very wide range of input voltages so that it can be used with most any battery system. However, higher voltages such as 12 volt or higher, up to 20 volts is preferred.