Hardware solution - feedback please
 

Hi

We have used the HD101 for a while and very much appreciated this camera. However, we have been frustrated at a lack of affordable and portable capture solutions for component and HD/SDI.

We are looking at develloping a solution which is quite far down the design stage but not fully out of R&D. We have a manufacturer in position. I would very much appreciate comments on this idea, in terms of usefulness, possible features, and price point. Below is an overview:

(1) Basic Laptop design but desktop power. Comfortably portable.
(2) Take a Black Magic or AJA capture card
(3) 5+ hour interchangable batteries (easily changed)
(4) Hot swapable internal 500gig sata 2 hard drive, so that you can pop the drive out and change it without powering down.
(5) Seperate internal drive for OS etc.
(5) external eSATA 2 raid port
(6) Firewire 800 and usb 2, ethernet etc..

It would be Windows based and would also be easily suitable for DV Rack, Premier Pro, After Effects etc.

I have posted a similar thread in the Direct to Disk section, however, as it was the HD100 and its children that inspired this project I wanted to see what you folks thought.

Many thanks

Trevor Allin
Clear Cut Media

That seems like a tall order for a portable machine. Interesting idea though.

I don't understand why Avid, Kona or Decklink don't have a simple ExpressCard/34 or 54 SDI capture card? I think ExpressCard/34 has more than enough bandwidth.
Paired with a MacbookPro, Core2Duo and Firewire800, this would make an awesome uncompressed portable digitizing station for Windows or Mac.

As for portable hard drives, I've captured 720P uncompressed 4:2:2 8-bit to a Lacie Firewire 800 Bigger disk on a G5. I didn't try sustained 10 minute takes or anything, but it did work for my short tests.
Since 720P60 is 105MBps, that would exceed the maximum sustained rate of Firewire 800 (105 x 8 exceeds 800.) However, 720P24 or 720P30 would only be about 40-50MBps uncompressed, so well withing the limits of Firewire 800.
Either way, DVCPROHD would transfer fine, as well as Avid's DNxHD codecs. I also use the JPEG compressor on the decklink from time to time and it holds up well and saves space.

Hi Tim

Thanks for your comments. I agree it is a lot of computer for a portable solution! But that is the point, and therefore what we are aiming at.

No doubt it will be more attractive to those editing in Windows based machines than Mac based. Cross platform codecs would no doubt help though.

With hot swapable internal SATA 2 drive and external SATA 2 raid the range of capture options would be extensive.

Kind regards

Trevor

Very good question. I would buy one.

Trevor,
Sounds a bit like the Wafian http://cineform.com/products/WafianHR1.htm but without Cineform. Although your concept sounds like it would be costly, I could imagine it still being much less than the Wafian and so you would have a larger more common market, ourselves included.

Todays dream systems are just tomorrows reality anyway.

Hi Daniel

Thanks for this.

We plan to keep the cost to as low as possible and no where near the league of Waifan!

Of course what also sets this apart from the Waifan is that it is fully portable and because of its design can satisfy monitoring needs through software like DV Rack etc.

Trevor

Tim

What also makes this achievable in terms of the high spec in a portable solution is that the motherboard will be manufactured from scratch. It would be impossible to do this with any pre-exisitng motherboard.