Cant wait to check this out Juan.

Hello,

I'll answer these in order...

Yes, you can still record P2/DVCPROHD, normal operation of the camera is unaffected, it doesn't even know the system is there.

Noah: The acquisition is full RGB since every RGB pixel is recorded from the imaging sensor and transferred to the output as-is, unless the user selects to LUT the pixels.

Charles: All variable frame rates supported by the HVX are supported for uncompressed recording.

The JVC HD100-series are the next prime candidate. From what I understand they use 1280x720 sensors with no pixel shift, so native 1080P is out of the question, but i believe the sensors are 60fps capable. I have to say though, that the DVX and HVX will almost certainly win in latitude due to the imager block design which allows for larger pixel element surface area.

Hydra will come with SculptorHD 2.0 included. xLUT will be included as well, although we will be announcing some cool news during NAB for those of you that do LUT editing...

Cheers!
Juan@reel-stream.com

I don't think that is what Noah meant, and with the sensors in the HVX wouldn't this mean 4:4:4 at 960x540 resolution, or at 1080 something like 4:2:0 ? (As Noah says) An improvement on an unmodded camera, undoubtably, but not 2K 4:4:4.

I'm just imagining a scene lit purely with blue light, such that the red and green sensors don't respond. Then the resolution of the system cannot be greater than 960x540, as a 2K 4:4:4 system would be, by definition.

Yeah thats what I was getting at. I mean RGB recording is awesome, and a real feat considering at 60fps that would be 93MBps at 8bit and considerably more at 12 or 14bit. This is sent over USB? But in the end the pixel shifted resolution (in terms of luma and chroma) is only slightly greater than that of 1080p HDV. So to the end user the important things selling points would be 14bit and uncompressed, not RGB, since no one is actually going to be using this camera for 540p RGB, they probably want 1080 or 2K.

What I understand, Andromeda was not available for PAL, does
this apply to the Hydra as well?
Aren't we PAL guys as well in need of wicked dynamic range?
I figure the specs of the capture device would be diffrent, but I kind of thought since it's doing 60p as well then 25p should be a piece of cake.

Hello,

Do you feel the same way about just about every other digital cinema camera that uses a single chip color sensor? If you look at a camera such as the SI-1920 which uses a 2K bayer sensor, the Blue pixel array is 960x540. I fail to see how this is any different.

Take even a superb high-end camera such as the Arri D-20. According to their public specs, in 1920x1080 4:4:4 10-bit HD mode, it has 1440x810 active blue pixels, well short of 1920x1080.

Not to mention that a situation where you had all lights in a scene perfectly matched to the exact wavelength of the blue path on the prism, and all objects colorless and perfectly difussing the exact same wavelength is, to say the least, unlikely.

Noah: With Hydra+HVX the data is sent over gigabit ethernet, not USB.

About PAL support, obviously the initial release version will be for US models, but other models of the HVX should follow short after. The issues with PAL support on the DVX had to do with the USB bandwidth and the increased frame-rate and pixel count of PAL cameras, which is no longer an issue.

Cheers,
Juan

It probably isn't any different, and I didn't mean to imply there is anything wrong with such an approach, if that is what you feel. But even if the output from such a camera as you describe gets RECORDED 4:4:4 (as is the case with a digital SLR), it would be wrong to describe the chip as giving a 4:4:4 output. (At least at 2K.)

I stress I don't see anything wrong with this approach technically. Having a greater resolution for brightness than colour is exactly how the human eye works, and in this case the 2K bayer sensor you refer to matches the eyes behaviour.

In any case, this is a really cool development, I'll definitely stop by at NAB and see what the Hydra footage looks like and I can't wait to see where it goes for other cameras.

Also, Juan, regarding the JVC HD100 series, what could the Hydra theoretically do for it? That is, if you can say at this point.

The big question is why hasn't Panasonic or somebody picked you up by now? Obviously you've been doing a lot more with their cameras than they have! =D

All I can say is, ¡please hurry up and give us the JVC HD100 series version! We need it now :-)

all i can say is that this is what the HVX needed to make it a demigod LOL

Newbie question here, but what editing systems can handle the resulting footage from your mod? Specifically, is it FCP usable?
thanks

H.

What about Canon's new little HV20? I believe it has a true progressive scan 1920x1080 CMOS chip.

How much does it cost?

The HD100 already has 422 uncompressed output... you can stretch that data into a 444 colorspace if you want, but it's pretty pointless to do in-cam as it only makes your transport format that much more difficult to carry.

444 is nice as an intermediate. Let's be realistic though; none of these cameras are capable of completely filling a 422 container, let alone a 444. If you're going to do this mod, do it to a D80..

when will hydra be available?
 

When will it come out ?