Darn, B&H has the HVR-MRC1K on back order . . .

The XH-A1s has some very useful enhancements over the older XH-A1. Unless your budget is tight and you are offered a really good deal on an older model, I'd say go for the newer "s" model.

Looking at footage from my XH-A1 and a friend's Sony FX1 (same optics at the Z1) on the same monitor, the Canon's image is slightly sharper both for moving and static subjects. The FX1000/Z5 is supposed to be an improvement on the older models in this respect, but I've not seen any footage yet. There are two possible sources of improvement:
1) better lens;
2) better MPEG2 encoding.
If the Sony image is now as good as the Canon (can anyone else comment?) then it's down to which one feels better to operate, whether the Sony is worth the extra cash (it's about 20% more in the UK IIRC) and whether you think CMOS chips (Sony) are good, bad or indifferent.

HTH

Which CF cards are people using?
 

I just got my HVR-MRC1 yesterday and I have to say it's a pretty nice little unit. Smaller than I thought it would be which is nice.

I would like input and to hear of peoples experiences with specific CF cards. Will a 133X card work without problems or should I really look at getting a a UDMA card? Also, has anyone been able to verify if a 32GB card works?

Thanks,
Garrett

Hi. Got my MRC1 today. Works a dream! The pre-record cache feature is a bit freaky but I'm sure to some it will be invaluable. I'm using a SanDisk Extreme III 16GB which the MRC claims 72 minutes. No problems with dumping the .m2t files to Vegas or Pinnacle 12 via a Firewire CF reader, I can't ask for more really. Come on Canon, learn from this....
Regards, Oliver.

Time Codes
 

I have been following this thread for months and I am super excited to purchased tow of these units for my A1s.. but I have a question about time-code.

One of the great features of this work flow is that you have the tapes as back-up. Do the tapes and the files captured to the CF card have the same timecode? If so how is this possible with the 12 seconds buffer?

I am just thinking if I were to use the CF card footage to edit the sequence and then down the road I need to restore the project from the tapes, would this work? I have only had to restore a project from the tapes and a back-up file once but it was a lifesaver.

Also... how is everyone mounting this to their cameras. I saw the velcro idea. Any other nifty ways?

On final question... where can we find a short firewire cable to use with this device or is everyone using a 6 foot cable?

Thanks!

File Size Limitation Problems
 

I just got one of these and used it for the first time this weekend to film a dance recital. One thing I noticed due to the formatting of the CF, the file sizes for the m2t's are limited to approximately 4GB (FAT32 limitation). The unit does start a new file but there are about 3 or 4 frames where there is no audio and the timecode seams off so there is a jump in the picture. I've got the unit set to Cache mode. Has anyone else experienced this and if so have you figured a way around it? If I set the REC MODE to Normal will this make the files smooth?

Other than that I find it a great unit. After I recorded the first half I popped the CF out and plugged it into my laptop and started playing some of the show. People standing around saw it and it generated a good amount of buzz so hopefully it will help video sales.

Thanks,
Garrett

File Size Limitation Problems
 

Right-ho. Just done a 35 min continuous shot of nothing much. I get 21 minutes before the 4 gb is up and I lose 6 frames of audio right at the end but no video frames. The next clip just goes on playing with no visible glitch between the 2 clips, just the audio drop (I'm using Vegas). So I guess if you can keep your max shot length under 20 minutes and restart (perhaps durng a moment you know you can work around in the edit) you should be OK.
Hope this helps any,
Regards, Oliver.

Hi Oliver,

That sounds about what I got but I do notice a slight jump in the video also. Are you running the REC MODE in cache or normal? If I would have known that the unit was going to do that I would have done a quick start and stop at an opportune time before the 20min. I have a Sony PCM D-50 that I use for audio recording and that creates a new file seamlessly. All you do is pull the sound to the timeline, connect the files end to end and you can't hear a difference. I wonder if Sony will be able to use an NTFS files system on the CF cards in the future.

Brian, I'm using my MRC1 on an XL H1A so the mounting is easy. I just made a custom bracket that connects into the FS bracket that comes with the camera. It looks cool and makes the camea balance better in my opinion. For the XH A1 I would consider making a custom bracket from a thin peace of sheet metal that connected under the camera using the tripod mount. Have it extend backward and off the the right side of the camera (looking from the back) so it would sit roughly where the HD-SDI jack pack sits for the G1. Then have the MRC1 face out with the battery next to the camera. Use a 1/4" x 20 screw to secure it for underneath like it was designed.

As far as the timecode I always set to free run and non drop frame so it doesn't matter that the tape rolls after the CF starts to record. I did shoot tape and CF this last weekend and the timecodes are spot on.

I got a 1' firewire cable from Fry's electronics locally but I'm sure you can find it online somewhere. I think my cable cost $8.

Garrett

I don't have one of these units & don't plan on getting one, but can you not just format the CF card as NTFS to get around the 4gig barrier?

Bill,

I'm going to try that tonight but I don't know if the unit will recognize the card if it's formatted as NTFS.

Garrett

I just found the pdf manual I saved long ago & after searching the pdf it seems it's limited to being formatted as FAT32.

Yup, confirmed by trial also, won't recognize NTFS.

Sigh.

I was using it in REC MODE, not cache.
Cheers, Oliver.

another heads up guys/gals.

I got 2 transcend 133x 32gb cards for mine and they arent fast enough to keep up with all my stopping and starting. It throws the unit into error and you might not notice this until after a few minutes of working. This leads you to rely on your tapes, and you dont want that.

I can only assume a faster cf card will help to alleviate this.

How much stopping and starting are you doing?

Thanks for the comments Garrett! Can you post a photo of your mount. My feeble mind can't picture what it looks like. Also which cards are you using?

So, no more dirty heads or replaying/rewinding etc on a tape? Sounds almost too good to be true, but from reading the last 18 pages, just "GREAT" and "TRUE".

So, how do you watch footage you recorded to the card with the camera using the LCD screen? Do you select clips?

What are you guys/gals doing to back up your footage if not using tape?

Serisously, what are the best cards to use? I think space and speed and reliability are the 3 main qualities to look for in a CF card.

I'll try to post some pics later tonight. I've got 1 8GB Sony UDMA CF (300X), one 8GB Sandisk Ducati, and 4 16GB Kingston (133X). All of them perform flawlessly in capturing video.

I filled all four Kingstons this last weekend during an all day dance recital shoot. I was able to get each act on one card. During the intermission I put the card full of video that I just got finished shooting into my laptop and started playing it. I was planning on just checking to make sure there were no problems and when people started seeing it they wanted to see more so I left it running during the entire intermission. It definately helped create more buzz about the DVD so I'm sure having people see will help with sales.

When I got home I just popped each card in copied the files over to my editing machine. It took approximately 8 minutes a card (there was as little over hour on each card). So over hours of footage shot and in about a hour of ingest time I was ready to edit. Unfortunately my other camera (XH A1) was recording to tape so I had 4+ hours of ingest to do on that one.

Transfer times are faster with my Sony or Sandisk cards but the Kingstons only cost me $25 each so I can't complain.

Will this work for me
 

So I have been following this thread for a while and have a few questions:

1) Will there always be dropped frames when the file splits?
2) Will the Sony wrap program fix this when it puts the files back together?

I shoot mostly recitals and concert and need the long recording time and can not afford to have any dropped audio frames. Any comments would be appreciated.

Thanks you.

I think someone already stated that this is not an issue if set up correctly with the XH A1. If not set up correctly, I believe there is a 3 second frame drop or something I read early on. I then read that if a clip is created because of lenghth of video shot before hitting stop record, you can merge the two clips together when editing and you can see you hadn't missed a single frame.....if I read this correctly.

Thanks Garrett! Just FYI to everyone, B&H has a FW800 CF card reader for $59.95 and it has a $35 mail-in rebate. Lexar | Professional UDMA FireWire 800 CompactFlash | RW034-001

FYI - Rebate end today... 1/15/09

How does this unit work in cold weather?

Hey Derrick if you know where that post is where they describe the setup so there is no dropped frame I'd really appreciate it. I looked back through and couldn't find it anywhere. I tried every conceivable combination of camera and recorder settings and I still get about a 6 frame drop out of sound and the last frame of the ending file doesn't exactly match to the first frame of the new file.

Jonathan, I too shoot a lot of recitals and shows and have the camera running continuously for up to two hours. Before I had to worry about making a quick tape change every hour. Now, I'm waiting for 64GB CF cards (hope the Sony unit will support them that big) so I can go 4 hours. I do also capture to tape simultaneously both as a backup (I'm a huge believer in redundancy) and for archive. I figured I'd just save the parts where I have tape changes to DVD so I will have a complete archive copy.

I always shoot with a minimum of two cameras and capture sound via a mixer and laptop. So the couple of frames dropped between files is no deal breaker for me but it would be nice to just be able to pull the files into my NLE an connect them end to end.

Only few things are holding me back from pulling the trigger :

1) That drop in audio while the CF reader splits into another file due to the file system limitation. Doing long ceremonies, having a drop in audio during an important part would suck. Then I'd have to break out the tape archive and grab that piece. Derrick, what would be "the correct setup"?

2) Not sure how I would capture HDV -> ProRes in FCP using these clips.

3) Ger mentioning of the unit erroring out with certain cards. I guess I'd have to spring for the more expensive cards.

4) Is this thing hot swappable? Like when a card fills up, can I just swap in another card while the tape is recording?

It's either the CF recorder or buy a Switz light and have some pocket money for next month..lol.

Hi Randy,

I haven't tried swaping cards out when the tapes running. I'll have to try that tonight.

Garrett.

Thanks for the heads up!

Sounds good! Please try these two methods :

1) When data fills up and unit stops recording.

2) Mid write of the data (unit hasn't stop recording).

I suspect number 2 will be a big failure but am curious as to how number 1 will do.

Thanks for volunteering Garret!

A lot.
Basically you need to give the unit time to write the file to the card before you press rec again. You'll get away with it most of the time but get caught now and again.


now i actually just keep it recording to avoid this problem.

You could have done that on the journey home with the unit. No pc required for capture any more! Just play the tape on the cam and push REC (both buttons) on the unit.

I have 3 of these units with my 3 A1 Cameras. At the beginning I was not sure of the investment, Now I'm thinking I did the best. We are shooting multicamera weddings and we are saving a significant time in capturing tapes.
So far no error with CF transcend 133x 32G cards. Changing the tape after an hour It was no creating any significant drop out in my audio.
I let my tape finish and the unit still recording. I change the tape and then I hit record. The tape started recording and the unit instantly creates a new file. on post I did not see any big drop out.

More Deals
 

Ok... so the credit card is heating up but I found some more deals.

https://www.abesofmaine.com/item.do?item=SDCF16GBXIII - These are the 16GB 30MB/s San Disk Cards. If you buy 3 of them they give you $45.00 off instantly, use the promo code LOYALTY10 for another $10.00 off, then there is a $100.00 mail-in rebate. After all that the total for 3 cards with shipping is $153.24 which works out to $51.80 per card (they are $84 on B&H). Rebate end on the 17th so order now.

Sony HVRMRC1K Memory Recording Unit | Full Compass -Full Compass is carrying the unit for $783.21 ($884.95 on B&H).

Be sure to see the deal above from B&H on the FW800 card reader.

So when you were changing the tapes, the unit is still recording? Then when you hit REC on the camera to record after changing your tape, the CF unit split the file it was presently recording at the time?

Just wanted some clarification. If so, I'm sold. lol

My wallet hates you Brian. Sweet deals!

I may just bite on the sony unit....argh. Just pulled the trigger on the CF reader to get that rebate too.

My accountant/wife hates me.... haha.... And I am not even getting a cut....

Here is the sample.
Picasa Web Albums - JJvideofilm - HVR-MRC Sony ...

Thanks for the video. Correct me if I'm wrong, but for the first 5 seconds of that clip, you did not have a tape recording and when the glitch happened, that's when you hit REC on your camera? If that's the case, you were really careful to not have the camera move at all while inserting the new tape.

You let the tape run out and didn't hit REC to stop the tape right? When it was out of room, you ejected it out and put another tape in then just hit REC again? I'm also assuming that if you would have stopped the tape before it ran out then the CF unit would have stopped as well?

Just want to make sure I got the exact sequence in which you did this.

Randy you are Correct!

Here are some pictuers of the Sony on my XL H1A:

For some reason my last post didn't upload the pictures. Hopefully this one works.

Randy, tested the card removal during filming and no problems. I did not just eject the card but instead hit the stop button then removed the card, put a new one in and started the unit by hitting the (two) record buttons. Then I tried start stop from the camera and it all syncs up fine.

There is a red light on the back that tells you it's recording and when you get down to around 4 minutes of time left it starts blinking. It doesn't change when it's completely out though so once it starts blinking change out cards at the next opportune moment.

The unit is actually pretty smart. My timecode is set to freerun NDF and it pics up perfectly to match the tape. No glitches on the tape during card change out. Other than hearing me change the card and noticing a slight movement (I didn't lock the tripod head down during the card change) you wouldn't know anything happened from looking at the tape.

I'm getting more impressed with the Sony recorder as I find out more about it.

Garrett