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AVC Intra support
Hi all.
The AVC-Intra option board for Panasonic cameras is shortly to be released and, with the very high quality offered by Intra-100 mode, we’re very keen to start shooting.
However, there appear to be several problems that remain unresolved – while the option board makes shooting AVC-Intra simple, there seems to be very little else you can do with the footage at present. Or, at least, it’s not at all clear.
I’ve spent most of today reading Panasonic documentation, trawling through forums and talking to local dealers, and I’m still in the dark as to how to get the footage into any NLE.
What I have discovered is as follows:
1. Final Cut Pro cannot at present import AVC-Intra. They promise support in a future update but refuse to give a date.
2. The Firestore FS-100 cannot record AVC-Intra. The data apparently is not streamed out by Firewire (unlike DVCProHD) and so there is no way for the Firestore to interface with the camera.
3. The P2 Gear Mobile card reader (AG-HPG10) seems not to support AVC-Intra. The AJ-HPM100 will do with an optional board, but I don’t know if this board is available yet. This would allow playing P2 cards out via HD-SDI, but at $15000 with the option board, it’s not cheap.
4. The new 32GB P2 cards are promised by Panasonic “in November” but dealers here in the UK are saying “in the next few months.” There doesn’t appear to be a clear date.
5. AVC-Intra is not remotely related to AVCHD, though many people confuse the two.
We are a small production company but have always prided ourselves on using the newest available technology to produce high quality programmes. We were the first company in the UK to start using the HPX2100 and have been strong supporters of Panasonic’s P2 format.
But trying to move forward with AVC-Intra is proving to be a nightmare. In the absence of any clear statement from Panasonic (and edit system manufacturers), there’s a sea of disinformation, claims and counter-claims. I hope I’m not guilty of the same.
Does anyone have any solid information as to how AVC-Intra can be brought into the edit? Or can Panasonic do anything to clear up the many questions which surround their new format?
I hope someone can help…
Jim
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1 Reply
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All new formats start slow; it’s up to the NLE companies to implement support.
From what I understand, Apple has publicly shown AVC-Intra footage being imported to ProRes at several events, so it seems reasonable to expect that the update will be introduced soon. But no date has been given.
I believe EDIUS supports it already with some manner of add-on component.
Migrating to a new format is never easy. The JVC HD1 was out for over two years before FCP and Avid added support for it. The FX1 was out for about 7 months before you could edit footage from it. Heck, unless I’m mistaken you *still* can’t edit 24P footage from the JVC HD100 in Avid, and it’s been out for over two years, close to two and a half years.
No doubt AVC-Intra will be a stellar format. But if you leap in on the bleeding edge of the curve, expect it to hurt for a while.
And no, as far as I can gather the P2 Gear (HPG10) won’t support AVC-Intra.
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