Control the HDX900 with firewire

[Chris Bell]

No firewire control is possible.

Chris Bell

[Jason Starr]

Is this possible? No deck control via firewire? Panasonic advertises that you can capture right from the camera with firewire. I have been at demos held by Panasonic reps and mentioned my short term interest (until I can afford a deck) in capturing directly from the camera and NO ONE said that would be a problem. So am I to understand that one has to do a “capture now” in order to get material in from the camera?

[Peter Steinman]

It captures just fine. You just have to use playback controls on the camera or from the remote and then the capture now type function from your edit system.

They don’t want you using it as a vtr and so no firewire control. Rental people would freak out and Panasonic would have more warranty service to perform if they let you did that.

[Tony]

Capturing and using a camcorder as a playback device for digitizing is the last thing you want to do if you care about significant wear and tear on those valuable heads especially if you own the camera.

Panasonic never intended the HDX-900 to be used to replace a vtr for digitizing as the firewire out is intended for capture to an external hard drive or for those willing to do so a “capture now” input to
FCP for those down and dirty edit sessions. The misconception of using the camcorder as a playback device is a throwback to how owners of mini dv camcorders utilize their camcorders for playback devices.
This is the wrong thing to do on a long term basis for a professional expensive camcorder if you are seeking longer operational hours on your HDX-900.

Personally I wish the firewire output on the HDX-900 could be disabled via a security code to prevent a client from using the camcorder for a round the clock digitizing session without notifying the owner of the camera of the additional wear and tear on the heads.

Using the right piece of the gear for a specific application is the proper thing to do instead of trying to save a nickel only later to spend a dollar in repairs or upkeep.

Tony Salgado

[Jason Starr]

Obviously using a camcorder to capture from is a temporary solution or a backup. But with all due respect Tony, it should be the purchaser’s decision whether or not to use that feature. The fact is that Panasonic advertises the ability to capture from the HDX900 via firewire. The 1400 deck is over 20K. Panasonic’s marketing plan seems to recognize that some people may be able to purchase a camcorder one year, but need to wait a bit before spending another hefty sum. Otherwise they would not have incorporated and advertised this feature. So there is no misconception here, just different needs. The “proper thing” is what an individual decides is proper for his/her own needs. My point, and I only make it because I am astonished that Panasonic seems to be misleading in their advertising, is that the HDX900 firewire capture feature should do what most people would assume such a feature should do. And that includes deck control.

[Tony]

North,

Jeff Merritt addressed this scenario sometime ago here on this forum and explained what Panasonic intended and their view on using a camcorder as a digitizing source.

I will leave it to Jeff to readdress this issue again if he chooses. Keep in mind capturing via firewire does not only incorporate vtr deck control for digitizing application as it can also be used to capture to an external hard drive where there is no need for vtr control.

I think many end users by default have the understanding that capture via firewire also includes vtr control.

I personally advise against subjecting a camcorder transport for use as a digitizing playback source as it was never intended for such an application. The slow vtr transport along with having to manually cue all the takes alone makes such an application difficult except for those extreme crash and burn cases where no other playback source exists (ie News satellite uplink etc).

In the long run the end user or owner can decide if using a camcorder as a digitizing playback source warrants such a use and the user is willing to deal with the consequences of the additional wear and tear.

Tony Salgado