Does the XL-H1 Still hold up?

[Declan Smith]

Not sure about the other units, but the Samurai also has an option to record using the DNxHD codec which is both Mac and PC compatible.

Declan Smith
https://www.madpanic.tv
After Effects CS6/ FCS3 / Canon XLH1 / Canon 7D / Reason / Cubase

\”it\’s either binary or it\’s not\”

[Andrew Johnson]

yeah i had read that too, some forums were still talking about how VEGAS and it’s consumer version, MSP13-which i am using , were still having problems with it (codec issues i believe)and that it had to converted to different format.

I know i have had a problem with some files like that where it might render most, but it would fail to render all the clips (especially with .MOVs coming out of my helmet cam) … Just very cautious on what and how much ($). But again, still on that budget issue for now….Got too many expensive hobbies and projects 😛

This may be a “DUH” question, but since i have not used DV tapes for a long time,

1. what tapes do you recommend for the canon series,
2. If you are simply making a back up for the DTE or Atomos, do you ever re-use tapes- and if so is there a max number of times?

Thanks Andrew

[Declan Smith]

I can’t speak for Sony Vegas and codec support issues, but there are many tools out there for converting between them.

With regards to tapes, I tend not to use tapes with my Canon XLH1 anymore, but always have them on standby. I’ve only every used Sony DV Premium tapes (MEDVM60). When I went HD, I switched from tape based XL2 to XLH1 with Samurai. The advice I always went with is to use the same brand / model of tapes and not to interchange them, so if you went say Panasonic tapes, stick with them. Not sure whether that was sound advice or not, but I never had tape issues. One thing I also never did was re-use tapes. Bars & Tone for the first 30 seconds, record then write protect. That was always my method of working. With HDV, dropouts on tape can be more of an issue because the amount of frames that could be affected by a dropout.

Declan Smith
https://www.madpanic.tv
After Effects CS6/ FCS3 / Canon XLH1 / Canon 7D / Reason / Cubase

\”it\’s either binary or it\’s not\”

[Rob Gutermuth]

He is not using a XL-H1, if so, easy solution of course…. Samurai is a no brainer. He has a xh-a1s which has no HDMI on it, so FW is his course…

If you have to transcode prores footage in Vegas, that sort of defeats the whole purpose of using it too, and might as well just use the M2T files from the FS units.

I would disagree with use of tapes – They are Really cheap insurance, and costs you nothing more in equipment to use them, since you are already operating the camera. $2 a piece for 1 hour back up – just silly not to do it… the only thing you might loose is a little bit of battery life, but not much on the XH-A1s

Again, as a BACKUP – not as the main way of recording your footage these days.

note on tapes:

Tapes can be switched, however it’s BEST to stick with either Panasonic or anything else – the reason has to do with how the tapes are lubricated – Panny was different than anyone else and used a wet, vs Sony and everything else that used a dry…

The other issue is that the heads will “get used to” how a certain tape “feels” almost like breaking in a pair of shoes – they just are used to the track alignment, etc and will wear correctly with the same brand of tape like that…

you actually can switch though… what you need to do is to run a cleaning tape a couple of 10 sec passes FIRST before you switch… and it’s a good idea to run one about every 15 hours of head time just to keep them clean – not for longer than 10 secs though… or you will shorten the life of the heads.

I personally have used both, and find the Dry lube to be better for the canon cameras (Sony tape) – the panny tapes always gave me drop outs, more than what was acceptable… Sony tapes – I might get one drop out in 55 mins, usually none, just depends. been about 4 years since I used tape now as my primary way of ingesting footage.

Rob Gutermuth
Media Creations

[John Knight]

hello, i am using a xl h1 with the samurai blade, i was wondering what bit rates you get in prores 442, i think my unit has a fault, as it only records at 13.3MBs thanks for you help

[Rob Gutermuth]

yeah, that’s too low for sure… heck, MiniDV is 25 – I wanna say it should be 30 but I can’t recall.

I would try prores HQ and see if it creates larger files (not needed, and prores 422 (regular) is fine, and all I ever use with that camera)

how do you know it’s only 13.3? I don’t have a blade, I have the original Sam – works fine with the XLh1 and the XLh1s….

there could be a firmware upgrade you need for the XlH1 for it to work with the blade? – or vice versa? – I think this is a good question for Atomos too. the only way to really troubleshoot this, is to try the blade on another camera, and see… then you can rule out one or the other for sure.

let us know what you find out… also, do you have another drive you can try? might be a bad HD?

Rob Gutermuth
Media Creations

[John Knight]

i shot some video to test it, analysed it in premier pro. proress LT is 9.2MBs 422 is 13.3 and HQ is only giving me 20.5 MBs.. tested the SSD as well, data rate and through put are all to spec. sent a request to atomos to see if they have any ideas, off to CVP tomorrow, and see what another camera does on this unit…. thanks for your input

[Owen Dawe]

I recently bought two Blackmagic Video Assist units to attach to two Canon xl h1s cameras. It has certainaly put a new lease life into these old cameras. I make short filler programs for a tv station. Whenever I have a reject I ask if the quality is too low and do I need to buy new cameras? It’s always the content that brings a rejection. Not the picture or audio.

I record to SD cards in either proress 422 or proress 422 hq. I find there is not much difference between the two which probably is a result of the cameras. After all the cameras are old technology now. I wonder if there are any other prosumer cameras of that vintage that can bring such a good result. I never record to tape and have never had a failure with a file.

I have a xl h1 as well but the audio is not embeded into the sdi stream.

So to answer your question. Does the XL-H1 Still hold up? I must reply in some situations it holds up very well. They are perfect for what i do so I have no plans to replace them as long as they keep working.

Owen Dawe,
Fan of Retro Gear.