footage archive options?

[Dave Matthis]

I’ve just thought of something very interesting which could influence me toward Sony’s Professional Disc format.

The PDW-700 camcorder (which records on these discs) has a variety of connections, including i.Link, ethernet and even a planned optional SDI input. Is it feasible to transfer files from other sources (including camcorders) to Sony Pro Discs on the PDW-700? I’m imagining doing this on-location, possibly even without a computer. Sony doesn’t mention any of this in their product literature. As for the optional SDI input they do not suggest how it might be used.

That workflow is intriguing to me, because my productions normally involve multi-camera shoots. Transferring files from an EX3 to a PDW-700, for example, would make the EX3’s memory card available for re-use. This could make any solid-state camcorder more practical as a second camera to a PDW-700. The 700 would facilitate a Pro Disc footage archive for any cameras involved.

An alternative for archiving solid-state cameras might be just bringing along a notebook computer with a lot of hard disk space to the shoot. Your camera fills up a memory card, you offload the files to hard disk, wipe the memory card and re-use it. In post those files could (presumably) be transferred to Pro Disc as an archive. It would work, but it’s more gear to take along on the shoot.

Comments?

[Clint Fleckenstein]

The archiving issue has been the one thing that’s had me in a holding pattern on HD at our shop for a while. I need something that I can archive because our footage is ALWAYS being used across projects. We have a wide variety of clients that have stuck with us for ten years or more, so it’s handy to have their footage available.

I also need to be able to have footage available for project managers to review. I’m really excited about an EX1/EX3 option with a Firestore type of device for backup in the field, and the XDCAM disc format for archiving. At around $25 a disc, that starts looking pretty comparable to DV/HDV media (providing you fill the disc, which our projects would do). It just depends on how well that drive works.

We’re meeting on this very subject again today, and from my perspective (and my daily magazine/web reading) it seems that the XDCAM EX format seems to be the way to go for a shop that’s been on DV for so long, and the only format with an archiving solution that fits our needs.

Clint F
Bismarck ND

[Dave Matthis]

Sounds like you’re in the same boat as me. Archiving is important because of the kind of clients we have.

I’ve just finished making a big chart with a cross-comparison of six different HD camcorders that interest me. It compares apples-to-apples on many different features. One very important one is “AV storage medium estimated cost per hour.” Basically if you had to record one hour of footage, how much would the storage media cost? Here’s what I found:

Sony PMW-EX3, one 16GB SxS memory card, $875
Sony PDW-700, one 50GB Professional Disc cartridge, $62
GVG Infinity DMC, two REV 35GB disc cartridges, $106
Red One, about 100GB worth of Compact Flash cards, (I don’t know how much $ that is)
Panasonic AG-HPX500, four 16GB P2 memory cards, $3600
Canon XL-H1, one MiniDV videotape, $5.

This really underscores the fact that with solid-state camcorder memory, you can’t stick it on a shelf and buy more as we’ve always done with tape.

[Craig Seeman]

8GB +R DL-DVD $2.50

[Clint Fleckenstein]

There’s something reassuring about being able to stick a tape in our fire safe and be reasonably sure it’s going to stay there intact. Of course, trying to jam HDV onto those same goofy little tapes is NOT very reassuring. I’d rather shoot tapeless and archive to XDCAM discs using that drive, so I’m eyeing that workflow very closely. Then we can stuff the discs into our gigantic safe just the way we’ve done with tapes in the past.

Cf

[Tom Burke]

Hello,

I was just wondering where you were sourcing your XDCAM Discs from at $23. Is this a price for the most recent dual layer 50GB discs? We are in Ireland and are having a hard time sourcing discs from the UK or Europe (or B&H Photo in NYC for that matter) at any price less than $60. Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated.

Tom Burke

http://www.areaman.tv

[John Mcclary]

Many sites are less than $40 US but musiciansfriend.com is $26 right now. (but it’s 4x)
https://tinyurl.com/5z76wp

I can’t wait until the XDCAM writer is able to write any type of data.

John McClary