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I/O card necessary?
Greetings. This is my first post.
I’ve always wondered if I should invest in an I/O card for my Mac Pro
(8-core 3.0Ghz, 10G RAM). I shoot end edit HDV and DVCAM. I’m hoping to do HD this year. Are there any advantages to capturing HDV through a capture card…it’s already compressed, so would I gain anything?
Also, would I finally be able to monitor my footage on my NTSC monitor if I had an I/O card?Thanks so much for your advice!
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7 Replies
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If you want a client monitor, yes, get an IO device.
If you are serious about video editing, yes, get an IO device.
If you want to be able to check problems that might occur in video space, get an IO device.
If you charge more than 10 bucks an hour and want to be more productive, thus have a higher ROI, get an IO device.
And get a good one.
hth,
Bouke
https://www.videotoolshed.com/
smart tools for video pro’s -
Valerie, if you’re working professionally, an I/O card is essential, even more for monitoring than for capture or output. You’ll also find that the various conversions (up, down, and cross-conversion) offered on some cards may prove very helpful in your work. The AJA Kona LHi is very attractively priced and something you should absolutely consider.
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los AngelesPOST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™
A forum host of Creative COW’s Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, and Indie Film & Documentary forums.
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[Valerie Vozza] ” Are there any advantages to capturing HDV through a capture card…it’s already compressed, so would I gain anything?
Also, would I finally be able to monitor my footage on my NTSC monitor if I had an I/O card? “Pick up an AJA LHi.
Convert HDV and DVCAM to ProRes during ingest for better graphics quality and better filtering quality on your footage. Also you get more realtime performance running ProRes vs. HDV.
Upconvert SD to HD during ingest in realtime when you need to add SD material to an HD project. No rendering. Or output your SD timeline to HD in realtime if necessary.
Downconvert HD to SD in realtime if you need to output your HD project to SD tape. Or if you want to add HD material to an SD project. Again, realtime, no rendering.
Cross convert 1080 to 720 or 720 to 1080 as necessary. We do this almost daily as we get all kinds of 1080 and 720 material for editing and we only edit in one format.
Long story short, I/O cards like the AJA Kona LHi allow you to work much more efficiently.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.STOP STARING AND START GRADING WITH APPLE COLOR Apple Color Training DVD available now!
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Well, I guess I’ll be purchasing an I/O card soon. Thanks guys, for your unanimous opinion to get one. 2 of you said the Kona LHi. I understand that Blackmagic doesn’t have the best customer support, but the new Decklink HD Extreme seems pretty cool….and it’s just under a thousand. What is dual-link? Do I really need that?
Oh, and my deck is the Sony HVR10MU…very basic. All RCA connectors, no RS422, no HDMI, no SDI. How do I get the media out of the deck into the I/O card? I could use my Z7U, but I hate to do that to the heads.
Thanks again for your advice! -
[Valerie Vozza] “What is dual-link? Do I really need that? “
4:4:4 Uncompressed HD and 2k. You won’t need Dual Link at all for your workflow.
[Valerie Vozza] “Oh, and my deck is the Sony HVR10MU…very basic.”
Same deck we run here. You run the Component video and RCA Audio into the card, I would still recommend the LHi. For video you can get RCA to BNC cables easily at Markertek.com. RCA connections on one end, BNC connection on the other end.
For audio, you can get RCA to XLR cables. RCA on one end, XLR on the other end.
AJA’s quality, support and true realtime capabilities are the reasons why you’ll see so many of us use and recommend AJA products. We run three Kona 3’s currently in our shop.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.STOP STARING AND START GRADING WITH APPLE COLOR Apple Color Training DVD available now!
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I would only buy an AJA card. I have two AJA IO’s and an AJA Lhe. I have never used the black magic cards, they may be fine. But AJA is there when you need them. If you have a problem with an AJA product it will be taken care of period. They are the best in my opinion and personal experience.
Dajen Productions, Santa Barbara, CA
MacPro Two 2.8GHz Quad Core – AJA Kona LHe
FCP 6.0.4 OS X 10.5.5 QT 7.5.5 -
there are also the matrox products as well. MXO2 is also portable and battery powerable. is also can scale SD to HD on input…. and has a box with real connectors on it which I find much better then a fan out cable, especially the 1/4 TRS connectors.
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