Media100i SDI

[Andrew Golden]

Media 100i is SD only. HD capabilities didn’t come to Media 100 until the HDx release of Media 100. There is no audio connection from the converter because SDI and HD-SDI can embed audio in signal. The HDV signal (audio and video) travels over firewire to the converter where it come out HD-SDI. I’m not sure if those converters do a down convert but you can only bring SD into a Media 100i system.

Andrew

Andrew S. Golden
President
Illusion Media LLC

[Gerry Condez]

Hi Andrew,
Thanks for responding quick. The HD-Connect SI converts HDV to HD/SD-SDI. I’m thinking that it can do the conversion to SD as well. Just wondering about the audio if that can be converted to AES/EBU to M100i? Gerry

[Andrew Golden]

Hey Gary,

I can’t for the life of me remember if the Media 100i could digitize audio over SDI. The Convergent Design box will embed the audio in the down-converted SDI signal. In the Hardware settings panel where you control what video and audio signals you are working with, see if there is an audio option for SDI in addition to AES/EBU. If there is, then you should be good to go. If not, then you need a different Convergent Design unit that breaks out the HDV signal to AES/EBU. Let me know if this helps.

Andrew

Andrew S. Golden
President
Illusion Media LLC

[Wickham Strub]

Hi Guys,

I’m sure you’re coming to this conclusion on your own but…

Media 100 i never handled embedded SDI audio. Perhaps you can run analog audio around the Convergent Design box? Although… watch out for audio sync… it’s possible that there will be a delay between the two signals.

Hope this helps,
Wick

[Gerry Condez]

Hi Guys,
I will let you know the outcome. I ordered a Convergent Design LE instead of the Si which has AES audio out. Another problem is the cable. I cant find a male XLR and male BNC around. Only cable available I found that was similar was made for TimeCode. Is it possible to use the same timecode cable? https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/306705-REG/Comprehensive_XLRJ_BP_6B_BNC_Male_to_XLR.html
Once the unit arrives I will try HDV direct to Media100i.
Heres a complete details what HD-Connect LE can do: https://69.15.88.17/HDLE%20files/HD-Connect_LE_FAQ.pdf
Thanks again for your input. Gerry

[Olof Ekbergh]

You can go to Radio Shack or similar store, and get XLR to RCA cable and then get RCA to BNC adapter.

I have a box full of different adapters for plugging into boards when recording live PA’s etc.

If you can solder it is also easy to make any cable. And many places like Hudson AV have or will make any cable you need.

https://store.haveinc.com/default.aspx

Olof Ekbergh

[Gerry Condez]

Just waiting for the Convergent LE and decided to connect my HDV camera to Media 100i Component input. I was first trying to figure out how to add the SDI junction box to my existing setup but will make it heavier to take on location doing same day edit and presentations.
Shot a wedding in HDV and digitize it to Media100i through component input, 16:9 setting and the result was AMAZING. Never seen shots this sharp and detailed. My only problem is that when I digitize, the monitor does not sync (color shifting and line moving in the middle) but when playing the entire video from the timeline, it looks great.
I guess my final cut studio with kona 3x will use the convergent LE instead to capture HDV. I thought my Media 100i had its time, but I guess still a bit longer. Thanks – Gerry

BTW, Audio and video are all synced even often there are blue gaps on the recording when the camera was not properly cued for recording.

[Floh Peters]

If you are upgrading to a Kona3 anyway, you definitely should think about getting Media100 Suite for this system. It works easily with FCP and the Kona cards. And if you use Media100, you can acquire HDV via Firewire into a Codec of your choice and monitor it on your Kona out while acqiring. Plus, since you said you want to work on location, the Media100 Suite in combination with a Matrox MXO (mini) on a MacBook Pro is a pretty powerful and flexible package.

[Gerry Condez]

Hi Floh,
Many thanks. I am definite about upgrading my system in time. Currently I have an AJA Kona 3x, Final Cut Studio 2 that runs on my G5 dual 2.7 and tried that direction with HDV through firewire. But somehow cant get any realtime FX. I can only do so much editing in 3 hours before showing edited MTV style during diner at reception places and that includes motion FX, color FX and letter box mask on the single Media100 graphic layer. Rendering time is very long with HDV plus the layers above included. Actually, I just received my Convergent design LE minutes ago and have not tested it yet. I heard that HDV takes more time to edit and would rather use the LE converter to convert the HDV to the right HD format and use Kona all the way. Not still sure about this but it is costing me a lot just to test and get it right.
I love Media 100 and its very simple to use. Never had any serious incident for over 12 years. But I see that there are more plugins out there like Magic Bullet Looks that dont support M100. I might be wrong. I try to avoid exporting to After Effects, use the plugins and edit it back to media 100. No time to render all those on location. 3 minutes plus of video = 20 mins plus of rendering and another 20+ mins of importing back to M100i on a G4. Only if I have extra hour to spare and AE wont crash.
I actually tried a minute of HDV footage captured through component of M100i and watch it on our dual 52 inch LCD setup. I’m very glad with the result and better than DV, IMHO. And if the client would want their stuff in HD, we have the originals anyway to edit later.
I saw the Matrox MX02 and MacBookPro combination and specs. Really portable. I like it. I could have a setup already unless I returned the Convergent LE. lol – Again, thank you. – Gerry

[Floh Peters]

[Gerry Condez] “Currently I have an AJA Kona 3x, Final Cut Studio 2 that runs on my G5 dual 2.7 and tried that direction with HDV through firewire. But somehow cant get any realtime FX. I can only do so much editing in 3 hours before showing edited MTV style during diner at reception places and that includes motion FX, color FX and letter box mask on the single Media100 graphic layer. Rendering time is very long with HDV plus the layers above included. “

FCP only lets you capture HDV over FireWire into the HDV codec. In Media 100, you can select e.g. Media 100 i codec or ProRes for capturing HDV over FireWire, which would give you more realtime effects. No need to go in over SDI or Component there.

[Gerry Condez] “But I see that there are more plugins out there like Magic Bullet Looks that dont support M100. I might be wrong”

There are definitely more plugins for FCP than for Media100, but the new Media100 systems include Boris RED on the timeline, which gives you a great effects platform right within the application without the need to go to AE. Again, not MBLooks, but a good selection of colorcorrection plugins and some really useful presets.

[Gerry Condez] “. 3 minutes plus of video = 20 mins plus of rendering and another 20+ mins of importing back to M100i on a G4. Only if I have extra hour to spare and AE wont crash. “

If you continue to use the Media 100 i system, there is quite some room for (free) improvements if you have a little bit of time to spare, at least if you are running it under OSX. Two things: the AE render part (slow and crashes) sounds like you do not use the Media 100 software codec for rendering in 3rd-party apps; and the “20+ mins of importing” sounds like your AE render settings are not correct, since files rendered from AE into the Media 100 codec should import very quickly (seconds, not minutes). So if you haven´t used the Software Codec let me know, and I will look for the instructions on how to set it up with Media 100; some time has passed since I dealt with Media 100 i the last time.