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Query about merits of Firestore tapeless Vs Decklink Tape Capture
I’m gonna throw this out there in a few different forums to see what people with more knowledge than myself have to say about the matter.
I have a decklink card which i dont use yet. should i sell it and buy a firestore? I have a DVX100b and logically it seems like i should get a firestore, it saves capture time, money on tape stock, wear on the DVX heads…will i want my decklink HD($1000 card) in the future – should I be making use of the decklink’s SDI connections rather than contemplating using a firestore to begin with?
The only thing Im doing with the decklink right now is a kind of jimmy-rigged set up where i’m using a consumer Samsung HDMI LCD as a 3rd monitor for FCS2 (which doesnt work too well anyway because it only displays still frames from the canvas in full screen, rather than actin as a full motion cheapy preview monitor but thats beside the point)I’m still just finding my way re: filmmaking, so don’t hesitate to give me your advice, or opinions, about anything if I seem ignorant.
Thanks a ton everyone in advance, and I look forward to hearing from you.
-Adam, vancouverI don’t have a message signature, and I’m comfortable with that.
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2 Replies
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You seem to know what the FireStore is for, but not what the DeckLink is for. The DeckLink enables you to capture from high-quality tape sources and to accurately monitor the image. You don’t want to — and currently don’t have the option to, seen as the DVX doesn’t have SDI outputs — capture over SDI.
If you anticipate working with DigiBeta or HDCam, or wanting to accurately grade your footage some time soon, then the DeckLink is worth hanging on to. If you don’t, you’d probably be better off with the FireStore.
But before you rush out and buy that, it might be worth having a proper think as to whether you really need either…
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I’ve been using a Firestore for over a year now. It has saved me tons of time pouring through countless tapes and logging and capturing footage. The Firestore creates an individual Quicktime movie every time you start and stop recording. When you’re done shooting, you just connect it like any other Firewire Hard Drive and copy the individual files to your computer and start editing.
As the previous poster stated. You’ll only need the Decklink card if you plan on capturing or outputting video to/from broadcast quality tape decks (Incredibly expensive pieces of equipment) or to view the output of your video editor to a broadcast quality monitor.
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