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XDCAM-HD/AJA Io-HD/FCP connectivity questions
We are about to make the jump to HD, and have decided that we like the Sony XDCAM-HD as our acquisition format. But we also have some Sony HDV gear that will still be used, and our existng SD format is BetacamSP.
My initial thinking is to hook all of this up through an AJA Io-HD. The Io-HD has the analog component inputs and outputs, and the analog audio input/outputs to handle the Betacam. I was thinking of using the HDMI inputs/outputs to take care of the HDV material.
There are two ways to handle the XDCAM format. One is to run the signal through the Io-HD via the HD-SDI connections. The other is to connect the XDCAM deck to the Mac via the iLink/Firewire cable. The iLink/Firewire option allows all of the workflow and file transfer features of the XDCAM format; the HD-SDI connection does not.
We will be using CalDigit eSATA drives.
Can I (or should I) use the built-in Firewire bus for both the Io-HD Firewire 800 cable and the iLink/Firewire 400 cable? Or should I get an additional PCI Firewire card to put one of these on a different bus?
I know the separate Firewire card is safer, but I don’t see where we will ever use both the Firewire 400 and the Firewire 800 connections at the same time. To my thinking, it will always be one or the other.
Advice?
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4 Replies
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[Tim Allison] ” Can I (or should I) use the built-in Firewire bus for both the Io-HD Firewire 800 cable and the iLink/Firewire 400 cable? Or should I get an additional PCI Firewire card to put one of these on a different bus?”
It will not work, the IoHD takes over the entire FW so no other device will be functional when the IoHD is being used.
the $75 card will save you HUGE amounts of grief
“To my thinking, it will always be one or the other. “
but if it even plugged in to the buss- it will be polling the OS to stay active, and when you start working with the IoHD again you will need to reboot the OS so it can take control
gary adcock
Studio37
HD & Film Consultation
Post and Production Workflows -
How are you going to ingest the native XDCAM-HD?
Are you going to buy the deck or wait for the USB external drive coming out next month? Huge price difference there.
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Thanks Gary. I believe you’re right….the $75 will be well spent.
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Borjis,
We want to go with the full-blown deck. Some of that is because we’ve got some old thinkers around that cannot imagine life without a deck. But I also figure that there will be times that having HD-SDI i/o will be nice. I’m wondering if we can input the XDCAM via iLink, but dump the finished edit back to XDCAM disk via HD-SDI. That should save us the sometimes-long “conform” render.
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