Dan Brockett
Forum Replies Created
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Hi Barry:
That was me in that quote and yes, as I continue to shoot and listen to the footage, the HVX-200 seems to have really nice, clean audio. I don’t have access to the type of test instrumentation that Jay Rose does, perhaps he will hook it up and really test it for DV Mag soon? But anecdotally, the HVX sounds beautiful, I think that they might have even tweaked the headphone output.
I am monitoring on Genelecs and Mackie 824s in two separate bays, both sound great! Very impressed with the camera overall, other than the lcd screen is not so hot.
Dan
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Hi:
Like Shane, I have been shooting with the HVX-200 for about two weeks. We are using a similar workflow with P2 with the exception of we are archiving to a hard drive as well as dual layer DVDs. It’s time consuming but we re-use a lot of the footage we shoot as stock footage so we need to be doubly sure that the archival material works, hence the hard drive and dual layer DVD backup.
I predict that with P2, the advent of ACs will come back into play. I did a two camera HVX shoot on Wednesday and we had a PA/AC who was downloading the cards to the P2 stores and reformatting them and handing them back to us. He was also making frequent trips to my G4 laptop to verify that the the P2 stores were reading the files okay, that the media was really there to assuage my boss who was on set and nervous about the P2 workflow. I have to say, P2 is great for shooting but doing this double backup stuff is VERY time consuming.
Best,
Dan
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Hi:
Like Shane, I have been shooting with the HVX-200 for about two weeks. We are using a similar workflow with P2 with the exception of we are archiving to a hard drive as well as dual layer DVDs. It’s time consuming but we re-use a lot of the footage we shoot as stock footage so we need to be doubly sure that the archival material works, hence the hard drive and dual layer DVD backup.
I predict that with P2, the advent of ACs will come back into play. I did a two camera HVX shoot on Wednesday and we had a PA/AC who was downloading the cards to the P2 stores and reformatting them and handing them back to us. He was also making frequent trips to my G4 laptop to verify that the the P2 stores were reading the files okay, that the media was really there to assuage my boss who was on set and nervous about the P2 workflow. I have to say, P2 is great for shooting but doing this double backup stuff is VERY time consuming.
Best,
Dan
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Hi guys:
I too have been researching these smaller jib arms and have come down to buying either the EZFX or the PortaJib. The EZFX seems to be a little less expensive and not built quite as well as the PortaJib. I have rented a PortaJib and loved it, I have not had a chance to use an EZFX setup yet.
The PortaJib with everything I need (scissor attachment to the front, extension, monitor brackets, center post to mount and pan a tripod head) is about $4,500.00 total. The hard case for the PortaJib is almost $600.00 though.
Will report back if I buy one and live with it through a few different shoots.
Best,
Dan
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Hi:
Personally, I would steer clear of the first Wintel Macs. If you have any history with Macs, you know that historically the first generation hardware (remember the first B&W G3s? The first Sawtooth G4s?) is problematic.
I just bought a new dual 2.3 and I am loving it, it behaves very well with FCP 5.04 and I am prepping to purchase the Kona 3 with it to begin editing in Hi-Def with the new HVX-200s. I would buy something right now and get to work.
BTW, this is my personal FCP system, I work at a production company that is all AVID, we just bought a new Nitris Symphony two days ago. I won’t lie, AVIDs, in my producing and editing experience through hundreds of shows, are more stable than FCP. FCP crashes more often but the differences are narrowing, FCP is getting more stable with each release. IMHO, the AVID is a slightly better machine and system but at anywhere from 2 to 10 times the price of an FCP system, AVID’s future is limited while FCP’s looks to be unlimited. I love FCP but from an objective viewpoint, the AVID is better for some situations while FCP is better for others.
Both are great tools in the right hands. But FWIW, avoid the first generation Intel Macs, at least if you are a pro and cannot afford problems with hardware and software issues. Pros with paying clients and insane deadlines cannot afford to be on the bleeding edge as beta testers for Apple.
Best,
Dan
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Hi Tony:
“There will always be the need for SD as not everyone will jump onto the HD bandwagon just because your neighbor has a six foot HD plasma.”
As I stated, I am not bagging on SD nor do I think SD is really dead (yet) but it will be soon for broadcast and direct to video applications (we do work for all of the studios and by the end of 2006, no studio will accept SD material, they are all going HD), except in closed SD situations like corporations who will not be replacing all of their SD equipment soon. As far as broadcast, yes, the FCC keeps on moving the mandate date but it is coming soon.
From a business standpoint, unless you can pay off the equipment almost immediately, if you can afford to, investing in HD equipment is a smarter move as SD is basically dying a rather quick death for most professionals doing broadcast/direct to home video. The only people I can see that SD equipment may be a good move for are people producing ONLY for close-end SD systems but even if I was doing weddings and events, I would still be trying to go HD, even if my clients can only accept or want SD today, it could be a nice business to offer your clients their shows in 6 months or a year in HD for a nominal charge. There is some truth to that “futureproofing” equation of shooting HD and delivering SD. Almost all of the HD systems and cards can downconvert to NTSC/PAL easily.
We had a meeting yesterday with chief technologist for a huge worldwide conglomerate and he had some interesting things to say about how new technology like HD presents completely new opportunities for content creators. The entertainment and media business is going through it’s biggest change since the advent of color and with all of the new media and delivery platforms, I feel that we had all better be prepared to increase our skills as storytellers as well as we had better be on the cutting edge of technology because those who aren’t will be left wondering what happened as the wave of Viiv, Google, IPod video, cellular video, video on demand, day and date release of HD DVD content, etc. sweeps over us.
Best,
Dan
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Hi Shawn:
This is just me speculating but why would AJA want to keep working on developing new products for a dead end standard since the world is being forced to go HD?
If I ran AJA, I would try to calculate how many customers would just buy the LHe instead of putting the development money into porting over an SD product only for PCIe. I can tell you, 2006 really, finally is the year of HD/HDV, it seems that unless you shoot for a closed, internal world like a corporation, almost everyone seems to want to be at least shooting HD, even if delivering NTSC/PAL.
It would be very interesting to know how many LS AJA sells versus LHe.
To me, it just doesn’t make a lot of business sense to be investing in anything NTSC right now. We have a DSR-45 that needs a new board, it still works but exhibits ghosting. We were going to fix it until we realized, why put money into fixing this when we need to be buying HDCAM and D5 decks? Same with one of our DVX-100s, it needed repairs from some sand getting into the camera. The estimate was well over $1,500.00. Same end result, we are buying three HVX-200s and our DVX-100s, sadly, are antiquated now (we shoot content for all of the movie studios). We have been shooting only HD for the past 6 months between Cine Alta and Z1s even though we have yet to actually deliver more than two projects in all of 2005 in HD.
I am not saying “screw NTSC” at all, but you do have to look to even the near future and it is FCC mandated to become digital/HD very soon. Since plasma and lcd prices are rapidly dropping, SED is coming in, HD is becoming a reality. People will need something to hook their PS3s, Blu Ray and HD DVD players up to. It makes good business sense to at least shoot and edit in some form of HD, even HDV, even if you are delivering NTSC/PAL for the time being. NTSC and PAL for most professional video markets is dying a quick death.
Just my .02 worth, your mileage may vary 😉
Dan
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Hi Walter:
…it’s essentially the same card, but supporting the new PCIe machines…
Not entirely true according to the AJA press release quote below:
…Offering 40% more processing power than the industry-leading KONA 2…
Not sure how much of this is hype but there must be at least a grain of truth to it?
Dan
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Hi Walter:
Thanks for your advice. I am sure that there are plenty of other people out there who are in my same boat in wanting to not buy into an outdated PCI technology. My thought in buying a new G5 and in not buying a PCI-X Mac was that somebody would be porting their cards over to the PCIe technology as both AJA and BMD have done already, it’s just that they have not yet ported over the cards/boxes that have the exact features I am looking for. Since I have posted this, a friend who is under NDA has told me that “something that I want” will be announced at MacWorld by AJA so I am hopeful.
BTW Walter, when you use your Kona 2 to upconvert NTSC material to HD, how is the quality? I have zero experience with upconversion and we may just go with a standalone box by Snell & Wilcox or Cobalt to do the upconversions but I am curious if the “built-in” up conversion ability on the Kona 2 is really very high quality. Since you are posting broadcast shows, what is your professional opinion on the AJA’s upconversion ability? Do you ever upconvert 720P material to 1080i? How does that look? Are there any sound/sync issues in upconverting NTSC audio to HD?
Although I have had good luck with AJA products, what I would really like would be the BMD Multibridge Extreme, because of the layout and options that it offers. If it did upconversion, I would order one today. What is your take on the AJA vs. BMD as far as support and drivers? I have met Ted S. and he seems to be a good guy, running a good company but I have also heard that BMD’s technical support is very good. Opinions and experiences?
All the best,
Dan
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Shane:
Are you using your Dells as computer monitors or as video monitors for Hi-Def?
Dan