[Edward G downie]

I definately would go with the DVCproHD the HDX900 is a solid one. The P2 DVCProHD ones has a storage to cost issue and right now the card are too expensive, the experts have been saying that the MPEG2 format is going to go away in a matter of a few years (replace by the AVCHD codic) and that is the HDV and the XDCam and I also notice that all MPEG2 base format you have to be carefull in how you shoot if you look on all the footage that all the manafacture have been sending out there is no rapid movement or pan shot because they don’t work.

Grass Valley has the Infinity series which is JPEG 2000 format that is also a great camera it use hard drive with out the player/recorder head on the drive, the player/recorder is in the camera, the cost per drive is about fifty dollars and I understaned you can record 60 plus minutes of 1920X1080 HD footage and that camera cost about the same as the HDX900.

I reciently learn that Hitachi who has some great HD cameras but only in the highend market is coming out at NAB with a camera that rival HDcam for around 45K.
So I think if you have to buy now buy a DVCPro HDX900 or a Varicam oops! there will be a new Varicam replacement at NAB Panasonic just anounce that, and the specks of the new Varicam is closer to the HDCam so good luck.

[Edward G downie]

Yes such a camera exist, not the XDcam or the HDX900 those are hd camera which records in HD only but output in SD/HD format if you add a SD recorder. All the DVCProHD camera which uses the P2 recording format will allow you to record in HD when you need HD and SD when you need SD inside the unit and include the smallest one the 200 go to the Panosonic website and get youself the right information.

For multicamera none of those camera above can be use for music video ect. ect. and then use then controlable by ccu and and a piggy back adaptor. The JVC HD250 can be use that way they have a ccu set up for that camera that camera also record both in HDV and DV. The HDCam series has ccu and a piggy back adepter which work that way but HDcam is the big dog “WOF WOF” they don’t record SD but HDcam is ideal to record music video when you can’t afford film and don’t forget for music video you need the Fostex PD2, PD4, or PD6 or a Nagra to jamsynk and timecode the audio to the video good luck.

[Edward G downie]

I think he is asking if there is a hardware solution for his g5 I know FORA has a unit but that is about 20K and it is real time. The Sony XDCamHD is HDV with a higher bit rate for better quality and stability and the fastest new Intel Mac still takes a long time to encode HDV/XDCam to HD DVD. I think there is a solution on the horizone the new DVCProhd P2 2000 that will be out in April will use the new format which is supported by Sony and Panasonic I think it is call “AVCHD” and it is frame base it will record more information and uses up less space and I understaned it is easer to work with. I am hoping that at NAB some one will come up with a real time card, there is a company in Canada who made a real time DV card that you stick in a Mac for regular MPEG2 encoding I hope they will solve this delima with a HDV to DVD card good luck.

[Edward G downie]

The HDX900 is a great camera, on a regular HD monitor there is not much difference to the F900 but when you put them on the big screen you can see the difference and the F900 look a lot better. I love the HDX900 because I can save and owned myslf one the F900 I have to rent. As to service I think JVC is the best of all in service is a pitty the format they are pushing I am not interested. I started out in 1992 my first camera was a Panasonic wvf250 I hated that camera and for a very long time I refuse to buy any Panasonic camera I baught Hitachi SK series and dock with JVC D9 back, now I am crazy about the HDX900 I have only one resurve the recording head is 9 micro instead of 16 micro like the varicam but it is almost the same camera at one third the price.

[Edward G downie]

Panasonic has a new hd/sd av-hs300 switcher for around $7,000.00,I think that from this switcher you can record directly to a firewire hard drive, JVC has their new gyhd250 camera studio version for around $10,000.00 each and you can record to tape dv or hd your format of chioce dvcam dv or dvcpro hdv dvcpro-hd ect ect and for the replay get a hardrive recorder sony has one and thompson grass valley has a expensive one (You may need three to isoreal each camera) so you can random acess for replay and get some one who knows what he or she is donig (a engineer) to make it all work, I am a field producer with multi-camera experience and the most important guy is the tech/engineer good luck.

[Edward G downie]

If you are in the new york area I can help you with minimal cost. I have a four camera sd rig which I have not been using I mostly shoot single canera and the only reason I have not sold it is I have a studio project coming soon. so please to email me:
edownie@optonline.net

[Edward G downie]

Thanks and one love.
Edward

[Edward G downie]

I have FCP 5.04, so I need to purchase 5.1 universal upgrade via the turn in program and that will work.

[Edward G downie]

I wil do that thanks

[Edward G downie]

I mean the project file. Do I need to upgrade to OS10.4 in order to get fcp 5.1 as auto upgrade is not seeing it when I click on it