Zolotroph
Forum Replies Created
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Hmmm… I guess I should actually READ posts before I respond to them…
😉
Sorry, I skipped over the bit in your original post about PCI-X for a SATA card (rather than a video capture card). In that case, yes, PCI-X will give you greater throughput. The BareFeats link in my other post shows the difference between the 100MHz and 133MHz PCI-X slots in the G5.
-zolo
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[Erik Lindahl] “Yes, I was thinking of either going with an external SATA RAID or FW800 RAID.”
Avoid FW800 RAID like the plague–SATA is by far the best option in the long run. There’s a great review of an inexpensive SATA card and SATA RAID at this link:
https://www.barefeats.com/hard46.html
Enjoy.
-zolo
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[Erik Lindahl] “Also, even “the best” FireWire i/o box out there (The AJA Io) can’t make my videomonitor/TV a secondary screen/view-area as most (if not all) PCI-cards do (or am I wrong here?)”
Actually, with recent firmware updates, the IO, the SD-Connect and the BlackMagic Multibridge can all be used as framebuffers for applications like After Effects and Combustion. This is commonly referred to as a “video desktop.” The Multibridge connects via a PCI card, and the IO and SD-Connect are connected via Firewire. The IO and SD-Connect do suffer from the 7-frame latency, but many do not find this to be an issue.
I understand your desire to move beyond DV. I’m doing the same thing myself, and I’m glad that there are many reasonably priced options out there for those of us who are ready for the next step.
-zolo
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[Erik Lindahl] “when it comes to SD or HDV editing, what PCI-X vs PCI options do I have? How will I notice a difference? Better RT-performace? Better throughput to HD
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[Erik Lindahl] “A FireWire-based system would of course be an option, but I feel PCI-based cards are more responsive and gives me the video-divice as an external monitor as well. “
If you’re interested in working with uncompressed video, I would strongly recommend that you plan for RAID storage in your budget. A single SATA disk has ample throughput for DV, but for uncompressed video you’ll probably need at least 2 SATA drives striped in RAID 0, especially if you want to work with 2 or more streams.
I’m not quite sure what you mean by saying a PCI card will give you an external monitor as well. This functionality is also provided by Firewire devices, although PCI cards don’t have the latency of Firewire (about 7 frames or so). Final Cut Pro can be easily configured to use an external Firewire device for monitoring playback. As long as both the audio and video are monitored on the external Firewire device, they will be in sync.
I would recommend researching firewire/analog converters like the Canopus ADVC-100. They provide a low-cost method of monitoring DV on a video monitor via composite or S-video outputs. They also convert analog video sources to DV for capture over Firewire. Many DV camcorders have a pass-through feature to provide the same functionality, but at a higher price.
-zolo
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[bullpup] “There is DV and DVCAM, the later of which is supposed to record and play at a FASTER speed than DV, which is is odd to me because both formats are supposed to be 25mbs. “
Sony’s DVCAM format was designed to provide increased reliability and greater protection from tape dropouts. While the actual signal that is recorded to tape is identical to standard DV, it’s spread out over more tape, making it less sensitive to errors caused by dropouts and tape damage.
The greater the recording density of a tape format, the greater the potential number of frames that can be affected by a dropout. As I understand it, HDV is a step backwards in this sense because its long GOP compression means that a tape dropout might destroy multiple frames where it may have only destroyed one or two with DV.
-zolo
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If you need only SDI in and out, the Blackmagic Decklink is only $295.00.
https://www.blackmagic-design.net/products/sd/
-zolo
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Check out BitVice, a third party software MPEG2 encoder. BitVice kicks Compressor’s sorry ass down the block, IMHO. The only advantage Compressor has over BitVice is speed. In terms of quality, BitVice rules. Just be forewarned–on a dual 2GHz G5, BitVice averages about 30-35% of real time. Innobits promises realtime encoding from BitVice Pro when it is released, although they’ve been hesitant to offer any concrete target dates for release.
-zolo