This is going to be Kick A, direct record to Ipod(DV or HDV)

[dat5150]

http://www.bella-usa.com/Catapult.htm

[EyeBite]

That does look pretty handy.

[Jeremy Ordan]

I would actually now consider getting an Ipod. Being able to record to harddrive right away is awesome and this is a ton less than the firestore. Very nice innovation.

Laptop with DVRack or this? I think I'm leaning to this.

-Jeremy

[dougspice]

Interested to see more about how this works.

[The Machinist]

Curious what format the device is using for recording.

It'd be very cool if it were something that you could preview on a video ipod but thats probably asking for too much.

[Jeremy Ordan]

If it offers that functionality, even if it is storing the clips in an uncompressed QT file, that would be kick ass... This is the only thing that's come out of NAB so far I can afford, unless someone wants to give me $30K for my DVX.

-Jeremy

[HVXguy]

Gotta have it!! Gotta have 3 or 4!!

[BryantStanton]

This is awesome. Can be used with "pretty much any" USB 2.0 hard drive. I was going to be buying a FireStore drive pretty soon, but now this looks like it could be a cheaper alternative. Sounds good so far, can't wait to hear more about it.

[dat5150]

I know many have discussed a device like this for a long time and it seems Bella is the first to step up to the plate. I can only imagine that if direct record to ipod is the first step then using the ipod vid screen is not far behind.

Can you imagine an event videographer immediately selling copies of an event to a customer(s)......hook up the ipod or USB drive and buy a copy of X event on the spot.

[The Machinist]

That'd be a useful progression of technology alright.

While we're at it maybe Apple can figure out how to put a dumbed down version of Imovie HD on the next incarnation of the video ipod.

[insanityfw]

well now, I know what to do with that 30gig ipod cluttering up my desk. :) Anybody want to buy a slightly used Firestore?

In all seriousness, I can't wait to see how this works. My firestore isn't quietest piece of machinery when it gets hot.

I can't wait to hear more.

[nycfilmmaker]

nice. this is what i'm talking about. great price point. simple and does the job. lets see how it records off the hvx...

[Tainted]

There's no way the ipod will play the DV files directly. Hell, my PC can choke on them sometimes. But who cares, if you can dump the files straight to disk that's sweet enough in it's own right. I wonder how this works? Does it go Firewire from the cam to the unit, then USB from the unit to the ipod? It must, otherwise there'd be an AD/DA step in the chain, which is unlikely and would suck IMO.

[WesVasher]

There's no way the ipod will play the DV files directly. Hell, my PC can choke on them sometimes. But who cares, if you can dump the files straight to disk that's sweet enough in it's own right. I wonder how this works? Does it go Firewire from the cam to the unit, then USB from the unit to the ipod? It must, otherwise there'd be an AD/DA step in the chain, which is unlikely and would suck IMO.

??

I've been using my 2G 10GB iPod to play DV files from for almost 4 years now and it still does just fine. DV is only 3.something MB/sec... My iPod has a sustained read/write of about 10 MB/sec and it's a really old hard drive.

[OliverM]

Only DV-bandwidth, but nice enough. Will every iPod cut it or is this aimed at the flash-based thingies?
EDIT: Woops, didn't see page two...

[PsUK]

But today it's not possible to play DV footage directly on iPods. Apple says:

H.264 video: up to 768 Kbps, 320 x 240, 30 frames per sec., Baseline Profile up to Level 1.3 with AAC-LC up to 160 Kbps, 48 Khz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4 and .mov file formats
MPEG-4 video: up to 2.5 mbps, 480 x 480, 30 frames per sec., Simple Profile with AAC-LC up to 160 Kbps, 48 Khz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4 and .mov file formats

[Tainted]

??

I've been using my 2G 10GB iPod to play DV files from for almost 4 years now and it still does just fine. DV is only 3.something MB/sec... My iPod has a sustained read/write of about 10 MB/sec and it's a really old hard drive.

What? Maybe I'm wrong, but I HIGHLY DOUBT that. Like poster said above, the specs don't even come close to that capability. We are talking about WATCHING a playing DV file on a video iPod. I'm guessing you are talking about playing it on a computer when it's located on an iPod. Two VERY different things.

[Sean Michael]

Can be used with "pretty much any" USB 2.0 hard drive.

This does sound promising.

I have an Western Digital 80GB portable "passport" hard drive. It's very small, rugged, & powered through the USB 2.0 connection (no batteries or power cables). Got it at Costco for $130. Could be a nice match with this device.

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00092CK9I.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

[mrpunch]

I'd buy this thing today if it was available. Let's hope they hit the early part of 'the second half of 2006'!

[ProjX v2.0]

So let me get this straight, this is for 25mbit DV and HDV, not 100mbit DVCProHD.

Correct?

[beleebala]

Too good to be true! Hope that the USB2.0 connection will be stable enough. I always have trouble copying large files to my USB drive.

[The Machinist]

So let me get this straight, this is for 25mbit DV and HDV, not 100mbit DVCProHD.

Correct?


You are correct. Its useless to HVX users.

[manglerBMX]

i have used my ipod as a hard drive for pretty much the past 2 years. using it for maya, after effects and final cut files. i didnt have huge fcp projects, but like 300 clip projects and stuff. i'm really into this and its definately something worth looking into and it on my "peep later and buy" list

[insanityfw]

This does sound promising.

I have an Western Digital 80GB portable "passport" hard drive. It's very small, rugged, & powered through the USB 2.0 connection (no batteries or power cables). Got it at Costco for $130. Could be a nice match with this device.

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00092CK9I.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg


I was wondering the same thing about this drive. I bought it and haven't needed it, but it seems like a great little drive. I hope it works.

[HorseFilms]

This could become a very handy piece of equipment. I'm glad to see cool things like this come out at a decent price. I'll probably pick one up.

[TwistedLincoln]

You are correct. Its useless to HVX users.

I wouldn't exactly say useless. You could still use it to record DV to a USB drive, which would be pretty useful in some cases. If the firestore had the ability to change out drives, it would be worth the money. But with this device, the firestore seems silly.

Think about it: you could use a USB On-The-Go enclosure and this device, and have all options covered. You could shoot DVCPROHD to P2, and transfer using the On-The-Go option from the P2 card to the drive. Then when you want to shoot DV, you can shoot directly to the drive using this device. And since you can carry several USB 2.5" drives in a bag, you could have virtually unlimited storage for either HD or SD...

I'll be buying one.

[The Machinist]

You're right its useful if you're using an HVX for standard DV but I wanted to make sure no one thought this could be a P2 card replacement.

Just trying to circumvent misinformation and rumors.

[ChrisByrnes]

Too good to be true! Hope that the USB2.0 connection will be stable enough. I always have trouble copying large files to my USB drive.
Unstable USB transfers are typically due to power supply issues; esp for devices that pull power via the USB connection. Some drive/enclosure mfg use a two connector USB cable to draw power from two USB ports on the system end for this reason. Drive power requirements vary over time.

That is my only concern about this device. Does it supply power to the drive via the USB cable? If not, then we need to deal with yet another battery as part of the package.

[ovjamaica]

That is my only concern about this device. Does it supply power to the drive via the USB cable? If not, then we need to deal with yet another battery as part of the package.

That's my primary concern as well. I have a 30GB video iPod that I'd love to use this on, but I'm wondering what power source it runs off of. Because if you're continually running the drive on the iPod for recording and running off the iPod battery then forget it. You'll get maybe an hour (probably less) if you're constantly spinning the drive. The only way the iPod has a long run time is because it just spins the drive long enough to queue up the next song into RAM and then it stops the drive. Works well for music, doesn't work well for video. Then again, it does play video rather well and it's spinning the drive the whole time. Ok, so you'd get about 2 hours then, maybe less as the data rate of DV is higher.

Anyway, I'm sure they're tackling the power issue but I'd just like to know how. :D