Cineform connect HD vs Raylight

[sodotoguwangus]

Trying to decide which to purchase. What are the advantages/disadvantages of each, and which one would you recommend?

(I know this topic has been pounded to death, but I want some more opinions.)

Thanks.

[mvb]

Trying to decide which to purchase. What are the advantages/disadvantages of each, and which one would you recommend?

(I know this topic has been pounded to death, but I want some more opinions.)

Thanks.

Here are some differences that I know of:

Raylight allows non-recompressed editing of DVCPROHD (also DV or DVCPRO50) from MXF files, for zero quality loss in cutting.

Raylight, through its built-in proxy system (Raylight Red), allows real time 1080P editing on very low cost computer systems.

Upgrades to Raylight are always free and it can be freely copied from one system to another without reactivation.

Also, Raylight 1.06 is coming soon which will allow P2 authoring for real-time playback through the HVX200 camera, allow self-contained AVI's and other features.

[David Newman]

Mario, we seem to be answering the same question everywhere. End users please add you opinions here.

The main advantage of CineForm is it is NOT NATIVE, therefore you aren't limit by DVCPRO_HD's lower 960x720 resolution, you are free to do post elements like color correction, transitions and titles, without the multi-generation losses that native codecs suffer (CineForm vs DVCPRO-HD -- http://www.cineform.com/technology/H...lysis10bit.htm.)

CineForm's advantage is flexibility, higher quality in typical multi-generation post, higher performance, flexibility in resolution, flexibility in bit-rate, simpler file handing (one AVI file per clip vs AVI + many MXFs), flexibility to cut HDV and P2 media together in the same codec.

Remember both products are free to try.

[Jim Arthurs]

David, I think it's Marcus, not Mario.

I went through the process of choosing between Raylight and CineForm, and I have a simple solution; Buy both. :)

Both are outstanding products at a reasonable price, but I decided to go with Raylight from Marcus initially for a number of reasons, of course your mileage may vary. It has served well for two difficult projects in the last month.

-Longform editing was less of an immediate concern for me, vrs. rendering speed on short projects. Raylight is faster in rendering in Vegas than ConnectHD.

-Bluescreen/greenscreen. Yes, the CineForm codec is great, but no matter how good it is, it is yet another lossy transcoding before you do the key.

-I usually work on a desktop, but had to go on location recently with a rental laptop. I like software that licenses to YOU vrs a machine (like Modo, etc.). I was able to put it on the laptop to do in the field checks and tests with no hassles.

I will most likely add ConnectHD to my toolset soon, but with a different user goals in mind;

-One, it will be locked to whichever machine I decide it will be best used on.
-Two, longform editing I think will be a smoother playback experience when previewing.
-Three, I do very much like the ability to take the HVX's watered down 1080 and make good full raster 720 out of it.

Regards,

Jim Arthurs

[dusterdoo]

I bought Raylight when it first came out, and its been great. I edit on Vegas and Premiere - PC platform. Its simplicity works for me. No complaints - and updates have been regular.

Its great that BOTH companies have made the investment on this front, since Sony and Adobe are silent on supporting P2 and the HVX200 so far.

Cant speak to Cineform - but find out from actual users on the editing software and system youll be using - very important. .. ....