Uncompressed 4.4.4. HD from DVX100 - demo

Matthew Bennett

Matthew Bennett

Well-known member
Hi all,

I shot the clips in this demo using a newly acquired Andromeda modification for my DVX100A. It allows you to capture uncompressed full RGB images at 1540x984 from the DVX.

These images originated at 1540x984 frame sizes, and of course I shrunk and compressed them for the web..

This h264 (quicktime7) has pretty good fidelity to the original...

http://eldercareofthefuture.com/matt/MBP_HDdemo_1_h264_lrg.mov

This is a mp4 (quicktime6) which looks nothing like the original but will still give you some indication,

http://eldercareofthefuture.com/matt/MBP_HDdemo_1_smll.mp4

The best thing about this system is the dynamic range. You have 9.5 stops of exposure to work with as opposed to normal HVX/DVX 7 stops or less. And of course the color, you can actually shoot pure colors. Oh, and the perfect keys. And the 35mm like detail levels.. I could go on, safe to say, I love it. It is the best investment a digital cinematographer can make, in my opinion.

The modification is made by a company called Reel Stream

here:

http://www.reel-stream.com/


Enjoy
 
. . . Holy shinto. That footage looked incredible. I really wish I had the money for the Andromeda setup and some decent hard drives to transfer to. :(
 
Yeah, I was really bummed to hear the Andromeda could not be done for PAL. Once I got my DVX, and had the cash it'd be something I'd have looked at for sure.
 
Matthew, that's an awesome demo of the mod, thanks! I think I might have to include that in my next production budget!
 
Dang impressive! I must have this mod!

I can't wait to see the first full-length film using this bad boy. There's a lot of potential here.
 
Matthew,

I really really want to like this product because I think it's a great idea. The process of production and acquisition, however, is a pretty big stumbling block for those not setting up equipment in a typical film style (i.e., cumbersome). Also, from the footage and stills I've seen (including yours, particularly the woman with the camera) there seems to be a lot of noise in the footage. I took a look at your recent green screen work and I noticed some "leak" on the subject's shoe that seemed pretty severe, even at the relatively low rez on the Web.

Of course I would love to see 5 or 10 seconds at full HD resolution because it just looks like well shot mini dv to me right now. Having said that, I do recognize the dynamic range and color ehancement and that's nice but I wonder if it's worth all the trade offs for those not doing extensive effects work or general green screen work. Seems to me that the amount of work involved could equal the amount of work to create a controlled lighting environment using a regular camera.

Anyway, enough from me already. Thanks for sharing.
 
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But disjecta, I don't see how, no matter how well you light a regular dv25 shot, you are gonna be able to get the sort of keys that 4:4:4 will give you. The format just doesn't have the information. You might get "OK" keys but that's it. Also, with 2-3 stops more dynamic range, you're not gonna be able to beat that with a dv25 cam. Light both right, and I'm guessing you'll have a lot more detail in the Reelstream.

Basically the mod captures more information. Information that's normally lost during dv25 recording, so you're SOL.
 
Yeah, I edited my post to indicate that I'm talking about those not doing green or blue screen work...a more garden-variety independent filmmaker or documentarian, etc.
 
disjecta said:
Yeah, I edited my post to indicate that I'm talking about those not doing green or blue screen work...a more garden-variety independent filmmaker or documentarian, etc.
Click to expand...

You have some good points. I think this mod is for a very narrow niche. Basically if you are trying to make a more traditional film with a DVX. It's definitely not for a run and gun operation.

But if you're making something like November, I think it would be a great tool and worth the expense. Especially considering how much Color Correction/Grading a lot of us do to our footage.
 
disjecta said:
I took a look at your recent green screen work and I noticed some "leak" on the subject's shoe that seemed pretty severe, even at the relatively low rez on the Web.

.
Click to expand...

Yeah, there is is some leak, it was a little bit o' laziness on my part, not rotoscoping the shoe. Killer spill (green reflection) in that area.

Actually, I'm not much of a keyer, to tell the truth.. I'm sure with a matte combo and some finer tweaking that could definitely be dealt with. (note to self: deal with shoe on next cut)

Thanks for pointing it out. Whenever I feel the least bit lazy in the future, I'll think "But no, disjecta is watching!!" Ha! Thanks for keeping me on track.
 
Matthew Bennett said:
Whenever I feel the least bit lazy in the future, I'll think "But no, disjecta is watching!!" Ha! Thanks for keeping me on track.
Click to expand...

LOL :Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)
 
taubkin said:
Hey Matthew, How are you working this thing with hard drives, capturing, archiving, etc?
Click to expand...

I capture to two hard drives 200G each, using a laptop as the controller. Right now I archive to data DVD's. The system is a data-hog, but you get what you get..

There are probably lots of different ways you could do it.

Check the forums at reel-stream.com for more info..
 
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