Buying an HVX200- What else do I need?

[Mykecabezon]

Greetings all, I am strongly considering purchasing an HVX200 within the following weeks. I just wanted to ask the experts what I needed in addition to the camera for succesful results. I edit on Premiere Pro 2.0 and Avid Xpress 5.5. Is the P2 thing a necessity or a comodity? How do HD tapes perform? Do I need any additional plug-ins to my software? Which editng platform handles the HVX best? I currently have a DVX100B and I can edit smoothly on my PC. Will handling HD footage require any PC upgrades? Thanks for the reading and any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[David Saraceno]

You will need a DVCProHD codec supplied by Raylight I believe for use with Premiere.

p2 cards are necessary to record HD footage.

Or you can buy a Firestore FS-100 to record to hard drive.

The HVX200 does not record HD to tapes. It only records DV25 to tapes.

Might want to strongly review these boards to get a better understanding of its capabilities.

 

[Jason Ramsey]

There is no HD to tape with the HVX. The tape deck in the HVX is MiniDV. P2 (or the FS-100), for HD w/ the HVX, is a necessity. You can record any mode to p2. From miniDV to DVCPRO, and DVCPRO 50 in SD modes; to DVCPRO HD 720p and 1080p.

In terms of which platform handles P2 the best... As far as format support and being able to take full advantage of the benefits of a tapeless workflow, EDIUS does. As far as everything else, the best platform is whatever you prefer. Whatever you like. You can edit HVX footage on a Mac with FCP, or a PC with EDIUS or Avid. Or with Vegas or Premiere with Raylight v2.02 or Aspect HD.

What are your current computer specs?

You've got plans for, or already have a tripod, microphones, extra batteries... any other accessories that you will need for your intended use?

Later,
Jason

 

[Mykecabezon]

Thanks

Thanks

Thanks for your wisdom. I took a trip down to B&H. From what i saw, it appears I would need about $1000+ of extra stuff to get up and going on top of the cost of the camera. I saw other cameras there though that did record HD to mini DV. I thought to myself does this water down the quality of the footage? All the cameras also gave a distinctly different look. Very tough choice. I just want a cam that will give me the best cinematic look for my buck. These P2 cards seem to give you just a few minutes of record time. I usually record about 2 hours worth of stuff on an average project. How can anyone afford that?

 

[David Saraceno]

I saw other cameras there though that did record HD to mini DV. I thought to myself does this water down the quality of the footage? All the cameras also gave a distinctly different look. Very tough choice.

I just want a cam that will give me the best cinematic look for my buck. These P2 cards seem to give you just a few minutes of record time. I usually record about 2 hours worth of stuff on an average project. How can anyone afford that?

There is a quantitative difference between HDV and GOP interframe compression and DVCProHD.

We had a Z1U and a HVX200. HDV and DVCProHD.

The Z1U footage was gorgeous. But was tough to edit, we needed a deck, conforming time was lengthy, titling was dicey, and DVD output didn't look good.

We have none of these problems with DVCProHD and don't need a deck.

Now we have the HVX200 alone, and couldn't be happier.

A deck for the Z1U will run you about $3K, for example.

You can get a FS-100 HD drive recorder for the HVX200 for under $2k.

It will record more than three hours of DVCProHD footage

 

[DC]

Thanks for your wisdom. I took a trip down to B&H. From what i saw, it appears I would need about $1000+ of extra stuff to get up and going on top of the cost of the camera. I saw other cameras there though that did record HD to mini DV. I thought to myself does this water down the quality of the footage? All the cameras also gave a distinctly different look. Very tough choice. I just want a cam that will give me the best cinematic look for my buck. These P2 cards seem to give you just a few minutes of record time. I usually record about 2 hours worth of stuff on an average project. How can anyone afford that?

Ay, ay, ay . . .

My friend, you really need to do more research on what you're thinking about getting yourself into. This forum has a wealth of knowledge. But it's up to you to dig in, absorb and process it all. Then ask any questions you might still have.

The HVX200 is a great choice. The P2 workflow is superb and the cards are meant to be offloaded and reused often. You just need to learn more about it to make sure if it will be right for you.

 

[Spec-Comm]

You will need a DVCProHD codec supplied by Raylight I believe for use with Premiere.

p2 cards are necessary to record HD footage.

Or you can buy a Firestore FS-100 to record to hard drive.

The HVX200 does not record HD to tapes. It only records DV25 to tapes.

Might want to strongly review these boards to get a better understanding of its capabilities.

David S. is right. Raylight would be a handy tool unless you're planning on using a firestore.

We just so happened to become a raylight dealer recently!

I would also suggest a Zacuto Hardshell case with pre-cut ENG foam. Mayby a Zacuto base-plate too. Canopus Edius Broadcast is another good editing platform. Perhaps a VidLED LED light. You can't forget audio. Get a good mic like the K6/ME66 from Sennheiser. I good lav system would be handy too. I would suggest the G112 Sennheiser kit. Very nice.

We can help you out when your ready to order. Make sure that you do all of your reading first!

Best regards,

Andrew Hoffman
Senior Operations Manager
Specialized Communications Corp.
20940 Twin Springs Dr.
Smithsburg, MD 21783-1510 USA
800-359-1858
301-790-0103
Fax: 301-790-0173
andrewh@spec-comm.com
www.spec-comm.com

Please visit our new online store at ( http://www.spec-comm.com/store ). New products being added daily!

 

[bherr]

Since you still have lots of shopping to do and Andrew Hoffman withheld any plug for Spec-Comm's own product, the Cineporter, I'd like to point out its scheduled availability is sometime this summer. The Cineporter allows recording direct to a (replaceable) 180 gb hard disk drive in "native" (24PN) format. It's a competitor to the Firestore, but unlike the FS will record in the P2 "native" format which saves a lot of file space when using 24P. If I were buying now, I'd buy 1 8GB card and wait for the Cineporter rather than buying 2 8 GB cards.
Read more at
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=40521&

 

[mvb]

David S. is right. Raylight would be a handy tool unless you're planning on using a firestore.

Raylight does work with files from the Firestore as well and it's the best way to edit Firestore recordings in Vegas or Premiere. On the FS-100 you choose the MXF file recording format (DVCPROHD/DVCPRO50 Mode).

We just so happened to become a raylight dealer recently!

thanks!

 

[Spec-Comm]

mvb,

Thanks for clearing thhat up.

Best regards,

Andrew

Raylight does work with files from the Firestore as well and it's the best way to edit Firestore recordings in Vegas or Premiere. On the FS-100 you choose the MXF file recording format (DVCPROHD/DVCPRO50 Mode).



thanks!