CinePorter™ FAQ

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Thank you Mikko,

I will keep my eye on this thread whenever I'm in the office.

We have found that 3.5" drives do have a substantial gyroscopic effect. With 2.5" drives, however, even with two of them, it's almost unnoticeable. When attached to a mass of just a couple of pounds it "disappears" completely.


David Linetsky
President
Specialized Communications Corp.
20940 Twin Springs Drive
Smithsburg, MD 21783-1510 USA
800-359-1858
301-790-0103
Fax: 301-790-0173
davidl@spec-comm.com
www.spec-comm.com

************************************************************************
Now taking Pre-Orders on the Panasonic AG-HVX200 HD Camcorder.
Reserve today, and receive FREE Shipping and a FREE cleaning for your new camera.
Visit http://www.spec-comm.com/hvx200.php for details!
 
Spec-Comm said:
We have found that 3.5" drives do have a substantial gyroscopic effect. With 2.5" drives, however, even with two of them, it's almost unnoticeable. When attached to a mass of just a couple of pounds it "disappears" completely.
Click to expand...

I think the first generations of the Ikegami Camcutters( Shoulder mount camera with HDD packs) from a few years ago had 2 drives mounted opposite to each other to cancel out the gyro effects.
 
Flintstone said:
How about this. When recording, the fan stops (never gets activated). When pausing, the fan starts (if it needs to be active)? That would be great, wouldn't it?
Click to expand...

Issue with that would be you would lose one of the cool benefits of P2, the record buffering. If the fan is going while you are waiting for the shot, hit record to start but also use the record buffer, there will be fan noise over the first couple of seconds.

Secondly I imagine it would overheat rather quickly if the fan is off while it is in record mode for more then a couple minutes. One of the advantages of the CinePorter is to be able to record straight for an hour+. Figure if the HDD needs a fan, that is when it is going to need it most.

I think the only solution is to make it possible to have running all the time. More noise sucks but keeping it consistent at least makes it editable.


Spec-Comm said:
A: We will have published data on sound levels in the different configurations in the near future. I personally can't tell the difference between the fan being on and off, but i'm getting old . I think having the option for the fan being on all the time is easy to implement. I will pass it on to engineering.
Click to expand...

A lot of items seem virtually silent (laptop fans, refrigerator, etc) but still screw up location audio. Thumbs up on publishing the sound levels. :thumbsup:

The switch would a simple binary choice; on all the time or on as needed per heat issue.

Cheers
 
I guess I am wondering why a 100, 120, 200, and 240 as opposed to (only) a 120 and 240 option? Surely there can't be a great a difference between a 100 and 120 gig drive (in terms of manufacturing cost) . . .
 
Aha! Now that the price has been disclosed, I'm way more interested. I see the CinePorter as a superior solution over the FireStore. However, my biggest complaint with the FireStore is file splitting to 2GB file pieces due to FAT32 drive formatting. I'm not too jazzed about having to stitch a bunch of files together.

Will you be supporting Mac/PC native drive formatting? This would enable larger than 2GB files, which I would see as imperative with higher data rate HD.
 
I like the fact it's a tight fit to the camera, out of the way, and doesn't have a ton of extra buttons and controls, in addition to going into the sturdy P2 connection.

If it proves reliable, I would much prefer the Cineporter to the Firestore. Of course we would all rather have a 128gig P2 card, but until that happens (and the price is in-line) this seems like a darn good substitute.

Jim Arthurs
 
Thanks for the informative response and your open minded approach to design. I'm sure that with everyone's contribution we will get the best recording solution for the HVX!

A couple more questions:

1-Since you've found that 3.5"drives have giroscopic effect, are you only planning to use 2.5"? This will assure us that we will not have this problem when we get the initial units.

2- Pricing for the 240GB drive? I hope you keep the pricing at least comparable to a new XL-h1. The HVX will ship for a certain price. If you can get it out at a price that could be, bundled with the HVX, below the price of a xl-h1 (camera only), than that certainly would be a killer combination for all the event videographers out there! And if you could MATCH the retail price of the Panasonic HVX+ 2 8gb P2 cards for the 2 Cineporter's COMBO- which should have a discount compared to a single unit purchase, of course- Than, for 9950, you have the Ultimate all round guerrila camera. This would certainly be a MUST HAVE for any event, short film, Documentary and TV production!
 
Luis Caffesse said:
SPZ,
Yes, they are using 2.5" drives. David mentioned it earlier in this thread.
Click to expand...

Thank you. Feel more and more assured now!

On another note, I was expecting a lower price point for the 100 gb tough. I was expecting 2200 for the 240gb option...
 
I'd love to see a lower price point for all these products, I'm sure we all would.
The problem is firestore sort of set the bar.

Granted, if CinePorter wanted to they could clean up and undercut Firestore
:) But I doubt that's going to happen given that David has already mentioned his company has an interest in both products.
 
holyzoo said:
However, my biggest complaint with the FireStore is file splitting to 2GB file pieces due to FAT32 drive formatting. I'm not too jazzed about having to stitch a bunch of files together.

Will you be supporting Mac/PC native drive formatting? This would enable larger than 2GB files, which I would see as imperative with higher data rate HD.
Click to expand...

The P2 cards are FAT-32 also. Internally they have a better filesystem, but towards a PC they appear as FAT-32. And guess what, it does'nt matter. You have the 2GB limitation, but through the magic of MXF, each clip links itself to the next one, even if the next file is on another card. Your NLE sees it as 1 large clip.
 
Here's a question... what about the door/cover to the P2 slots... is it easily removed or changed out... as someone else mentioned it looks awkward and could be broken off if it's half open all the time for your cable to snake out of...

Jim Arthurs
 
Thank you everyone for the great suggestions. We have had a steady stream of suggestion forms coming in from around the world since we updated our web site yesterday.

Q: A lot of items seem virtually silent (laptop fans, refrigerator, etc) but still screw up location audio. Thumbs up on publishing the sound levels.

A: Just wanted you to know that we agree wholeheartedly. We have been in this industry for over 20 years and are very aware of how something seemingly insignificant like a fan can ruin the whole thing. When I brought this up to our engineering team they said it should be no problem giving you some choices.

Q: guess I am wondering why a 100, 120, 200, and 240 as opposed to (only) a 120 and 240 option? Surely there can't be a great a difference between a 100 and 120 gig drive (in terms of manufacturing cost) . . .

A: These are the options available to us right now. There is a larger price difference in the 2.5" drive market than the 3.5". We wanted to give you some choices. The prices are also changing, and that's why we didn't publish the option prices. we'll have those when we publish the ship date. We are also waiting on the 160GB samples. This will add the 160 and 320GB options and should be available when the unit ships.

Q: Since you've found that 3.5"drives have giroscopic effect, are you only planning to use 2.5"? This will assure us that we will not have this problem when we get the initial units.

A: The CinePorter™ is much too small to fit a 3.5" drive

Q: If you can get it out at a price that could be, bundled with the HVX, below the price of a xl-h1 (camera only), than that certainly would be a killer combination for all the event videographers out there! And if you could MATCH the retail price of the Panasonic HVX+ 2 8gb P2 cards for the 2 Cineporter's COMBO- which should have a discount compared to a single unit purchase, of course- Than, for 9950, you have the Ultimate all round guerrila camera. This would certainly be a MUST HAVE for any event, short film, Documentary and TV production!

A: I think you will be very happy with our pricing for the larger HDD options. The only special offer we have right now is for those that pre-order the HVX200 from us, will receive a 10% discount on the CinePorter™ when it ships. We'll have other specials then as well.

Q: my biggest complaint with the FireStore is file splitting to 2GB file pieces due to FAT32 drive formatting. I'm not too jazzed about having to stitch a bunch of files together. Will you be supporting Mac/PC native drive formatting? This would enable larger than 2GB files, which I would see as imperative with higher data rate HD.

A: We are working on the "translation" that has to happen to have one large drive and continuous files. The camera has to be fed proper information as well for this to work. Certainly it would be easier to just stick with multiple partitions and 2GB files, but we feel it's worth the extra work.

Q: Here's a question... what about the door/cover to the P2 slots... is it easily removed or changed out... as someone else mentioned it looks awkward and could be broken off if it's half open all the time for your cable to snake out of...

A: We will be working on this issue and others when we get the "real" HVX. Since it seems that removable cable is a very popular request, it would be difficult to include a sturdy connector and be able to close the door at all. We'll let you know if the door is easily removable and what, if anything, needs to be done with the second slot, for protection.

I hope I didn't miss anyone,

David Linetsky
President
Specialized Communications Corp.
20940 Twin Springs Drive
Smithsburg, MD 21783-1510 USA
800-359-1858
301-790-0103
Fax: 301-790-0173
davidl@spec-comm.com
www.spec-comm.com

************************************************************************
Now taking Pre-Orders on the Panasonic AG-HVX200 HD Camcorder.
Reserve today, and receive FREE Shipping and a FREE cleaning for your new camera.
Visit http://www.spec-comm.com/hvx200.php for details!
 
Spec-Comm said:
I guess I will go ahead and reveal to you that a mirrored array giving the CinePorter™ redundant capability for critical shoots will be available as an option sometime after the CinePorter™ ships.
Click to expand...

Will this be an internet available flash upgrade, or a hardware upgrade? Estimated cost?

It would be great if this was an operationally selectable function. Then we could decide before a shoot to go for recording time or redundancy based on the type of job. Obviously, we couldn't change midshoot without losing data (user warning indicator needed), but having the choice beforehand would be excellent.
 
Are you folks going to include some version of SMS? The new powerbooks have a sensor that can to some degree predict impact from a fall. When the sensor detects a major change in position, it will automatically park the hard drive in order to avoid damage. It might be an apple patent, but if not, I think it would improve reliability. (I think SMS stands for sudden motion sensor).
 
David, when designing the CinePorter, I'd strongly encourage you to design it in such a way that the end user could swap out the hard disks. Even if it meant only using one particular brand, and even if it meant us having to handle bare hard disks, it would be very kind and considerate of you to design the unit in such a way that swapping hard disks would be a painless (or relatively painless) procedure.

I well understand that you can't guarantee performance with just any old hard disk in there, you probably have to stick to the top-of-the-line TravelStars or Momentus hard disks, but still: make it such that we can exchange it, and you'll make much happier customers. Even if I had to go through the effort of popping off a couple of screws, and then extracting the hard disk and slipping it into a $39 external USB2 2.5" enclosure, I still would want the option to do so. Even if it's only available as a "hack" (and by hack, I mean look at what people are doing with their Tivos, etc). I guess what I'm saying is, if you can't give us true interchangeable hard disks (and we really, really, really, really, really want true interchangeable hard disks!!!) but if we can't have that, can you at least design the unit so that warranty-voiding hackers can have reasonably easy access -- so don't design anything in the path that would prevent us from easily removing the drive, okay? :)
 
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