Focus Enhancements FS100 Portable DTE Recorder just announced!

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dotconnproductions

Well-known member
I guess it pays to live in Alaska (Time zone difference) and be a late night editor. This just came up in email:

Ok, here's what we've (I've) been waiting for:
http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=95565&tsource=3

Focus enhancements announced the first on camera hard drive recorder to work exclusively with the HVX200 allowing DVC, DVCPRO 50 and DVCPRO HD recording from the HVX200. I think this puts this camera way ahead in the running.

I've never seen a prettier picture than raw DVCPRO HD 720p pictures (ala, the varicam). Very very impressive.

The interesting thing is that it transfers it via firewire. I would have assumed they would need to come directly out the p2 card slots or some other interface. The unit must need a buffer of some sort to deal with the data rate of DVCPRO HD because I don't think Firewire 800 can even handle that speed. Correct me if I'm wrong, though.

Anyway, worth a look at the press release.
John Conn
dotConn Productions Video & Multimedia
www.dotconnproductions.com
 
I know its too early for such thoughts...but I wonder how the FS100 format on the whole would provide a more efficient workflow than P2 cards for the HVX....the cost factor notwithstanding.
 
dotconnproductions said:
The unit must need a buffer of some sort to deal with the data rate of DVCPRO HD because I don't think Firewire 800 can even handle that speed. Correct me if I'm wrong, though.
Click to expand...
Consider it corrected -- DVCPRO-HD's data rate is 100 megabits, which means that Firewire 400 can easily accomodate it.

Thanks for posting the press release! I'm sure this will be of interest to a lot of HVX shoppers.
 
Aejaz said:
but I wonder how the FS100 format on the whole would provide a more efficient workflow than P2 cards for the HVX....the cost factor notwithstanding.
Click to expand...
They're fairly similar, in that both provide instant access to already-digitized footage. A P2 card shows up in your computer like an external hard disk; so does the FireStore. The FireStore's main claim to fame is its much-higher capacity; 100 gigs vs. 8 gigs. Other than that, they should be fairly comparable.

I believe P2 likely has a workflow advantage, in that it's integrated into the camera and you can view clips and delete them and annotate them and add voice tags and metadata... don't know if the FireStore will allow that.

... but, actually, maybe it will... that press release sure made use of the word "partnership", so maybe it'll have the same level of integration. Now that would be interesting...
 
This could tide Panasonic over until P2 prices come down. Now the HVX just needs to produce a cracking picture!

A few points - I wonder how far "under $2,000" it will be? Shame it isn't out until March, but I doubt the HVX (PAL) will be either so...

Also, what is the battery life like on these things? Do they have a replaceable Li-ion?
 
What I'd like to know is whether 720 24p will record at 40 megabits on the Firestore like it does on the P2. That's the deciding factor for me.
 
I doubt it will actually be "more efficient" workflow than P2 cards.

I'm not sure if this is "confirmed information" but my guess would be that whatever signal is streaming out of that firewire port is going to be a 60i signal padded with pulldown frames when shooting 24p. So, if shooting 720 on the HVX I think there would be a pretty big advantage in shooting with P2.

720P24 will take up a little over twice as much space when capturing a 60i stream as opposed to a native 24fps stream. So, if the FireWire will only stream a 60i signal then we would need to cut the harddrive space in half to accurately compare it to the cost of shooting on P2 cards (in 720 mode only).

Then again, saving a bit of space on a hard drive doesn't seem like that big a deal when you compare it to your alternative....an 8GB card.

And, considering I dont' know the size of the proposed FireStore device, or whether or not the HVX will stream a 60i signal out of it's FireWire port...perhaps I should just stop typing now.
:)
 
for me, the Firestore represents a huge PLUS for the HVX.
The HVX instantly becomes much more practical, because i cannot always carry a laptop.

Now...I want to see the dynamic range and the noise level from the camera in real world.

What is the max 1080p record time on a FireStore ?
 
I agree, this is fantastic news. I wish it would stop though, I can't afford the HVX right now...
 
Has Firestore announced the size of the drive?
I've seen people throwing around figures from 80-100GB, but haven't seen anything official.

By the way, Matt... dont' ever wish for the news to stop....just imagine what will be available by the time you CAN afford something in that price range.
:)

I used to drool over Panasonic's first DVCPro camera a few years back (okay, more than a few).
Those were $7000 at the time. DVCProHD didn't even exist as a format yet.
Little did I know that by the time I could afford to seriously consider whether or not I wanted to buy a camera in that price range I'd be debating between 720P with variable frame rates and 1080i with an uncompressed HDSDI output!

And recording to hard drives none the less.
I say keep the good news coming....
 
All we need now (other than the HVX to actually be shipping) is an announcement from regarding "HV RACK!" Been a little quiet over there at Serious Magic , no?
 
How many minutes of DVCPRO HD footage can that firestore hold?

And I'm glad you guys are happy about this harddrive and p2 stuff, poor bastards like me, love tape and will miss it dearly. I wish that this cam could get HD on tape as unrealistic as that sounds.
 
I can't imagine why anyone would miss tape? Even for music, I'm SOOO much happier going straight to disk. I did a short film with a bunch of takes and it took me AN ENTIRE DAY to log and capture the footage. That is time I'll no longer have to spend. Isn't that great???
 
Don't read anything into the lack of press releases from Serious Magic on the HD front. At the moment, two other projects are soaking up all of our R&D resources, but you can bet that we'll promptly shift to HD Rack as soon as those two birds clear the deck, which is imminent.
 
mmm said:
A few points - I wonder how far "under $2,000" it will be?
Click to expand...
I'm sure many people will expect that to mean $1995 or so, but that's just cynicism. Remember that the JVC HD100 was annouced to cost "under $10,000" and it actually came in EXTREMELY under $10,000 -- it's $6295. And the HVX was announced as being "under $10,000" and it's $5995. And the XL H1 was rumored to cost $10,000-$12,000 and it came in at $8995.

So there's plenty of room. It may very well be $1995, but there's established precedent from other manufacturers that sometimes they do indeed beat the estimated price handily.
 
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