Gemini 4:4:4 Recorder

yeah it's these guys - http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthrea...-video-computer-4-4-4-video-recorder-and-more

I'm interested in what they've done software wise, the hardware is just a pc in a box, you can even spot a blackmagic intensity pro in one of their shots. It would be awesome if they went completely open with it, allowing you to install and utilize a codec of your choosing, eg cineform, dnxhd, mpg2 variants, etc. Eventual inclusion of proper scopes as well would be a win-win. exciting times!

I just saw a preliminary price of 5000 euros for the 4:4:4 version. I feel like in that price range, the new nanoflash would be a better choice, for me anyways. I also saw a posting that the cinemartin will pull 120w :shocked: I don't see that being battery powered for longer than half an hour
 
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though I agree it would be great if they do have it open like that, but it might not be smart legally. You can just imagine the end user doing something funky to their recorder and losing a whole day's worth of footage, or recording the whole day with out sound, or whatever, and suing the company over a faulty device.

You can say they can write a disclaimer or whatever, but you know somebody is gonna do that sooner or later, which will be a big headache win or lose. Should be interesting though, would be a nice competitor if they can get the size, weight, and power consumption down.

Cinedeck has about a 65w of draw while recording... and is pretty bulky. Media creation and clip management is a little too clunky for me too.

I honestly wish cineform was a complete through and through industry standard, as popular as pro res is now. It's the best in every sense, but due to cost, not a lot of people use it or even know about it. I'm all for cineform, but in practical senses where you are dealing with clients, to even a moderately savvy editor, most people won't know cineform is, how good it is, and I can just see getting a phone call from the editor saying the footage won't open (cause they haven't installed the codec)
 
1:1 uncompressed HD is 1185mb/s divide that to 8 and you get MB.... 148 MB... Oh Yeah!! i love it... 4:4:4 10 bit might even be a bit higher!!! As a compositor i am very very pleased!!! Can't wait!!
 
Fohdeesha said:
y I also saw a posting that the cinemartin will pull 120w :shocked: I don't see that being battery powered for longer than half an hour
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The SFV comes with an AC/DC adapter and also with a standard VMount plate.
With a Switt 86Whr battery you get 90 minutes of recording time.

http://frankglencairn.wordpress.com...very-affordable-mobile-uncompressed-recorder/



tom.wong said:
Media creation and clip management is a little too clunky for me too.
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How can that be clunky? Management is done by the names you give your clips while recording (like: Scene 5/Take 2A - Flag: good) - try that on a 5D.

File name 45126AGT445.mov, that needs to be trans-coded in something your NLE eats, while loosing further image information is, what I cal "clunky".

Nothing is more straight forward, than an uncompressed workflow, till you choose your delivery codec.

Talking about size and wight: have you seen the uncompressed deck that the ARRI Alexa uses?

Frank
 
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Postmaster said:
The SFV comes with an AC/DC adapter and also with a standard VMount plate.
With a Switt 86Whr battery you get 90 minutes of recording time.

http://frankglencairn.wordpress.com...very-affordable-mobile-uncompressed-recorder/





How can that be clunky? Management is done by the names you give your clips while recording (like: Scene 5/Take 2A - Flag: good) - try that on a 5D.

File name 45126AGT445.mov, that needs to be trans-coded in something your NLE eats, while loosing further image information is, what I cal "clunky".

Nothing is more straight forward, than an uncompressed workflow, till you choose your delivery codec.

Talking about size and wight: have you seen the uncompressed deck that the ARRI Alexa uses?

Frank
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honestly when it comes to being on set, I don't a individual should be bothered with custom adding clip names, especially when something like the f3 is meant to have sxs as offline recording and you online with the offboard recorder. crucial metadata will be included I know, but I personally think file names are also as important as timecode, and time stamps. The less room for error the better. Maybe things have changed with it last time I used it, but at the time I used it didn't seem right.

there was also a no, format drive option last time I used it. You had to delete each clip individually off the cinedeck itself. Which I also found a waste of time.

The new CODEX unit is actually smaller than the cinedeck now, but probably a bit heavier. It's all the other stuff you need to offload and monitor it that's a big pain. I even think the new sr recording coming out is too big. Cameras are slimming down, and rigs are getting lower profile, so yes I find the cinedeck bulky, as I find the s.two also bulky, the original codex also bulky. I find the new codex an OK size, but it's too heavy, and way too expensive in the indy realm.

I know several DP's that are completely against using something the size of the cinedeck because of it's pure size. Other people don't mind who are used to be rigs. But we've come a long way from a f35, with sr tape recorder on it, 12:1 zoom, and a tripod with legs that weigh more than you.

The f3 is considerably one of the lightest real s35 cameras on the market. the only ones that are lighter and smaller, or maybe just smaller are Epic, (and i'm not even gonna count a dslr) and I can't even think of anything else, a phantom flex is slightly bigger. I think an offboard recorder should reflect that too.
 
It all depends on your personal workflow, shooting style and budget.

I usually come with one or more trucks to a shooting, so size and weight isn't something I care about.
When ever possible I bring a workstation to the set. In the moment I record on that workstation - uncompressed via DeckLink.
Having a shrinked workstation that can live on my rig, powered with a battery and doubles as a monitor - like the Cinemartin is a plus.

I don´t do shoulder work, so - once again - wight and size is no issue.

I save time, because there is no transcoding. My uncompressed clips work fine and snappy.
Since I changed from a Digibeta 3 machine editing suite to a NLE (18 years ago) I never used timecode anymore (what for on a NLE) - but I love to have my clips named (scene/take/good/bad/etc.) - saves me a ton of time in the editing room. I can take all my "good" clips - and because of the naming they are already in the right order - throw tehm at the timeline and got my rough-cut done in 30 seconds. The software does the naming, so it´s a no brainer.

On the other hand there are some folks that think, a mattebox is to heavy for them (let alone a tripod), they run and gun around, hand held with their DSLR and a DP6.

They have no problem with offloading cards, transcoding to ProRes and loosing tonns of image information.

What can I say, to each his own.

Frank
 
absolutely. and in studio set ups, size weight, tethering to computers, having multiple work stations, it's all not a big deal. In fact I love doing studio work for that reason. But when I get throw on a indie short of feature, or a very fast paced commercial or music video with multiple company moves in a single day, that's when all the gear can really bog you down. which is why i'm always looking to find the in between. reasonably light and low profile, but backing the power of uncompromised studio setup quality. it may be a never ending search but it's one of those things someone always strives for. Right now i'm trying to find a better solution over the complete workstation on set, shrinking down what my mac tower would normally be and getting everything I have to fit on a single magliner cart, rather than needing big foot carts. It's getting there, slowly but surely.
 
Andrew Stone said:
Cinesin, how are you able to conclude that any unit is a better solution at this point with the shreds of information out there? You've heard of nanoFlash correct? You know that it uses 6.5 watts, is silent, weighs well under a pound and doesn't get hot... right? You know that Convergent Design is one of the most user driven companies in the industry, right? You know the Ki Pro is around 24 watts to operate? You know it gets really hot in continuous operation and requires fans to keep it cool? You know that a lot of the features on the Ki Pro that they promised to have activated a year and a half ago are still unimplemented. You know the media drives for the Ki Pro are expensive for what they are: laptop hardrives and you have to be really careful about ejecting them when in the heat of a shoot.You understand that the Ki Pro Mini, the Ki Pro's sibling has a serious bug right now where if you have the media in the unit on boot up that it won't record material, right?. You know the Ki Pro Mini has barely been field tested at this point as the product was just now rolled out a month ago, after an eight month or so pre-announcment of the unit.

I am simply trying to point out that if you base your information on anecdotal and ad-hoc evidence you can convince yourself of almost anything.

BTW you are talking about the Ki Pro Mini, not the Ki Pro.
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Here is your answer: The mini is here NOW, built by established pros, uses CF cards, eject with a push of a button, used and tested. Case closed.
 
they were in small release on the first batch, slowly meeting supply. but with what's happened in japan, i think all electronics across the board are gonna be in further delay.
 
AbelCine is steadily delivering Ki Pro Minis, but we have a huge backorder that we are fulfilling. I like how some people think a device ism't really shipping and on the market unless there are stacks of them sitting on shelves at every outlet mall. When I order a car I might have to wait weeks for mine to come off the assembly line. Moder business models mean that no one wants to sit on inventory, including manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers. That's reality, so if you want a Ki Pro Mini place an order and you'll get it as soon as it can be made to happen, but happen it will. And if you wait until they are sitting in stock somewhere, you may very well never get one.

And if you can't wait, we have them available for rent as well. Today.
 
Mitch Gross said:
AbelCine is steadily delivering Ki Pro Minis, but we have a huge backorder that we are fulfilling.
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Mitch, what is the approximate wait time right now? Days, a week, a few weeks?

Also, do any of the creative suites (3,4,5) handle ProRes 4.2.2? Will a simple quick time viewer codec work for ingesting it?

I saw this one:
http://support.apple.com/downloads/Apple_ProRes_QuickTime_Decoder_1_0_for_Windows

but its from 2008 and I don't know if it covers the plain ProRes LT, or will actually work for 4.2.2.
 
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Duke M. said:
Mitch, what is the approximate wait time right now? Days, a week, a few weeks?

Also, do any of the creative suites (3,4,5) handle ProRes 4.2.2? Will a simple quick time viewer codec work for ingesting it?

I saw this one:
http://support.apple.com/downloads/Apple_ProRes_QuickTime_Decoder_1_0_for_Windows

but its from 2008 and I don't know if it covers the plain ProRes LT, or will actually work for 4.2.2.
Click to expand...

The original release of ProRes was 4:2:2, and ProRes HQ, so that Windows Qucicktime ProRes codec would read those varieties for sure, just maybe not LT (but I'd bet $5 it does LT too, because afaik LT is just a cut in data rate). ProRes 4:4:4 would be the only one I'd think it would have to be updated to read.
 
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