HVX-200 streaming DVCproHD via FW400
- Thread starter Barra
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Barry_Green
Moderator
The assumptions you've been using are based on an incomplete set of facts. You're saying that someone could just use off the shelf SD cards and voila, they have a P2 card. Specialized Communications is finding out that there's an awful lot of complexity in the card, and the LSI is basically a microcomputer, and each P2 card is basically like a mini-firestore, having intelligence on-board to deal with the information that's fed to it. So how do you factor the cost of that LSI into your equation? And how do you amortize the R&D costs into building your theoretical P2 replacement? And how do you amortize the fabrication costs and assembly costs of building these cards -- especially when one considers that, as electronics items go, it's an extraordinarily low-volume item?Xenophon said:
And again, taken as an aggregate, a 4gb P2 card is barely any more expensive, yet 4x as fast, as a 4gb Extreme III card.
I'll go along with you saying that the 8gb card is exorbitantly expensive. But sorry, I think the 4gb card is totally appropriately priced, given what it does and that the only remotely comparable product, the 4gb Extreme III, costs just as much. And, further, we don't know what street price is, so the $650 is the *most* it'll cost; actual street price could be $500 or $400 or so.
Yes, but then you're talking about a different class of product. You'd be talking about a much slower overall product. Would it work to record? Sure. Would it work as well in post, when offloading footage 5x faster than realtime, or when editing six streams of DVCPRO-HD live off the one card? Not a chance. So if you want to make cost comparisons, you have to compare apples to actual apples. A "cheaP2" card that only supports a maximum of, say, 15 megabytes per second (vs. the real P2 card's 80 megabytes per second) could and should cost less than the 80-megabyte-per-second card does. I mean, that's a "duh" there. It does less, so it should cost less. Just like a VW Beetle does, and should, cost less than a Maybach. But that's not what Panasonic's building, so you can't use 15-megabyte component pricing and then conclude that an 80-megabyte end product is overpriced! That's not a reasonable comparison.
Compare it for what it is. Compare it against other products that do the same (or at least vaguely similar) job. It ain't that expensive.
I've seen el cheapo sensorss become available ($99.00 for a 10megapixel apc size single chip... on the net somewhere... forget the name of the company) and I've always wondered why someone Like Panasonic didn't use something like that say on an HVX200 type and simply blow everyone else away.
Possible answer: Pulling data off such a chip for still photography is much easier than for video.... as video has to deal with much more data.
I suppose Panasonic could have used 2/3rd chips instead of 1/3 chips on the HVX200 at the same price, but that would kill it's varicam line.
Using smaller chips could have been a marketing decision, not an engineering one.
(Edited so reader won't think I'm responding to Barry's post above... I'm responding Xeno's post about usage of small chips.)
Possible answer: Pulling data off such a chip for still photography is much easier than for video.... as video has to deal with much more data.
I suppose Panasonic could have used 2/3rd chips instead of 1/3 chips on the HVX200 at the same price, but that would kill it's varicam line.
Using smaller chips could have been a marketing decision, not an engineering one.
(Edited so reader won't think I'm responding to Barry's post above... I'm responding Xeno's post about usage of small chips.)
I smell a banning coming on 
ha ha ha ha.. Maybe he works for Canon
Cees Mutsaers
Veteran
But will a powerbook G4 have enough "POWER" to do NLE with FCP studio in a smooth way !!!! Anu thoughts/experience at Panasonic Jan????
Jan_Crittenden said:
i wont ban anyone for insulting Panasonic as a company.. but he was walking the line on insulting me, and a couple members.
Nothing is wrong with a little Passion, and you can express your views. we let people get away with alot here, but the one real rule we have is dont insult your neighbor.
Everyone knows I insult Panasonic Canada all the time... so it has nothing to do with that.
Nothing is wrong with a little Passion, and you can express your views. we let people get away with alot here, but the one real rule we have is dont insult your neighbor.
Everyone knows I insult Panasonic Canada all the time... so it has nothing to do with that.