Signal output: RGB or 4:2:2?

The HDMI 1.4 port used on the FS100 outputs uncompressed 8-bit 4:2:2 or 8-bit RGB signals. Auto negotiation (EDID) takes place when an external recorder and FS100 are initially connected via HDMI and cable. During the EDID exchange, the FS100 and external recorder negotiate the highest quality signal common to the FS100 and recorder. From then on, the FS100 will output the negotiated signal. There is no menu in the camera to force a particular mode.

24P via HDMI

Hereto date; no HDMI hardware supports native 24p signals. The HDMI specification does not currently support native 24p. Instead, the HDMI specification instructs that pull-down¹ must be added to 24p signals. Even though the FS100 internally records native 24p, it simultaneously outputs a 60i signal with pull-down via HDMI. As a solution, Sony developed an original method to insert timecode and pull-down markers on the HDMI signal. Timecode allows external recorders to start/ stop and record camera generated time-code. The pull-down marker facilitates externally recording native 24p signals by removing pull-down during transcode.

Early on, Sony approached all major recorder manufactures to implement time-code and pull-down removal. Some recorders already record native 24p from the FS100’s HDMI.

Note¹: The pull-down process adds (repeats) fields in order to increase the frame rate from the 24fps to 30fps (60i).  The original 24p payload remains unchanged.

None of the recorders we’ve tested have implemented timecode via HDMI as of this writing, but we’re confident that firmware updates will add this feature shortly. The Convergent Design nanoFlash remains one of the few recorders available now that is capable of removing the 3:2 pulldown “on the fly,” so you will not need to do so in post. If you’re using a recorder that does not remove pull down as you record, Andy’s helpful article illustrates how simple the process can be.

Convergent Design, makers of the popular NanoFlash, have created a new 10-bit uncompressed video recorder with a list price of only $5,995. The Gemini 4:4:4 combines a small (5″) touch screen monitor with an uncompressed HD recorder. The recorder supports HD-SDI, Dual Link and 3G-SDI inputs. It records to one or two 1.8″ solid state hard drives. Just about every HD format is supported up to 2k in resolution in both the 4:2:2 and 4:4:4 color space. Additionally, it is an incredibly light and small device, weighing in at around half a pound, and just about 5″ wide by 1″ thick (5.4 x 4.5 x 1.1”). The built-in touch screen controls the unit and also acts as an on-board monitor. The power draw is a very low 8 to 15 watts, which varies because of the monitor brightness and shooting mode. Convergent Design has pulled out all the stops on this recorder. Keep reading below to learn more.

Uncompressed Recording – The Gemini is strictly an uncompressed recorder, which means it records only the highest quality signal possible; it also means that the files are quite large. A 1080 24P 4:4:4 10-bit signal is nearly 130 MBps (Bytes not bits), which adds up to about 68 minutes on a 512 gb hard drive. This may seem like a problem to some, but hard drives are growing in size every day and lowering in price at the same time.The Gemini allows you to record at the highest quality and push compression into post production when needed. Uncompressed video is easy and quick for most computers to compress, because there is no decompression step. Additionally, many cameras offer compressed on-board recording, which can act as offline media when mixed with the Gemini. See the chart below for record times.

Dual Recording – The Gemini features room for two 1.8″ solid state hard drives. You can choose to record to one drive at a time, or to both at the same time. This is a great option for anyone concerned about their loosing their footage. SSD’s are available from many sources, but only drives qualified by Convergent Design will be able to function in the recorder. An eSATA drive reader is included.

LUT Corrected Monitoring – The Gemini 4:4:4 is built to support the gamma modes supported by the latest cameras. The recorder will take just about any signal you send to it, but if you are feeding it a signal in S-Log or Log-C modes it also has the ability to provide a corrected output. It comes preloaded with LUTs for proper monitoring of S-Log or Log-C, which makes it a perfect recorder for Sony cameras as well as the Arri ALEXA. In Dual Record mode, the clean signal can be sent to one drive, while the LUT applied signal can be sent to the other. The Gemini has Dual SDI outputs as well as HDMI outputs for monitoring.

Future Options – Right away the Gemini 4:4:4 will have a huge variety of features, but if you have followed Convergent Design you know they are constantly updating their products. For instance, 1080 60P recording will not be available right away, but will be with a future free firmware release. Other updates like 3:2 pull down removal are also on the way for the future. Recording in 3D will be a future paid upgrade option, and will allow for two signals to be recorded, as well as 3D output for monitoring.

I am looking forward to seeing this little recorder in action. Read more about the Gemini 4:4:4 on the Convergent Design press release, or over at DVInfo’s interview. Look for it at NAB 2011 in the Convergent Design booth and possibly in our booth as well.

The nanoFlash recorder can record video at up to 280 Mb/s, which requires a card with a lot of speed, but it can also record very high quality footage at lower bit rates. Some jobs may require the highest speed cards, which are also the most expensive, while others may not. This can lead to a lot of confusion about which card to get, so Convergent Design put together a chart that lists the many different cards and what write speeds they can handle on the nanoFlash. On the highest level, the Delkin 625x and SanDisk Extreme made the list. For those who require less speed (<120 Mb/s), the Transcend 400x and Delkin 300x could make for some major cost savings. You can check out the original version of this chart on Convergent Design’s site. Click the image above for a larger version.

This week there have been three important firmware updates for XDCAM EX cameras, the Convergent Design NanoFlash and the Zoom H4n. Read on for the details.

Sony XDCAM EX Firmware Update

If you are interested in using the new 64GB or 32GB SxS-1A cards, your XDCAM EX camera will need a firmware upgrade. The SxS-1 32GB cards have been out for sometime now, but the new SxS-1A cards have just recently starting shipping. These cards have faster transfer speeds, up to 1.2Gbps, which really makes a difference when downloading your footage through the ExpressCard interface. The following cameras require the firmware upgrade to work with these cards: PMW-EX1, PMW-EX1R, PMW-EX3 and the PMW-350. The new PMW-320 and PMW-500 cameras should work with no upgrade necessary. The firmware can be downloaded from the Sony website, which also includes instructions for installation.

Convergent Design NanoFlash

Convergent Design has updated the NanoFlash to version 1.6.226 (beta). This update adds many features including the ability to hot-swap cards and switch between cards on the fly. They have also added support for playback of Canon XF305 files, which makes the NanoFlash the only deck that can playback the Canon XF305/300 video. There are several other updates and bug fixes that every NanoFlash user will appreciate. This firmware is currently in beta, but worth checking out. Click here to download the firmware and learn more (bottom of the page).

Zoom H4n

The popular Zoom H4n has just been updated to version 1.70, which allows independent level controls on the unit’s two XLR inputs. This is very important for anyone using the H4n as a recording device for video work. Download the latest firmware here.

First, make sure you are running the latest version of the nanoFlash firmware – available here. It’s an easy install and only takes a couple minutes.

24p Recording –

The VariCam and HDX900 (in 720 mode 59.94) always output a 720 60p HDSDI signal regardless of your frame rate. When shooting 24p video the camera will apply pulldown to produce that 60p signal. The nanoFlash can remove this pulldown with a simple switch. Here are a couple steps.

1. In the video menu set your bit rate and codec. The nanoFlash will record the 720 signal in both I-Frame and Long GOP at all the available bitrates.

2. In the video menu turn on “Remove 3:2 Pulldown”

3. Input your 720 24p camera signal, and after a few seconds you should see the format show up as 720pd23 – the ‘pd’ stands for pull down.

4. Start recording 720 24p native, and because pull-down is removed before recording you get the full quality of your chosen bitrate.

On an HDX900 the same method can allow you to record 1080 24p. Just set your HDX900 to 1080 24p, keep “Remove 3:2 Pulldown” on, and you’ll record true 1080 24p.

30p Recording –

The VariCam and HDX900 (in 720 59.94hz mode) always output 720 60p over HDSDI. In 30p mode it uses a simple 2:2 pulldown method to turn 30p into 60p. The nanoFlash can remove this with a switch in the video menu called “720p 60/50 -> 30/25.” When turned on it will pull out 30p from a 60p signal, or 25p from a 50p signal. Here are a couple steps:

1. In the video menu set your bit rate and codec. The nanoflash will record the 720 signal in both I-Frame and Long GOP at all the available bitrates.

2. Turn off “Remove 3:2 Pulldown”

3. Turn on “720p 60/50 -> 30/25″

4.  Input your 720 30p camera signal, and after a few seconds you should see the format show up as 720h29. It says 29 because your actual recording is 29.97p.

5. Start recording 720 30p native, and because pull-down is removed before recording you get the full quality of your chosen bit rate.

Overcrank & Undercrank -

For full overcrank / undercrank recording, the nanoFlash will accept a 720 60p signal and allow you to set a recording rate and crank rate. Let me explain what this means.

The 60p signal comes in and I can choose the frame rate I want it to record to – Recording Rate – which is the format that I want to deliver the material in.

For example: I want slow motion or fast motion material, but I want everything delivered in 720 24p.
I would set my Recording Rate to 24p regardless of the actual fps I’m capturing.

In the Crank Rate setting I adjust the actual speed I want to capture between 1-60 fps.

For example: I want to record slow motion in 24p, so I set my Record Rate to 24p
and my Crank Rate to 60fps. This will produce a 2.5x slow down.       OR

I want to record fast motion in 3op, so I set my Record Rate to 30p and
my Crank Rate to 1fps.

Here is a couple steps to set this up:

1. In the video menu set your Codec to I-Frame and your BitRate to above 50 Mbps. You must be set this way for overcrank/undercrank settings.

2. Turn off “Remove 3:2 Pulldown”

3. Turn off “720p 60/50 -> 30/25″

4. Turn on “Crank” and set your Recording Rate (the first number) and Crank Rate (second number).  Typically it would be set to 24 record rate and 60 crank rate for slow motion 720 24p video.

5.  Input your 720 60p camera signal, 24p or 30p will not work. After a few seconds you should see the format show up as 720p59. It says 59 because your actual recording is 59.97p.

5.  Start Recording your video. You should see your Crank Rate below your time code when recording.

Make sure to turn off these settings for normal recording. The nanoFlash and the VariCam/HDX900 really seem to be a winning combination.

First up is the Panasonic 3D camera, the AG-3DA1. This little guy was first revealed at NAB 2009, and is now only a few months away from being released. Watch the video to see the camera up close in the Panasonic booth:

Keep reading to learn about some new 3D recording options.

The nanoFlash from Convergent Design has been a popular product for many different applications. Now they have combined two of these units to produce a 3D recorder. I got a chance to talk with Mike Schell of Convergent Design:

The CineDeck is a brand new product that a lot of people were talking about at the show. This device combines a small touchscreen monitor and a high quality recorder. It can record in Cineform, DNxHD, and uncompressed in various flavors of HD up to 1080 4:4:4. It will also be able to work as a 3D recorder. Watch as Mitch talks with Charles d’Autremont, the developer of the CineDeck:

• Added preview support for MXF files Convergent Design’s nanoFlash. (Previously only MOV files were supported for preview)
• 2x faster M-Copy & SYNC speeds (approx. 30MB/s) for faster USB hard drive syncing and copying
• 2x faster CF & SD/MS copy speed (approx 30MB/s)
• 5x faster full verify speed for SxS (approx. 80MB/s)
• Added Copy & Verify function. Automatic full verify after copy.
• Export the backup folder in internal HDD to CF/SD/MS.
• Added Delete for memory cards including SxS and P2.
• Added preview for external devices such as P2/SxS/CF/SD/MS and external USB hard drive
• Display file name during the ‘Clip View’ mode
• Added support for SxS-1(indication on life time expire)
• Preliminary support for AVC-Intra50
• Support for ‘avi’ file for the Sony PMW-350

This is great news for any NVS2500 owner. Make sure to update your device. The firmware update can be found here - NVS2500 1.10 Firmware

So I shot a number of short clips on to the nanoFlash at 50Mbps LongGOP, and brought them onto my MacBook Pro.

I also attached the PDW-U1 drive to my computer and inserted a 23 GB disc. Make sure you have the latest software and firmware (2.21) for the U1 because they just added the write back option recently. Run the U1 Utility, which is included in the Sony download, and set the naming form of the disc to “free.” This can be found on the setup page, and allows for files of any name to be written to the disc.

I then ran the latest version of XDCAM Transfer (2.10.0), which automatically found my attached XDCAM disc. I had a single clip on it from before, but a fresh disc will also work. IMPORTANT NOTE: Version 2.10.0 of XDCAM Transfer has many issues in Snow Leopard, which will hopefully be resolved with a Sony 2.11.0 release.

Then I added the }CLIP{ folder found on the nanoFlash CF card to the XDCAM Transfer source window. This properly displayed all six clips that I just captured.

I selected all of my clips and selected “Export all clips to folder” from the Clip menu. And finally I chose the destination as the ‘clip’ folder on my XDCAM disc.

After a few moments of writing I had all of the nanoFlash clips on my disc.

Just to verify, I played back the material on a PDW-F800 camera, and it looked great.