SDI capture: at DVinfo.net

Barlow Elton · October 22nd, 2006, 10:01 AM

Here's a simple 10 sec. clip from a test shoot, where I was tethered to a G5 with FCP and a Kona card. The shots were captured in the Sheer codec and transcoded to PhotoJPEG @ 75% quality, which yielded a nice 4:2:2 full-raster image, and the bit rate is a mere 76 mbs for a 24p clip.

Thanks for hosting, Chris!

http://media.dvinfo.net/xlh1/Elton/SiblingsSDI10sec.mov

Robert Sanders · October 23rd, 2006, 02:11 PM

These shots beautifully illustrate the camera's full potential by avoiding HDV compression. The 4:2:2 colorspace is definitely superior. There's zero macro-blocking, particularly in the shadow areas of the image. The grain has a nice, subtle, over-all pleasing quality. HDV has a tendency to "smooth" the camera's inherent grain characteristics, which is a shame, because this is one of the best qualities of this camera.

Looking forward to a Cineform implementation.

It should also be noted how nicely PhotoJPEG@75 cuts through the data rates.

Jonas Nystrom · October 24th, 2006, 09:05 AM

Nice, really nice. Is it the 20x lens?

Curtis Rhoads · October 24th, 2006, 11:35 AM

So this is what you were shooting that day!!! Looks good. How many shots were you able to get after setting up?

Barlow Elton · October 24th, 2006, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonas Nystrom

Nice, really nice. Is it the 20x lens?

Yes, 20x lens at F 2.8, and not zoomed all that much either (maybe 25-30% tele--I was pretty close to the subjects). Close to sunset conditions with ND still engaged. I wasn't using an external monitor either for focus, just the EVF and "eyeballing it". :)

Curtis: I shot about 15 min. of stuff. Didn't bring a RAID, just captured raw SDI to an internal SATA drive. Couldn't capture all that long as the Sheer lossless codec was over 400 mbs, so I always captured short clips of 3 min. or less on the outer sectors of the drive in order to avoid dropped frames. (kept it mostly unfilled)

Barlow Elton · October 24th, 2006, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robert Sanders

It should also be noted how nicely PhotoJPEG@75 cuts through the data rates.

PhotoJPEG is an interesting codec. In my CU's, the clips would compress to a much lower bit rate, but in wide shots where I had a lot of dense fall colors and foliage and everything in sharp focus, the bit rate @ 75% quality was bumping up to well over 120 mbs. It's really more like a VBR codec, as far as I can tell.

Robert Sanders · October 24th, 2006, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barlow Elton

PhotoJPEG is an interesting codec. In my CU's, the clips would compress to a much lower bit rate, but in wide shots where I had a lot of dense fall colors and foliage and everything in sharp focus, the bit rate @ 75% quality was bumping up to well over 120 mbs. It's really more like a VBR codec, as far as I can tell.

That's a great point Barlow.

Jay Stebbins · October 31st, 2006, 05:58 AM

The Sheer codec, is it just for capturing & archiving or does it edit well in FCP? I was under the impression that it wqas mainly for archiving footage without suffering any loss of quality. Is there more to it?

Thanks,
Jay

Barlow Elton · November 1st, 2006, 12:27 AM

You can edit with it, but it doesn't have RT transitions and effects--at least in FCP. It does render fairly quickly for an HD codec, however.

It's basically uncompressed quality without the insanely high data rate. (although it's not exactly low data rate either)

Antoine Fabi · November 12th, 2006, 11:58 PM

Barlow,

It looks simply amazing, really ! Extremely well defined.
Very impressive low noise level.

Is there any portable solution (reasonably light) to capture this quality ?

Wouldn't it be nice.

Barlow Elton · November 13th, 2006, 01:20 AM

Yes, it would be nice and I think we'll see something (finally!) in the coming months.

Thanks for the comment.

Wes Vasher · November 14th, 2006, 05:10 PM

Barlow, thanks for posting these. I don't see any interlacing in them and am wondering how you achieved that. I see that the frame rate in the movie is 23.98. Did you use 24f?

Barlow Elton · November 15th, 2006, 12:50 AM

Hi Wes,

Yes, I shot and captured 24F live uncompressed signal to a Final Cut Pro workstation equipped with a Kona HD SDI capture card.

I performed a inverse telecine extraction on the footage in order to have a true 24p clip from a 1080i capture. (the H1 automatically adds pulldown frames to 24F for standards compliance)

Wes Vasher · November 15th, 2006, 07:46 AM

Thanks for the reply Barlow. Very impressive footage. Here's another question, hope I'm not bugging you but when you take the G5 on location how do you power it?

Barlow Elton · November 15th, 2006, 08:41 AM

I took a UPS with me, but it was powered from an available outlet with a long extension cord.

October 22nd, 2006, 10:01 AM	#1
Barlow Elton Major Player Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: UT Posts: 945	SDI capture: Here's a simple 10 sec. clip from a test shoot, where I was tethered to a G5 with FCP and a Kona card. The shots were captured in the Sheer codec and transcoded to PhotoJPEG @ 75% quality, which yielded a nice 4:2:2 full-raster image, and the bit rate is a mere 76 mbs for a 24p clip. Thanks for hosting, Chris! http://media.dvinfo.net/xlh1/Elton/SiblingsSDI10sec.mov Last edited by Barlow Elton; October 22nd, 2006 at 12:49 PM.

October 23rd, 2006, 02:11 PM	#2
Robert Sanders Starway Pictures Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Studio City Posts: 581	These shots beautifully illustrate the camera's full potential by avoiding HDV compression. The 4:2:2 colorspace is definitely superior. There's zero macro-blocking, particularly in the shadow areas of the image. The grain has a nice, subtle, over-all pleasing quality. HDV has a tendency to "smooth" the camera's inherent grain characteristics, which is a shame, because this is one of the best qualities of this camera. Looking forward to a Cineform implementation. It should also be noted how nicely PhotoJPEG@75 cuts through the data rates. __________________ http://www.starwaypictures.com http://starwaypictures.blogspot.com/

October 24th, 2006, 09:05 AM	#3
Jonas Nystrom Major Player Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Göteborg, Sweden Posts: 306	Nice, really nice. Is it the 20x lens? __________________ Jonas Nyström, DoP :: HOT SHOT® SWEDEN :: www.hotshot.nu :: RED #1567, RED 18-50mm T3 :: XL A1, Letus Extreme :: XL H1, 20X & 6X lens (for sale) :: www.vimeo.com/nystrom

October 24th, 2006, 11:35 AM	#4
Curtis Rhoads Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Orem, UT Posts: 76	So this is what you were shooting that day!!! Looks good. How many shots were you able to get after setting up?

October 31st, 2006, 05:58 AM	#8
Jay Stebbins Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Nantucket MA Posts: 82	The Sheer codec, is it just for capturing & archiving or does it edit well in FCP? I was under the impression that it wqas mainly for archiving footage without suffering any loss of quality. Is there more to it? Thanks, Jay

November 1st, 2006, 12:27 AM	#9
Barlow Elton Major Player Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: UT Posts: 945	You can edit with it, but it doesn't have RT transitions and effects--at least in FCP. It does render fairly quickly for an HD codec, however. It's basically uncompressed quality without the insanely high data rate. (although it's not exactly low data rate either)

November 12th, 2006, 11:58 PM	#10
Antoine Fabi Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: sherbrooke (Quebec) Canada Posts: 108	Barlow, It looks simply amazing, really ! Extremely well defined. Very impressive low noise level. Is there any portable solution (reasonably light) to capture this quality ? Wouldn't it be nice.

November 13th, 2006, 01:20 AM	#11
Barlow Elton Major Player Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: UT Posts: 945	Yes, it would be nice and I think we'll see something (finally!) in the coming months. Thanks for the comment.

November 14th, 2006, 05:10 PM	#12
Wes Vasher Major Player Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 440	Barlow, thanks for posting these. I don't see any interlacing in them and am wondering how you achieved that. I see that the frame rate in the movie is 23.98. Did you use 24f?

November 15th, 2006, 12:50 AM	#13
Barlow Elton Major Player Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: UT Posts: 945	Hi Wes, Yes, I shot and captured 24F live uncompressed signal to a Final Cut Pro workstation equipped with a Kona HD SDI capture card. I performed a inverse telecine extraction on the footage in order to have a true 24p clip from a 1080i capture. (the H1 automatically adds pulldown frames to 24F for standards compliance)

November 15th, 2006, 07:46 AM	#14
Wes Vasher Major Player Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 440	Thanks for the reply Barlow. Very impressive footage. Here's another question, hope I'm not bugging you but when you take the G5 on location how do you power it?

November 15th, 2006, 08:41 AM	#15
Barlow Elton Major Player Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: UT Posts: 945	I took a UPS with me, but it was powered from an available outlet with a long extension cord.