Sony FS700 + Hyperdeck Shuttle 2?

[Zexun Tan]

Hi guys, a couple of questions about the BMD Hyperdeck Shuttle 2.

It's going to be the first recorder I might use for a green screen shoot on my FS700, and the questions are:

1) Must I shoot uncompressed quicktime? Or can I shoot with Prores 422 HQ to save some space?

2) Is there anything I must buy apart from a SDI cable and the SSD to be able to use it on the FS700?

3) Can I shoot progressive 24p / 25p / 30p?

4) Can I shoot 50p/60p?

5) There's no lanc connection, that means that I'll have to start/stop record by pressing the button on the recorder?

Thanks for all your help!

Zexun

[Dennis Hingsberg]

With the hyperdeck shuttle 2 you have four formats: Uncompressed QuickTime, ProRes QuickTime, DNxHD QuickTime and DNxHD MXF (for Avid). I haven't green screen butyou should do your own tests to be sure of the quality you need. I think ProRes would be fine.

You will need the SDI Cable BNC Male to DIN 1.0/2.3 RG-179. I bought mine from this ebay seller Blackmagic HyperDeck Shuttle SDI Cable BNC F to DIN 1.0/2.3 RG-179 Cable, 8". | eBay but you have to ask them to put a male BNC connector on it, not the female connector they normally install.

You will also obviously need a compatible SSD hard drive for the deck, I am using an OCZ Vertex solid state 500GB hard drive. It's all working really good so far with my F3.

You can shoot up to 1080 30p, or 720 60p, but not 1080 60p.

The deck can be triggered to start and stop recording using timecode if your FS700 has the feature to enable it through SDI.

[Zexun Tan]

Thanks for the reply Dennis!

Yes indeed I'm very much more interested in the 4:2:2 aspect rather than the increased bit rate, so I think prores should do.

Have you seen any known-brand cables similar to the link you posted? We're a non-profit team doing a face-morphing project for national TV / viewership, so we're trying to get everything officially locked down from sponsors.

I definitely understand about the compatible SSDs. I have the list of approved SSDs with me!

Noted about the 24p/25p/30p yes, 50p/60p no.

Is the feature you're talking about called smth along the lines of "timecode through output"?

Also, is the footage from the FS700/F3 direct-to-edit in final cut pro 7? I've been hearing confusing things about some 3:2 pulldown or something along those lines. Not sure what it is!

[Dennis Hingsberg]

Yes you will probably enjoy the footage from the deck no matter which codec option you chose, my very short tests revealed they all came pretty close to each other and it will always be slightly better than what you can record internally with the camera codec.

"timecode through output" rings a bell. Make sure you install the BlackMagic Hyperdeck software utility and there you can select your trigger recording option, either "when SDI start/stop is detected" or "when SDI timecode runs".

In your camera you want to turn any options on that enable timecode through SDI for it to work, and BIG NOTE after you select a recording format and update your shuttle deck, after it is finished updating make sure you press STOP on the deck or you will drive yourself CRAZY trying to trigger the deck. I found out that by default the deck is in playback mode, so by pressing STOP when you first power it up or update the settings through the utility you will then be able to trigger the recording. I drove myself mad when I was testing difererent formats and coudln't trigger the deck.

BHphotovideo sells the SDI cable you need, so maybe you can acuire it through them. They are around $15 or so.

I have heard nothing about 3:2 pulldown sorry, but I tested my clips in both Windows 7 Adobe Premiere 64-bit, and OS Lion Final Cut Pro 10 without any issues. You will need a Avid codec download if you intend to work with the DNX QuickTime format but if I were you just stick with ProRes.

[Petr Volgemut]

You have to choose your cables carefully.
This one does not work: Belden 1505A, 3G SDI DIN1.0/2.3 to BNC Male Video Adapter Cable
Belden 1505A 3G SDI DIN1 0 2 3 to BNC Male Video Adapter Cable Yellow 4 Ft | eBay

[Dennis Hingsberg]

Yes good to point out the SDI cable should be RG-179 not RG-59, maybe that was problem?

The one I mentioned I bought worked well but I asked vendor to install a male BNC instead of female and increase length to 10 inches.

Blackmagic Hyperdeck Shuttle SDI Cable BNC F to DIN 1 0 2 3 RG 179 Cable 8" | eBay

[Zexun Tan]

Detailed reply there, muchas gracias!

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/841023-REG/Blackmagic_Design_HYPERD_PT2_HyperDeck_Shuttle_2_SSD.html
on bhphoto, the recommended accessory is this:

Pro Video Accessories - BNC Female to DIN 1.0/2.3 RG-59 SDI Cable - 1'

with a male to male adapter to BNC.

Would that be a correct one or not?

And on that note, there's no way to delete footage on the recorder itself, right?

[Dennis Hingsberg]

If BHphoto is endorsing this cable as compatable, then it shouldn't matter if the cable is RG-179 or RG-59. I'm not sure why the one Petr mentioned didn't work.

But that cable BHphotovideo is selling has a male BNC connector on it if you look carefully, which is the same connector (male) you have on your FS700 so you would need to buy a female to female coupler. For $15 I would just ask that vendor to build you one with a female BNC so it can go straight onto the camera but that is just my opinion.

The only way I know to delete footage on the BMC is through the computer once you remove the SSD from shuttle deck and hook it up to your computer. If you're using a Windows based PC like I am, you will need a utility to allow you to read MAC formatted disks. A PC will not read the SSD hard drive without the utility.

[Petr Volgemut]

Originally Posted by Petr Volgemut

You have to choose your cables carefully.
This one does not work: Belden 1505A, 3G SDI DIN1.0/2.3 to BNC Male Video Adapter Cable
Belden 1505A 3G SDI DIN1 0 2 3 to BNC Male Video Adapter Cable Yellow 4 Ft | eBay

Unfortunatelly I found out that my cable was broken but normally this kind of cable works! I received a message from BMD that cables must comply to SMPTE 259M, SMPTE 292M. There is a female SDI connector on Sony FS700, you need MALE BNC on your cable, you will find many different suitable custom made Belden cables on ebay.

[Dennis Hingsberg]

ok that is good clarification, so it means either RG59 or RG179 can be used. I think RG59 is the thicker cable type whereas the RG179 I am using is very thin and seems a little more flexible.

[Dennis Hingsberg]

Here is my final rig configuration: