Hi Tim-

XDR takes the frame rate and resolution from the HD-SDI signal. There is no cross-conversion (1080i <-> 720p) or frame rate conversion capability. So if the XDCAM 355 outputs 720p60 over HD-SDI then we can accept this format, otherwise we are limited to 1080i formats.

XDR will automatically locks to the incoming HD-SDI signal, supporting all the major HD resolutions and frame rates. BTW, HD-SDI is by definition always 4:2:2 color space.

XDR can be programmed to perform a reverse telecine and remove the extra frames (when capturing at 1080F24 mode on the Canon XL-H1, for example). Under these conditions the HD-SDI output is 1080i60, but we can remove the extra frames and record at 1080p24.

Mike Schell
Convergent Design

Thanks Mike.

It comes in matte black too, right? ;)

It comes in matte black too, right? ;)

Hi Robert-
That's still under discussion, but I have received a couple of e-mails requesting black.

Cheers-
Mike

I for one would love one of your units Mike!

It's an honest point I bring up, for professionals – which is where your unit is no doubt intended to be used. As a video camera operator, a client has to have trust in your abilities and your equipment. Many naive people judge by the appearance of equipment; the general public believes bigger is better. Also, consumer equipment looks fun and friendly, whereas pro equipment is often dark shades and serious in apperance.

For instance, more than a few people have assumed an old XL1 is a higher-quality camera than the XH-G1 because the XL1 is a shoulder mount, and larger.

A baby-blue Flash XDR will probably look out of place, whereas a black unit may be a better fit!

Since we're talking about color, a nice black seems to be the best to me...it would work in terms of color design with most of the cameras that you'd find using it, from the XLH1 to the xdcam units+
Looking forward to more news!

Since we're talking about color, a nice black seems to be the best to me...it would work in terms of color design with most of the cameras that you'd find using it, from the XLH1 to the xdcam units+
Looking forward to more news!

Hi Jeremiah-
Thanks for the input. I am at the Broadcast Live show this week in London. The XDR color is a major topic of discussion. We're still weighting in all the recommendations.

BTW, the Canon XL-H1 is our #1 camera for the XDR. We are working on several different mounting options.

Best-
Mike

FWIW we'd vote for a matte black as well. Glad the H1 is a major target. Your invention will make the H1 and XHG1 long lived beauties...

Awesome lenses, output capabilities (with XDR), size and form factor, price level.

Should help increase Canon's unit sales of these models ... and maybe Canon will then come out with more options due to increased volume of H1 and X1 cams out there. Snowball.

Looking Forward!

Matte Black is the way to go!

Will it be able to be mounted on back or side of an Anton Bauer battery?

Hi,

I'm looking for Sony XDCAM MXF files to analyze the MXF format for the
upcoming Flash XDR's support of MXF.
I need 720p60, 720p50, 1080p25 clips in XDCAM.
I also need clips of the new Sony 50 Mbit 4:2:2 in 1080i, 1080p and 720p (MXF) (though I wonder if anyone has such clips, as I don't think the camera
is on the market yet).
Does anyone have such clips which I could get a copy of?

Thanks, Tommy Schell
Convergent Design

It would be really great if there will be a downgraded version with only HDMI and 1394 input/output for less than $2000. I am sure that it will sell like crazy. At least I will buy two units. The recorders will able us doing same-day-edit wedding highlight videos.

Too bad that the poll function in this forum is disabled. It would be interesting to see which functionalities most users are willing to pay for in a compact flash recorder.

I agree, a HDMI only version is right up my alley as well. Heck, I don't need it to be half the price of the SDI version. A little cheaper would be nice since the industry standard seems to be that you pay more for a piece of gear that has SDI. As it stands currently, those of us with "cheaper" non-SDI gear have to pay more to use this device cause we'd have to buy a HDMI to SDI converter box which would chew through batteries faster as well.
Something tells me we'll see this HDMI only version, it just makes too much sense. Right?

To obtain the faster speeds needed for 10bit data rates you have to set the 4 cards to a raid-0 right? What happens if you have to remove the cards from the unit and reload with fresh cards to keep shooting? How is it that the first raid-0 set of cards doesn't become corrupt or unusable at this point?

To obtain the faster speeds needed for 10bit data rates you have to set the 4 cards to a raid-0 right? What happens if you have to remove the cards from the unit and reload with fresh cards to keep shooting? How is it that the first raid-0 set of cards doesn't become corrupt or unusable at this point?

Hi Ethan-
When shooting in uncompressed mode you will need to keep all four cards as a set. If you fill up one set of cards, you can then reload a new set and keep shooting. The previously used cards won't loose the data or become corrupt. To playback the captured video you will need to reinsert the 4 cards and put Flash XDR in playback mode. You can then capture the video into an NLE via the HD-SDI output. We might consider a program in the future to allow file based transfer of the uncompressed video, but HD-SDI playback will still be the fastest way to transfer the uncompressed video out of Flash XDR.

We might consider a program in the future to allow file based transfer of the uncompressed video, but HD-SDI playback will still be the fastest way to transfer the uncompressed video out of Flash XDR.

Mike - thanks for the quick answer. I could really see the benefit of having such a file based transfer workflow since right now we're talking about 17 minutes of record time in uncompressed. Four cards per 17 minutes of record time would add up in a hurry in the field even with a fairly tightly controlled production. I'm guessing that you'd recommend using the MPEG2 based workflows when possible, but the option of uncompressed is hard to pass up. I guess we'll know more when we can see some of these high bitrate MPEG2 files. Too bad I'm not heading to NAB this year. I'd like to see it for myself.
And let me vote again for the HDMI version. Can you vote twice here?

It would be really great if there will be a downgraded version with only HDMI and 1394 input/output for less than $2000. I am sure that it will sell like crazy. At least I will buy two units. The recorders will able us doing same-day-edit wedding highlight videos.

Too bad that the poll function in this forum is disabled. It would be interesting to see which functionalities most users are willing to pay for in a compact flash recorder.

Hi Paul-
So are you primarily interested in 4:2:2 color and better image quality or the tapeless workflow? What sort of camera are you using now?

Too bad that the poll function in this forum is disabled.It's not disabled. I can easily start one if there's enough interest, so if the proposal is made to conduct a poll then I would be happy to consider running one.

Hi Paul-
So are you primarily interested in 4:2:2 color and better image quality or the tapeless workflow? What sort of camera are you using now?

I have a Canon XH-A1. My primary interest is the tapeless workflow. As a wedding videographer, my ideal DDR has the following functions:

- 1394 & HDMI input/output
- S-video or composite output
- RCA audio output
- 4 CF slots. Non-raid. Concurrent recording to 2 CF for backup would be great! This way, I won't even need tapes for backup.
- B&W backlit LCD display for menu, clip deletion, storage meter, etc. Color LCD for clip viewing is nice, however, I doubt that it's important to event videographers as we download everything to the PC anyway. I will opt for B&W for lower cost and longer battery life.
- records in avi, mov, mt2, cineform avi (may be)
- pre-recording 5 seconds of footage
- Time-lapse function
- 8-bit/HDV quality is good enough for me
- different power options: AA, 12V, Camcorder batteries, etc.
- good battery life, of course.
- can be mounted between the camera and the tripod.

I am sure that you can sell tonnes of these if you can sell them for less than $2000 per unit. I bet that we will see more camcorders with integrated CF recorder coming out after NAB. However, there are many of us who have invested heavily on older HDV/DV equipment and need third party DDR. There is definitely a big market there.

It's not disabled. I can easily start one if there's enough interest, so if the proposal is made to conduct a poll then I would be happy to consider running one.

A poll is certainly great!

- 8-bit/HDV quality is good enough for me

I'm a event guy too, and while I agree with most of the list Paul made, the point above I have to disagree with. After having used DVCProHD for about 3 years and then switching to HDV when I branched out on my own, I'd give my left arm to have better than HDV quality again. I'm not saying HDV isn't a technological marvel. It's amazing what they can squeeze out of 4:2:0 color space recorded at less than 25Mbps, but it's still lacking a bit. If it wasn't then your product wouldn't have a market now would it?

If I can use your (hopefully) vastly superior 50Mbps 4:2:2 codec over my HDV then I'd do it in a heartbeat. I'll take an image quality bump and the joys of tapeless any day of the week.
Thing is, once I add a $4000 box to my FX7 then I'd be dangerously close to the price range of the EX1 but with a smaller sensor that is worse in low light situations. At that point I might be better served going after the EX1. It would be a tough call.

I don't know if Paul had it in his list, but the ability to power this thing off smaller camcorder batteries would be nice too. It would definitely decrease the bulk a bit.

I'd give my left arm to have better than HDV quality again.
Hi Ethan, I agree. What I listed above is my "Affortable" Ideal Recorder. The hard fact, for me, is that I have an A1 which does not have HD-SDI nor HDMI. For the amount of $ I am prepared to invest in a DDR, I will trade 4:2:2 for lower price, smaller form factor and longer battery life. Furthermore, I have given my right arm to Canon, left foot to Microsoft, eyes to Dell already.

I understand that the XDR comes with many nice features and it opens the door to high fidelity for many. Which is great! However, I just hope that they will also produce a downgraded version that can help low budget guys like me.

Good point about battery, i have edited my last post.

I have a Canon XH-A1. My primary interest is the tapeless workflow. As a wedding videographer, my ideal DDR has the following functions:

- 1394 & HDMI input/output
- S-video or composite output
- RCA audio output
- 4 CF slots. Non-raid. Concurrent recording to 2 CF for backup would be great! This way, I won't even need tapes for backup.
- B&W backlit LCD display for menu, clip deletion, storage meter, etc. Color LCD for clip viewing is nice, however, I doubt that it's important to event videographers as we download everything to the PC anyway. I will opt for B&W for lower cost and longer battery life.
- records in avi, mov, mt2, cineform avi (may be)
- pre-recording 5 seconds of footage
- Time-lapse function
- 8-bit/HDV quality is good enough for me
- different power options: AA, 12V, Camcorder batteries, etc.
- good battery life, of course.
- can be mounted between the camera and the tripod.

I am sure that you can sell tonnes of these if you can sell them for less than $2000 per unit. I bet that we will see more camcorders with integrated CF recorder coming out after NAB. However, there are many of us who have invested heavily on older HDV/DV equipment and need third party DDR. There is definitely a big market there.

Hi Paul-
Wow, that is quite a list of features for under $2,000. Are you basically wanting to move to tapeless workflow and maintain the same quality level? Do you want a CF version of the Firestore drive?

HDMI I/O implies the need for a MPEG2 HD encoder, which adds considerably to the manufacturing cost and power requirements.

HDMI I/O implies the need for a MPEG2 HD encoder, which adds considerably to the manufacturing cost and power requirements.

So I'm guessing those fancy schmancy Sony MPEG2 encoders you guys are using don't come cheap. Good to know. Is it possible that you guys will be making the same box as your current design but with HDMI in place of SDI?

If so, it seems to me that the HDMI connector itself might be somewhat of a problem area. How would someone keep the connection secure while in the field? This isn't a question I'd expect you to have answered as you don't have a product using HDMI yet, just something that's rolling around in my head.

Do you want a CF version of the Firestore drive?

HDMI I/O implies the need for a MPEG2 HD encoder, which adds considerably to the manufacturing cost and power requirements.
I've said in the past that a CF equivalent to the Firestore would be very desirable, the question mark now is whether Sony will sell the CF recorder that ships with the S270/Z7 as a stand alone unit in the future?

As regards Mikes second point, then if the bulk of the cost is in the MPEG2 encoder, would a device with HD-SDI AND HDMI input be a realistic option?

I see users wanting a device like the XDR for two basic reasons: increased quality over what a camera provides natively, and tapeless benefits (as Paul says). In the latter case, a "CF Firestore" gives all the tapeless benefits of solid state, without losing the tape ability and without the power etc issues that a harddrive device implies.

If companies would just build cameras that recorded higher quality to cheap tapeless media we wouldn't be having this discussion. Obviously Sony has a pretty decent MPEG2 encoder that can be had for under $3000 (a guess) so why not put that puppy in an EX1 type camera, and enable 4:2:2 and higher bitrates yourself instead of forcing us to come up with options through third parties?

I'm glad Convergent Designs decided to help us out by building this device, but couldn't Sony (or Canon, or JVC, or Panasonic) just save everyone the trouble and make the camera we've all been wanting all along? Obviously there is a perceived demand for it, since Convergent has sunk a lot of time and money into this project feeling that it will pay off in the end.

Whatever, I'm beating a dead horse, but it is a bit frustrating.

I've gone through the thread looking for it, I'm sure I asked about it at one point, but if we have an HDMI camera, an HV20 for instance, how are we supposed to power a nanoconnect in the field? I thought there was some sort of change a while back to allow for powering an HDMI to HD-SDI converter through the XDR, I could be wrong.

So far, the XDR looks like the CF recorder to beat and I'd like to get it now versus having to look into buying an HD-SDI compatible camera first. Looking around at test footage from other cameras, particularly the EX1, has made me realize that the video from my HV20 is perfectly acceptable and, many times, comparable to other 1080i/1080p cameras. It's only real weakness is tape-based HDV compression.

If there is no solution to this problem yet, then how long could it take to build a nanoconnect-like device that is powered by camera batteries? That would be perfect! =)

So I'm guessing those fancy schmancy Sony MPEG2 encoders you guys are using don't come cheap. Good to know. Is it possible that you guys will be making the same box as your current design but with HDMI in place of SDI?

If so, it seems to me that the HDMI connector itself might be somewhat of a problem area. How would someone keep the connection secure while in the field? This isn't a question I'd expect you to have answered as you don't have a product using HDMI yet, just something that's rolling around in my head.

Hi Ethan-
This is the fundamental problem with HDMI..it is not a locking connector. Yes, we could make an XDR with HDMI input that would work great on the bench, but in real world applications, we see big problems keeping the HDMI cable connected.

We do have HDMI conversion products (nanoConnect and HD-Connect MI). So we are very familiar with the technology. HDMI is a great solution for the home environment where are the devices are fixed, but a run and gun application would be a disaster with HDMI cabling.

I know this may drive the price of an HDMI device up, but is there any way to make some type of proprietary locking connector for the XDR end of the box while leaving the camera side HDMI? I'd still rather a solution like that over having to buy an HDMI to SDI converter box to attach to the XDR. If I'm using an HDMI to SDI converter box in the field I'm having the same problem we've already discussed anyway while having the added headache of powering two external devices, and finding a way to mount both of them not to mention the added cost of the HDMI to SDI converter.
If you guys develop an HDMI only version of your Flash XDR with a locking connector on your end of things then that leaves me with only one iffy connection to worry about which still outweighs the other options.
Just a thought.

Ethan, just curious, which camera are you using that has an HDMI output?

Tim - I have an FX7 and HV20 that I wouldn't mind squeezing some better quality out of, why do you ask?

Tim - I have an FX7 and HV20 that I wouldn't mind squeezing some better quality out of, why do you ask?

I own Mike's naonConnect product and an HV20. I'm pleased to report, fantastic, error-free job getting live footage capture out of the HV20 - full 422 1080 HD. Used it on a controlled outdoor set with a Mac Pro w/HD-SDI - great product Mike! Well worth the cash - allowed for long cable runs with full HD.

Tim - I have an FX7 and HV20 that I wouldn't mind squeezing some better quality out of, why do you ask?

I did not know which cameras had HDMI outputs.

Mike, this is an off question, but since your are knowledgeable about this space, I would like to ask.

What is the possibility of merging the XDR concept of 4:2:2 SDI recording with a laptop computer?

A combiniation of recording high bitrates along with a high resolution preview monitor would be quite a useful field tool.

Is this a remote possibility of a product offering from your company? Or at least an interface that would work with a laptop?

High resolution monitoring seems so much more important with HD that most would be lugging another device along anyway.

Thanks

I did not know which cameras had HDMI outputs.

Oh, in that case, let me list the ones I know of:

V1u
FX7
HV20/30
(the forthcoming) HCM150
and most sub $1500 AVCHD cameras of which I know little about.

I know this may drive the price of an HDMI device up, but is there any way to make some type of proprietary locking connector for the XDR end of the box while leaving the camera side HDMI? I'd still rather a solution like that over having to buy an HDMI to SDI converter box to attach to the XDR. If I'm using an HDMI to SDI converter box in the field I'm having the same problem we've already discussed anyway while having the added headache of powering two external devices, and finding a way to mount both of them not to mention the added cost of the HDMI to SDI converter.
If you guys develop an HDMI only version of your Flash XDR with a locking connector on your end of things then that leaves me with only one iffy connection to worry about which still outweighs the other options.
Just a thought.

Hi Ethan-
I apologize that I missed this post. We've had our heads in the lab debugging XDR. We have a solution coming which will be introduced shortly, just working out the final specs and brochure.

Mike, this is an off question, but since your are knowledgeable about this space, I would like to ask.

What is the possibility of merging the XDR concept of 4:2:2 SDI recording with a laptop computer?

A combiniation of recording high bitrates along with a high resolution preview monitor would be quite a useful field tool.

Is this a remote possibility of a product offering from your company? Or at least an interface that would work with a laptop?

High resolution monitoring seems so much more important with HD that most would be lugging another device along anyway.

Thanks

Hi Tim-
Stay tuned this is in our product plans.

Hi Ethan-
I apologize that I missed this post. We've had our heads in the lab debugging XDR. We have a solution coming which will be introduced shortly, just working out the final specs and brochure.

Mike - Thanks for the heads up. I'm looking forward to seeing what you guys offer.

Thanks for your reply Mike.

I look forward to hearing what you will come up with.

Meant to get these posted sooner... but swamped as usual with NAB:

Dear Video Professional:

We are pleased to announce our upcoming demo of Flash XDR, our Portable HD Recorder/Player, at NAB next week. Please see the two press releases below for additional information. If you plan to attend NAB, please stop by our booth at SL7828.

Thanks -- Mike"

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Flash XDR enables HD ENG at WJLA

(Colorado Springs, CO. USA, April 11, 2008) Convergent Design’s Flash XDR will soon enable HD ENG at TV stations WJLA (Washington DC). This ABC affiliate has placed a 20-unit pre-order of Flash XDR with ASI I/O, as part of their roll-out of HD ENG. Flash XDR will enable cost-effective HD-SDI to ASI encoding (on the camera) as well as ASI to HD-SDI decoding for monitoring (inside the OB truck).

Flash XDR encodes the HD-SDI (video + audio) signal at the camera into a 19 Mbps (MPEG2 TS) transport stream. The MPEG2 TS is then mapped onto a 270-Mbps ASI protocol and sent via coax cable to the OB truck. The ASI stream is then immediately relayed via microwave or satellite uplink to the local station for live-news broadcast. A second Flash XDR, inside the OB truck, is utilized to decode the incoming ASI stream (from the camera) for confidence monitoring. Alternatively, this second Flash XDR can be programmed to perform ASI encoding from a POV camera mounted on the truck or from another HD-SDI source.

In the design of this system, several connection scenarios were also considered, including HD-SDI grade coax, fiber optics, and wireless transmission from the camera to the OB truck. HD-SDI coax would reduce cable length runs from 350 down to 150 meters and required all new cabling. Fiber optical cable, while supporting very long cable runs, was considered too expensive and not rugged enough for the rough and tumble world of ENG. Wireless transmission was also deemed too expensive and added an additional potential failure mode for data transmission. All solutions required HD-SDI to ASI encoding to reduce the uncompressed HD-SDI to bit-rates compatible with microwave / satellite transmission (around 19 Mbps).

The camera-mountable Flash XDR proved to be the simplest and most cost-effective approach. By encoding the HD-SDI signal to ASI at the camera, TV crews can reuse their existing (composite analog) coax cable. Also with slight reductions in the MPEG2 TS bit-rate (from the 19.7 to 19 Mbps), comprehensive error-correction could be added before microwave/satellite transmission, thus improving the overall reliability of the video.

“Stations across the country are faced with the dilemma of how to transition their ENG trucks from SD to HD for live news coverage. After extensive research, we believe Flash XDR with ASI I/O to be the cleanest and most cost-effective solution available”, noted Mark Olingy, Director of Operations and Engineering at WJLA, Washington D.C.

In addition to HD ENG, the Flash XDR Portable Recorder / Player has many widespread applications, including digital cinematography, video assist, surgical (OR) recording, race cars, flight recorders, and POV camera recorders among others. Flash XDR lists for $4995, while the ASI I/O can be added as a firmware upgrade for $995.

More info at www.convergent-design.com or at NAB booth SL7828.

Flash XDR™ HD Portable Recorder / Player debuts at NAB

(Colorado Springs, CO. USA, 11-April-08) Convergent Design will demonstrate Flash XDR, their new portable HD Recorder / Player, at NAB (April 14-17), booth SL7828. Flash XDR will be recording and playing back an HD-SDI stream, compressed to 50Mbps MPEG 4:2:2, and stored onto a 32GByte Compact Flash card.

Flash XDR is the first portable HD field recorder which utilizes CompactFlash media coupled with the high-quality, reprogrammable Sony MPEG2 CODEC. These two key technologies allow Flash XDR to redefine HD field recorders in terms of size (8x6x2.5”), weight (3 lbs), power (10 watts), noise (no fans), and affordability (US $4995). The all solid-state construction opens up unrealized applications where older tape or disk-drive based solutions were too large, too heavy, too noisy, too costly, or too fragile.

Flash XDR records HD-SDI video compressed to MPEG2 4:2:2 full-raster (1920 x 1080) at bit-rates up to 100 Mbps (Long-GOP) or 160 Mbps (I-Frame only), either of which exceeds the recording quality of most cameras or decks. This superb video is accompanied by 4-channels of embedded or 2-channels of balanced / microphone level analog audio captured in 16/24-bit uncompressed PCM format as well as time-code (embedded or LTC). These capabilities make Flash XDR an excellent recorder/player for POV cameras (Iconix) as well as a high-quality upgrade for HDV/XDCAM/HDCAM cameras, in which the live HD-SDI output is superior to the native recording capability of the camera.

Four hot-swappable CompactFlash card slots support up to 4.5 hours of recording at 50Mbps using low-cost (US $150) 32Gbyte CF cards. Data can be recorded sequentially from card to card or two cards can be configured in RAID1 for automatic backups. Video/audio data is stored in MXF format (OP-1A) which can be readily transferred to most NLE systems via USB or Firewire readers. Four Lexar UDMA Firewire-800 readers can be daisy-chained to create a high-speed (320 Mbps) CF drive for instant edits or offload to a hard-drive.

Additional unique features of Flash XDR include time-lapse recording (popular for nature events), 24p pulldown removal (1080i60 -> 1080p24), image flip (for use with P+S Tecknik converters), and extensive meta-data support. An included PC/MAC program allows users to pre-define operating parameters (data-rates, audio input, etc.) as well as metadata (cameraman, producer, event, etc.) and to store configurations onto a CF card for easy upload into a Flash XDR.

For HD ENG as well as video-over-IP applications, Flash XDR offers an optional ASI I/O firmware upgrade (US $995). Live HD ENG events use Flash XDR to encode the HD-SDI stream at the camera (to a 19 Mbps ASI stream) for transmission over coax to the OB truck where it is relayed back to the TV station via microwave or satellite uplink. Third party ASI to IP converters enable video over IP streaming.

Flash XDR carries an MSRP of US $4995 and is expected to ship in May 2008. For those extremely demanding applications, an uncompressed 10-bit 4:2:2 option (firmware upgrade) will be available this fall. Flash XDR brochure, photos and FAQ are available at: http://www.convergent-design.com

(click thumbnails below to see larger images -- CH)