I got a new toy............. FFV Elite HD for my XHG1.... 10 bit 4:2:2 J2k 100 mbit.....
OK it's for my work but I am the only shooter....

Review... We decided to go with this do to the J2K codec... with over 45 years between us we decided we hate and I mean hate MPG2... I don't care if it's I frame or not, 100 mbit or 300mbit... We had the XHG1 and wanted to go the next level... We liked the GrassValley J2K camera but was way out of our price range..... P2 Cards are way to expensive for the price per gig... and we wanted to record more then 1 hour at a time if we needed to... "we often do" So we decided hard drive was the answer... FFV the only choice....

NOW. FFV overstated itself on the website and at NAB. First of all, Elite HD doesn't support any PC... Only Mac as of 5-18-09... BUT this is never stated on the web site or the sales rep... Also at NAB they advertised this as any computer and any NLE... NOT TRUE...

You guessed it.. we have PC. PPCS3. Opteron Quad Core .. Now what... after 7 grand it doesn't work and you also need their software to convert this codec which ONLY works on a NEWER mac 8 core recommended...

Again This is never mentioned on their site......

GOOD NEWS... After talking to Nicole, Ray, Tan, and Harry Glass I found out the truth...
They have a firmware update which they sent me and it records straight into a .mov file... Yep... After 4 days of phone calls it works... NOW it's still a beta release and 720P doesn't work as of today.... Yes Edius plays it and so does PPCS3.... But the time line needs to be rendered otherwise it shudders.

The support from FFV has been good. BUT it seems to me that maybe just one person/customer service rep would understand the entire process rather then passing you off to someone else who might understand...

I tried CineForm J2K and maybe I just don't get what's happening or the work flow but after the conversion the time line still needs to be rendered before starting the work flow...

I could upload a few second of footage if someone can suggest where I can place a file under a gig...Now I have to test Audio and then I'll almost be happy... thanks

I was really excited to see that product at NAB, but that's where they told be the bad news that it is a proprietary codec that isn't compatible with anything. I thought the whole point of Jpeg2000 is that it's supposed to be a more open standard.

My excitement quickly moved in favor of what I thought was the Apple only Aja Ki. It turns out that alomst any PC or MAC NLE can play back Apple ProRes. For less than $4000 the Ki seems like the best solution for almost anyone.

~Jay

dude if I didn't work in a hospital and new they would have admitted me I would have thrown a left nut when I found out. BUT I'll say this... The new ".mov" wrapper is just fine and will work with most any editor...No special codec to install or convert....

They jumped the gun on saying what they were doing... at least with me and on their web site.