Does anybody know whether or not the HDMI out will allow the Atomos recorders to provide large bit rate recording such as 100 or 200Mbps? I looked at the manual but didn't see anything about it. Also, if it can how much benefit will I gain over the stock 50Mbps codecs?

Cheers,
Greg

SDI is a locking connector - which is more robust than HDMI. Output appears progressive - without pull down.

More here: http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/sony-pxw-x70-fdr-ax100/525484-x70-hdmi-output-rgb-yuv.html

Thanks!

I read through that thread twice and also followed up on Sony's manual pg. 75 just to check for myself...

"HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is an interface for transferring uncompressed digital audio and video signals between a TV and a connected device. By connecting a cable from the camcorder’s HDMI OUT jack to your TV, you can enjoy high image quality video and digital audio."

Does uncompressed mean that it comes right from the sensor? If so what exactly does that mean? 4:4:4 @12bit? 4:4:4@10bit? Does that mean the external recorder is able to turn that signal into whatever codec and bit rate that it supports? Also can it record at higher Mbps per second as well such as 100 or 200Mbps? If none of that is the case then buying say the The PIX-E5 is more or less a secondary recorder with larger screen, peaking etc but doesn't provide any image quality improvements? Sorry for all the questions I am just trying to understand this correctly.

Cheers,
Greg

Compression and color/bitrate are two separate things. 4:2:2 has double the color information of 4:2:0. Same thing with 8 vs 10 vs 12 bit, it's information. You can compress any of those standards using compression algorithms, that when decoded fill in the information necessary to playback 4:22 10bit or whatever. Uncompressed simply means each bit is represented as it's own specific bit, and isn't being altered in any way from it's originally encoded form when decoded.

When you record directly off the sensor data, that is called RAW. RAW can be compressed or uncompressed too add to your confusion, but it is a closer representation to a direct sensor readout that you are thinking of.

Paul

Thanks Paul!

So with an uncompressed signal out of the X70 into a recorder, that will provide me with additional codecs, and more data per second (100Mbps as opposed to the the 50Mbps)? Basically is it a worthy investment?

The HD-SDI or HDMI will be spitting out far more data rate than any codec you will be able to record to, but yes, you could select ProRes HQ 4:2:2 10 bit and snag the highest quality compressed (lightly) 220Mbps possible. :)

If you really want to overdo it, you can record UNCOMPRESSED 10 bit 4:2:2, but that is a ridiculous amount of data and the X70 doesn't put out a signal to noise ratio that would make that beneficial in any way.

Paul

Paul,

Thank you for clearing that all up for me. I tip my hat to you sir.

Cheers,
Greg