Apple IO-HD at DVinfo.net

John Benton · April 16th, 2007, 09:50 AM

"Apple and AJA have together provided an early glimpse at the IO-HD. The new external breakout device is built for real-time input of and conversion to Apple's new ProRes 422 high-definition video format introduced for use with Final Cut Studio 2 and Final Cut Server. The performance and file compression of the device allows direct editing of even 4K HD video in the field on a MacBook Pro, Apple says, and will up- or down-convert video resolution to match the intended editing environment. The IO-HD should cost one fifth the amount of competing HD video encoders and is set to ship in July for $3,495."

Now, is this going to allow direct field capture of "ProRes"/"Uncompressed" ???

Will Griffith · April 16th, 2007, 11:27 AM

yep.

I would assume you would want to capture to external hard drives though.
I don't think a internal MacBook Pro HD would handle it. Express card SATA?

John Benton · April 16th, 2007, 12:51 PM

incredible...
So I assume it has no Hard drive in it...
still, given the price of hard drives, it is a great solution !
wonder how the codec is, I assume great,
4:2:2 is what I crave

Will Griffith · April 16th, 2007, 01:03 PM

it is 4:2:2 full raster, but not uncompressed.
It uses the new fancy Apple codec just announced
yesterday.

1920x1080 4:2:2 is a nice step up from 1440 4:2:0

Glenn Davidson · April 16th, 2007, 01:07 PM

Title of this thread should be "AJA IO-HD", since it is an AJA product.

Christian Bertolini · April 24th, 2007, 06:09 AM

Some clarification is needed:

it looks like it is possible to do on-field capturing by using a firewire 800 cable even with a MacBook Pro; the Apple ProRes 422 samples at 145Mbps (normal quality) and 220Mbps (high quality), therefore:

- I guess the capturing can be done on standard hard disks (internal and external), am I right?
- Once the editing has been done is it possible to stream back from the Mac (through the firewire cable) back to the SDI output?
- Has anyone seen examples of the Codec quality?

Cheers
Christian

Nick Hiltgen · April 24th, 2007, 04:18 PM

Supposedly the codec is pretty good, (rumors has it rivals cineform)

It would seem like any disk that can support the bit rate (internal or external will allow for the recording.

If you check out the aja site they have a picture of the back of the box which shows an hd-sdi out as well. I think at 3500 this is freaking awesome.

Who do we buy it from?

Drew Harding · April 24th, 2007, 10:58 PM

So I'm a bit confused... granted the AJA IO handles the HD SDI input and conversion to ProRes 422... but you still need a Macbook Pro/G5 for control and playback, and an additional firewire/SATA drive or RAID setup (for the paranoid)? So all in all, we're still talking about a ~$7K+TAX setup? And there's still no elegant way to power this via battery?

Kevin Wild · April 25th, 2007, 12:37 AM

No need for a RAID for this codec...unless you're doing multiple streams/layers. That's the beauty of it...small enough to go straight to a laptop.

Yes, you then can play back via the SDI.

No battery...too bad. I still think this could be of use with an H1 and a laptop, especially for greenscreen shoots, etc.

Aaron Burtle · April 25th, 2007, 04:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevin Wild

No need for a RAID for this codec...unless you're doing multiple streams/layers. That's the beauty of it...small enough to go straight to a laptop.

I think you would at least want to use an external firewire drive or something. Laptops strike me as quite an expensive storage medium :)

Nick Hiltgen · April 25th, 2007, 07:42 AM

Drew I think the exciting thing about this is that it brings us that much closer to having a "firestore" like portable device available. With the prores codec hardwired into a chip, it seems like the next step is for someone one to incorporate that into a small form factor with an HD-SDI port and a couple of 2.5" 160gb hard drives. Not a completely portable system yet, but getting a step closer then the Wafian was/is.

John Benton · April 25th, 2007, 09:29 AM

Agreed,
This is on the way to a dream machine...
(while he waits for Red)

Barlow Elton · April 25th, 2007, 12:13 PM

I checked it out at NAB and it is indeed impressive. The ProRes codec is a huge improvement over the other QT alternatives and is possible to capture to a single hard drive over the entire disk. It will cross convert to 720 60p, which could be useful for a variety of reasons, not the the least of which would be slowmo purposes.

Even better would be the fact that you can route audio through the device and embed it, along with timecode, into the FCP capture, which was a serious issue for XL-H1 owners with the video-only SDI signal. You can also capture raw HDMI from the HV20 if you want to bypass HDV on that little cam too.

I hope to get one this summer.

John Benton · April 25th, 2007, 12:24 PM

Barlow,
(how are you my friend?)
We have Sound through the HD-SDI?
holy smoke!

Can you confirm whether there is a a Hard drive in the IO-HD or does it need an external hard drive firewired to it?
Does it NEED a Laptop?
and it, I assume, needs to Plug in to some power...?

Thanks B,

John

John Benton · April 25th, 2007, 02:38 PM

ok.
So it is really just an I/O

...so it's really just gonna end up being a little bit smaller than lugging a MacPro (w/ HD-SDI card) and compressing to Sheer or PhotoJpeg 4:2:2....
(you could argue that a MacPro is acyualy more manageable than the
1) IO-HD (& power)
2) MacBook (& power)
3) extra drives

Basically same price.
Plus with a MacPro you also get a computer...

am I missing something?

April 16th, 2007, 09:50 AM	#1
John Benton Major Player Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: NYC Posts: 658	Apple IO-HD "Apple and AJA have together provided an early glimpse at the IO-HD. The new external breakout device is built for real-time input of and conversion to Apple's new ProRes 422 high-definition video format introduced for use with Final Cut Studio 2 and Final Cut Server. The performance and file compression of the device allows direct editing of even 4K HD video in the field on a MacBook Pro, Apple says, and will up- or down-convert video resolution to match the intended editing environment. The IO-HD should cost one fifth the amount of competing HD video encoders and is set to ship in July for $3,495." Now, is this going to allow direct field capture of "ProRes"/"Uncompressed" ???

April 16th, 2007, 11:27 AM	#2
Will Griffith Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Tennessee Posts: 164	yep. I would assume you would want to capture to external hard drives though. I don't think a internal MacBook Pro HD would handle it. Express card SATA? __________________ will griffith producer/editor

April 16th, 2007, 01:03 PM	#4
Will Griffith Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Tennessee Posts: 164	it is 4:2:2 full raster, but not uncompressed. It uses the new fancy Apple codec just announced yesterday. 1920x1080 4:2:2 is a nice step up from 1440 4:2:0 __________________ will griffith producer/editor

April 24th, 2007, 06:09 AM	#6
Christian Bertolini New Boot Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Australia Posts: 16	Some clarification is needed: it looks like it is possible to do on-field capturing by using a firewire 800 cable even with a MacBook Pro; the Apple ProRes 422 samples at 145Mbps (normal quality) and 220Mbps (high quality), therefore: - I guess the capturing can be done on standard hard disks (internal and external), am I right? - Once the editing has been done is it possible to stream back from the Mac (through the firewire cable) back to the SDI output? - Has anyone seen examples of the Codec quality? Cheers Christian __________________ Christian Bertolini - Producer Melbourne, Australia - www.i-pumpkin.com

April 24th, 2007, 04:18 PM	#7
Nick Hiltgen Trustee Join Date: May 2003 Location: Atlanta GA Posts: 1,427	Supposedly the codec is pretty good, (rumors has it rivals cineform) It would seem like any disk that can support the bit rate (internal or external will allow for the recording. If you check out the aja site they have a picture of the back of the box which shows an hd-sdi out as well. I think at 3500 this is freaking awesome. Who do we buy it from? __________________ I have a dream that one day canon will release a 35mm ef to xl adapter and I'll have iris control and a 35mm dof of all my ef lenses, and it will be awesome...

April 16th, 2007, 12:51 PM	#3
John Benton Major Player Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: NYC Posts: 658	incredible... So I assume it has no Hard drive in it... still, given the price of hard drives, it is a great solution ! wonder how the codec is, I assume great, 4:2:2 is what I crave

April 16th, 2007, 01:07 PM	#5
Glenn Davidson Major Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Nevada City, California Posts: 499	Title of this thread should be "AJA IO-HD", since it is an AJA product.

April 24th, 2007, 10:58 PM	#8
Drew Harding New Boot Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 9	So I'm a bit confused... granted the AJA IO handles the HD SDI input and conversion to ProRes 422... but you still need a Macbook Pro/G5 for control and playback, and an additional firewire/SATA drive or RAID setup (for the paranoid)? So all in all, we're still talking about a ~$7K+TAX setup? And there's still no elegant way to power this via battery?

April 25th, 2007, 12:37 AM	#9
Kevin Wild Major Player Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 540	No need for a RAID for this codec...unless you're doing multiple streams/layers. That's the beauty of it...small enough to go straight to a laptop. Yes, you then can play back via the SDI. No battery...too bad. I still think this could be of use with an H1 and a laptop, especially for greenscreen shoots, etc.

April 25th, 2007, 07:42 AM	#11
Nick Hiltgen Trustee Join Date: May 2003 Location: Atlanta GA Posts: 1,427	Drew I think the exciting thing about this is that it brings us that much closer to having a "firestore" like portable device available. With the prores codec hardwired into a chip, it seems like the next step is for someone one to incorporate that into a small form factor with an HD-SDI port and a couple of 2.5" 160gb hard drives. Not a completely portable system yet, but getting a step closer then the Wafian was/is. __________________ I have a dream that one day canon will release a 35mm ef to xl adapter and I'll have iris control and a 35mm dof of all my ef lenses, and it will be awesome...

April 25th, 2007, 09:29 AM	#12
John Benton Major Player Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: NYC Posts: 658	Agreed, This is on the way to a dream machine... (while he waits for Red)

April 25th, 2007, 12:13 PM	#13
Barlow Elton Major Player Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: UT Posts: 945	I checked it out at NAB and it is indeed impressive. The ProRes codec is a huge improvement over the other QT alternatives and is possible to capture to a single hard drive over the entire disk. It will cross convert to 720 60p, which could be useful for a variety of reasons, not the the least of which would be slowmo purposes. Even better would be the fact that you can route audio through the device and embed it, along with timecode, into the FCP capture, which was a serious issue for XL-H1 owners with the video-only SDI signal. You can also capture raw HDMI from the HV20 if you want to bypass HDV on that little cam too. I hope to get one this summer.

April 25th, 2007, 12:24 PM	#14
John Benton Major Player Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: NYC Posts: 658	Barlow, (how are you my friend?) We have Sound through the HD-SDI? holy smoke! Can you confirm whether there is a a Hard drive in the IO-HD or does it need an external hard drive firewired to it? Does it NEED a Laptop? and it, I assume, needs to Plug in to some power...? Thanks B, John

April 25th, 2007, 02:38 PM	#15
John Benton Major Player Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: NYC Posts: 658	ok. So it is really just an I/O ...so it's really just gonna end up being a little bit smaller than lugging a MacPro (w/ HD-SDI card) and compressing to Sheer or PhotoJpeg 4:2:2.... (you could argue that a MacPro is acyualy more manageable than the 1) IO-HD (& power) 2) MacBook (& power) 3) extra drives Basically same price. Plus with a MacPro you also get a computer... am I missing something?