Cineform workstations and hardware suggestions

Randy Donato · January 22nd, 2006, 09:41 PM

Since Premiere 2.0 offers built in support for the card in both SD and HD what will Cineform do with the Aspect plugin to take advantage of that, if anything? Will it still be limited to Prospect or will you turn it on for Aspect but in 8 bit? Sure would be a shame to get all the benefits of the card using .m2t but not get it using Aspect. Given that the new Canon H1 is 8bit HD-SDI wouldn't that make a nice fit?....not to mention it will beat the heck out of using a video card for monitoring.

David Newman · January 23rd, 2006, 05:20 PM

Currently Premiere Pro only has support for the Xena HS, not the new LH series cards, but your point is still an interesting one that are considering (certainly for timeline monitoring.) For capture and HD-SDI mastering we have the Prospect HD line.

Randy Donato · January 23rd, 2006, 11:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Newman

Currently Premiere Pro only has support for the Xena HS, not the new LH series cards, but your point is still an interesting one that are considering (certainly for timeline monitoring.) For capture and HD-SDI mastering we have the Prospect HD line.

You are right and I missed that(take a look at the LH page and it talks about Premiere 2 but sends you to the HS page) and the HS is 10 bit only(LH is 8/10)....hmmm I think Adobe needs to clean up their ad/info since it can be read that with HDV you get monitor out...which with HS is a no go. Tying into either card is good and not hard I wouldn't think but don't know about licensing...do multibridge while you are at it.

Chris M. Watson · April 7th, 2006, 03:19 PM

Found this on the web and wanted to figure out the best economical solution to going to an external HD monitor working with Cineform....

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...027&CatId=1562

I know there's two cards in the $200-$300 range recommended by Cineform but I was curious if there were less expensive cards that would work as well. Can't help it, I'm thrifty :)

Chris Watson
Watson Videography
www.dynamovideo.com

Gary Harper · June 25th, 2006, 11:57 AM

What have been the experiences of using External Hard Drives for storage? Types, Mfgr., etc. Who uses a raid configuration, and what is the configuration?
How about SATA,,, Is it necessary for archive storage? Is a single drive OK? Firewire or USB 2.0? Any other methods of storage besids Tape or Ext. Hard Drives being used? Any new storage/backup possibilities in the near future?
Thanks,
Gary

Don Donatello · June 25th, 2006, 12:15 PM

i've been buying 400 gig ATA drives (seagates on sale 114 - 159) .. install then in either 2 or 4 bay external 1394a/b/USB2 cases ... both 2/4 bay allow raid 0 but i just run them as single drives ... also have several 250gig externals 1394/usb ... tried tape a few years ago -tooooo slooooooo and to hard/time consuming to look for just certain files.

Richard Leadbetter · June 25th, 2006, 12:50 PM

I archive to 7200rpm ATA drives (not SATA) in USB 2.0 enclosures. I find that they are plenty fast enough - so much so I can play 720p/60 files at very high quality setting with no dropped frames.

I can even capture to them too at the same rates if I want to, not that I would recommend it.

Rather than go the SATA/RAID route you would most likely be better off simply archiving twice to different drives.

In terms of manufacturers, Maxtor are really hitting a bad patch at the moment so I'd avoid them like the plague.

Christopher Glaeser · June 25th, 2006, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary Harper

What have been the experiences of using External Hard Drives for storage? Types, Mfgr., etc. Who uses a raid configuration, and what is the configuration?

I use six internal drives (1 10,000 rpm for the OS, 1 large disk for data, 4 SATA RAID 0 for video) and for external I've used USB but now prefer ethernet NAS (Buffalo Terastation configured as RAID 5). The internal RAID 0 has excellent performance, and it's a bit easier to access the NAS RAID 5 from all the computers on the LAN; the four drive RAID 5 is a reasonable tradeoff of speed, size, and reliability.

Best,
Christopher

James Huenergardt · June 27th, 2006, 10:05 PM

Hi,

I currently have a eVGA 7800GT connected to my Dell 24" LCD and a Dell 19" LCD.

I recently purchased a Toshiba 20" widescreen that will take HDV 1080i/720p via Component or VGA, and I'm wanting to output from Premiere Pro to that TV.

I know I need another video card, but I was wondering if that was possible to use my computer in that configuration?

Thanks,

Jim

Ryan Maes · June 27th, 2006, 10:51 PM

I have a sony laptop wich is a couple years old. pentium 2.4, 512 ram, ati mobility radeon 7500c video card.

My question is, will I be able to use cineform connect hd with vegas on my laptop to edit HVX200 footage? Or will it not work.

I really don't want to buy another computer if I don't have to.

David Newman · June 27th, 2006, 10:55 PM

You could be in luck. Generally people use the HXV200 in 720p24 or 25 (with over/under-cranking for effects as needed.) 720p24/25 is particularly easy that many under-spec'd PCs will work fine. I suggest down the CineForm trial, and test the performance on your PC for yourself.

Nick Outram · June 28th, 2006, 09:56 AM

Ryan,

Looking at your specs, your memory could probably do with an upgrade to 1Gig. This will give any app. plenty of room to play in.

Also, laptops have slow hard disks: 4200rpm is the norm. I have purchased an external eSATA unit and put 2 x 250Gbyte 7200rpm SATA disks in RAID 0 array into it (500Gigs). Currently I am accessing this via USB2 interface but eventually when motherboards and laptops support it will be able to use that interface. All my Media now goes on this portable unit so I have decoupled my media from my PC with a very fast interface.

Another thing to try are Gearshift from VASST (uses smaller rendered temporay files in place of the larger .avis)

Nick.

John McGinley · July 16th, 2006, 01:28 AM

I can't seem to nail down the specifics on this card, some list it as a PCI card, some a PCI-x.

Does anyone know if this card will do HD on a regular PCI motherboard?

I'm starting to believe I'll have to upgrade to a system with PCIe, but if I can put that off for a bit that would be great.

David Taylor · July 16th, 2006, 08:40 AM

John, I just went to the AJA site and noticed they are not good about identifying the bus requirements for their cards. But the Xena-HS requires a 64-bit PCI-X slot. PCI-X is generally available on workstation-class PCs, but not all, so you'll have to check your machine. If you don't have a 64-bit PCI-X slot then you can use the Xena-LHe which works in a 16-bit (I think) PCIe slot. That card is more expensive than the -HS because it includes component HD I/O in addition to HD-SDI.

If you also purchase Prospect HD we can supply either card, and we have bundle pricing for both the -HS and -LH(e) family.

John McGinley · July 16th, 2006, 11:31 PM

yeah, looks like I'm going to have to upgrade my system to go either route. No PCIe or PCI-x

Funny? It was fast enough a year ago :-)

Moore's law sucks.

January 22nd, 2006, 09:41 PM	#31
Randy Donato Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 138	Xena LH and Aspect Question Since Premiere 2.0 offers built in support for the card in both SD and HD what will Cineform do with the Aspect plugin to take advantage of that, if anything? Will it still be limited to Prospect or will you turn it on for Aspect but in 8 bit? Sure would be a shame to get all the benefits of the card using .m2t but not get it using Aspect. Given that the new Canon H1 is 8bit HD-SDI wouldn't that make a nice fit?....not to mention it will beat the heck out of using a video card for monitoring.

January 23rd, 2006, 05:20 PM	#32
David Newman CTO, CineForm Inc. Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California Posts: 8,095	Currently Premiere Pro only has support for the Xena HS, not the new LH series cards, but your point is still an interesting one that are considering (certainly for timeline monitoring.) For capture and HD-SDI mastering we have the Prospect HD line. __________________ David Newman -- web: www.gopro.com blog: cineform.blogspot.com -- twitter: twitter.com/David_Newman

April 7th, 2006, 03:19 PM	#34
Chris M. Watson Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Fort Worth, TX Posts: 104	Will this card work for output to HD with Cineform? Found this on the web and wanted to figure out the best economical solution to going to an external HD monitor working with Cineform.... http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...027&CatId=1562 I know there's two cards in the $200-$300 range recommended by Cineform but I was curious if there were less expensive cards that would work as well. Can't help it, I'm thrifty :) Chris Watson Watson Videography www.dynamovideo.com

June 25th, 2006, 11:57 AM	#35
Gary Harper Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 47	Hard Drives for archiving. What have been the experiences of using External Hard Drives for storage? Types, Mfgr., etc. Who uses a raid configuration, and what is the configuration? How about SATA,,, Is it necessary for archive storage? Is a single drive OK? Firewire or USB 2.0? Any other methods of storage besids Tape or Ext. Hard Drives being used? Any new storage/backup possibilities in the near future? Thanks, Gary

June 27th, 2006, 10:05 PM	#39
James Huenergardt Major Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Chehalis, WA Posts: 513	Video card/output question Hi, I currently have a eVGA 7800GT connected to my Dell 24" LCD and a Dell 19" LCD. I recently purchased a Toshiba 20" widescreen that will take HDV 1080i/720p via Component or VGA, and I'm wanting to output from Premiere Pro to that TV. I know I need another video card, but I was wondering if that was possible to use my computer in that configuration? Thanks, Jim

June 25th, 2006, 12:15 PM	#36
Don Donatello Hawaiian Shirt Mogul Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: northern cailfornia Posts: 1,261	i've been buying 400 gig ATA drives (seagates on sale 114 - 159) .. install then in either 2 or 4 bay external 1394a/b/USB2 cases ... both 2/4 bay allow raid 0 but i just run them as single drives ... also have several 250gig externals 1394/usb ... tried tape a few years ago -tooooo slooooooo and to hard/time consuming to look for just certain files.

June 25th, 2006, 12:50 PM	#37
Richard Leadbetter Major Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 323	I archive to 7200rpm ATA drives (not SATA) in USB 2.0 enclosures. I find that they are plenty fast enough - so much so I can play 720p/60 files at very high quality setting with no dropped frames. I can even capture to them too at the same rates if I want to, not that I would recommend it. Rather than go the SATA/RAID route you would most likely be better off simply archiving twice to different drives. In terms of manufacturers, Maxtor are really hitting a bad patch at the moment so I'd avoid them like the plague.

June 27th, 2006, 10:51 PM	#40
Ryan Maes Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Portland, OR USA Posts: 35	Is my computer good enough I have a sony laptop wich is a couple years old. pentium 2.4, 512 ram, ati mobility radeon 7500c video card. My question is, will I be able to use cineform connect hd with vegas on my laptop to edit HVX200 footage? Or will it not work. I really don't want to buy another computer if I don't have to.

June 27th, 2006, 10:55 PM	#41
David Newman CTO, CineForm Inc. Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California Posts: 8,095	You could be in luck. Generally people use the HXV200 in 720p24 or 25 (with over/under-cranking for effects as needed.) 720p24/25 is particularly easy that many under-spec'd PCs will work fine. I suggest down the CineForm trial, and test the performance on your PC for yourself. __________________ David Newman -- web: www.gopro.com blog: cineform.blogspot.com -- twitter: twitter.com/David_Newman

June 28th, 2006, 09:56 AM	#42
Nick Outram Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 90	Possible ways to postpone new laptop purchase Ryan, Looking at your specs, your memory could probably do with an upgrade to 1Gig. This will give any app. plenty of room to play in. Also, laptops have slow hard disks: 4200rpm is the norm. I have purchased an external eSATA unit and put 2 x 250Gbyte 7200rpm SATA disks in RAID 0 array into it (500Gigs). Currently I am accessing this via USB2 interface but eventually when motherboards and laptops support it will be able to use that interface. All my Media now goes on this portable unit so I have decoupled my media from my PC with a very fast interface. Another thing to try are Gearshift from VASST (uses smaller rendered temporay files in place of the larger .avis) Nick.

July 16th, 2006, 01:28 AM	#43
John McGinley Regular Crew Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 142	Xena HS PCI? or PCI-X? I can't seem to nail down the specifics on this card, some list it as a PCI card, some a PCI-x. Does anyone know if this card will do HD on a regular PCI motherboard? I'm starting to believe I'll have to upgrade to a system with PCIe, but if I can put that off for a bit that would be great.

July 16th, 2006, 08:40 AM	#44
David Taylor Major Player Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Solana Beach, CA Posts: 853	John, I just went to the AJA site and noticed they are not good about identifying the bus requirements for their cards. But the Xena-HS requires a 64-bit PCI-X slot. PCI-X is generally available on workstation-class PCs, but not all, so you'll have to check your machine. If you don't have a 64-bit PCI-X slot then you can use the Xena-LHe which works in a 16-bit (I think) PCIe slot. That card is more expensive than the -HS because it includes component HD I/O in addition to HD-SDI. If you also purchase Prospect HD we can supply either card, and we have bundle pricing for both the -HS and -LH(e) family.

July 16th, 2006, 11:31 PM	#45
John McGinley Regular Crew Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 142	yeah, looks like I'm going to have to upgrade my system to go either route. No PCIe or PCI-x Funny? It was fast enough a year ago :-) Moore's law sucks.