Updated Convergent Designs Flash XDR F.A.Q.

[Pieter Op De Berg]

This sounds very nice to me.

I just was wondering until which capacity CF-cards are supported. Will future CF-cards of 64, 128 & 256 GB supported too?! I couldn't find anything in the FAQ brochure about this.

If meeting up to technical expectations - I'm very curious about the first production models - the only downside is maybe the pricetag. As already said 5000$ is a quite competitive price, but at 3500-4000$ it would absolutely blow away all the competition and be a no-brainer.

Greatings

[John Richard]

Someone mentioned estimated availability of 1Qtr 2008 ...

Any news on a delivery date and a more finalized configuration of this simply AWESOME portable HD-SDI recorder?

We're drooling...

[Malcolm Hamilton]

Originally Posted by Thomas Smet

What I hope to do is// buy this device with 4 cheaper cards. sure it will still cost more doing it this way but// in the process I will have much higher quality and hopefully a format that will actually work in my NLE unlike the mp4 wrapper format that needs to be re-wrapped.

Hi Thomas,
I should perhaps have finished reading this thread to find the answer, but I couldn't proceed after reading the above quotation...
I edit on a Mac, using Avid... I plan to get the EX1 but I know Avid is slow to update, and right now, can't import the higher-than-25Mb/s EX1 files; are you implying, in the above quotation, that the format I'd get with this Convergent Design device (can you tell me what format it is, please?) - - might be compatible with Avid Xpress Pro? Next question: is this format (the Converg. Design one) equal to 35Mb/s?
Thanks,
Malcolm

[Sergio Perez]

This silence concerns me...Please assure us this is still in development!

[Mike Schell]

Originally Posted by Sergio Perez

This silence concerns me...Please assure us this is still in development!

Hi Sergio-
Not to worry, we are most definitely still in development on Flash XDR, making solid progress. We're in the lab grinding away on the code and the enclosure design, that's why you have not heard much from us recently.

We're still shooting for protos in Q1 and production by NAB. We have plenty of motivation to get Flash XDR finished as fast as possible.

Mike Schell
Convergent Design

[Sergio Perez]

Originally Posted by Mike Schell

Hi Sergio-
Not to worry, we are most definitely still in development on Flash XDR, making solid progress. We're in the lab grinding away on the code and the enclosure design, that's why you have not heard much from us recently.

We're still shooting for protos in Q1 and production by NAB. We have plenty of motivation to get Flash XDR finished as fast as possible.

Mike Schell
Convergent Design

Mike,

Thanks for the quick response. Following some really exciting products I was following being canned (Cineporter and the Hydra, for example), its conforting to see you guys still on track with your revolutionary device. Keep up the good work, and do keep us posted on the process!

[Mike Schell]

Originally Posted by Thomas Smet

Another area where you guys seem be be forgetting is nice about the XDR isn't just the 160 mbit/s mode but the other lower bitrate modes. IPB 80 to 100 mbit 4:2:2 is virtually perfect and at a much lower datarate then what any of the other codecs could ever dream of doing. Even 50 mbits/s 4:2:2 mpeg2 is pretty darn good and will be good enough just to give people who are fine with XDCAM compression that tiny extra chroma boost they may want. 50 mbits equals a lot of video per card compared to using Cineform, mjpeg or DNx. This means the choice to use mpeg2 gives the user a lot of options as to what quality they want and how much video they can get per card. Sure other codecs are nice but they are usually a one option only type of codec.

You are correct that I-Frame MPEG2 is essentially identical to an MJEPG frame, both are based on DCT compression. While it would be nice to support every CODEC under the sun (CineForm, DNxHD, ProRes, MPEG2, etc) in a single product, it would be a technical nightmare in in the case of Flash XDR and would go aganist our basic design concept of portability and low-power. The Sony MPEG2 CODEC, which uses the same chip set as the upcoming Sony 422 camcorder is still an excellent compromise for power, size and video quality.

Overall, I think we will find a diminishing return on bit rate vs overall quality. For example, if the video quality "doubles" going from 25 to 50 Mbps, then it will probably only increase 20% going from 50 to 100 Mbps. We do expect a nice improvement in quality going from 4:2:0 to 4:2:2 color space and some improvement going from 1440x1080 to 1920x1080, but I doubt most users will notice a difference going from say 100 to 150 Mbps.

I personally think the "sweet spot" is going to be 50 Mbps 4:2:2 Long-GOP, which is a great compromise of video quality and storage capacity. With that said, 100 Mbps Long-GOP should look awesome for most applications.

Mike Schell
Convergent Design

[Mike Schell]

Originally Posted by Pieter Op De Berg

This sounds very nice to me.

I just was wondering until which capacity CF-cards are supported. Will future CF-cards of 64, 128 & 256 GB supported too?! I couldn't find anything in the FAQ brochure about this.

If meeting up to technical expectations - I'm very curious about the first production models - the only downside is maybe the pricetag. As already said 5000$ is a quite competitive price, but at 3500-4000$ it would absolutely blow away all the competition and be a no-brainer.

Greatings

Hi Pieter-
We are initially planning support for CF cards up to 128 GByte capacity, which is still quite a few more years into the future. 32GB cards are just starting to appear on the market. You can get a 32GB card for under $200. Unfortunately, it's only fast enough for 50 Mbps stream, but this is probably sufficient for most applications.

BTW, four 32GB cards provides for over 5 hours record time at 50 Mbps rate!

We think the price of Flash XDR is very competitive at $4995, especially given the price of HD decks and other HD recording devices.

Mike Schell

[Tim Polster]

Mike,

Thanks for your recent update on the XDR.

I have a general question that I am a little confused about.

Given that the XDR can record in different framerates, is the framerate determined by the camera or the Flash XDR?

I don't know if the SDI feed from a camera is always the full resolution and framerate of a imaging sensor, and the XDR just takes what it needs.

For example, is it possible to get 720p60 out of an XDCAM HD 355?

Since there is a color space increase, one would think there might be a framerate increase.

Thanks

P.S. Are their going to be any video examples showing the benefits of the higher bitrates and color space on your website?

[Chris Hurd]

I meant to post this earlier, but Tim is referring to http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=113482

[Mike Schell]

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

[Tim Polster]

Thanks Mike.

[Robert Ducon]

It comes in matte black too, right? ;)

[Mike Schell]

Originally Posted by Robert Ducon

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

[Robert Ducon]

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!