nanoFlash Features

Steve Phillipps · June 28th, 2009, 06:52 AM

Another big plus with it on the 700 will be the ability to play straight into an HD TV via HDMI. At present I can view on my small HD monitor via SDI or on TV via composite video (which is horrible).
Also will be sueful with things like the fabulous Iconix mini camera, rather than hiring in an HDCam field recorder as I have in the past.
Just on the verge of placing my order now!
I think if there's a simple way of getting a V-lock mount onto the Nano that'd be great, should be easy enough no? I'm thinking of maybe getting the IDX 2 battery plate (I used to have one but got rid of it), then mounting 2 batteries piggy-back on the bottom bit, the Nano on the top one. This way the batteries will stick out further than the Nano so affording it some protection.
Steve

Dan Keaton · June 28th, 2009, 08:45 AM

Dear Steve,

I will be happy to call you on the phone to answer all of your questions.

Just send me a private message with your phone number and a time to call, if you would like a call.

I would email you, but your profile does not have your email address.

Mike Schell · June 28th, 2009, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Skillicorn

Maybe a dumb question.... in using the Nano Flash with a Sony Ex-3 for instance, and assuming connecting with HD/SDI, will it be possible to start and stop recording with the camera's start button on the lens..... or must one always activate recording from the nano itself?

Thanks

Hi David-
You can trigger the nanoFlash to start recording by pressing the record button on your camera, assuming you have media in the camera (otherwise the camera will not allow the record button function). The nanoFlash can be configured to start recording when the time-code increments (your camera should be set to record-run time-code). Also, you will need to set the time-code source to embedded and the record trigger to TC on the nanoFlash. In this configuration, you only need to connect an HD-SDI cable from the nanoFlash to your camera. It's really quite simple.

Best-

Robert Lahoda · June 30th, 2009, 10:33 AM

One feature that had been mentioned in other threads but not listed in the earlier list of features is the ability to pause the video during playback. do you know if this is going to be in the Nanoflash when it ships? I know it's a fairly mundane feature, so i was wondering if it was left out for that reason, or if it will be part of future firmware updates.

Dan Keaton · June 30th, 2009, 10:38 AM

Dear Robert,

No, this will not be part of the initial firmware release for the nanoFlash.

We will add this in a future firmware release.

The reason, we are devoting our engineering and firmware development resources to other areas such as over and under-cranking and other features.

We recently added a Pre-Record buffer and 220 Mbps I-Frame Only, and 140 Mbps Long GOP.

David Schmerin · June 30th, 2009, 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan Keaton

Our final parts were due in on June 20th, but we were informed recently that they were delayed until June 29th.

Did all the missing "final parts" come or is another delay pending? I ask only because no announcement saying all the parts are in and full production has begun has yet been issued.

David Schmerin
A dim bulb is a bright world

Dan Keaton · June 30th, 2009, 12:56 PM

Dear David,

Yes, all of the parts to build the two circuit boards have arrived at our contract manufacturer.

These arrived a little earlier than scheduled.

Yesterday, our contract manufacturer started populating a limited number the bare circuit boards, for one of the boards. We expect to be able to test this board by next Monday, or before. Also, they will be populating the second board soon.

Once we are certain that everything is working, we will release full production.

Other steps to complete the unit will be performed at our Colorado Springs office. We are awaiting for a few parts for this part of the overall process.

We expect to start our limited initial shipments by July 15th, or before.

Volume production will start before the end of July.

Alan Emery · July 2nd, 2009, 07:49 AM

Hi Dan,

Congratulations on your continuing improvement in the features of the Nanoflash and XDR.

I have been holding off ordering a unit because of the limited compatibility with Adobe PPro. My NLE is PPro CS4 on a PC. I understand that you and Adobe have been working on this together and wonder if there has been any further progress or any planned date when your output files wll be readable by Adobe systems?

In the event that compatibility is not likely to happen soon, is there a software workaround to convert your output files into a PPro CS4 compatible format? If so do you know if the resulting files would be supported by PProCS4 at all of the bitrates you provide in both Long-GOP and I-frame only formats?

Many thanks,
Alan

Dan Keaton · July 2nd, 2009, 08:12 AM

Dear Alan,

Your question is very timely.

Just this morning, I was doing research on this problem. I visited MainConcepts website to see if they had any new developments in this area.

Previously, they had a $500 solution to this problem, but, if I remember correctly, it only worked for CS3.

This morning, I found that they now have a $259 (US) solution for both CS3 and CS4!

They provide codecs that work with the XDCam 4:2:2 footage, among other items in this package.

This is great news for us.

Note: Since this is a "breaking news" type discovery, we have not yet tested it.
However, there is a free download of a trial version of this package.
We would love for one of our friends to test this with their CS3/CS4 system.

I may be premature, but this appears to be the solution at this time.
I did speak with Adobe on July 16, and they said that support for PDW-700/800 XDCam 4:2:2 @ HL footage, which is what we create with the Flash XDR and nanoFlash, is not due out anytime soon.

MainConcept™ MPEG Pro™ HD 4
XDCAM™ Plug-in for Adobe® Premiere® Pro
$259 (US)

MainConcept: Information

Alan Emery · July 2nd, 2009, 06:20 PM

Hi Dan,

Many thanks for the very encouraging information and advice despite the disappointing remarks from Adobe. I hope someone with the required bits and pieces (nanoflash or XDR output files, a copy of the Main Concept software (owned or trial), and PPro CS4 on a PC can give it a try and report back on their results.

If no one is able to do this, perhaps I can download a series of typical nanoflash output files from your website or FTP location at different bitrates and do the experiment myself. I live in a definitely rural setting with a not-so-fast broadband system to retrieve information from the Internet, so the files should be relatively modest in size but big enough top make a valid test.

Many thanks again for the research effort.

Alan

Dan Keaton · July 2nd, 2009, 06:28 PM

Dear Alan,

Your timing is perfect again!

I just received word from MainConcept that they have tried our files and they work fine with their codec package.

Thus, we now have a viable solution for working with our high-quality 4:2:2 files in Adobe CS3 and CS4.

Alan Emery · July 3rd, 2009, 08:52 AM

Many thanks Dan,

Now that we have a workable solution, I will order a nanoflash unit and also the Main Concept software. Looking forward to getting it all together.

Thanks again,
Alan

Steve Phillipps · July 3rd, 2009, 10:16 AM

Just wanting to confirm something, if you write some Quicktime files from your computer to a CF card and insert it into the Nanoflash, it will play them through HDMI into a TV?
Steve

Dan Keaton · July 3rd, 2009, 10:46 AM

Dear Steve,

Almost.

1. Render the Quicktime files to a format that we specify.

2. Use a utility that we will supply to convert the rendered file to our format of Quicktime.
This just ensures that fields are where we expect them to be and we have the exact same format. No transcoding is performed.

3. Initialize the CompactFlash card in the Flash XDR / nanoFlash.

4.

5. Copy the file to the CompactFlash card.

6. Insert card into the nanoFlash then press Play.

We have a beta version of our utility, but we still have some work to do.

I omitted Step 4. At this time, with our beta utility, it is necessary to create a brief file on the CompactFlash card, after it is initialized.

When we release this utility, this step will not be necesary.

We have been concentratiing on the nanoFlash development and this takes time away from this utility. It works now, it just has some limitations and "Step 4".

One limitation at this time is that the rendered files must be less than 4 GB.

Steve Phillipps · July 3rd, 2009, 10:53 AM

Fair enough, as you say not the number 1 priority, but it will be nice as a way to review/show rushes on a big HDTV. I think this is useful as that is what it will likely be viewed on by your viewers.
Thanks Dan.
Steve

June 28th, 2009, 08:45 AM	#32
Dan Keaton Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Augusta Georgia Posts: 5,421	Dear Steve, I will be happy to call you on the phone to answer all of your questions. Just send me a private message with your phone number and a time to call, if you would like a call. I would email you, but your profile does not have your email address. __________________ Dan Keaton Augusta Georgia

June 30th, 2009, 10:38 AM	#35
Dan Keaton Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Augusta Georgia Posts: 5,421	Dear Robert, No, this will not be part of the initial firmware release for the nanoFlash. We will add this in a future firmware release. The reason, we are devoting our engineering and firmware development resources to other areas such as over and under-cranking and other features. We recently added a Pre-Record buffer and 220 Mbps I-Frame Only, and 140 Mbps Long GOP. __________________ Dan Keaton Augusta Georgia

June 30th, 2009, 12:56 PM	#37
Dan Keaton Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Augusta Georgia Posts: 5,421	Dear David, Yes, all of the parts to build the two circuit boards have arrived at our contract manufacturer. These arrived a little earlier than scheduled. Yesterday, our contract manufacturer started populating a limited number the bare circuit boards, for one of the boards. We expect to be able to test this board by next Monday, or before. Also, they will be populating the second board soon. Once we are certain that everything is working, we will release full production. Other steps to complete the unit will be performed at our Colorado Springs office. We are awaiting for a few parts for this part of the overall process. We expect to start our limited initial shipments by July 15th, or before. Volume production will start before the end of July. __________________ Dan Keaton Augusta Georgia

July 2nd, 2009, 07:49 AM	#38
Alan Emery Major Player Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Janetville Ontario Canada Posts: 210	Nanoflash and Adobe PPro compatibility Hi Dan, Congratulations on your continuing improvement in the features of the Nanoflash and XDR. I have been holding off ordering a unit because of the limited compatibility with Adobe PPro. My NLE is PPro CS4 on a PC. I understand that you and Adobe have been working on this together and wonder if there has been any further progress or any planned date when your output files wll be readable by Adobe systems? In the event that compatibility is not likely to happen soon, is there a software workaround to convert your output files into a PPro CS4 compatible format? If so do you know if the resulting files would be supported by PProCS4 at all of the bitrates you provide in both Long-GOP and I-frame only formats? Many thanks, Alan

July 2nd, 2009, 08:12 AM	#39
Dan Keaton Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Augusta Georgia Posts: 5,421	Dear Alan, Your question is very timely. Just this morning, I was doing research on this problem. I visited MainConcepts website to see if they had any new developments in this area. Previously, they had a $500 solution to this problem, but, if I remember correctly, it only worked for CS3. This morning, I found that they now have a $259 (US) solution for both CS3 and CS4! They provide codecs that work with the XDCam 4:2:2 footage, among other items in this package. This is great news for us. Note: Since this is a "breaking news" type discovery, we have not yet tested it. However, there is a free download of a trial version of this package. We would love for one of our friends to test this with their CS3/CS4 system. I may be premature, but this appears to be the solution at this time. I did speak with Adobe on July 16, and they said that support for PDW-700/800 XDCam 4:2:2 @ HL footage, which is what we create with the Flash XDR and nanoFlash, is not due out anytime soon. MainConcept™ MPEG Pro™ HD 4 XDCAM™ Plug-in for Adobe® Premiere® Pro $259 (US) MainConcept: Information __________________ Dan Keaton Augusta Georgia

June 28th, 2009, 06:52 AM	#31
Steve Phillipps Inner Circle Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Wales Posts: 2,130	Another big plus with it on the 700 will be the ability to play straight into an HD TV via HDMI. At present I can view on my small HD monitor via SDI or on TV via composite video (which is horrible). Also will be sueful with things like the fabulous Iconix mini camera, rather than hiring in an HDCam field recorder as I have in the past. Just on the verge of placing my order now! I think if there's a simple way of getting a V-lock mount onto the Nano that'd be great, should be easy enough no? I'm thinking of maybe getting the IDX 2 battery plate (I used to have one but got rid of it), then mounting 2 batteries piggy-back on the bottom bit, the Nano on the top one. This way the batteries will stick out further than the Nano so affording it some protection. Steve

June 30th, 2009, 10:33 AM	#34
Robert Lahoda New Boot Join Date: May 2009 Location: Westerville OH Posts: 6	One feature that had been mentioned in other threads but not listed in the earlier list of features is the ability to pause the video during playback. do you know if this is going to be in the Nanoflash when it ships? I know it's a fairly mundane feature, so i was wondering if it was left out for that reason, or if it will be part of future firmware updates.

July 2nd, 2009, 06:20 PM	#40
Alan Emery Major Player Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Janetville Ontario Canada Posts: 210	Hi Dan, Many thanks for the very encouraging information and advice despite the disappointing remarks from Adobe. I hope someone with the required bits and pieces (nanoflash or XDR output files, a copy of the Main Concept software (owned or trial), and PPro CS4 on a PC can give it a try and report back on their results. If no one is able to do this, perhaps I can download a series of typical nanoflash output files from your website or FTP location at different bitrates and do the experiment myself. I live in a definitely rural setting with a not-so-fast broadband system to retrieve information from the Internet, so the files should be relatively modest in size but big enough top make a valid test. Many thanks again for the research effort. Alan

July 2nd, 2009, 06:28 PM	#41
Dan Keaton Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Augusta Georgia Posts: 5,421	Dear Alan, Your timing is perfect again! I just received word from MainConcept that they have tried our files and they work fine with their codec package. Thus, we now have a viable solution for working with our high-quality 4:2:2 files in Adobe CS3 and CS4. __________________ Dan Keaton Augusta Georgia

July 3rd, 2009, 08:52 AM	#42
Alan Emery Major Player Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Janetville Ontario Canada Posts: 210	Many thanks Dan, Now that we have a workable solution, I will order a nanoflash unit and also the Main Concept software. Looking forward to getting it all together. Thanks again, Alan

July 3rd, 2009, 10:16 AM	#43
Steve Phillipps Inner Circle Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Wales Posts: 2,130	Just wanting to confirm something, if you write some Quicktime files from your computer to a CF card and insert it into the Nanoflash, it will play them through HDMI into a TV? Steve

July 3rd, 2009, 10:46 AM	#44
Dan Keaton Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Augusta Georgia Posts: 5,421	Dear Steve, Almost. 1. Render the Quicktime files to a format that we specify. 2. Use a utility that we will supply to convert the rendered file to our format of Quicktime. This just ensures that fields are where we expect them to be and we have the exact same format. No transcoding is performed. 3. Initialize the CompactFlash card in the Flash XDR / nanoFlash. 4. 5. Copy the file to the CompactFlash card. 6. Insert card into the nanoFlash then press Play. We have a beta version of our utility, but we still have some work to do. I omitted Step 4. At this time, with our beta utility, it is necessary to create a brief file on the CompactFlash card, after it is initialized. When we release this utility, this step will not be necesary. We have been concentratiing on the nanoFlash development and this takes time away from this utility. It works now, it just has some limitations and "Step 4". One limitation at this time is that the rendered files must be less than 4 GB. __________________ Dan Keaton Augusta Georgia

July 3rd, 2009, 10:53 AM	#45
Steve Phillipps Inner Circle Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Wales Posts: 2,130	Fair enough, as you say not the number 1 priority, but it will be nice as a way to review/show rushes on a big HDTV. I think this is useful as that is what it will likely be viewed on by your viewers. Thanks Dan. Steve