PDW-700 SD-SDI Downcovert to Nanoflash

[Emanuel Altenburger]

Hello!
Has anyone had a problem like this:

* I have a Sony Xdcam PDW-700 w/o SD option
* I have the Nanoflash with current version 1.6.248
* I set IMX to 50Mbit/s. I inserted high speed Extreme III cards
* side note: nanoflash records a clean image out of an HDCAM Recorder but not from my PDW-700
* the SD-SDI Output is absolutely clean - testet it on my monitor and it shows as 576i
* however: the nanoflash doesn´t seem to get a constant video stream out of the camera.
* as soon as I start recording the recording on the nanoflash is beint stopped because of signal lost
* I´ve checked cables, have tried out all different sorts of cables but nothing changes unfortunately.

I´d need to use the downconverted image this week so every hint is much appreciated!

THANKS!!!!!

[Dan Keaton]

Dear Emanuel,

We have trouble recording SD from the PDW-700 and PDW-F800 cameras.

We have not yet determined the cause of this problem.

We have no trouble recording HD from these cameras.

[Emanuel Altenburger]

Hi Dan,

thanks a lot for the info. As I said: the SD-SDI stream seems to be absolutely ok on our SDI monitor. On the other hand HDCAM SD-SDI to Nanoflash gives us perfect results. The problem is obviously somewhere between the camera side and the Nano-side:-)

Thanks anyway for your quick response. Emanuel

[George Griswold]

Same problems here... I set up the nano to record SD out of my PDW-700 with LTC TC as the trigger. When I power on the camera the source indicator reads OK in the nano for a about 10-15 seconds, then lost SRC pops up. Sometimes the nanoFlash will roll when the source returns. No doubt some sort of Sony weirdness.

[George Griswold]

Forgot to ask... has CD made any progress on this issue?

Thanks,
George

[Jeff Willis]

Originally Posted by Emanuel Altenburger

Hello!
Has anyone had a problem like this:

* I have a Sony Xdcam PDW-700 w/o SD option
* I have the Nanoflash with current version 1.6.248
* I set IMX to 50Mbit/s. I inserted high speed Extreme III cards
* side note: nanoflash records a clean image out of an HDCAM Recorder but not from my PDW-700
* the SD-SDI Output is absolutely clean - testet it on my monitor and it shows as 576i
* however: the nanoflash doesn´t seem to get a constant video stream out of the camera.
* as soon as I start recording the recording on the nanoflash is beint stopped because of signal lost
* I´ve checked cables, have tried out all different sorts of cables but nothing changes unfortunately.

I´d need to use the downconverted image this week so every hint is much appreciated!

THANKS!!!!!

I run the risk of annoying somebody here but are you sure you are getting an SD (Standard Def DV mode) out or are you getting a Sony HD down conversion -SMPTE Serial Digital Interface (SDI) output.. mode ? I am working on a similar issue with mu Ex1 andI have not yet concluded here but thought this might be worth mentioning.

[Dan Keaton]

Dear Friends,

For both the Sony PDW-700 and PDW-F800 cameras, when they are setup to output SDI (SD-SDI), the nanoFlash is not successful in recording the SDI signal. Recording HD from these cameras is fine.

I discussed this yesterday with Mike Schell.

We both want to resolve this issue as soon as possible.

We will have to arrange to borrow, or rent a PDW-700 or PDW-F800 in order to analyze their SDI output.

[Bob Willis]

The SD-SDI output from the Sony cameras is not recordable. It is usable for monitoring but not for recording. This is true of all the Sony XDCAM HD cameras. You can downconvert the HD signal to SD from the firewire connector and then record to tape. That is the only way I have had success getting SD out of the cameras.

[Dan Keaton]

Dear Bob,

Thank you for your insight.

We did not know that.

[George Griswold]

Thanks Bob... that sheds some light on the subject. Why does Sony pull this crap?

[Scott Stoneback]

Is this sd signal issue true of the Panasonic HDX900? I am having problems recording the hdx downconversion.

I know the hdx doesn't output timecode through the sd-sdi signal (embedded). I've got a cable that grabs tc from the tc out of the camera.

I've got my hdx set to SD-SDI out. Nano is set to mpg.

What I am noticing is a slight variation of the timecode jumping up and back one frame, constantly, on the Nano readout. It is causing the nanoflash to record and stop constantly (I'm guessing that the nano is interpreting the one frame jump as a timecode advance, thus triggering record.)

I can manually record, but that is a pain if I want to roll tape simultaneously.

Any thoughts?

[Dan Keaton]

Dear Scott,

On the nanoFlash, in the System|Timecode Menu, the proper value, for the HDX900 is "1" in the Timecode Trigger Delay.

This should solve this issue.

[Scott Stoneback]

Hi Dan, that did not solve the issue. But I appreciate your quick response. My client wanted an sd file today, I'm probably just going to give them hd in MXF/18Mbs.

My timecode reading, not on the camera but on the Nano's LCD, is jumping one frame, between 0 and 1, back and forth. It is erratic, but seems to be every 10 seconds, or so.

It is unusual, and only happening when I switch the hdx900 into the sd-sdi output mode for the video out BNC.

[Dan Keaton]

Dear Scott,

I am surprised.

I am assuming the the camera is idle.

And the timecode going into the nanoFlash is jumping 1 or so forward or backward.

This occurs when the tape is moving slightly.

Our Timecode Trigger Delay, in the nanoFlash System|Timecode menu is designed to ignore this slight timecode jitters.

So, when you enabled the Timecode Trigger Delay and set it to 1, did the nanoFlash stop recording very short files when the camera was idle?

Please feel free to call me.

[Scott Stoneback]

Hi Dan,

Camera is idle. Rear "video out" is set to SD SDI on the HDX900. (This problem doesn't happen in normal HD-SDI output).

TC, the very last frame digit in the sequence, is jumping up and down between 0 and 1 sporadically (usually about every 5-10sec). This is on the Nano display, not the camera readout.

Tape motor is stopped, in "Save", i.e., the heads are not rolling.

Timecode jitter is a good descriptor

I set the timecode delay on the Nano to 1, it did not stop. I tried 2, 5, 10, and 30. At the higher numbers, weird things happened, like the Nano not recording. Nothing changed the original issue, though.

If I hit record, it does indeed record a full, normal clip. When recording stops, the Nano goes back to the momentary recording every few seconds with the timecode jitters.

Nano is setup with a remote record button/external timecode BNC cable from the folks at NanoFlash.net. I use that cable primarily as a tally light by my eyepiece to verify the Nano is recording. But, in the HDX900, the SD-SDI output signal does not embed timecode, so it has to be read from an external source (in my case, I use the cable and the TC output BNC of the HDX).

I want to match the timecode on the tape, because I roll tape as a backup to the Nano and because it gives me the ability to start the Nano recording by pushing the REC button on my camera. I know I can manually start the Nano or use my Rec/tally light button... but that is a pain, frankly. I am trying to make the Nano function as automatically and painlessly as possible, so that I don't have to think about it and, instead, think about what it is I am shooting.

Scott