Just got the 7Q?

[Phil Goetz]

Heads up.

It doesn't do 720p or 1080i. Out of the box it does 1080p. It will do 2K. It won’t do 4K RAW or PRORES with the NEX-FS700. On the NEX-FS700 it will only do 60 fps and not 120 or 240 fps.

You need a $795 upgrade. If you want to do C500 it is $1495. If you want to do ARRI it is another $1495.
When you first get it out of the box you have to unlock the unit or else there is a blue line across the screen like it is in DEMO mode.

There is the 7 and the 7Q. We thought it probably that the 7 was $800 less because it doesn’t do 4K.

Everybody that came to our booth at SXSW thought cost of ownership was between $2100 and $2500. It is a $6000 unit with codecs and hard drives…

Just thinking out loud about the unit we are putting into rentals here…

[Dan Keaton]

Dear Phil,

We are currently working on 720p and 1080i support.

We will be adding this as soon as possible, via a free firmware release.

The Odyssey7Q costs $2,295.

Then one can add extra cost options, if necessary to support the cameras that they may need:

$795 for Sony FS700

$1495 for Canon C500 4K Raw and other Raw modes.

$1995 for recording ARRIRAW from any ALEXA camera that has T-Link outputs.

Respectfully,

[Nick Hiltgen]

Phil I think you've got a point about the cost of the 7q. But to be honest I don't know of a cheaper way to record ARRIRAW, I mean other then a codex box or an xt arri. Both of which are significantly more then the 6k you mention. I think honestly the only thing that seems high priced to me are the drives, but if you take a look at the cost of an sxs+ card they seem very reasonable. (Though I think 600 bucks instead of 800 for the 512gb drive would sell 2x the units)

[Dan Keaton]

Originally Posted by Phil Goetz

Heads up.

It doesn't do 720p or 1080i.

Out of the box it does 1080p.

It will do 2K.

It won’t do 4K RAW or PRORES with the NEX-FS700.

On the NEX-FS700 it will only do 60 fps and not 120 or 240 fps.

You need a $795 upgrade.

If you want to do C500 it is $1495.

If you want to do ARRI it is another $1495.


When you first get it out of the box you have to unlock the unit or else there is a blue line across the screen like it is in DEMO mode.

Dear Phil,

I wanted to clarify some items from your post.

Yes, you need to activate the unit, which is essentially a registration process so that we can send firmware update notices to our customers.

720p and 1080i are in work and expected to be in our next firmware release, 1.12.xxx.

3:2 Pulldown removal is also expected in our next firmware release.

All Raw Options are extra cost.

Thus, if you want to record, from the FS700 in 2K Raw, at 12-Bit, up to 240 fps, or 4K Raw, at 12-Bit, up to 60 fps, you do need our FS700 Option at $795.

You do not need our extra cost FS700 Option to record in Apple ProRes 422, in HQ (220 Mbps), this is available from almost any HD-SDI or HDMI camera without purchasing any extra cost option.

And you can also record up to 1080p60 in full uncompressed (DPX), if you wish, without any extra cost option.

But, with our FS700 Option, you can set the FS700 to 4K Raw, and we can then record in HD, in Apple ProRes 422 (HQ, 220 Mbps), to obtain a much better image than the camera normally outputs in HD over HD-SDI or HDMI.

Also, we charge for the Canon Raw Option and ARRIRAW Option. But, both of these cameras, if desired can be recorded in certain non-Raw modes without purchasing these extra cost options.

I feel that we provide great value in the Odyssey7Q, a great OLED monitor, fully calibrated Waveform Monitor with many features, calibrated Histograms, Zebras, a very useable and customizable False Color mode, 1 to 1 and 2 to 1 Pixel Zoom, and state-of-the-art Focus Assist, and more.

It takes thousands of hours to develop and support these Raw modes from various cameras, and we feel that it is very reasonable to charge for these as extra cost options.

Respectfully,

[Mat Thompson]

Hi Dan

I was wondering if there are any plans to bring lower bitrate flavours of Pro Res to the 7Q ?

I think to be able to record the 4K source to Pro Res HD is amazing but it is still a fairly high bitrate. Having something of half this bitrate from the same source would deliver a similar image but make storage a much better prospect.

Mat

[Dan Keaton]

Dear Mat,

Yes, we plan to add other bit-rate options for compressed codecs in the future.

Please note that we have other compressed codec versions that we are working on first.

These include the ability to record, in 4K, to a compressed codec, and the ability to record in 4:4:4 RGB to a compressed codec.

And we are busy working to increase the frame rate for our Apple ProRes 422 codec to "up to 1080p60".
It is currently limited to "up to 1080p30".

I hope this helps.

Respectfully,

[Mat Thompson]

Hi Dan
Wow that was quick and a very positive answer!

Any time frame for this lower Prores support?

I am about to buy two of your 7Q units for a specific high speed job but I'm just looking as to how functional it will be for some other types of shooting. The biggest headache is storage for longer more remote shoots and while HQ is amazing its generally not needed for a lot of shooting.

Mat

[Chris Medico]

Originally Posted by Mat Thompson

Hi Dan
Wow that was quick and a very positive answer!

Any time frame for this lower Prores support?

I am about to buy two of your 7Q units for a specific high speed job but I'm just looking as to how functional it will be for some other types of shooting. The biggest headache is storage for longer more remote shoots and while HQ is amazing its generally not needed for a lot of shooting.

Mat

Please don't push for timeframes. Unmet schedules for this product has already caused a lot of angst with me personally and I'm sure with others. I would rather CD not say anything about when "Feature X" is about to happen. That way we are not disappointed if for any reason the schedule can't be met. Let us know WHAT is in the pipeline but don't promise WHEN.

I strongly recommend against using a product roadmap (from ANY vendor) to make a buying decision if your needs have strict timelines that need to be met.

[Dan Keaton]

Dear Mat,

We are reluctant to give dates for specific features.

If we give an approximate date, many take this to be a specific deadline.

And it is very difficult to predict when certain features will be complete, and fully tested.

I hope you understand.

In general terms, other bit-rate versions of Apple ProRes 422 are expected to be available later this year.

Respectfully,

[Chris Medico]

Thanks for that Dan.

That policy is for the greater good.

[Mat Thompson]

I totally understand but I still had to ask :) !

I look forward to the device becoming even more 'helpful' in the future!

Mat

[Dan Keaton]

Dear Mat,

We are working on many new features for the Odyssey7Q.

As we get closer to our next firmware release, 1.12.xxx, we will publish what is confirmed to be in the next firmware.

Respectfully,