HDV desktop hard disk recorder at DVinfo.net

William Hohauser · March 1st, 2006, 10:48 PM

http://www.hdvrecorder.us/index.html

This is from the same company that distributes the Avio stand-alone NLE. The web site claims that this is a better way to store HDV footage than tape. I have a hard time buying that but it might be a good way to playback HDV edits without tape.

Giroud Francois · March 2nd, 2006, 11:10 AM

while it looks great, if you think again, this is just a PC, with dedicated software.
for an average PC with a 250 Gig HDD, i doubt you have to pay 2000$.
For sure if you add the hassle of assembling it and paying for all the software needed, it still competitive for a plug and play stuff, but probably all the guys with an HDV camera already have a PC with about 200 gig of storage, so you had beeter to invest this moneu in upgrading you PC.
by comparison it looks cheap versus a firestore (holding only 80 gig ), but the lack of portability makes all the difference.
conclusion, would be nice to try.

Ken Hodson · March 2nd, 2006, 01:03 PM

A laptop with HDVrack or the even the free videoLAN software is a far better solution, and far more portable.

Michael Rich · March 2nd, 2006, 05:00 PM

Another option is a Laptop + HDVSplit. I did not realize that it did capturing also, but it does. I tried it the other day and it works pretty well and was a lot easier to run and then start capturing than VLC.

http://strony.aster.pl/paviko/hdvsplit.htm

Ken Hodson · March 3rd, 2006, 01:33 PM

HDVsplit supports only the Sony cams HC1/A1/FX1, but I think they ment to say tested with or why wouldn't they list the Z1? Anybody try to use it with the JVC cams? It also has huge system requirements, much higher then I found workable with VLC.

Bill Pryor · March 3rd, 2006, 03:43 PM

I think tapes would be much more secure for long term storage than any hard drive.

Douglas Spotted Eagle · March 3rd, 2006, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill Pryor

I think tapes would be much more secure for long term storage than any hard drive.

Abso-stinkin'-lutely.
We recently had a power supply failure that allowed our drives to stay powered while the fans failed. We lost 10 drives in a RAID. None of them recoverable, both backups and main....

Bill Pryor · March 3rd, 2006, 03:53 PM

In the past 10 years I've seen a total of 3 scsii drives die and one firewire, for no apparent reason. During that same time I have never had a tape failure or even a dropout. Sony is claiming even better reliability for their XDCAM disks, and if a person must go tapeless, it seems to me that's a reasonable solution, in terms of cost and ruggedness.

Ken Hodson · March 3rd, 2006, 04:19 PM

The cam still records to tape at the same time as all of the solutions listed above, unless you choose otherwise. A laptop with HDvrack while also recording to tape is an amazing battery only failsafe solution. I prefer to use an external usb 7200rpm drive with the laptop when plug-in power is available. Anyone know of a battery solution for an external drive?

Alex Thames · March 4th, 2006, 12:38 AM

What exactly are HDV Rack, VideoLan, and HDV Split used for?

Robert M Wright · March 4th, 2006, 04:13 AM

As I understand it, this works with power supplied via USB, but is limited to using 2.5" IDE HDDs.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817145658

Ken Hodson · March 4th, 2006, 12:08 PM

Alex: HDV rack or DV Rack with the HDV PowerPack upgrade as it is officially known is an HDV/DV monitoring software. It displays what you your cam see's whether it is recording or not. You can choose to capture whenever you want so your footage is already on a HDD when your done shooting. Huge time saver. It has additional features such as zoom, vectorscope, waveform, user definable zebras ect...
http://www.seriousmagic.com/dvrack.cfm

VLC VideoLAN is a freeware mediaplayer that handles HD footage very well and has the added benefit of allowing live streaming so you can monitor your footage on screen (like HDVrack) and record it to the drive, but without all of the other fancy stuff.
HDVsplit is similar again, but I haven't used it.
Micheal gave the link to HDVsplit above, so don't be shy and have a read.

Ken Hodson · March 4th, 2006, 12:19 PM

Thanks for the link Robert. Great price for that enclosure. 2.5" are just so damn expensive, would love to find a 3.5" solution. But even at that price $200 for a usb2.0 powered, enclosed 60gb to plug into the laptop would give you 4+ hours of recording.

Robert M Wright · March 4th, 2006, 01:37 PM

You can use a 5400rpm drive for capture (I've done it). Make sure the drive is defragged though.

March 1st, 2006, 10:48 PM	#1
William Hohauser Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: New York City Posts: 2,650	HDV desktop hard disk recorder http://www.hdvrecorder.us/index.html This is from the same company that distributes the Avio stand-alone NLE. The web site claims that this is a better way to store HDV footage than tape. I have a hard time buying that but it might be a good way to playback HDV edits without tape. __________________ William Hohauser - New York City Producer/Edit/Camera/Animation

March 2nd, 2006, 01:03 PM	#3
Ken Hodson Trustee Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Vancouver BC Canada Posts: 1,315	A laptop with HDVrack or the even the free videoLAN software is a far better solution, and far more portable. __________________ Damnit Jim, I'm a film maker not a sysytems tech.

March 3rd, 2006, 01:33 PM	#5
Ken Hodson Trustee Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Vancouver BC Canada Posts: 1,315	HDVsplit supports only the Sony cams HC1/A1/FX1, but I think they ment to say tested with or why wouldn't they list the Z1? Anybody try to use it with the JVC cams? It also has huge system requirements, much higher then I found workable with VLC. __________________ Damnit Jim, I'm a film maker not a sysytems tech.

March 3rd, 2006, 04:19 PM	#9
Ken Hodson Trustee Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Vancouver BC Canada Posts: 1,315	The cam still records to tape at the same time as all of the solutions listed above, unless you choose otherwise. A laptop with HDvrack while also recording to tape is an amazing battery only failsafe solution. I prefer to use an external usb 7200rpm drive with the laptop when plug-in power is available. Anyone know of a battery solution for an external drive? __________________ Damnit Jim, I'm a film maker not a sysytems tech.

March 4th, 2006, 12:08 PM	#12
Ken Hodson Trustee Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Vancouver BC Canada Posts: 1,315	Alex: HDV rack or DV Rack with the HDV PowerPack upgrade as it is officially known is an HDV/DV monitoring software. It displays what you your cam see's whether it is recording or not. You can choose to capture whenever you want so your footage is already on a HDD when your done shooting. Huge time saver. It has additional features such as zoom, vectorscope, waveform, user definable zebras ect... http://www.seriousmagic.com/dvrack.cfm VLC VideoLAN is a freeware mediaplayer that handles HD footage very well and has the added benefit of allowing live streaming so you can monitor your footage on screen (like HDVrack) and record it to the drive, but without all of the other fancy stuff. HDVsplit is similar again, but I haven't used it. Micheal gave the link to HDVsplit above, so don't be shy and have a read. __________________ Damnit Jim, I'm a film maker not a sysytems tech.

March 2nd, 2006, 11:10 AM	#2
Giroud Francois Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: switzerland Posts: 2,133	while it looks great, if you think again, this is just a PC, with dedicated software. for an average PC with a 250 Gig HDD, i doubt you have to pay 2000$. For sure if you add the hassle of assembling it and paying for all the software needed, it still competitive for a plug and play stuff, but probably all the guys with an HDV camera already have a PC with about 200 gig of storage, so you had beeter to invest this moneu in upgrading you PC. by comparison it looks cheap versus a firestore (holding only 80 gig ), but the lack of portability makes all the difference. conclusion, would be nice to try.

March 2nd, 2006, 05:00 PM	#4
Michael Rich New Boot Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 20	Another option is a Laptop + HDVSplit. I did not realize that it did capturing also, but it does. I tried it the other day and it works pretty well and was a lot easier to run and then start capturing than VLC. http://strony.aster.pl/paviko/hdvsplit.htm

March 3rd, 2006, 03:43 PM	#6
Bill Pryor Contributor Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Kansas City, MO Posts: 4,449	I think tapes would be much more secure for long term storage than any hard drive.

March 3rd, 2006, 03:53 PM	#8
Bill Pryor Contributor Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Kansas City, MO Posts: 4,449	In the past 10 years I've seen a total of 3 scsii drives die and one firewire, for no apparent reason. During that same time I have never had a tape failure or even a dropout. Sony is claiming even better reliability for their XDCAM disks, and if a person must go tapeless, it seems to me that's a reasonable solution, in terms of cost and ruggedness.

March 4th, 2006, 12:38 AM	#10
Alex Thames Major Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: New York Posts: 508	What exactly are HDV Rack, VideoLan, and HDV Split used for?

March 4th, 2006, 04:13 AM	#11
Robert M Wright Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Minnesota (USA) Posts: 2,171	As I understand it, this works with power supplied via USB, but is limited to using 2.5" IDE HDDs. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817145658

March 4th, 2006, 12:19 PM	#13
Ken Hodson Trustee Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Vancouver BC Canada Posts: 1,315	Thanks for the link Robert. Great price for that enclosure. 2.5" are just so damn expensive, would love to find a 3.5" solution. But even at that price $200 for a usb2.0 powered, enclosed 60gb to plug into the laptop would give you 4+ hours of recording. __________________ Damnit Jim, I'm a film maker not a sysytems tech.

March 4th, 2006, 01:37 PM	#14
Robert M Wright Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Minnesota (USA) Posts: 2,171	You can use a 5400rpm drive for capture (I've done it). Make sure the drive is defragged though.