Cineform or BMD Intensity? at DVinfo.net

Brian Tori · March 30th, 2007, 10:18 AM

I am trying to decide which solution is right for me. I currently edit with PP2; so both are compatible. I have tried Cineform and was very impressed with the ease of use and realtime ability on my P4 3.0 ghz system. However, reading about the Intensity card from Blackmagic has me wondering if this card which includes HDMI monitoring would be better.

My question is: with the Intensity card, would the codec such as MJPEG be comparable in size to the Cineform codec capturing HDV, and would using an efficient codec wth the Intensity allow me the same performance, such as realtime playback and effects as Cineform?

Jason Rodriguez · March 30th, 2007, 12:32 PM

I think this will answer your question about CineForm vs. MJPEG . . .

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=88466

Daniel Aleksic · April 9th, 2007, 10:17 AM

If you are just going to use HDV/DV then you might want to look at the X2. The Cineform and Blackmagic are I/O Cards and will not give you much more realtime performance over just PPro by itself. The X2 has a lot more realtime capabilities than anything else in this industry today at that price. You are still looking at around $1800, but you'll get PPro 3 for free.

Check out a demo at a dealer, you'll be surprised.

Jocelyn Deguise · April 14th, 2007, 08:34 AM

It's just a codec. And a pretty good one, by the way.

Paul Kepen · April 20th, 2007, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daniel Aleksic

If you are just going to use HDV/DV then you might want to look at the X2. The Cineform and Blackmagic are I/O Cards and will not give you much more realtime performance over just PPro by itself. The X2 has a lot more realtime capabilities than anything else in this industry today at that price. You are still looking at around $1800, but you'll get PPro 3 for free.

Check out a demo at a dealer, you'll be surprised.

Hi Daniel,
I assume you have used the X2. Currently I use the cineform codec, and it seems to work very well. From the advertisements, it looks to me like the X2 is mainly just a fancy input/output card. Can you shed some light on exactly what all it does for nearly $2k? Have you done HDV both with/without the X2? I'm sure it renders faster for DVD, and has HDTV monitoring capabilities, but these are not enough to justify the price for my low volume use. On the other hand, if it greatly improves the editing process and gives superior output it might be worth it. Thanks - PK

March 30th, 2007, 10:18 AM	#1
Brian Tori Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Detroit, MI Posts: 408	Cineform or BMD Intensity? I am trying to decide which solution is right for me. I currently edit with PP2; so both are compatible. I have tried Cineform and was very impressed with the ease of use and realtime ability on my P4 3.0 ghz system. However, reading about the Intensity card from Blackmagic has me wondering if this card which includes HDMI monitoring would be better. My question is: with the Intensity card, would the codec such as MJPEG be comparable in size to the Cineform codec capturing HDV, and would using an efficient codec wth the Intensity allow me the same performance, such as realtime playback and effects as Cineform?

April 14th, 2007, 08:34 AM	#4
Jocelyn Deguise New Boot Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 19	Cineform is not a card. It's just a codec. And a pretty good one, by the way.

March 30th, 2007, 12:32 PM	#2
Jason Rodriguez Trustee Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Virginia Beach, VA Posts: 1,095	I think this will answer your question about CineForm vs. MJPEG . . . http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=88466

April 9th, 2007, 10:17 AM	#3
Daniel Aleksic New Boot Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 9	If you are just going to use HDV/DV then you might want to look at the X2. The Cineform and Blackmagic are I/O Cards and will not give you much more realtime performance over just PPro by itself. The X2 has a lot more realtime capabilities than anything else in this industry today at that price. You are still looking at around $1800, but you'll get PPro 3 for free. Check out a demo at a dealer, you'll be surprised.