dr-hd100:How big are you?
 

couldn't resist my juvenile title....

Thinking about getting the dr-hd100, and pondering the 40gb vs. the 80 gb.

I know - 'How much is enough' is dependent on each person's situation, so there can be no hard and fast rules.

But - let me open this to the panel - if you're shooting a wedding (all you wedding videographers) do think 40 gb would be enough to shoot a wedding and reception at 720p30?

How about you filmmakers? 40 gb enough for a day of shooting 720p24?

I'm sure that all still depends on the wedding, the shoot, etc but as guesstimate would you think 40 gb is enough?

How about you folks who did buy the dr-hd100? What did you get? 40 gb enough, or is it safer to spend more $$ and get the 80gb, so less chance you don't run out at a critical moment?

I'd say get the 80 gb. bigger is always better, but if $$$ is an issue then get the 40 gb but always keep a five pack of tapes handy.

I have the DR-HD100 40. It holds about 4 Hours of HDV and 3 Hours of SD. Bring some extra tapes just in case, but it is a lot of space. If $$$$$ is not a problem, then you might as well get the bigger one.

I would always get the bigger one. Your going to spend over 1k anyway and I believe it is only $300 more for twice the storage. The bad part is battery life which you might want to factor in if you are using this to achieve long duration recording.

Quick question - Does the dr-hd100 record the hdv 4:2:0 color space?

.m2t files is identical to the tape. In short, yes the color space is HDV 4:2:0.

Steve,

Thanx for the info. I pretty much assumed that but I just wanted to be sure.

I have made enough expensive mistakes!

I have AspectHD with Adobe PPro 2.0 - How do I get an .m2t file from dr-hd100 into the Cineform .avi format?

I'm used to creating a project with the AspectHD settings, then capturing through the firewire from the camera.

I had the impression the dr-hd100 shows up on your computer as another hard drive, and you drag and drop the files on to your computer.

Are you running into any problems transferring to FCP (if you use that)?

Once you have the .m2t, do the following:

-Open MPEG STREAMCLIP (Free Program, search google to download it).
-Select your editing Codec of Choice, either AIC or HDV 30.
-In the empty "Frame Rate" box, enter 23.976. This assures that the pulldown is correctly taken from the 59.94 HDV stream.
-De-select the Interlace Boxes.

That's it. In FCP edit either the AIC or HDV 30 (depending on which you chose) to have a editing timebase of 23.98. Either will work fine. HDV requires slightly more processing power to edit smoothly, but AIC takes up more space.

MPEG STREAMCLIP also has a Batch Convert function. You can "Set It and Forget It!" just like the Ronco Cooking thing. It takes time, but it is an easy workaround.

DR-HD100 comment and I NEED STREAMCLIP help
 

Yes, I would get the 80 gig- mine was 1550 and I think I've seen it for 1500 which is only 100 more than B&H 40 gig version :-)- nothing against them- I buy dozens of items from B&H, but the DR-DH100 just wasn't even in the right ballpark.
----------------------------------
Now to StreamClip (or should I post this elsewhere?)

Anyone using DR-HD100 with HD and converting .m2t from DR-HD100 ?
- I just can't find ANY combination of StreamClip (1.0.1) image size and codec that produces any usable results.

Shooting 720/30p I did 4 hours shooting time of a 15 hour wedding
and for example if i use Quictime/Avid DNxHD 720/30p each of my 2 gig Firestore files become about 14 gigs each. Which would become 600 gigabytes for the whole shoot. Lol- I told them I'd give it to them on 2 DVDs!

Using the "export to DV" the 1280/720 file, which is 16:9 becomes "4:3" at 720:480 full frame instead of letter-boxed even if I select the 16:9.

Some combinations of the "export to DV" and Quicktime/Apple compressors come out as larger files than I start with but very very poor quality- seriously it looks like my worst shooting on a JVC 1 chip cam or bad "web streaming".

I have tried 4-5 different Apple compression formats with several different options, and at least 3 different export to DV.
All in all- I have converted about a dozen combination files and NONE are usable.

By the way for this project- I'm trying to end up with standard 720:480 letter-boxed DVDs, so I don't need 1280/720/29.97p right now.

And why, if I'm allowed to ask another question, when I select 720/29.97p, do I get 59.94/60 frames per second (in the Quicktime Info window and occasionally 29.97/30fps?

NOTE: The files before conversion all look fantastic- I have even got great 5x9 inch glossy prints from the frames. And all the .m2t originals play and look great in Windows Media Player 10 and StreamClip.

So does anyone know what combination can I use for Avid?, which people say I should use one of the Quicktime varieties (lol- about 30 types come up in the StreamClip compression selection pull-down menu.)
OR
if I have to I can use my Premiere 2.0.

Note to Steve- I don't have ANY of these options you speak of:
"Open MPEG STREAMCLIP (Free Program, search google to download it).
-Select your editing Codec of Choice, either AIC or HDV 30."
----------------------------------------------------------------------

About the only GOOD NEWS (for a change) I can report is:

FOCUS will be releasing NEW FIRMWARE in August that will allow options for HD recording (.m2t), so for instance you'll be able to save it with a Quicktime codec, so it can be imported into Avid and hopefully Premiere directly WITHOUT StreamClip CONVERSION.

If you need this drive- you might want to wait a few weeks- call their tech support for more info.

david

David -

"Select your editing Codec of Choice, either AIC or HDV 30"

-The WILL NOT have AIC or HDV 30 because you are not on a Mac. They are Final Cut Pro Codecs.

"Open MPEG STREAMCLIP (Free Program, search google to download it)"

-I am not sure what you are asking here, just download the program.

Use HDLink.exe (with Program Files/CineForm/Aspect HD.) You can use the convert tab from batch convert your M2T files to AVIs (and store them wherever you need.)

I have the 40 gig model. It's actually up for sale on eBay right now, since I've wrapped production. My HD-100 will be up there soon, too. Anyway, the capacity shooting 720p on my DR-HD100 is 268 minutes. That's a lot of runtime, IMO. I shot with mine from the first week of April until last week and never had a day when I came close to filling it. Of course, the battery that comes with the unit is only good for about an hour, so unless you have a backup or you can plug into the wall somewhere it won't reallly matter how much disc capacity you have. Even the 80 gig model will only shoot for an hour. ;-)

Yeah but you can tap the power from the IDX or AB powertap and then it all runs from the big battery.

I don't have a cable yet but plan to get or make one soon.

http://www.antonbauer.com/ultralight...ries.htm#power

I called all over North America trying to find a cable to serve that purpose. I called Focus Enhancements and they suggested several places that all turned out to be dead ends. Making one may well turn out to be your only option. Not having those cables ready to go at places that sell the camera is one of the biggest gaffs in JVC's whole marketing campaign, IMO.

That's funny because I'm sure the DR-HD100 being demoed in the Focus booth was being powered from the Anton Bauer.
Since the power jack on the DR-HD100 is a very simple DC Plug it wouldn't be a big deal to just buy the AB power kit and with 2 minutes of soldering have a custom cable.
I'm just curious how the power would mate? I'm going to research this because the AC/DC power adapter provides 15V 0.6A, and the A/B mount would be 12V or 14.4V, but I have no specs on power. I'm sure it will work fine but I'm going to try to get some more info before going ahead.

I've got the IDX kit (as opposed to the Anton Bauer) , but it doesn't seem like it would be a big deal. There was just nobody out there who could sell me a cable.

The cable that Anton Bauer sells does work as I have one. I bought it from B&H, but currently it appears they are out of stock.

Firestore Power Tap and another .m2t request
 

Yes, the one thing I don't have problems with is my "Anton Bauer PT-FS4 Power Tap to Firestore Cable". But they are currently hard to find.

It's easy and great running the DR-HD100 off my mounted battery or my extra one. I can shoot non-stop for 6 hours using this method and never miss a frame of video.
http://SFBayArea-HighDef.com

As opposed to IDX and Anton Bauer, I fully recommend http://www.batteries4broadcast.com/
for batteries, as my soon to be posted review after 2 months of shooting/testing will reveal several advantages (besides a large difference in cost).
-----------------------------

If anyone reading this can help me with using my HD (.m2t) files off my DR-DH100 on AVID Xpress Pro on PC- please let me know (see my post up above about 9 posts up).

I've been now told to import my 720/480 squashed 1280/720/30p files by selecting "anamorphic" when I import into Avid. Well that's just another option that I don't see anywhere.

Maybe I'm either going blind or having a bad week, but I have spent no less than 40 real hours trying to import in every possible codec/size/method over the last two weeks.

If you live in the SF Bay Area and you can help me to actually edit these files in Avid, as opposed to buying Cineform for Premiere (my 15 day trial ran out) i will take you out for dinner anywhere, well locally (don't try recommending some restaurant in Maui).

Note to Steve: Thanks for the info, I didn't see you were referring to FCP codecs, but now I do :-)

dAVID or david - your choice