Awesome news for canon users

Don Xaliman · December 19th, 2008, 03:30 AM

You can take a lot of great stills on a 4 or 8 gig card. It would be nice to have a timer hooked up to the snapshot button. I haven't found anything to take intervals onto tape.

Ger Griffin · December 19th, 2008, 05:46 PM

I got mine yesterday and I have to say this is without doubt the single best accessory one can get for their tape based camera, especially XHA1.

On playing around I noticed if you play back a HDV recorded piece of footage in the camera and hit record on the HVR unit, it actually down converts the footage to SD before recording it as an avi. Thats interesting I thought. On a quick look at the original HDV clip and then the downconverted one, it seems to do a pretty good job too! And this wasn't even recorded with the raw avi filetype which could potentially do it even better.

I wonder could this be an unexpected perk?

Richard Hunter · December 19th, 2008, 07:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ger Griffin

I got mine yesterday and I have to say this is without doubt the single best accessory one can get for their tape based camera, especially XHA1.

Hi Ger. So can you please confirm that 25F recording works OK? Specs and brochures don't always tell the whole story so it would be great to hear from somebody who has actually tried it.

Richard

Ger Griffin · December 19th, 2008, 09:07 PM

Hi Richard, I just tested with PP CS3 on PC.
In HDV mode on the A1 it records in .m2t both 50i and 25f.
These files import and work as they should.
In SD mode, again, both 25f and 50i work perfectly and are a standard .avi file.

The unit automatically detects whatever mode the camera is in.

As already mentioned there is also a RAW .avi file recording which I haven't yet tested as I simply don't need it at the moment. My take on RAW would be that like stills from a DSLR, one would only need RAW if multiple savings of files were needed to be done. eg. a colour correction and masking applied to a shot and made into another uncompressed clip, which again needed to be imported back into another timeline and processed again and so on.

Richard Hunter · December 20th, 2008, 07:04 PM

Thanks Ger, appreciate you taking the trouble to confirm this. Now I just need to find somewhere in Singapore that sells this recorder, but that's another problem! :)

Richard

Bob Thompson · December 20th, 2008, 07:12 PM

Ger,

Have you tried shooting in HDV on the Canon xh A1 and setting the output to downconvert and recording a SD signal on the CF card. The idea of the 2 formats at the same time maybe useful for some applications instead of downconverting from the HDV tape later.

Bob

Ger Griffin · December 21st, 2008, 01:48 AM

........disregard.......

Ger Griffin · December 21st, 2008, 07:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ger Griffin

On playing around I noticed if you play back a HDV recorded piece of footage in the camera and hit record on the HVR unit, it actually down converts the footage to SD before recording it as an avi. Thats interesting I thought. On a quick look at the original HDV clip and then the downconverted one, it seems to do a pretty good job too! And this wasn't even recorded with the raw avi filetype which could potentially do it even better.

I wonder could this be an unexpected perk?

Answer to my own question - No. And to Bobs question, No.

My cam was doing the downconverting and the unit was reading the signal as a dv signal going into it.

Basically whatever signal the camera is feeding is the signal the unit records in.

We cannot have simultaneous recording of HDV to tape and SD to card.

Dave Messinger · December 22nd, 2008, 01:18 PM

I've read through this thread - just not clear on 2 issues (seems like I have seen different responses):

Battery - what specifically do you need to get to power this unit ?

Continuous recording during tape change - can that be done without dropped frames ?

thanks

Tiffany McMichael · December 23rd, 2008, 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Messinger

I've read through this thread - just not clear on 2 issues (seems like I have seen different responses):

Battery - what specifically do you need to get to power this unit ?

Continuous recording during tape change - can that be done without dropped frames ?

thanks

To answer your first question you can use any L-series sony battery or a compatible off-brand. I purchased a cheap one and charger from China and it's run great with it.

Don't know the answer to your second as I haven't put a tape in my machine since getting the unit. Hopefully someone else as insight on this.

James Chen · December 24th, 2008, 08:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevin Leeyuen

Velcro to the back

Just wanted to verify, but when you velcro'd the MRC1 to the back of the A1, did you just apply velcro to the battery pack door and then to the side of the MRC1?

Ger Griffin · December 25th, 2008, 05:12 AM

This is a clever unit in the area of tape change.
When the tape runs out the unit continues to record.
When you make the tape change and press the REC button the new tape begins to record and the unit remains recording.
The next time the rec button is pressed ( to stop recording ) they both stop as usual.

Im not sure if it works the same but opposite for when the card fills.

Dave Stern · December 25th, 2008, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ger Griffin

This is a clever unit in the area of tape change.
When the tape runs out the unit continues to record.
When you make the tape change and press the REC button the new tape begins to record and the unit remains recording.
The next time the rec button is pressed ( to stop recording ) they both stop as usual.

Im not sure if it works the same but opposite for when the card fills.

do you miss any frames or add any audio sync issues during this process? I thought for some reason I read in the A1 manual that when you change tapes, the firewire out misses a few frames (maybe when the record engages). of course this is much better than missing 30-45 seconds of a tape change but just curious

Jason Weisner · December 27th, 2008, 11:01 AM

With the tapeless recorder (MRC1)-Has anyone seen an improvment in the A1 when there is movement in the frame or large amounts of detail? As many others have said in other threads-quick movements in the frame are blurry and scenes with lots of detail look compressed and not as sharp. Understanding this is a work around many face with the compressed hdv format. I am looking to purchase the recorder to get around this problem.
Anyone who has seen improvement on this particular issue I'd love to hear comments.

Jason Weisner
Canon XHA1
Premiere Pro 2 |Cineform Aspect HD

Dave Messinger · December 27th, 2008, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jason Weisner

With the tapeless recorder (MRC1)-Has anyone seen an improvment in the A1 when there is movement in the frame or large amounts of detail?

I have only heard great things about the quality of the video image of the A1- so I am surprised at this question. Is this really an issue with the A1 ? I am on the verge of getting the A1s - but this is of some concern.

As far as quality of tape vs quality of the MRC1 - I would think (guess) it should be exactly the same - both are M2t files I believe (same codec, and digital data (0's + 1's) are 0's and 1's ). I could be wrong, and I look forward to responses from actual users (which I hope to be one soon).

For me, the idea of the MRC1 is workflow - dump the MC file to a disk and start editing. Plus you have the tape backup for archive if you need. Kind of like the Pana HVC-150 but with tape capabilities - of course, mpeg2 instead of mpeg4.

December 21st, 2008, 01:48 AM	#217
Ger Griffin Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: Ireland Posts: 579	........disregard....... Last edited by Ger Griffin; December 21st, 2008 at 07:03 AM.

December 22nd, 2008, 01:18 PM	#219
Dave Messinger New Boot Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Denver Colorado Posts: 9	I've read through this thread - just not clear on 2 issues (seems like I have seen different responses): Battery - what specifically do you need to get to power this unit ? Continuous recording during tape change - can that be done without dropped frames ? thanks Last edited by Dave Messinger; December 22nd, 2008 at 06:28 PM.

December 27th, 2008, 11:01 AM	#224
Jason Weisner New Boot Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 9	Image quality improvement with MRC1 tapeless recorder With the tapeless recorder (MRC1)-Has anyone seen an improvment in the A1 when there is movement in the frame or large amounts of detail? As many others have said in other threads-quick movements in the frame are blurry and scenes with lots of detail look compressed and not as sharp. Understanding this is a work around many face with the compressed hdv format. I am looking to purchase the recorder to get around this problem. Anyone who has seen improvement on this particular issue I'd love to hear comments. Jason Weisner Canon XHA1 Premiere Pro 2 \|Cineform Aspect HD

December 19th, 2008, 03:30 AM	#211
Don Xaliman Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Vancouver BC Posts: 96	You can take a lot of great stills on a 4 or 8 gig card. It would be nice to have a timer hooked up to the snapshot button. I haven't found anything to take intervals onto tape.

December 19th, 2008, 05:46 PM	#212
Ger Griffin Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: Ireland Posts: 579	I got mine yesterday and I have to say this is without doubt the single best accessory one can get for their tape based camera, especially XHA1. On playing around I noticed if you play back a HDV recorded piece of footage in the camera and hit record on the HVR unit, it actually down converts the footage to SD before recording it as an avi. Thats interesting I thought. On a quick look at the original HDV clip and then the downconverted one, it seems to do a pretty good job too! And this wasn't even recorded with the raw avi filetype which could potentially do it even better. I wonder could this be an unexpected perk?

December 19th, 2008, 09:07 PM	#214
Ger Griffin Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: Ireland Posts: 579	Hi Richard, I just tested with PP CS3 on PC. In HDV mode on the A1 it records in .m2t both 50i and 25f. These files import and work as they should. In SD mode, again, both 25f and 50i work perfectly and are a standard .avi file. The unit automatically detects whatever mode the camera is in. As already mentioned there is also a RAW .avi file recording which I haven't yet tested as I simply don't need it at the moment. My take on RAW would be that like stills from a DSLR, one would only need RAW if multiple savings of files were needed to be done. eg. a colour correction and masking applied to a shot and made into another uncompressed clip, which again needed to be imported back into another timeline and processed again and so on.

December 20th, 2008, 07:04 PM	#215
Richard Hunter Trustee Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Lipa City Batangas, Philippines Posts: 1,110	Thanks Ger, appreciate you taking the trouble to confirm this. Now I just need to find somewhere in Singapore that sells this recorder, but that's another problem! :) Richard

December 20th, 2008, 07:12 PM	#216
Bob Thompson Major Player Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Hong Kong Posts: 340	Ger, Have you tried shooting in HDV on the Canon xh A1 and setting the output to downconvert and recording a SD signal on the CF card. The idea of the 2 formats at the same time maybe useful for some applications instead of downconverting from the HDV tape later. Bob

December 25th, 2008, 05:12 AM	#222
Ger Griffin Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: Ireland Posts: 579	This is a clever unit in the area of tape change. When the tape runs out the unit continues to record. When you make the tape change and press the REC button the new tape begins to record and the unit remains recording. The next time the rec button is pressed ( to stop recording ) they both stop as usual. Im not sure if it works the same but opposite for when the card fills.