XDCAM EX1 on the road blog

Piotr Wozniacki · December 17th, 2007, 12:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phil Bloom

Hi Piotr

BD and HD dvd is such a minor consideration right now for broadcasters. All they care about is having it delivered on HDCAM in 25p/50i!

Phil at all,

I have some good news on this. It turns out that even though BD specs do not list 25p, there is no problem at all authoring a BD disk with 25fps progressive stuff on it, and it plays OK as well!

I have only today tried it out on my new Sony Vaio laptop, which comes with a BD burner and a little authoring application, Click to DVD- BD. I was able to burn a nice disk (with menu), using a raw m2t clip from my V1E, shot in 1080/25PsF. The m2ts file created in the STREAM folder is seen by Vegas as 25fps interlaced, but plays just like the progressive original clip.

What's even better, there is no re-encoding whatsover involved!

I can't wait for my EX1 to check whether the HQ, native 25p will also be possible to burn on a BD disk - which might not be possible, as it's not 50i-compatible.

Update No problem with "true" 25p (i.e. not PsF), either - have just rendered a full length MPG2 (1080/25p, 30 Mbps VBR, DD 5.1 audio) in Vegas, and authored a BluDisk using this smart little app; coming from Sony it even recognizes markers from Vegas timeline, so chapter points are conveyed automatically. The BD has a full-featured menu and plays back perfectly...

Looks like it will be possible to successfuly mix 25PsF from my V1E with the HQ native 25p from the EX1 when it comes, and deliver on BD without transcoding to 24p...

Craig Seeman · December 17th, 2007, 12:39 PM

Several Sony reps have mentioned that you can change the extension to .ts from the XDCAM 35mbps VBR file from the EX1 and that too will work on Blu-ray without any re-encoding. I didn't ask specifically about 25p though.

BTW I also saw an internal Blu-ray burner claiming 4x speed that can burn an entire 50GB disc in about 50 minutes. Under $600

The tapeless worfkflow, backup, client delivery is getting faster and more affordable by the minute.

Phil Bloom · December 17th, 2007, 04:55 PM

When using the XDCAM transfer tool the clip numbers are not chronological. For example on the card I am currently importing. Clip one was actually the 3rd thing I shot, the chronological first shot is clip 6, the second is labelled clip 13.

Any ideas. It doesn't happen with the professional discs for my F350.

Christopher Witz · December 17th, 2007, 08:43 PM

I noticed that as well... but you can change under menu "view" > sort by > name... and that sorts by name ( file number ).

I'm loving the transfer app.... sure beats tape.

and the "logging" function for meta info is very nice.

Graham Morton · December 18th, 2007, 02:25 PM

phil just wanted to know what size rails are on your usual system for the ex with the letus extreme and lens'?

Ray Bell · December 18th, 2007, 04:14 PM

Phil, What lenses do you use with the Letus??

and have you had a chance to play with the tilt/shift super rotator yet?

Later

Phil Bloom · December 18th, 2007, 05:04 PM

I have just ordered the new rails from letus. Will let you know how they are.

Ray, I have so many lenses! I have just got the tilt shift and not got a chance to use it yet.

Phil Bloom · December 20th, 2007, 06:06 PM

Brevis flip on it's way. Interesting to see how it compares to the extreme. Will post more info on my blog about how well it works with the EX1.

Mark OConnell · December 20th, 2007, 06:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phil Bloom

Brevis flip on it's way. Interesting to see how it compares to the extreme. Will post more info on my blog about how well it works with the EX1.

I'll be curious to hear what you think of the combination. I'm right on the verge of ordering a Brevis. I like the size.

Leonard Levy · December 20th, 2007, 08:03 PM

Philip - I'm really interested to hear what you think about the tilt shift. I tried the Lens baby and it was fun, but just a large enough sharp area.

- Lenny

Phil Bloom · December 20th, 2007, 10:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leonard Levy

Philip - I'm really interested to hear what you think about the tilt shift. I tried the Lens baby and it was fun, but just a large enough sharp area.

- Lenny

Hi Leonard

Not had much chance yet to use it. But will soon.

My religion series is all done. http://www.philipbloom.co.uk/Philip_..._XDCAM_HD.html

These are authored shorts looking at how being a certain religion in Britain affects their lives.

Oleg Kalyan · December 21st, 2007, 05:11 AM

Phil, great work, shots done with Letus look wonderfull, not too much loss of resolution, hard to notice at least at that resolution, do you see the loss on a good HD monitor?
How do you color balance your shots, it seems that all of them have different skin tone/color balance, was it done in auto balance?
My favorite overall, in terms of picture quality, is the Buddhist story. The faces look amazing there.
In Muslim story have you done some sharpening?

Great work, really good social cause as well!

Andrew Parkinson · December 21st, 2007, 06:05 AM

Phil, did I just see you with a camera on Chiswick High Rd?
You may be in danger of turning into a celeb.

Keep it up Man.

Andrew

Phil Bloom · December 21st, 2007, 06:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew Parkinson

Phil, did I just see you with a camera on Chiswick High Rd?
You may be in danger of turning into a celeb.

Keep it up Man.

Andrew

Blimey. Yes that was me. Small world! Big camera, no ex1 today! You should have said hello!

Phil Bloom · December 21st, 2007, 06:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oleg Kalyan

Phil, great work, shots done with Letus look wonderfull, not too much loss of resolution, hard to notice at least at that resolution, do you see the loss on a good HD monitor?
How do you color balance your shots, it seems that all of them have different skin tone/color balance, was it done in auto balance?
My favorite overall, in terms of picture quality, is the Buddhist story. The faces look amazing there.
In Muslim story have you done some sharpening?

Great work, really good social cause as well!

Hi Oleg. Never auto white! Everything was graded. I often go for subtle differences in colours between different chunks!

The Muslim story was not sharpened, it was shot clean with the ex1 as was the protestant piece. The Buddhist one was shot 95& F350 the rest on the JVC HD 200.

No real resolution loss. Just a softer more organic look with the extreme!

December 17th, 2007, 04:55 PM	#168
Phil Bloom Trustee Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: London UK Posts: 1,939	Interesting import issue MAC When using the XDCAM transfer tool the clip numbers are not chronological. For example on the card I am currently importing. Clip one was actually the 3rd thing I shot, the chronological first shot is clip 6, the second is labelled clip 13. Any ideas. It doesn't happen with the professional discs for my F350. __________________ Philip Bloom Cinematographer, Director, Filmmaker www.philipbloom.net

December 18th, 2007, 05:04 PM	#172
Phil Bloom Trustee Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: London UK Posts: 1,939	I have just ordered the new rails from letus. Will let you know how they are. Ray, I have so many lenses! I have just got the tilt shift and not got a chance to use it yet. __________________ Philip Bloom Cinematographer, Director, Filmmaker www.philipbloom.net

December 20th, 2007, 06:06 PM	#173
Phil Bloom Trustee Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: London UK Posts: 1,939	Brevis flip on it's way. Interesting to see how it compares to the extreme. Will post more info on my blog about how well it works with the EX1. __________________ Philip Bloom Cinematographer, Director, Filmmaker www.philipbloom.net

December 21st, 2007, 06:05 AM	#178
Andrew Parkinson New Boot Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: London, UK Posts: 7	Chiswick?? Phil, did I just see you with a camera on Chiswick High Rd? You may be in danger of turning into a celeb. Keep it up Man. Andrew

December 17th, 2007, 12:39 PM	#167
Craig Seeman Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Brooklyn, NY, USA Posts: 3,841	Several Sony reps have mentioned that you can change the extension to .ts from the XDCAM 35mbps VBR file from the EX1 and that too will work on Blu-ray without any re-encoding. I didn't ask specifically about 25p though. BTW I also saw an internal Blu-ray burner claiming 4x speed that can burn an entire 50GB disc in about 50 minutes. Under $600 The tapeless worfkflow, backup, client delivery is getting faster and more affordable by the minute.

December 17th, 2007, 08:43 PM	#169
Christopher Witz Major Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 591	I noticed that as well... but you can change under menu "view" > sort by > name... and that sorts by name ( file number ). I'm loving the transfer app.... sure beats tape. and the "logging" function for meta info is very nice.

December 18th, 2007, 02:25 PM	#170
Graham Morton Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Orlando, Fl Posts: 35	phil just wanted to know what size rails are on your usual system for the ex with the letus extreme and lens'?

December 18th, 2007, 04:14 PM	#171
Ray Bell Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 1,414	Phil, What lenses do you use with the Letus?? and have you had a chance to play with the tilt/shift super rotator yet? Later

December 20th, 2007, 08:03 PM	#175
Leonard Levy Trustee Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: USA Posts: 1,684	Philip - I'm really interested to hear what you think about the tilt shift. I tried the Lens baby and it was fun, but just a large enough sharp area. - Lenny

December 21st, 2007, 05:11 AM	#177
Oleg Kalyan Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: MOSCOW Posts: 860	Phil, great work, shots done with Letus look wonderfull, not too much loss of resolution, hard to notice at least at that resolution, do you see the loss on a good HD monitor? How do you color balance your shots, it seems that all of them have different skin tone/color balance, was it done in auto balance? My favorite overall, in terms of picture quality, is the Buddhist story. The faces look amazing there. In Muslim story have you done some sharpening? Great work, really good social cause as well!