Any chance RED would implement "feature upgrade licenses" on the Scarlet

[Peter.G]

Any chance RED would implement in the future on the Scarlet a "feature upgrade license" similar to the Alexa...this could be a project specific upgrade for higher frame rate, 5K, 4K, etc... or a license allocated to a specific period of time?

Any thoughts?

Is it possible given the Scarlet brain?

-P

 

[Scott Miller]

I would say no..... There is 0 history of Red/Jim releasing anything for an existing product that is no $0.00 as far as a software upgrade. My R1, even as a lte buyer in Aug '09 had so many free upgrades it was silly.

If the hardware can be tweaked/massaged into doing more, the team will find it and release it.

I would not expect miracles as they are stating this has a slower "processor". You can not buy an Intel i3 dual core laptop and hope that it will become a 6 core i7 later

To be honest, think of the way many features and commercials are already shot. They use an R1-MX as primary, then they have a Phantom on set for 1-2 days to shoot the pyro/wrecks/actions as a B Cam/FX ad continue shooting with the R1. Shoot everything you can with the Scarlet, THEN rent/beg/borrow an Epic-X for the shot that require what it can do. Use your capital wisely and schedule carefully and you will get the vast majority of what you need shot with an excellent A cam, the Scarlet-X.

 

[Gavin Greenwalt]

It's a hardware, not software limitation. But I love the idea, if only it was economically feasible.

 

[Alexander Ibrahim]

I concur with the above ... its a hardware limitation. They are using limited capacity ASICs in the Scarlet.

What you can look forward to is the upgrade to Dragon for Scarlet X. This will cost more than the same upgrade for Epic cameras ... but its also likely to improve operating capabilities relatively more than it will with Epic - which already kicks ass.

In the meantime, as Paul said, Red has a history of releasing any software or firmware upgrades for free.

This isn't Arri or Sony that wants to nickel and dime you to death - the really do just improve the software, and then give that out. They've been doing that since they opened shop, for 4 years now, and I see no reason they'd suddenly stop.

They simply don't believe that the value of their system is entirely in software. They believe its mostly hardware that others can not or will not build.

They believe that getting new firmware out to owners is the best way to keep cameras running and looking good - so they do that for free to any registered owner.

They believe that getting the software users need to process the data from the cameras, so they give that away for free to anyone who needs it.

They only charge you when they are upgrading your hardware, and for service.

Its a totally different paradigm than any other camera company I know. Once you wrap your head around that, you'll see that what you suggest is really a huge step backwards for both users and for Red.

You'll also get how badly other companies rip you off for their gear and upgrades.

Even without owning a Red this policy has made me a serious fan of the company and everyone I've interacted with from there.

 

[George Su]

I wonder if the hardware will allow for higher framerates at 2k and 1080p. Even if it means a higher compression setting, I'd take 72 or 96 fps.

 

[Alexander Ibrahim]

I wonder if the hardware will allow for higher framerates at 2k and 1080p. Even if it means a higher compression setting, I'd take 72 or 96 fps.

Higher compression is actually more work for the computers involved. Data rate recorded is not a problem on these systems. Processing the images is the limit ... and the more compressed, the more they must calculate. At first there are savings elsewhere in the system, but there is a crossover threshold where you no longer get faster sensor readout and processing ... just smaller file sizes at lower quality.

In other words, its unlikely all those who want/need faster framerates will get them from Scarlet.

That said ... Jim said something about making 4K 24fps HDRx available on Scarlet X. Not a guarantee, but that they were looking into it.

If they figure that out ... you may get your wish.

My advice however - don't hold your breathe.

If you really need higher frame rates buy or rent an Epic.

If you are worried about needing higher frame rates in the future ... well I think you can expect something of a leap with the Dragon upgrade late next year.

We'll find out more when Red knows for certain what they are going to do, when and how etc.

 

[Bruce Allen]

I would say no..... There is 0 history of Red/Jim releasing anything for an existing product that is no $0.00 as far as a software upgrade. My R1, even as a lte buyer in Aug '09 had so many free upgrades it was silly.

If the hardware can be tweaked/massaged into doing more, the team will find it and release it.

I would not expect miracles as they are stating this has a slower "processor". You can not buy an Intel i3 dual core laptop and hope that it will become a 6 core i7 later

Bad analogy: An i3 dual core chip is a dual core chip. It is not a 6-core i7 with 4 cores disabled (possibly because they didn't work properly), and the 2 fully-working cores enabled.

Ummm... how about AMD's Phenom 3-core chips, which were 4-core chips with one slightly iffy core which got disabled. And which people did actually later unlock with a hack!

Not saying that will happen though.

Bruce Allen
www.boacinema.com

 

[Shane Betts]

What you can be 100% certain of is that, if it can be done, Red will do it and, if it's software it'll be free and if it's hardware, it'll be as cheap as they can make it. That's just the way this company rolls. What you can also be around 99% certain of (never say never) is that they won't try to charge for updates like Arri, Sony et al.

 

[Alexander Ibrahim]

What you can be 100% certain of is that, if it can be done, Red will do it and, if it's software it'll be free and if it's hardware, it'll be as cheap as they can make it. That's just the way this company rolls. What you can also be around 99% certain of (never say never) is that they won't try to charge for updates like Arri, Sony et al.

Yes. This.