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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

On set video assist?

E

Esteban Sosnitsky

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I am trying to figure out whats the best video assist option today.:construction:
Although it may seem pretty simple here I shoot my concerns if anyone wants to share how they do it or suggest a better way. Take into account that we generally do commercial work, with clients, diva DoP:innocent: , focus guy, the whole crew.

Now:

*How many monitors do you usually have on set and for what use?
*What kind of cases do you have for these monitors?
*Where do you record your video assist material?

As of now we have one Panasonic 20 inch HDTV, and a Sony 9 inch HDTV.
We plan on recording on a Mini Dv portable deck using a Blackmagic HD-SDI to Analog converter.

It would be nice to see if you could post some of your own imagery on video assists :P
Thanks.
 
LCD monitors such as the Panasonic 1700 and the Sony 2450 are perfect for this. It's nice to keep the recording in the HD world and NOT to use a consumer product like a laptop computer. I would recommend either the Panasonic P2 Gear or P2 Mobile. The P2 Gear is tiny and can record in DVCProHD. The P2 Mobile can record in DVCProHD, AVC-i 100 and offers a host of other functions but it is also more expensive. It's nice that both can run on battery power.

Of course, Abel rents and sells this gear. ;-)
 
Mitch Gross said:
LCD monitors such as the Panasonic 1700 and the Sony 2450 are perfect for this. It's nice to keep the recording in the HD world and NOT to use a consumer product like a laptop computer. I would recommend either the Panasonic P2 Gear or P2 Mobile. The P2 Gear is tiny and can record in DVCProHD. The P2 Mobile can record in DVCProHD, AVC-i 100 and offers a host of other functions but it is also more expensive. It's nice that both can run on battery power.

Of course, Abel rents and sells this gear. ;-)
Click to expand...

Mitch, how and what signal do you input to the P2 gear - knowing that Red is HD-SDI 720p 50 - Lim
 
Thanks mitch, but as for SD recording any options? and as for the cases for the monitors?? We have the larger panasonic, not the 1700 but the 2600 I think. The other one is for using with a stanton triangle.. but I want to be able to take that too whenever possible :)
 
I've seen a few VTR guys switch to a Macpro/FCP/AJA IO-HD combo. This is all loaded onto a cart with 2 17" Pana HD monitors and a 26" Pana monitor for the agency/clients. It's a very nice system because all the footage gets recorded in Prores and played back in HD.

Sony also has a very nice little SXS card deck that can record HD over HD-SDI. This could do most of the same thing.
 
twlim said:
Mitch, how and what signal do you input to the P2 gear - knowing that Red is HD-SDI 720p 50 - Lim
Click to expand...

My bad -- I forgot the P2 Gear doesn't take HD-SDI in, only outputs it.

But the P2 Mobile works great.
 
estebanred said:
Thanks mitch, but as for SD recording any options? and as for the cases for the monitors?? We have the larger panasonic, not the 1700 but the 2600 I think. The other one is for using with a stanton triangle.. but I want to be able to take that too whenever possible :)
Click to expand...

You can record SD if you wish, but then you'd have to downconvert. If you have a camera outputting HD and monitors that can show HD, why do you want to record in SD?

The P2 Mobile will accept HD-SDI and then also output a downconverted signal for you. Even stick in timecode too. Very versatile.


As far as cases, we have designed them for the Panasonic 17", the Sony 20" and the Sony 24" LCDs. Don't know offhand about the Panasonic 26", but I know there are cases out there for them so we could always quote you if you're interested.
 
Mitch Gross said:
You can record SD if you wish, but then you'd have to downconvert. If you have a camera outputting HD and monitors that can show HD, why do you want to record in SD?

The P2 Mobile will accept HD-SDI and then also output a downconverted signal for you. Even stick in timecode too. Very versatile.


As far as cases, we have designed them for the Panasonic 17", the Sony 20" and the Sony 24" LCDs. Don't know offhand about the Panasonic 26", but I know there are cases out there for them so we could always quote you if you're interested.
Click to expand...

Because we have already a SD system mounted for our film equipment, so we want to keep the investment as low as possible. Even though the camera outputs an HD signal it is compressed and not fully processed, moreover for us its just a video assist. I dont think its worth having an HD video assist. The mini dv deck and the down converter from blackmagic wont add much to our budget. The P2 mobile looks like a lot more expensive :)

We have designed our cases for previous video assists locally, we live outside the US the shipping would cost us a fortune. But I havent seen any interesting designs lately for monitors such as big as the LH-2600w. So I guess I ought to look some more!! I am not looking for a carrying case, but more of an On set case you remove some panels and voila!
 
Mitch Gross said:
You can record SD if you wish, but then you'd have to downconvert. If you have a camera outputting HD and monitors that can show HD, why do you want to record in SD?

The P2 Mobile will accept HD-SDI and then also output a downconverted signal for you. Even stick in timecode too. Very versatile.


As far as cases, we have designed them for the Panasonic 17", the Sony 20" and the Sony 24" LCDs. Don't know offhand about the Panasonic 26", but I know there are cases out there for them so we could always quote you if you're interested.
Click to expand...

Because we have already a SD system mounted for our film equipment, so we want to keep the investment as low as possible. Even though the camera outputs an HD signal it is compressed and not fully processed, moreover for us its just a video assist. I dont think its worth having an HD video assist. The mini dv deck and the down converter from blackmagic wont add much to our budget. The P2 mobile looks like a lot more expensive :)

We have designed our cases for previous video assists locally, we live outside the US the shipping would cost us a fortune. But I havent seen any interesting designs lately for monitors such as big as the LH-2600w. So I guess I ought to look some more!! I am not looking for a carrying case, but more of an On set case you remove some panels and voila!
 
No HD to SD downconverter available from Black magic design. Only AJA have this option.
 
BM does a HD/SDI to SD Component output.
I hoped it was a HD/SDI to Composite but it doesnt do that.
AJA or Redbyte will do the job. I have bought the 10MD3 from aja.
 
skipdivils said:
just found it.....

http://pro.sony.com/bbsc/ssr/product-PMWEX30/

interesting unit. mitch, you sell these? if so, do you know what HD formats they accept? i can't find it anywhere myself.
Click to expand...

We have been using one as a split unit and it is compatible with Red 720/50p NOT RECOMMENDED FOR 720p/60 PREVIEW. THE EX-30 CAN NOT LOCK TO THE RED OUTPUT.

Has HD-SDI in and HD-SDI loop out. Component, HDMI outs are hot too. It is one way around feeding a larger panel if you are having issues with the Red HDMI out. The EX-30 also supplies a down-converted composite and S-Video feed that is useful for lighting or grip crew who have SD monitors.

Record still has to be done manually but when TC is enabled over HD-SDI from Red you will be able synchronise with it when recording on the EX-30, the EX-30 will use the TC from the Red via HD-SDI.

Thumbnail playback for almost instant cueing and playback. Can be easily adapted for field power via 12V or mount a V-lock to the chassis.

If they took the EX-30 and put it in the GVHD-700 casing with it's 7" screen it would be perfect.

And it works with the Kensington 7-1/ Sandisk SDHC combo :clown2:
 
Rocketeer, Can the EX-30 takes the 720P? Usually Sony equipment HD-SDI is their own 720p PSF format or 1080p psf that Red does not output yet. Lim

Rocketeer said:
We have been using one as a split unit and it is compatible with Red 720/50p so I'm sure 720/60p won't be a problem.

Has HD-SDI in and HD-SDI loop out. Component, HDMI outs are hot too. It is one way around feeding a larger panel if you are having issues with the Red HDMI out. The EX-30 also supplies a down-converted composite and S-Video feed that is useful for lighting or grip crew who have SD monitors.

Record still has to be done manually but when TC is enabled over HD-SDI from Red you will be able synchronise with it when recording on the EX-30, the EX-30 will use the TC from the Red via HD-SDI.

Thumbnail playback for almost instant cueing and playback. Can be easily adapted for field power via 12V or mount a V-lock to the chassis.

If they took the EX-30 and put it in the GVHD-700 casing with it's 7" screen it would be perfect.

And it works with the Kensington 7-1/ Sandisk SDHC combo :clown2:
Click to expand...
 
whoa. somehow i skipped over your post. yep, it's all in there. thanks for the info.
one question. are all the outputs active at the same time? both during record/live picture AND during playback? in particular, the HD-SDI out and the composite Feed would be good to know...
cheers.
 
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