Posts Tagged video production
SDHC Shooting on the Sony EX1
Posted by admin in Video Production on November 3rd, 2009
I’ve had a couple of people contact me regarding selecting a SDHC card to use with their Sony EX1 cameras and SDHC adaptors. While SDHC is not a replacement for SxS cards in critical applications they do have their uses where SxS may be impractical (e.g for handing over to a client at the end of a shoot).
Up until a few months ago the SDHC card of choice was produced by Transcend. Their cards seemed to be both fast enough and reliable enough to be able to cope with the 35 meg per second + overheads that the EX1 requires to reliably record.
However from mid summer onwards I began to notice that some of the Transcend SDHC 16 meg cards we were purchasing seemed to be slower than our older cards. Some cards were taking as long as 10 seconds to finish writing. I wasn’t the only one to notice this either as some of the users at DVinfo.net began to complain of slower performance and even failed recordings.
In short if you buy a Transcend card today although it may be within the Class 6 specification, it may well not be reliable in your EX1. For whatever reason the performance of the cards has changed for the EX1.
All is not lost however. After some research I found that ATP ProMax SDHC cards seemed to be a potential replacement. I’ve now purchased four of these cards and although more expensive than the Transcend cards they seem to be up to the job. I’ve run the cards through tests in the office and in the field and as far as I can see they appear to be the best match available in the UK at the moment.
The ATP ProMax SDHC card seems to be a good match for the Sony EX1
However these is some bad news….. Whereas everyone and their dog will sell you a Transcend card at knock down prices the ATP cards are somewhat harder to locate in the UK. After clearing out Amazon of the only 2 cards they had, I had to order 2 more cards from the USA. The good news is that after a few weeks of being out of stock, Amazon UK seem to have some more cards in….(deep breath) a steep £44.85 each, nearly twice what we’ve been paying for the equivalent Transcend.
ATP Pro 16gb SHDC card on Amazon
I’m yet to find any other UK supplier. One other company did list them on their website but don’t have any stock. If anyone reading this finds another UK supplier then please let me know and I’ll post it here.
There are arguements raging on the various forums about the merits of SxS v SDHC. SDHC has its uses but you should always throughly test cards before you use them in a live video production situation with your EX1. There is an inherent risk with any recording media be it film being accidentally exposed or tape jamming up. Contrary to popular belief solid state media is not infallible. Have confidence in your media before you set out on a shoot.
Critically you must not press record before the red light above the card has cleared. I always have the song “Red Light Spells Danger” by Billy Ocean in my head during those 5 or so seconds it takes to clear. When the light goes green I then always count to three before pressing record again. That way you can be sure of avoiding “media restore” errors.
SDHC adaptors are another tool in your video production arsenal. However it remains to be seen what the impact of Sony introducing their own adaptors will be and what impact any of the rumoured firmware updates will have on the existing SDHC solutions.
This blog entry is provided for informational purposes for the EX1 user community only. Users purchasing and using SDHC do so entirely at their own risk.
Going Tapeless
Posted by admin in What we've been up to on October 29th, 2009
One of the things people outside the video production industry have often said to me over the past few years is “oh, you’re still shooting on tape”. Fact is that professional tape was and is cheap and reliable. Tapeless production was only available on very high end cameras. Consumer cameras moved away from tape in the main long ago, but quality, capacity and reliability weren’t critical. However, for the professional all of those things are vital requirements. Indeed tapeless cameras are now just starting to make serious inroads into our industry.
In July we acquired a new Sony EX1 camera to add to our arsenal of equipment. Having been shooting with it for 3 months now we’re now really enjoying the benefits. Not is the camera tapeless but it also shoots in a variety of web friendly HD formats such as 720p which looks great on computer screens and gives excellent results when downscaled to SD or played back on an HD screen
One video production shot on the EX1 using the 720p format was for the ETC International College which we delivered a few weeks ago. The video can be seen on Youtube (ensure you click on the HD button if you have a fast enough connection).
The EX1 offers many exciting production possibilities and we have a number of other videos that have been shot on it that have already been delivered or are nearing completion. Having the control to be able to shoot and edit in a progressive format is a bigger pleasure than I ever thought it would be. No more de-interlacing. No more waiting for tapes to transfer in real time. Joy!
How To Distribute Your Video
Posted by admin in What we've been up to on March 16th, 2009
Although putting a video on DVD is still a popular way to distribute a corporate video production, more and more of our clients are taking advantage of placing their video online. Flash and Windows Media are two great video codecs for use on a website, but not everyone has the bandwidth or space to host such video.
Videos can be uploaded to Youtube for free, and with the added bonus that Youtube have recently added an “HD” option. This HD option doesn’t play by default, instead you have to click a button marked “HD” beneath the main video. If you want to see some of our videos in Youtube HD, visit www.youtube.com/media2u. Be warned that the HD service is still in its infancy and you will need a fast connection and a modern PC to view the videos at the maximum quality.
For the most professional look, it is far better to host the video on your own site or via a paid for streaming service because the embedded Youtube logo can look cheap, not withstanding the relatively low quality of their default non “HD” video streams.
Aside from online publishing, DVD’s are still a very popular way to distribute a video production. People can watch them on their TV’s, and the videos nearly always look better on a proper TV screen rather than a PC monitor. Unlike many companies, Media2u can duplicate DVD’s in small quantities and at a low price which delights our clients some of whom don’t want to have to order 500 DVD’s in one go.
We can of course provide larger quantities of discs and can now offer silver DVD’s (as you see on commercial DVD’s in the shops) for quantities of 500 of more. For smaller amounts, the most economic option are DVD-R’s (these have a purple underside).
With our ability to place videos online or onto DVD/CD Media2u is able to offer a full corporate video solution from initial scripting through to final distribution.
To learn more about corporate video production solutions from Media2u and how we help companies across Surrey, Hampshire, Berkshire, Sussex and right across the South, please visit www.media2u.co.uk