Digital Video - October 2008 - (Page 10)

IN REVIEW EDIROL F-1 VIDEO FIELD RECORDER fed to the F-1 recorder via FireWire. The net result is four-track field audio recording with 16-bit/48Hz quality, a rare capability in the HDV genre. This makes the F-1 an invaluable tool for pros who often record live music and other live events where the location audio comprises many elements and is critical to the overall production The fact that the F-1 uses file-based capture makes it an ideal tool for pros who need a fast HDV or DV workflow. Furthermore, as it uses the NTFS format, there are no 2GB or 4GB file size limitations to hassle with. Moreover, the internal hard drive is removable and can be swapped with another in a matter of seconds, for another 9+ hours of HDV recording capacity. This opens the prospect of round-theclock recording with periodic, momentary interruption. The F-1 also has a 15-pin RGB output for connecting to a VGA monitor for viewing the thumbnail images that identify each captured clip. There is also a standard USB port for use of a mouse to navigate the F-1 interface on the video monitor. The unit has an onboard 1.25" black-and-white data display for navigating the menu. According to Edirol, touchscreen functionality is feasible via an additional (free) downloadable utility. A built-in LAN network port makes it possible to remotely control up to four F-1s from a laptop or other computer. In terms of basic operation, the F-1 records either DV (480i) or HDV. It can record nine hours of 1080i HDV or 12 hours of 720p. All clips can be viewed in the field on an external VGA monitor, where they can be selected for field playback via the camcorder viewfinder. There, each clip can be displayed and viewed via a thumbnail or a clip number for ease of identification. In terms of size, the F-1 probably falls between the middle and the lower end of the pack, with dimensions of 2 3⁄8" x 4 3⁄8" x 7 1⁄16". It is a bit larger than many external HDV/DV drives, but smaller than others, particularly those geared for higher-bit-rate HD formats. At a glance, though, it looks much like a compact 3-4 channel mic mixer and weighs in at just under 2lb. However, www.dv.com POTENT PORTABLE EDIROL F-1 OFFERS BEAUTY, BEEF AND BANG FOR THE BUCK. BY CARL MROZEK A s we near the sunset of the analog era, we are seeing more and more tools for recording HD video and compatible audio on media other than videotape. One of the strongest arguments for continuing to use tape despite the many alternatives has been its cost efficiency as expressed in minutes of video/dollar (or dollars per min.), especially when compared to high-speed Flash media — at least until very recently. Hard-drive-based solutions have had the advantage of higher capacity and a lower cost per unit of storage, but without the stability of Flash or even of tape. Roland takes aim at all of these tradeoffs with the Edirol F-1 Video Field Recorder (which was unveiled at NAB). In terms of recording capacity, the F-1 boasts the ability to record nine hours of 1080i HDV or 12 hours of 720p on a single internal 120GB drive. The drives can be swapped in a matter of seconds, making it feasible to record endlessly with only momentary interruptions every 9-12 hours. Moreover, Edirol boasts that the drives are “shock resistant” and compare favorably with videotape in that regard. As with most other tapeless media, video recorded with the F-1 is ready to edit as soon as it’s downloaded into an NLE. This underlines the clear advantages of diskbased media for capture where budget is a prime factor. While DV tape is still more cost-effective per minute than most (if not all) tapeless alternatives on a single-use basis given the limited reusability of even HDV mastering tape, this cost advantage quickly erodes when considered on a peruse basis compared with drive-based alternatives, such as the F-1. However, the F-1 offers another compelling and unique advantage over actual products using both other media: two extra dv october 2008 uncompressed 48KHz/16-bit audio tracks, for a total of four separate tracks. (Surely a feature derived from its Roland lineage.) This makes the F-1 invaluable for use on projects requiring 5.1 audio mixes. Both additional audio tracks feature standard balanced XLR inputs. The first two are captured via the camera and are fed to the F-1 along with video, via FireWire, while shooting. This doubles the number of audio tracks typically available for capture in the field, other than with an external mixer or with a few high-end cameras. Moreover, these WAV files are also ready to be uploaded for editing without any recapturing required. The F-1 is more than a mere external hard drive. In design and in practice, it is a full-featured hard disk-based video recorder/player that records HDV and DV video and two tracks of PCM audio, plus two additional tracks of 48kHz audio via external mics feeding a pair of balanced XLR inputs. This pair of audio channels can be synched to the video and audio being captured via the camera but accompany the digital stream as separate uncompressed linear broadcast WAV files. The other two tracks are recorded by the camera and then 10 http://www.dv.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Digital Video - October 2008

Digital Video - October 2008 Contents First Look: Creative Suite 4 D800 Raid Edirol F-1 Video Field Recorder Universal Dolly BT-LH1760 Monitor Bench Test: XDCAM EX PMW-EX1 Camcorder The Dead Can Dance Cutting Crew Unrest In Peace DV101 Production Diary

Digital Video - October 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.