WAY Beyond Videotape

Sorting Out Next-Generation Recording Media

Don’t throw out all those videotapes yet. Valuable content may still be archived on a panoply of analog and digital tape formats, and HDV has given the MiniDV tape a new lease on life, but totally tapeless workflows get more attractive, efficient and seductive every year. From flash memory cards to optical discs and hard disks, you’ve never had so many different ways to store your moving images from the time you capture them to the start of your editorial.

While the physical media has changed, the compression-based recording schemes used to record and store high-definition images continue to rely on existing MPEG-2 (I-frame and long-GOP) and DV codecs. Stacks of videotape cassettes and hours spent digitizing footage into an edit system or server are beginning to give way to these compact form factors that save time and space. The best part is that you don’t have to change your existing infrastructure to put them in play at your facility or production company.

Here’s an overview of what’s out there and what each recording system offers. Each has design advantages that may suit specific projects, but can be used for a variety of applications. Prices may vary, depending upon the supplier. To get a better sense of street prices of various media formats, you should also do a quick search of different dealer Web sites, since pricing can vary significantly.

All of these new IT-inspired media types (manufacturers do not like to call them "formats") allow broadcast stations to streamline their operations and get footage on the air quicker while allowing independent producers of motion pictures and documentaries to be more portable and organize and repurpose their material more efficiently.

Panasonic P2 Solid State Recording System: P2 Card

Works with: Panasonic AJ-SPX800, AJ-SPC700, and AG-HVX200 camcorders.

The Panasonic DVCPRO P2 series solid-state recording system records images as digital files on a PCMCIA card that fits nicely into your pocket. It touts advantages of no moving tape mechanisms that wear out and are susceptible to vibration and harsh weather and environmental (e.g., moisture) conditions. The SD (Secure Digital) memory cards provide approximately 18 minutes of DVCPRO 50 recording on a 2 GB PCMCIA card, and a variety of frame rates can be stored on a single P2 card.

Thanks to the solid-state memory, recording response is much faster than with tape or disc recorders, according to a Panasonic spokesperson. Users can begin recording immediately after powering up, making it possible to capture live moments instantly.

The P2 card records only onto blank spaces, so there’s no danger of accidentally writing over data. The P2 card also offers virtually unlimited recording capability via hot-swappable recording— users can replace a full memory card with a blank one while the P2 camcorder is recording onto another card.

Cost: A 2 GB P2 card costs $900 while a 4 GB card is $1750. The same P2 card can be used to record SD and HD images or a mix of the two. By comparison, a DV ProLine MiniDV cassette offering 83 minutes of recording costs $18. An extra-large DVCPRO 50 cassette, with 63 minutes of HD record time, costs $170.

Sony XDCAM: Professional XDCAM Disc

Works with: Sony PDW510, PDW530 (SD) and PDW-F330 (HD) camcorders.

Based on MPEG-2 compression, Sony’s XDCAM HD equipment brings the familiar and highly convenient blue-laser based Professional Disc form factor to the professional SD and HD production community. The camcorder records images in 1080i resolution onto 23.3 GB XDCAM discs at three selectable HD quality levels— 18 Mbps (120 minutes), 25 Mbps (90 minutes), 35 Mbps (60 minutes)— or DVCAM (85 minutes).

Users can store footage shot at all three HD bit rates on the same XDCAM disc and then archive that same original disc, which can include finished programs and unused b-roll footage, as well as metadata about those images. That allows editors and producers to quickly locate and preview images and audio.

The Professional Disc media allows a minimum of 1000 read/write cycles, according to a Sony spokesperson, and up to 10,000 read/write cycles under ideal conditions. Even after repeated use, image quality on the XDCAM disc does not degrade.

Cost: About $30 per 23.3 GB disc. The same disc can be used for SD and HD recording. By comparison, a 270-minute DVCAM videotape costs about $50.

Sony has been advocating more HDCAM production by reducing tape and equipment costs over the past few years— in the past year and a half, they are down almost 20 percent. The current street price for a one-hour HDCAM tape (shooting in 60i mode) is approximately $51. You get about 20 percent more record time on the tape when shooting in 24p.

Grass Valley Infinity Series: Iomega Rev Pro Cartridge

Works with:
Grass Valley Infinity Digital Media Camcorder.

Thomson has shaken up the single-format model with a new Grass Valley Infinity camera series that records to a variety of media, including the Iomega Rev Pro disk cartridge, a ITU-R1394 FireWire drive, USB stick and Compact Flash card. Users can choose which one to use at any one time, or they can use several to maintain available capacity.

The 35 GB Iomega Rev Pro cartridge stores both SD and HD images. It uses the next-generation JPEG 2000 codec for HD, giving it a capacity of about 45 minutes of 1080i HD at 75 Mbps and more than two hours in MPEG-2 compressed 25 Mbps SD. The camcorder can also record SD at bit rates of 25, 50, 75 or 100 Mbps in 720p or 1080i resolutions. The Infinity also includes a solid-state port, where Compact Flash disks from companies like SanDisk can be loaded and removed at will. Archiving to the Iomega disk is a possibility, although most recommend an optical disc format for reliability as well as library space savings.

The Grass Valley/Iomega Rev Pro disc, a joint collaboration between the two companies, has yet to be tested in a real-world environment, although units are now in beta.

Cost: Approximately $70 for a 35 GB Iomega Rev Pro disk cartridge; $350 for a 4 GB Extreme-III card from SanDisk.

Ikegami Editcam and Editcam HD: FieldPak2 and RAMPak Recording Media

Works with:
Ikegami DNS-33W Editcam3 SD tapeless camcorder and the new HDN-X10 Editcam HD tapeless camcorder. The FieldPak2 removable hard disk drives for the HDN-X10 Editcam HD camcorder run at different disk drive rpm speeds than those used in the Editcam3 (7200 rpm for HD, 5400 rpm for SD)

The Ikegami FieldPak2 for the Editcam3 measures 1 x 3.25 x 5 inches and weighs 8 ounces. It’s available in four capacities: a $286 20 GB FieldPak2 (90 minutes of DV25 video and 45 minutes of DV50 video), a $395 40 GB FieldPak2 (180 minutes of DV25 video and 90 minutes of DV50 video), a $495 60 GB FieldPak2 (270 minutes of DV25 video and 135 minutes of DV50), and a $595 80 GB FieldPak2 (six hours of DV25 video, with two audio channels and five hours of DV25 video with four audio channels).

The same-sized FieldPak2 for the HDN-X10 Editcam HD, recording video at 145 Mbps, is available in two capacities: a 100 GB FieldPak2 (90 minutes of HD recording time) and a 120 GB FieldPak2 (108 minutes of HD).

Video stored on Editcam and Editcam HD FieldPak2s can be directly imported into a variety of Avid edit systems to let editors start working immediately. The FieldPak is also compatible with other NLE systems, as data can be accessed using standard computer interfaces, such as SCSI, IDE and high-speed USB.

The HDN-X10 Editcam HD camcorder’s recording section utilizes the Avid DNxHD mastering codec to deliver HD resolution, full-raster (1920x1080) images that can be edited on laptop and desktop systems in real time. The HDN-X10 captures images at a data rate of 145 Mbps, to provide 1080/60i or 50i, 1080/24p, and 720/60p or 50p recording and playback. In the future, Avid’s DNxHD codec and Ikegami’s HDN-X10 Editcam HD will be able to handle a bit rate of 220 Mbps.

A solid-state version of the FieldPak2 called the RAMPak is also available. Although solid-state media still tends to be expensive, costs will decline over time. Any solid-state media that will fit inside the RAMPak’s form factor and meets Ikegami’s minimum criteria for throughput, capacity, and cost will be offered to broadcasters as soon as it becomes available.

Cost: For SD recording, 20 GB FieldPak2, $286; 40 GB FieldPak2, $395; 60 GB FieldPak2, $495; 80 GB FieldPak2, $595. For HD, 100 GB FieldPak2, $800; 120 GB FieldPak2, $1000. Prices are expected to decrease by a third by April 2006.

Focus Enhancements: FireStore FS-4 Dockable Digital Disk Recorders

Works with:
Canon XL1/XL1s, GL2, XL2 and XL-H1; JVC GY-DV300; Panasonic AG-DVX100A/-100, AG-DVC30 and AG-DVC7; Sony DSR-PD150/-170, DSR-PD100 and DCR-VX2000/VX2100; and any DV25-capable deck or camcorder with FireWire I/O.

The FireStore FS-4 series from Focus Enhancements converts any IEEE-1394 (FireWire, i.Link) drive into a high-performance digital disk recorder and player. Users can record directly to disk from a digital camcorder, VTR, or switcher. Once recorded, the hard drive is instantly recognizable by most NLE systems, meaning the video clips are immediately available.

The FS-4 measures 1.5 inches thick and weighs about one pound, including the battery. It can be mounted directly to the camcorder (using an optional camera-mount kit) or clipped to your belt. A 10-second electronic shock cache ensures video is always recorded, even in the roughest of conditions.

The FS-4 comes standard with a 40 GB (three hours of SD recording) hard drive, while the FS-4 Pro is available with either 40 GB or 80 GB (six hours) capacities. Extended record times can be achieved by linking two FS-4 units together for as much as 12 hours of recording. Both FS-4 models also feature removable battery packs and can be optionally powered via a wall outlet.

New support for AVI and 24p QuickTime files allows FS-4 users who shoot with DV 24p camcorders— such as the Canon XL2 and Panasonic DVX100— to record files to disk that can be used immediately in applications that support 24p edit modes, such as Apple Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro, Sony Vegas and In-sync Blade.

It is also possible to use the FireStore FS-4 or FS-3 with Digital Betacam, BetacamSX, MPEG IMX, DVCPRO 50, HDCAM and DVCPRO HD camcorders using Miranda DVC-100 and DVC-800 series converters.

Cost: FS-4 (40 GB) $799; FS-4 Pro (40 GB) $1195; FS-4 Pro (80 GB) $1595; FS-4 HD (40 GB) $999; FS-4 Pro HD (40 GB) $1395; FS-4 Pro HD (80 GB) $1795. The FS-3 dockable system— three versions are available— costs $2195.

MiniDV HDV Videotape

Works with:
Canon XL-H1, JVC GY-HD100U (720p), Sony HVR-Z1U (1080i) HDV camcorders with three 1/3-inch CCDs.

The newest versions of MiniDV cassettes for HD recording, such as JVC’s ProHD and Sony’s DigitalMaster series, are promoted as suffering 90 percent fewer errors and 50 percent fewer dropouts compared to consumer MiniDV tapes.

Cost: Single JVC ProHD tape cassettes for GY-HD100U and Sony DigitalMaster Series video cassettes for the XL-H1 or HVR-Z1U each offer 64 minutes of HDV recording on a MiniDV cassette for $14 to $16. The DigitalMaster tape cassettes come in record times of 32, 40, 64, 124 and 184 minutes.

By comparison, Sony’s DVM-80PR Premium MiniDV cassette, featuring 80 minutes of 25 Mbps record time for SD images, costs $9. A 40-minute DVCAM tape has an estimated market price of $12 to $13, while a 60-minute consumer MiniDV has an estimated market price of $3 to $4.