Flash XDR Update

In case you did not receive a copy of our most recent newsletter, here's a copy for your reading pleasure:

Flash XDR Progress / Update
First, we wish to apologize for the delays in shipping Flash XDR. We had hoped to ship units in May, but it now looks like early July before our initial production units will be complete. The hardware design, including the printed circuit boards and the cabinet is complete. All the components will be at the contract manufacturing site by tomorrow, awaiting to be scheduled onto the production line.

Software development is also progressing well. We have very solid record and capture to the 32GB Transcend Compact Flash cards (now approx US $135) using the 100 Mbps 4:2:2 1920x1080 CODEC. We can create directories and files on the Compact Flash card and are debugging the audio/video streaming to the CF card with the full file system in place.

We were pleasantly surprised at the quality of the Long-GOP video at the 100Mbps rate, even in high motion situations; it’s virtually identical to uncompressed in our tests! We now believe that the 100 Mbps rate will be the ideal choice for 99% of the applications. Yes, Long-GOP has suffered from bad press, primarily due to the overly-compressed 25Mbps 4:2:0 HDV format (which also resizes the video to 1440x1080) coupled with long render times. However, the 50/100Mbps 4:2:2 full-raster (1920x1080) MPEG2 implementation from Sony (nanoFlash and Flash XDR utilize the Sony MPEG2 CODEC) produces video superior in quality to HDV, DVCProHD and even HDCAM (see CODEC quality chart, available on our website).

Additionally for FCP users, you do not need to render back to MPEG2, but rather only decode the video when editing (and use an I-Frame CODEC, such as ProRes to render the effects), thus eliminating virtually all the render issues associated with Long-GOP editing.

Video Comparison Tests
We are creating a library of video comparison tests on our website. So far, we have posted the following on our website:
1) Full motion blue screen shot: Video Comparison Uncompressed + 100 Mbps; shot with a Sony EX1 (128MB each)
2) Single frame Uncompressed vs 100 Mbps comparison with Photoshop “Difference” (8 MB)…good luck finding the difference between these two images!
3) Single Frame Comparison: Uncompressed vs DVCProHD, HDV and 50 Mbps MPEG2 (0.9 MB); even 50 Mbps looks virtually identical to uncompressed!

We will continue to test and post additional video comparison clips and still images as time permits.

nanoFlash Announced / Early Adopter Program
nanoFlash, the smaller (<20% by volume) and lower-cost version (US $3495) companion to Flash XDR was announced last week. nanoFlash has all the capabilities of Flash XDR, expect embedded audio only (no analog audio), only two Compact Flash slots (instead of four) and only MPEG2 recording (no upgrade to uncompressed). You can also add ASI I/O to nanoFlash (pricing TBD). Brochure and Press Release are available on our website.

nanoFlash is targeted for Sept 08 delivery and is an ideal upgrade for HD-SDI cameras with embedded audio. If you are interested in becoming an early adopter, please send an e-mail to sales@convergent-design.com with the subject “nanoFlash Early Adopter”. You will get early access to the product and an incentive for your feedback.

Uncompressed Support for Flash XDR
The uncompressed support has been announced for Flash XDR and will be available this Fall as a US $995 firmware upgrade. Four high-speed Transcend 300X 16GB CF cards (US $145 to $170 each) will enable 10/8 minutes of uncompressed 4:2:2 1080p24 8/10-bit footage! This Fall, high speed 32GB cards will be available, which will increase these uncompressed record times to 20 minutes (8-bit) and 16 minutes (10-bit).

The video will be striped across 4 CF cards configured in a RAID0 configuration. Initially the only playback scenario is HD-SDI out of the Flash XDR box. We are investigating the possibility of a program to recombine the files, but capturing via HD-SDI will always remain the fastest route into your NLE. The datarate to the Compact Flash cards will be limited to about 130 Mbyte/sec, which will cover 1080p24, 1080p25, 1080i50 and 720p50/30/25/24 at 8/10-bit. 1080i60, 1080p30 and 720p60 will be limited to 8-bit. (Note the theoretical bandwidth to the four CF cards is about 180 Mbytes/sec, so the 130 Mbytes/sec limit is quite conservative).

ASI I/O Option Update
The ASI I/O code (MPEG2 mapped onto an SD-SDI transport) is in debug using BMS microwave equipment. We hope to have this functionality debugged and field tested in July.

Presentation and Archival Applications
Two additional applications for Flash XDR / nanoFlash, which you should consider, are high-quality presentations and project archival. Both XDR and nano offer seamless playback across multiple files and CF cards. Given their portability, these recorder/players can be used in trade show videos, client review, or presentations. The 100 Mbps 4:2:2 high-quality video looks spectacular even on large Plasma/LCD screens or high-end projectors. nanoFlash will also include a 5V power tap for use with HD-SDI to HDMI converters.

High-quality archival of your finished project is also made simple with these innovative recorders. Simply connect the HD-SDI output from your NLE into XDR / nano and record your finished video at the 100 Mbps 4:2:2 high-quality (visually lossless) setting. You can then transfer the file(s) to a Blu-ray disk for long-term storage (a dual-layer 50GB Blu-ray disk (US $35) holds one-hour of 100 Mbps video).

Future Enhancement to Flash XDR / nanoFlash
Here’s a list of some of the future product enhancements we have on the roadmap (no dates yet):
1) Standard Definition Video (SD-SDI) support
2) Additional file format support (on the Compact Flash cards)
3) Remote control protocol via RS485 twisted pair (status, start/stop, metadata update, configuration).


Mike Schell
Convergent Design Inc
Mike_Schell@convergent-design.com