Re: HPX-3700 deal

[Erich Roland] "I could care less about MXF files, and if its better or worse in organizing data (I care about what my client wants), and you know what.... most of my customers don't care about MXF files! "

What do most of your customers shoot for? If it's broadcast, they will care about MXF files, whether you know it yet or not. I see your point, I guess. What do your clients want?

[Erich Roland] "It’s not about the codec or file system."

I don't think you are paying enough attention to the whole production process.

[Erich Roland] "They care about price and cranking out television shows."

And it is my opinion that a Long GOP file structure will severely limit the speed of the cranking. For post, I Frame is the fastest and most predictable. But I know, you could care less.

[Erich Roland] "They care about price and cranking out television shows. By all means go tell them all what they are missing but you will be pissing in the wind. "

I see it as quite the opposite. Everyone is pissing in the wind, and MXF is a solid wall with no splash backs. If you yourself don't understand what MXF can deliver, then how are you supposed to educate your customers on the cameras that you own?

[Erich Roland] "They look at the EX camera played back and it looks exactly like it did through the camera before it was recorded. "

Playback is much different than editing and color correction.

[Erich Roland] "You can bet your booty they did lots of research and decided the xd codec and system was GOOD enough for the general populace and if they need more in terms of quality recording for green screen etc then the HDcam is available to step up. "

Hmm, so with Sony you need a less expensive and a really expensive camcorder to get things done. With Panasonic, you buy one camera and get it all done. Why? A better codec. 4:2:2 vs 4:2:0 of Sony. I frame vs Long GOP. 100 mb/sec vs 35 or 50 mb/sec. When using AVC-I is 10bit vs 8bit. These things make difference. You seem like you think I make my choices because am I a 'fan boy', that's cool. I make choices on practicality and ease of use. What is it that is going to make sure that I am covered for all of my production needs from shoot to edit to master? At some point I have to choose one or the other, not just on brand name, but on actual concrete reasons, and so do you.

[Erich Roland] "and I believe it was a bad bet. "

You are entitled to that opinion. BluRay as a recording device doesn't feel like something that's going to be around in 10-15 years either. Also, that laser? Not the best way to reliably record all facets of production. SSD is much more robust with no moving parts. SxS is much better than BluRay.

[Erich Roland] "Time will tell, but I would not be surprised to see less models next year and maybe a move out of P2 and towards standard memory cards or another medium altogether"

What do you mean by standard memory cards. Like SD cards? You can do that know with AVCCam, which is a better quality version of Long GOP XDCam, but still highly compressed. SD and SDHC cards are USB speeds at the most. This is not fast enough to sustain codecs that are 100 mb/sec. The cards will need to be of better quality, hence the prices.

It sounds to me, more and more, that you want to be able to go to Best Buy and get a camera to shoot your next production with $10 'memory sticks'. I still have faith in this industry that we aren't there yet. With the newer technology coming out today that is all data and all IT based, this opens up a huge new world of collaborative production. This is exciting to me, but maybe I am weird as most people perceive this as a threat.

[Erich Roland] "There isn’t one person out there who hasn’t complained about P2 card prices, and now the public can work around this obvious problem."

With the new e-series cards, this problem has seemed to have been alleviated. SxS isn't exactly cheap.


[Erich Roland] "You need only open your eyes to see the after market products that will allow consumers to work around the expensive P2 cards and record to a Convergence deck or AJA recorder in high quality codec’s (including I-frame)"

Believe me, Erich my eyes are wide open. I worked the AJA booth at NAB this year gabbing all day every day about the Ki Pro. Can't get that at best buy either.

[Erich Roland] "(or not... its a bit painful how you guys miss the main points and harp on something that’s not important). "

Its hard to discern what you think is important, except that somehow Panasonic is at fault because they have a created a system that you personally have not taken the time to understand or care to educate your clients about.

I have worked with Sony material, I have worked with Panasonic material. I like one better than the other. If this makes me a fan boy, then so be it. I am not ashamed. My personal choices that I make for our production needs make a lot of sense to our everyday workflow, peace of mind and sleep. I don't think we made the wrong decision, as a matter of fact as every day passes, I realized we made the exact right decision at the time. But this is for us, and that same decision might not be the right one for you. I admire Panasonic's confidence in going all P2. This says to me that they themselves stand behind the codecs and MXF implementation that they choose to create and use. When someone has been floundering between a few different recording mediums, I find that hesitation as a warning, meaning that company is still trying to figure out what is best. But maybe I am reading that incorrectly. I think the BluRay is an interim technology. People are begrudgingly buying it, but interestingly none of my younger friends are very far away from buying it (unless the own a PS3). They are receiving downloadable HD content that is available to a variety of devices including hand held smart phones. This is the future. And a full IT and data centric workflow is what is going to help bring this future to the present. But who cares...