Comments

taliesin wrote on 1/13/2005, 10:34 AM
You mean a translation between the firewire protocoll which can be read by Vegas and a RS-422 protocoll which can be read by the SP-Deck? So that Vegas can controll the SP-Device?

I know about two choices:

- Canopus ADVC-1000
- Convergent Design Connect-SD

Marco
ggriffey wrote on 1/13/2005, 10:41 AM
Yes!

Bless you, sir! That's exactly what I am talking about. Would either of these programs automate the Print to Tape process?
taliesin wrote on 1/13/2005, 10:49 AM
Not sure about it. Never tested either of them. I think Spot has some experience with the SD-Connect (and he wrote an interesting article about it - let's see if I find it). Maybe he can tell us more about it.

Be aware both are not really cheap (sure - this depends on the point of view ;-) ). Expect somewhat in the range of 1600 to 2500 $. Good point here is them both not only do very good YUV-DV conversions but also SDI-DV conversions (bidirectional). So I think the prices are fair.

Marco
ggriffey wrote on 1/13/2005, 10:51 AM
That's very cool, thanks!

Do you know of a way to do it programmatically?

videotrax wrote on 1/13/2005, 10:53 AM
Can we expand this disscussion:

Can vegas process BetaSP footage - in a native YUV format -
either compressed or uncompressed? and what type of hardware would be required?

Would love to have uncompressed component INs & OUTs.

Is this possible?
taliesin wrote on 1/13/2005, 10:55 AM
>> Do you know of a way to do it programmatically?

No, sorry.

But I found more infos:

http://mediasoftware.sonypictures.com/forums/ShowMessage.asp?ForumID=4&MessageID=342372

and this very interesting one:

http://www.sundancemediagroup.com/articles/SD-Connect.htm

Marco
taliesin wrote on 1/13/2005, 11:01 AM
According to Spot's artickel support of uncompressed 10 bit firewire capturing is planned for the future for SD-Connect.

Marco
ggriffey wrote on 1/13/2005, 11:09 AM
Thanks for the links, Marco. I already have the video conversion thing settled. That was never a problem. I am looking for device controls programmatically.

If anyone else has a direction I could go, that would be great.

Jay_Mitchell wrote on 1/13/2005, 1:51 PM
Have you looked at the Decklink SP card?
JohnSchell wrote on 1/13/2005, 3:04 PM
The Convergent Design SD-Connect works great with Vegas and a Beta SP. It features 12 bit A/D and D/A converters for pristine video quality. All video is processed at 10 bits internally. SD-Connect features SDI I/O with embedded audio. There is also analog and aes/ebu audio. It has a hardware DV codec to stream video and audio to Vegas. It also features RS-422 tape deck control with guaranteed frame accurate insert/assemble edit.
We are currently working on uncompressed 8 bit/10 bit video/audio over 1394 for Vegas. It should be complete in the next couple of months. All that is needed is a firmware update and an update to vegas. All current SD-Connects support uncompressed video.
Let me know if you would like more information or an evaluation.
Be sure to look at our website for detailed specifications.
John Schell
Convergent Design Inc.
john @ convergent-design.com
http://www.convergent-design.com
Spot|DSE wrote on 1/13/2005, 7:16 PM
The ADVC 1000 doesn't work so well. Hence the reason we've installed a few Convergent SD boxes in to broadcast stations. They've purchased the ADVC, and it didn't work. Insert editing, 422 machine control, it's all there with the Convergent Design SD Connect box. Not to mention the quality of customer service and support. Plus it's software updateable. I just updated one this morning for a client we were training. Control of BetaSX, SD, etc are all cake. Plus you get SDI I/O with all 4 channels of info.
Put this in a TV station on a Grass Valley router....you're in heaven.
We did a fun thing today, capturing straight to Vegas from the SDI out in the studio cameras that were in another building, sending audio via analog and video via SDI. Saved time, saved tape. We were able to post a show that normally takes 3 days in less than 5 hours with Vegas and the capture from the SD Connect.
videotrax wrote on 1/13/2005, 7:37 PM
Decklink SP ????

I wasn't aware it would work with Vegas - But it sounds great. Will it work?
Will Vegas process uncompressed YUV ? How well will it run?
Will it play straight out of the timeline? No rendering?
How many streams realtime?

The info I've been reading has been hard to evaluate - confusing...

I was trying to figure out if Vegas is DV-only...
Most of the hardware referred to converts to DV -
Why would you convert YUV to DV?????

I want to stay YUV throughout and master to BetaSP.

Can I do this in Vegas?
taliesin wrote on 1/13/2005, 11:13 PM
Thanks Spot. I just wondered which one - the ADVC or the SD-Connect - works more reliable when it's about machine control.

Marco
filmy wrote on 1/14/2005, 5:34 AM
>>> Decklink SP ????
I wasn't aware it would work with Vegas - But it sounds great. Will it work?
Will Vegas process uncompressed YUV ? How well will it run?
Will it play straight out of the timeline? No rendering?
How many streams realtime?<<<

Some insite from SonyEPM in these posts:
RE: Hello Sony... we NEED SDI capture!

RE: Why YUV??

RE: HELP Sony EPM?? !! Big chance for Vegas but strange problem?

RE: Anyone output to DigiBeta with a DecLink card?

RE: Lossless Print to Tape in 4:2:2?

"official" info on Decklink
farss wrote on 1/14/2005, 6:24 AM
You gotta wonder, it was going to happen and now it looks very unlikely, of course if it works out with the SD Connect box then great but I'm still wondering what happened to the Declink development. Reading between the lines I get the impression it was something to do with getting frame accurate deck control but that's just a wild guess. If that's all it was I don't think many of us would see that as an issue given that we don't get that with DV anyway.
Bob.
Spot|DSE wrote on 1/14/2005, 7:41 AM
I use the SD Connect daily in our place, and several places we have training agreements with also use them. Since the second software update a few months ago, I've never lost machine control. Prior to that, there were some things that could cause me to lose machine control.
Occasionally, when you switch the GV switchers while there is incoming timecode to the SD Connect in capture mode, it doesn't accept the switch, and you have to stop capture and restart the Vegas capture app. You shouldn't be switching inputs to Vegas anyway, but if you do, it confuses things if you go from timecoded source (like a Beta deck) to a non-timecoded source (like a live camera) that are both incoming to Vegas via the SDI inputs of the SD Connect.