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Digital
Video (DV)
The
DV file format suffers from three different
tape formats that are incompatable: the original DV
format, as well as Panasonic's DVCPro and Sony's
DVCam formats.
The latter formats are for "professional" users and
use different tape speeds and add additional audio
and editing features.
If,
like me, you're thinking of getting a DV
camera, the Sony TRV900 offers an
interesting combination of features and is
something I've been looking at. While it's small
and fits in the consumer category, it uses 3 CCDs
and offers much better image quality than the
single chip TRV9. The chips aren't as large as the
chips on the VX1000 (380K vs. 400K), so the images
might not be quite as good as that camera and
reports indicate that the VX1000 may do slightly
better in low light conditions.
Nice
features include analog in (convert existing
content to digital!) 16x9 recording, and optional 8
hour battery. The body is magnesium alloy, and (joy
oh joy) the camera offers manual shutter, exposure,
white balance and gain control. It also can be set
to play sounds when certain camera functions happen
(such as when ejecting a tape!!)
The
camera is now shipping, though it might be hard to
get hold of. The lowest price I've so far found for
the TRV900 is $2,200 ($2,699 list), while the
VX1000 costs $3,200 ($4,199 list).
<www.sel.sony.com>
Sony
in Japan has announced a small converter (DVMC-DA1)
for converting between analog and DV
signals. The product is slated to ship on
November 20th in Japan and will cost about $245.
The unit is for NTSC video and I/O is Digital,
S-Video and Composit video.Signal conversion is
bi-directional, two audio channels from DV input
can be mixed to the analog output, and when
converting to digital either12 bit or 16 bit audio
can be output.
<japanese
news release>
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DVRaptor
from Canopus Corporation is a
DV editing card that provides hardware
overlay, full-screen, full-motion video
preview and seamless batch capture.
DVRaptor is a DV and i.LINK PCI card with
a software DV CODEC. DVRaptor can capture
up to 180 minutes of video into one .AVI
file, overcoming the 2GB file limit of
.AVI.
DVRaptor
will be available November 2nd for a
suggested retail price of $649 and
includes Canopus Raptor Video and Raptor
Navigator software, and a full version of
Ulead MediaStudio Pro 5.0. System
requirements include a Pentium 200 MMX or
above, Windows 95, 98 or NT, 32MB RAM, a
video rated hard drive, and a VGA card
that supports hardware DirectDraw
overlay.
<www.canopuscorp.com>
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Radius
is offering EditDV Unplugged, an
entry-level version of its EditDV product
for $99. EditDV
Unplugged, is a single-track, non-linear
editing tool that uses FireWire (IEEE
1394) hardware for the transfer of digital
video to and from DV camcorders. The
product is designed for QuickTime
compatible FireWire boards, especially the
Radius FireWire board and the Apple
FireWire card.
Users
wishing to take advantage of additional
features, such as special effects,
compositing, animation and unlimited video
and multiple audio tracks, can upgrade to
EditDV for $599. This charge includes a
free, optional upgrade to the Radius
FireWire card with the trade-in of any
non-Radius FireWire board. EditDV
Unplugged users who also own Radius MotoDV
can upgrade to EditDV for $399.
Radius
is providing a 45-day preview edition of
EditDV Unplugged for Windows as a
free download to registered MotoDV users.
This first version of EditDV Unplugged for
Windows includes the basic "cutting room"
tools of the non-linear video editor, such
asthree-point editing of DV footage,
on-the-fly marking of in and out points,
real-time playback of cuts, and the
ability to substitute an alternate audio
track. EditDV Unplugged for Macintosh,
available since July 1998, includes some
additional features such as titles,
transitions, and special effects.
Unplugged
for Macintosh without the time restriction
may be purchased on the website for
$99.
Radius
has also announced EditDV Pro, a
new offering which includes the Radius
FireWire card, MotoDV, PhotoDV and EditDV
1.5, two 4.5 meter FireWire cables (one
6-6pin and one 4-6pin) to support all
types of pro decks and a specially
designed software support package with one
year of unlimited technical support and
software upgrades. The package will
support pro DV cameras and decks, such as
Sony DVCam, Panasonic DVCPro and the Canon
XL-1. Shipment of EditDV Pro is slated for
the fourth quarter of 1998 at a price of
$1,999.
<www.radius.com
download page "EditDV
unplugged">
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BRAVADO
DV2000 from Truevision, a
hardware and software editing solution the
DV video format. BRAVADO DV2000 is
available for WIndows 95 (NT available
soom) and has a suggested retail price of
$999. It's being aunched with a special
introductory price of $499 (which includes
a copy of Premiere 5.0 and MotoDV
technology and SoftDV codec from
Radius.).
<www.truevision.com>
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last
updated: 11/20/98
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