I would love to own this, and I bet every one of you would agree. At least if we could afford it. Now, I have no doubt that AJA gear is worth every penny. They have a reputation that no doubt has taken years to earn. You can also bet that this is as durable and reliable as any similar device.
The fact of the matter is, their ain’t many similar devices out there. Certainly not near this price. If all you need is a portable standard def recorder, they can be had for next to nothing. Looking for something with a HDMI input? That’ll cost you! While I would never expect a device like the Ki-PRO to sell for a fraction of its price, I wonder why there are no lower priced HD recorders. Specifically, a portable recorder that can record from an HDMI input. One clue is that you can add a card to capture HDV or SD video to your computer via Firewire (IEEE 1394) for about $15. Want to add an HDMI input to yer `puter? It’ll cost you about $400 for a Blackmagic capture card. Again, I don’t doubt the value and quality of Blackmagic products. I just wonder what makes HDMI stuff so expensive.
The intent here is not necessarily to promote the views of Alex Jones here. On the other hand, I won’t offer the disclaimer that the views presented here are not that of this author. In fact, there are more than a few things we agree about. Alex has produced quite a number of documentary films over the years. Some of his early work is a little on the rough side. Alex has roots in cable access television, and some of the early pieces do have that look.
I have to say that his recent stuff is very well produced. In fact, it’s give the work of Michael Moore a run for his money any day. I suspect if Jones had the budget of Moore earlier in his career, the shift surely would have happened earlier. No doubt there are some out there that may be offended in some way by this. I dare say that even if you dislike the message, you can’t discount the production work.
This actually seems to be a rather decent DVD ripper. And for a while, it’s actually free! Please note that we don’t encourage theft of copyrighted material. I do however feel that I have a right to grab video from a DVD I already own, and put it on my iPhone. It does indeed do just this.
The new Samson – Zoom – Q3 has just recently been made available stateside. Those who aren’t familiar with great Zoom audio recorders might think this is just another overpriced pocket video recorder. They would be wrong.
The video is VGA level 640 x 480 just as with the iPhone, and most standard resolution pocket video recorders. The difference is that this baby records audio at 24bit/48KHZ resolution!
What really urks me about the audio from not only most pocket cameras and phones, but even some pretty expensive camcorders, is that it is just aweful! Tinny compressed sound will take the wind out of a good quality video any day. I would always opt for better sound, even if the video is less than HD.
I have banged my head against a wall over the audio problems with XVID encoding in Vegas for quite some time. If you came across this article by the way of a search, you’ve probably read other articles about audio encoding issues with DIVX and XVID in Vegas. You might have even tried a suggestion or two. Perhaps you have even installed the LAME MP3 codec. Let me save you some time, and tell you that high bitrate MP3 audio is simply not supported in Vegas.
Why not just use another video codec? AVC is pretty widely supported after all. The reason is simple. XVID (or DIVX) with MP3 audio, is possibly the most efficient codec(s) for the AVI container ever developed. Among other reasons, I have a Samsung bigscreen that will play these files directly. A great solution for quick customer demos.
There is a workaround. It’s not ideal, but at least it wont cost you any more money. First of all, you’ll need to grab a copy of VirtualDub. If you’re not familiar with this tool, you should be. Simply render your video in vegas with as an AVI video with the XVID codec. Choose PCM lossless for the audio codec. In the video menu, choose “Direct Stream Copy”. In the audio menu, choose full processing mode, and then choose compression. Choose “Lame MP3″ as the codec (you did install this earlier didn’t you?), and choose your preferred bitrate. Then choose “save as AVI from the file menu. That’s it!
In spite of this limitation, I’d still not trade Vegas for any other NLE.
I’ll bet I’m not the first videographer who as been asked this question. It’s insulting on a few levels. It conveys the idea that you can’t possibly be making a living doing your job. It also implys that you do something your client sees as play. Yet they have not a clue how to handle even a simple edit job.
This question comes from envy and ignorance. Your client wishes they had a job like yours. Asking this question indicates they have no idea how to reach that goal.
Many in the industry agree that the AG-HPX170 is an outstanding camera. I noticed a local vendor has a rebate program that had me entertaining the thought of this cam once again. After all, tapeless capture is definitely the future. Perhaps however, this is not yet so for me.
A 32GB P2 card currently goes for around $600 or so. This is about 20 times some of the other flash media. Not a fair comparison perhaps, as these card are radically faster in transfer speed, more durable, can me written to more times, and so on. $600 is pocket change in the film and television industry. It’s still a pretty good chunk for the event video business.
I’d really love to hear if anyone is using these cams for event video coverage. It occurs to me that you’d either (ideally) own a number of P2 cards, or constantly be dumping video to hard drives. You’ll then probably want to back that drive up to some other media just to be safe, as you’ll have to soon wipe those P2 cards with your next event. As for myself, I still kinda like the idea that I can shelve the tapes until I’m ready for them.
If you’re familiar with this camera, you might also know of Sony’s EX1. A pretty attractive camera in a similar price ballpark. It however can use Expresscard drives. While they don’t have the specs of P2 cards, they can certainly be pretty fast. This and at about 1/6th of the price too. Hard to overlook for a budget shooter.
I’ve owned a Zoom audio recorder for over a year now, and have been impressed with the audio quality. While this recorder may only support VGA quality SD video, it’s a clever touch. The alternative at this price range is crappy audio and perhaps entry level HD video. Personally, I might choose the former.
The DTV transition is now complete. Seems quite a few folks still missed the message, and the FCC received quite a few calls. The real story is many people did just as they were instructed, but still have no picture.
A significant number of people don’t quite have their antenna situation in order. First of all, avoid these tiny “HD or DTV” amplified antenna toys. They’re overpriced and barely work. An amplifier is not the solution. Ironically, the best antennas for DTV are designs that are many years old. In fact, an old fashioned UHF antenna will work great. Rooftop antennas are the best. Radioshack still sells some that look like a series of “v” shaped elements, one after the other. These are the very same antenna designs that adorned rooptops of the 1960’s and 1970’s. If you can’t use an outdoor antenna, look for one of the designs that resembles an oven grill with one or more bow tie shaped metal elements. These are available from companies such as Winegard.
Winegard DTV antenna
Before you purchase, you should consult Antennaweb.org. This useful website can tell you if the antenna you’re considering is correct for your area, and even more importantly, which way it should be pointed. You see, unlike old analog television that shows a fuzzy image when the signal is weak, DTV will likely show nothing! I believe this is something that many are unaware of. If your equipment manuals are well written, (good luck there) they will make mention of this fact. Those who live in homes or buildings with metal in the structure, or are not in the visual siteline of the transmitter tower will likely have problems. Other than breaking down and getting cable or satelite service, you will likely need to install an external antenna.
If you were receiving a nice clear picture from your analog tuner, you’ll probably be just fine with DTV reception.
