2k 4:4:4 online

We originally budgeted tape-to-tape online of a 2 hour documentary from 40 hours of 24p HDcamSR 2k 4:4:4 masters. Offline FCP 6 project is 29.97 DV NTSC. Now we need interim HD versions for film festivals and distributor screenings. I'm considering transferring all 40 hours to hard drive (SATA or Xserve RAID?) Can my 8-core Mac Pro access this much storage? Is the AJA Kona card the right choice? Are there hidden pitfalls in onlining? Effects needed are SmoothCam, pan/scan/scaling from 4:3 to 16:9, simple titles and a few dissolves. I need to make a decision and purchase hardware within a week. Anyone with similar experience?

You beat me to it.

Is there some special reason you think you need all 40hours available...in full rez? I mean other than the coolness factor? Just curious. Why wouldn't you just online the sequences you need in the interim and continue working in DV (offline?)

The interim versions may differ drastically, and I don't want to repeatedly rent the HDcamSR deck @ $1000/day.

Offline at DVCPRO HD. This way you can get a nice HD image, 16:9 ratio and the same frame rate as the master footage. Recapture your final at uncompressed HD when you are done. This is the current feature film workflow that has been used by more than one person. Zodiak did this, as did Jarhead. Not sure about NO COUNTRY...


www.shanerosseditor.com

Listen to THE EDIT BAY Podcast on iTunes
[itunes.apple.com]

Thanks for the advice about DVCProHD. What about ProRes 422? Can either of them output an image acceptable on a 2k theatrical projector for interim screening versions before final online? The HDcamSR masters are Spirit 2k 4:4:4 transfers from 16mm original film.

I have monitored my outputs on a Christie 2K projector at the DR Group. I was BLOWN AWAY by the quality and how good it looked.

ProRes is easily quadruple the size. DVCPRO HD 720p24 is 5.6MB/s. ProRes is 24MB/s.


www.shanerosseditor.com

Listen to THE EDIT BAY Podcast on iTunes
[itunes.apple.com]

Hi,
HD Cam SR is not 2k. HD CAM SR is 1920x1080 with compression. You cannot put 2k on a tape, not yet anyway. HD Cam SR 4:4:4 at full res for 90 minutes will need well over 1 TerraByte of storage. If you put 3 x 1TB of S-ATA II discs in your mac in Raid 0, you can get 240MB/s read/write. Thats enough for HD 4:2:2, we use it, don't know about 4:4:4. Anyway, that will leave space for another 1 TB of render and thats all. You dont want to fill up your storage space too much otherwise you won't get realtime playback. For this type of job, I suggest external raid. Look at Sonnett, they have some pricey solution more expensive but proven reliability comes from Dulce Systems, or Ciprico.
Also don't forget, if you need to export TIFFS or DPX to be used for color correction/scratch&dust removal at other facilities, you need extra Terrabytes.... HD is realy storage hungry.

The New Multibridge pro as in/out solution is a little cheaper than the kona 3, and it has the new 3Gb/s SDI port that comes in real handy. Kona 3 is proven reliability and will help your mac do those renders...

I'd go with the DVCPRO HD solution Shane Ross suggested. For Offline-preview even in cinema situation good enough.
Thomas

One last question: if file size is not a major issue, is ProRes better quality than DVCProHD?

ProRes is better quality.


www.shanerosseditor.com

Listen to THE EDIT BAY Podcast on iTunes
[itunes.apple.com]