Tapeless video acquisition

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TAPELESS VIDEO ACQUISITION

Advanced Tapeless

Acquisition Models

Bruce Balmer, MBA, CIRM, CLVS, CCVS, CME

April 13, 2014

Overview

• Why is digital acquisition

difficult?

– Why Are There

So Many

Different Formats?

– Data Rates and Data Ports

• Digital Video Cameras

– Capture Formats and Media

• External Digital Video Recorders

– Recorders, SD / Proxy Recorders, and Encoders

• Post Capture Workflow and Archiving

Why is digital acquisition

so difficult

?

Also known as:

All I used to have to do was plug in the right cable and everything worked. Now it doesn’t.

Why?

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TAPELESS VIDEO ACQUISITION

What digital formats are typically captured?

STANDARD DEF HIGH DEF

• DV in a AVI-T2 Wrapper

• H.264

• MPEG-2

• Quicktime

• VOB (DVD Disk)

• Apple ProRes 422

• Uncompressed Quicktime

• Avid DNxHD

• AVCCHD

• AVC-Intra

• NXCAM

• XDCAM

• HDV

• H.264

Why So Many Formats?

• Mac versus Windows-based platforms

– Apple ProRes 422

– Avid DNxHD

• Competing camera and recorder manufacturers

– Panasonic AVCCHD, AVC-Intra

– Sony NXCAM, XDCAM, HDV

Why So Many Formats?

• Different chroma subsampling specs

– 4:4:4 versus 4:2:2 versus 4:2:0 versus 4:1:1

• Different user requirements

– Superior color/size for movies and broadcast

– Editing ease with less compressed formats

– Proxy files for quick review, editing, and worst case archiving

– H.264 for archiving and quality/size issues

– DVD versus Blu-ray (SD versus HD) delivery

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TAPELESS VIDEO ACQUISITION

Common Chroma Subsampling Ratios

• 4:4:4

– No subsampling

– Best color

• 4:2:2

– 50% of 4:4:4

– Chroma sampled 50%

• 4:2:0

– 25% of 4:4:4

• 4:1:1

– 25% of 4:4:4

• Apple ProRes 4444,

HDCAM SR

• AVC-Intra 100, XDCAM

HD422, MXF HD422,

ProRes 422

• HDV, AVCCHD, Apple

Intermediate, MPEG2, DVD

• DVCPRO, DVCAM, NTSC

The Anatomy of Chroma Subsampling, Chris “Ace” Gates, Videomaker,

September 2013, Videomaker, Inc., p. 35-38

Why Sampling Matters

• What matters in calculating size

– Number of sampling bits (8-bit, 10-bit)

• 2x2x2x2x2x2x2x2 = 2^8 = 256 levels of color

• 2x2x2x2x2x2x2x2x2x2 = 2^10=1024 levels of color

– Number of colors (RGB = 3 unique streams)

• 256^3 = 256x256x256 = 16,777,216 colors

• 1024^3 =1024x1024x1024 =1,073,741,824 colors

–

More compression means less color information; less capacity for adjustment

What this means to you:

• The common legal video deliverable will use 4:2:0 or

4:1:1 chroma subsampling

• This subsampling leaves little information for color correction.

• Many new digital video recorders use 4:4:4 or 4:2:2 based codecs, which create files that are easy to edit and color correct but expensive to archive because they’re voluminous

• You can’t make a 4:2:0 or 4:1:1 source better by capturing it on a 4:2:2 or 4:4:4 recorder – the color information is already gone. It may be easier to edit.

• The HDMI / HD-SDI color space does not always track the onboard codec color space. Check with the mfg.

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TAPELESS VIDEO ACQUISITION

What this means to you:

• Unless you’re providing other video services like broadcast video, wedding video, or news, a more compressed capture format like HDV,

H.264, MPEG-4 or AVCCHD should be adequate for legal video, and particularly for depositions, for the foreseeable future.

• A smaller source format can actually be archived without breaking the bank, allowing you to retain valuable metadata that is lost in a transcoding operation.

Why Can’t I Use My Existing

Cabling With Digital Video

A.K.A: I’ve been successful with

FireWire capture for years. Why can’t

I use FireWire with HD?

Calculating

Write Speeds

• What matters in calculating speeds - NTSC

– Size of captured sample

• 720x486 = 349,920 pixels

• x 8 bits per pixel = 2,799,360 bits (b)

• x 3 streams (R,G,B) = 8,398,080 bits (b)

• / 8 bits per byte = 1,049,760 bytes (B)

• / 1024 kilobytes per byte = 1,025 KB

• / 1024 megabytes per byte = 1.001 MB per frame

• x Frame Rate (29.97 fps) = 30.03 MB/s

Data Rates for Digital Production, Jay Holben, Digital Video, August 2012,

NewBay Media, LLC, p. 75

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TAPELESS VIDEO ACQUISITION

Captured Sample Comparison

• NTSC 720x486

– 30.03 MB/s

• ATSC 1920x1080i 29.97 fps 8-bit color:

– 177.80 MB/s

• ATSC 1920x1080i 29.97 fps 10-bit color:

– 222.47 MB/s

Uncompressed

Classic Port

Flow Comparison

• Ports that are available on SD cameras support

NTSC and Sony HDV bitrates only.

– FireWire 400 6-pin

– FireWire 800 8-pin

– USB 2.0

Megabytes Megabits

49 MB/s

98 MB/s

60 MB/s

393 Mb/s

786 Mb/s

480 Mb/s

• NTSC 720x480 8 bit color: 30 MB/s

• ATSC 1080i29.97 8 bit color: 177 MB/s

• ATSC 1080i29.97 10 bit color: 222 MB/s

Data Rates for Digital Production, Jay Holben, Digital Video, August 2012,

NewBay Media, LLC, p. 80

HD Port

Flow Comparison

• HD bit rates require larger pipes to move the data from the camera to the storage media:

– FireWire 800

– HD-SDI

– 3G-SDI

– USB 3.0

– HDMI

98 MB/s

185 MB/s

371 MB/s

400 MB/s

1275 MB/s

0.78 Gb/s

1.48 Gb/s

2.97 Gb/s

3.20 Gb/s

10.20 Gb/s

– Thunderbolt 2500 MB/s 20.00 Gb/s

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TAPELESS VIDEO ACQUISITION

Tape Speeds

• Tape can’t support the amount of data needed for many codecs

– Data rates for tape

• MiniDV/HDV

• DVC

• DVCPro HD

• HDCAM

Megabytes

3.12 MB/s

6.25 MB/s

12.50 MB/s

17.50 MB/s

Megabits

25 Mb/s

50 Mb/s

100 Mb/s

140 Mb/s

– 1080i needs 177.80 MB/s before compression

Data Rates for Digital Production, Jay Holben, Digital Video, August 2012,

NewBay Media, LLC, p. 75

Why Tape Fails in

Field-based HD Capture

• Tape has difficulty supporting the high rate of data needed for HD without high compression or higher tape speeds (and you can forget 4k)

• Cassette sizes limit the amount of tape available for longer acquisition periods

• Larger cassettes are easier to deal with in the studio but not in the field

Why Solid State Media

Excels in HD

• Solid state media can support high write rates

• Higher write rates are required for larger file sizes needed to support HD frame sizes, I-frame only codecs

• Higher bit rates required to support more levels of color, preserving image quality

• Reusable media allows user to spread cost of acquisition among numerous capture events

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TAPELESS VIDEO ACQUISITION

Overview

• Why is digital acquisition

difficult?

– Why So Many Different Formats?

– Data Rates and Data Ports

• Digital Video Cameras

– Capture Formats and Media

• External Digital Video Recorders

– Recorders, SD / Proxy Recorders, and Encoders

• Post Capture Workflow and Archiving

Digital Video Cameras

• Key points

– Capture format

– Capture media

• Number of slots

• Cost per GB

• Media lifespan

– HD / SD versus HD only

• All outputs have date stamping?

• Date stamp positioned correctly?

• Any ports stop working when switching capture formats?

– Low light capability

– What does each port output in terms of formats?

• When you turn one on, what turns off?

Digital Video Cameras

• Ports are important!

– FireWire is typically only SD (or HDV). However, if you have a computer with a FireWire port, you can easily stream to the web

– HDMI is the default HD port. It’s limited to a cable length of

50’ (15m) if you have a high quality shielded cable

– HD-SDI is the best SD/HD source video port. The maximum cable length grows to 300’ and the options for attaching professional video mixers, recorders, and monitors expands.

So does the cost of the devices!

– 3G-SDI supports 1080p capture. The carrying capacity of the cables are twice that of HD-SDI.

– It doesn’t stop here. We’re moving on, but there’s higher capacity options to support codecs like 4K and 8K.

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TAPELESS VIDEO ACQUISITION

Digital Video Cameras

•

Capture format

– AVCCHD

• AVCHD/NXCAM

• AVC-ULTRA

– MPEG-4 / H.264

– DV

– HDV

– MPEG-2

– AVC-Intra/DVCPRO HD

– AVC-Ultra

HD only or SD / HD

– Industry still in transition.

– Future proof camera purchase important

Two formats or one

– Newest twist is to be able to capture a lower resolution for WiFi and a higher resolution for final

Capture Media

•

Card based

– Prices as of late February 2014

Media

$ for

32GB

$55 - $90

$ for

64GB

$120-$250

P2 Micro

$400

$230

$640

$355

SDHC

SDXC

SxS

$32 - $50

N/A

$340

N/A

$40 - $80

$530-$840

Largest

Size*

256GB

64GB

32GB

256GB

128GB

Transfer

Speed

50-160 MB/s

1.2 Gbps

2 Gb/s

45-90 MB/s

60-90 MB/s

1.2 Gbps

Get fastest read/write speed you can afford

Exceed class requirement (speed is cheap)

* Largest size currently available on commercial market

Digital Video Cameras

• How many GBs do I need for a deposition?

– You should be able to capture at least 10-12 hours of testimony per day OR

– You need to be able to offload the same amount of testimony per day

– Either

• You can buy enough media

• You develop an onsite offload strategy

• Ref: Camera Manual, Capacity Calculator

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TAPELESS VIDEO ACQUISITION

Digital Video Cameras

• Slot Count

– One slot

• Offers no options

– Two slots

• Simultaneous/Redundant

– Does not address second recording device

– Protects against bad media but not bad source signal

• Consecutive

– Allows for continuous recording

– Does not account for bad media

– Maximizes utilization of each card

• Dual Format

– Potentially capture multiple formats at same time

– Very limited availability, but where market is heading

Digital Video Cameras

• Output Ports

– Composite/Video

• Only 480i

• Some cameras do it well, some do not

• Cable quality makes a difference!

– FireWire 400 / 800

• Disappearing – only supports HDV in HD

– S-Video

• Pretty much gone

– Component

• Analog versus Digital – not the same!

– HDMI

– 3G-SDI / HD-SDI / SD-SDI

• Typically your highest quality SD

Digital Video Cameras

• Want at least one port for external monitor

– Consider a loop through monitor if you are capturing SD and want to use this source for a

DVD recorder

• Want at least an HDMI port with new camera

• HD-SDI preferred

– Secure coupling

– Will travel long distances without boosting signal

– Easy to add HDMI or HD-SDI port(s) with converters from various companies

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TAPELESS VIDEO ACQUISITION

Digital Video Cameras

• Canon

– MPEG-2 Long GOP MXF

• XF100

• XF105

• XF300

• XF305

– MPEG4/H.264

• XA10*

– Note:

• These cameras shoot hh:mm, no seconds

• If you live in MI, PA, WI, CA – think twice

Digital Video Cameras

• JVC

– GY-HM600 ProHD

– GY-HM650 ProHD

• XDCAM Long GOP MOV (HD), AVCHD, H.264 (SD)

• Can deliver wireless video to attorneys in depo -- futureproof?

• HD-SDI and HDMI connections

• Two SDXC/SDHC Slots (can record to 2 different formats simultaneously)

• Can output time/datestamp

• XDCAM requires special viewers / codecs

– GY-HM850 ProHD

• Separate lens

• These cameras represent where the market is going. They’re at the upper end of the normal legal videographer’s price point

Digital Video Cameras

• Panasonic

– AVCCHD/DV

• AG-AC130a, AG-AC160a

• AG-HMC80

• AG-HMC150 (HD ONLY)

• AG-HMC40 **

– AVC-Intra/DVCPRO HD

• AG-HPX250, AG-HPX370

– AVC-Ultra/AVC-Intra

• AJ-HPX270 (was not confirmed at time of printing)

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TAPELESS VIDEO ACQUISITION

Digital Video Cameras

• Sony

– AVCHD/MPEG-2

• HXR-NX5U NXCAM

• HXR-NX3u

– Confirming at NAB – handouts distributed before confirmation can be done

• NEX-FS100UK

Overview

• Why Go Digital?

– Why So Many Different Formats?

– Data Rates and Data Ports

• Digital Video Cameras

– Capture Formats and Media

• External Digital Video Recorders

– Additional Capture Media and Formats

– Recorders, SD / Proxy Recorders, and Encoders

• Post Capture Workflow and Archiving

Capture Media

External Digital Video Recorders

• External recorders add SSDs to the mix, along with multiple codec options

• Solid State Drives

– Prices as of late February 2014

• 240 GB $160 - 210

• 480 GB

• 960 GB – 1TB

$300 - 550

$510 - 650

– Interface, mean time between failure (MTF) all issues

– Prices constantly coming down

– SSD devices typically 4:4:4 / 4:2:2 recorders

– You may need capacity more than you think

– DON’T GO CHEAP! MEET THE SPECS!

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TAPELESS VIDEO ACQUISITION

External Digital Video Recording

• Three methodologies

– Same brand external recorder (Sony)

– External encoder attached to computer

– External digital video recorder

• Output specs (not format) from camera must match input of recorder

• Dedicated recording device versus computer/appliance recording device

• Portability on and off tripod

• Leverage the additional recording format

Look for Output Format in

Specifications

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TAPELESS VIDEO ACQUISITION

I-Frame

HDMI HD-SDI Recorders

• Some incorporate a monitor, saving the cost of buying an HD monitor for your new HD camera.

• Weigh image quality/captured file size/cost

•

Your camera has to be able to deliver the same format and frame rate that the device captures. You must match the output specs of the camera with the input specs of the recorder.

I-Frame

HDMI HD-SDI Recorders

• External digital video recorders

– Just because your recorder records 4:4:4 doesn’t mean your camcorder exports 4:4:4 (or

4:2:2)

• Recording a 4:2:0 or 4:1:1 signal on a 4:4:4 recorder doesn’t add information back into the signal. Once it’s processed and discarded it’s gone.

– Lower cost – less format options

• Low end BMD Hyperdeck Shuttle is nicely priced, but without updates may not be a good choice.

– “Uncompressed” means very large files

I-Frame

HDMI HD-SDI Recorders

• External digital video recorders

– AJA Ki Pro family

– Atomos Ninja2/Ninja Blade/Samurai Blade family

– Blackmagic Design Hyperdeck family

– Convergent Design nanoFlash

– Odyssey 7/7Q

– Sound Devices PIX 220i/240i

– Vitec Multimedia FS-T2001

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AJA Ki Pro Mini

Atomos

Ninja 2

BHphotovideo.com

Urbanfoxtv.blogspot.com

TAPELESS VIDEO ACQUISITION

Atomos Samurai Blade

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Sound Devices PiX240i

www.talamas.com

TAPELESS VIDEO ACQUISITION

HDMI / HD-SDI /Thunderbolt

Computer-based External Encoders

• External digital video

encoder

with computer interface card / port

– Attach to computer via USB 2.0, USB 3.0,

Thunderbolt, or PCExpress card

– HDMI, HD/SDI, Analog Composite/Component

– HD or SD capture to internal / external computer HD

– H.264, Apple ProRes, Avid DNxHD formats

– Windows 7 or Mac OSx

– Blackmagic Design H.264 Pro Recorder, UltraStudio

Mini, Intensity Shuttle, Express

– Matrox MX02 family

– Buy the right computer to support the recorder/encoder

Blackmagic Design Intensity

Shuttle for Thunderbolt/USB 3.0

Blackmagicdesign.com

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TAPELESS VIDEO ACQUISITION

Blackmagic Design

H.264 Pro Recorder

Blackmagicdesign.com

Matrox MX02 LE

Coremicro.com

HDMI / HD-SDI /FireWire

Long GOP / Proxy Recorders

• External digital video recorders

– HDMI, HD/SDI, FireWire, Analog

– AVCCHD, HDV capture, some SD capture

– H.264, HDV, DV, MPEG-2 capture formats

– P2, CF cards, SDHC cards, internal drives

– Datavideo DN-40, -60, -200, -400, -700

– Datavideo HDR-40, -45, -55

– Matrox Monarch HD (stream and capture HD)

– Panasonic AG-HMR10 (Date Stamp –Special)

– Vitec Multimedia FS-H200 Pro (FireWire)

– Vitec Multimedia FS-H50/60/70 Proxy Recorders with WiFi

• Interesting balance of

enough quality, compact file size

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Matrox Monarch HD

Matrox.com

Creativevideo.co.uk

Vitec MultiMedia

FS-H70 Proxy Recorder

www.holdan.co.uk

TAPELESS VIDEO ACQUISITION

Panasonic AG-HMR10

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TAPELESS VIDEO ACQUISITION

Vitec MultiMedia FS-H200 Pro

DVC.uk.com

The Questions Bruce Always Asks

• What camera are you using?

• What ports do you have available to you?

• What format are you capturing on your camera?

• What format spec gets pushed out when you capture that format?

• What recording devices can accept that format?

• If you have your heart set on one and it doesn’t accept the format out of the ports you have available, are you willing to convert the format to another type (HDMI to HD-SDI)?

• If you’re connecting to a PC, is it properly optioned for this type of capture? Memory? OS? Port type? Disk speed and capacity?

• What format will be captured?

• Do you have software to process the captured format?

Overview

• Why is digital capture so difficult?

– Why So Many Different Formats?

– Data Rates and Data Ports

• Digital Video Cameras

– Capture Formats and Media

• External Digital Video Recorders

– Recorders, SD / Proxy Recorders, and Encoders

• Post Capture Workflow and Archiving

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TAPELESS VIDEO ACQUISITION

Workflows in NLEs

•

Google “FORMAT workflow in NLE”

•

Workflow guides for several high-end cameras and formats in Premiere Pro and After Effects

–

http://adobe.ly/Np5Y9w

•

Final Cut Pro 7 Professional Formats and Workflows

–

http://bit.ly/UMdRGD

•

HDV Workflow in Vegas

–

http://bit.ly/PcZ1Xu

Ingesting Original Digital Media

• Many NLEs handle camera digital files differently than a tape file that has been digitized.

– Terms like Log and Transfer, versus Import, are often used.

– The files must remain in their captured folder structure in order for the NLE to ingest them properly.

– Included in this “special handling required” structure

• P2/SxS

• AVCCHD/AVCHD/AVC-Intra

• Some digital video recorder files

• Some cameras have special stitching software to join split files

• Software encoders – extract manually, understand issues

Ingesting Original NXCAM Media

An Example…

• Final Cut Pro7 imports clips from either memory card or

HXR-FMU128 via the integrated

Log and Transfer utility. Upon ingest, the camera-native AVCHD clips are automatically converted

to a user-selectable Apple

ProRes422 format, and spanned clips are seamlessly joined.

• Sony NXCAM Product Workflows in Apple Final Cut Pro

7, Sony Electronics, Inc., 2009, p. 8

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TAPELESS VIDEO ACQUISITION

TMPGEnc Video Mastering

Works 5.0

• Standard Definition Card Media Import

• High Definition Card Media Import

• DVD Import

– All are slightly different

– Do not copy just the video files.

Always copy the entire contents of the card or DVD to a folder

Archiving Original Media

• Performing an archive of all camera-original material is highly recommended.

• Copying individual clips via Windows Explorer or the

Macintosh Finder, etc., may result in unusable media on the target drive. When archiving the contents of either memory cards or drives, always copy the entire contents of the volume, including all ancillary files.

• Create a standardized root file with date, name, and card number (CD01, for example) and copy entire contents of media to root file

Archiving Original Media

• Single Disk

– Store multiple versions on different drives

• RAID

– RAID2/5, including JBOD

– RAID issues

• LTO (Linear Tape Open)

– LTO-6 drive with LTO-5 media

– Looks like a drive on the file directory

– $$$ drive ($3k), cheap media (<$50/1.5 TB)

– Quantum LTO 6 / tapes are 2.5 TB uncompressed, 6.25 TB compressed

• The Cloud

– HIPAA may become an issue with

the Cloud

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Review of Topics Covered

• Why is digital acquisition

difficult?

– Why Are There

So Many

Different Formats?

– Data Rates and Data Ports

• Digital Video Cameras

– Capture Formats and Media

• External Digital Video Recorders

– Recorders, SD / Proxy Recorders, and Encoders

• Post Capture Workflow and Archiving

Bruce Balmer, MBA, CIRM, CLVS, CCVS, CME [email protected]

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