Need Animation Recorder
6 messages in this thread
Hi,
I own a small Audio/Video Studio (Networked PCs with aa&aapro, 3ds, targa+64,
etc., midi, otari 8ch, tascam brd, etc.), where I do computer animation for a
local video production house and local tv station (mostly 3/4" Umatic, Umatic
SP, and a little Betacam). Until now I have been renting/ borrowing a VTR for
output or bumping down to 256-color FLCs, but would like to pick up some gear
so I can do it all in house.
What I have been looking at is either the Sanyo GVR-S950 ($4000 CDN) or the DPS
Personal Animation Recorder ($4000 CDN). I'd like to get into something like
the AG-7750H+Diaquest but cannot justify the $12,000 CDN for the avg. 6 jobs
per year I currently do (the studio is only part-time work/leisure).
Has anyone out there used either of these units with the forementioned
software? How do they compare? Any problems or peculiarities I should be
aware of? The DPS will give me some "non-linear" capability, and
first-generation copies with each pass. The GVR will give me a second deck for
addition use (capturing, S-VHS output, etc,) but will be slower on generating
the animations, and must be bumped up to the 3/4", SP, or Betacam for the video
house or tv station's use.
Help!
David,
>> the GVR will give me a second deck for addition use (capturing, S-VHS
output, etc,) but will be slower on generating the animations, and must be
bumped up to the 3/4", SP, or Betacam for the video house or tv station's
use.<<
I'd say that is the part of your process you will have to work on. Mastering on
a GVR, _might_ pass muster to transfer to 3/4" …. but anything above that …
you'll have a hard time finding someone to accept it.
Also, just to "mess" the waters up further .. the Sony UVW series in not much
more than the AG-7750H .. but is BetaCAM SP. We have the unit … we use the
unit .. it DY-NO-MITE! They are now shipping the UVW-1500 .. which is even
less expensive than the UVW-1800 (edit recorder) and take RGB in directly!
That means you can go directly in to the deck in RGB from your Targa+64.
I'd say for now, you'd be better off getting a PAR and renting a high quality
deck when necessary. Heck, if you have a customer who requires a certain format
.. just take you computer to their edit facility and record onto thier
equipment.
David,
I agree with Angelo, for once <g>. A PAR hooked to a rented/borrowed betaSP
deck would give you the most flexibility/quality for your money. Check out all
the threads on the PAR, it's causing some major excitement.
Angelo and Martin,
Thanks for the info.
The local video house is planning on upgrading their system in the next while
to the UVWs from their current 3/4" U-matic and SP. But I didn't want to have
to borrow his deck every time I wanted to do animation (long complex animations
would mean borrowing it from him for a few days at a time). Talking with him a
while ago, we figured I'd go with a large 2-4GB SCSI drive and something like
the Digital Animation Recorder card. I know that the Sanyo S-VHS deck will do
better than his 3/4" machines, but when he moves up to Betacam I figured I'd be
a little behind in quality (the local tv station uses nothing but regular 3/4"
U-matic, so I'd have them beat with the S-VHS quality.).
Regards,
David
>>(the local tv station uses nothing but regular 3/4" U-matic, so I'd have them
beat with the S-VHS quality.).
Don't bet on it, David. I use both here and while SVHS looks better on camera
originals the first dub to either 3/4 or SVHS is far worse than the same
generation 3/4 from the start. The SP Umatic is even better. In my opinion
the SVHS is an esoteric consumer format and prosumer for weddings and stuff.
One local group here uses Industrial SVHS for broadcast and their signal is
loaded with chroma banding on soilds galore.
Don,
Well, Yes, I must agree with you on the fact that U-matic holds better under
generations than SVHS (wider tape, less drop-outs, better chroma, etc.).
I guess what I should have said was "compared to what it would cost me to get a
U-matic or Betacam single-frame animation system, versus the quality the local
video house and tv station put out, an S-VHS mastered animation would be right
up there and really impress them (especially since the Sanyo GVR is only $3800
CDN).".
David