Sony Laserdisk Recording
13 messages in this thread
We have an opportunity to sell our Beta-SP BVW75 for a good price to a post
house and suddenly find ourselves wanted to evaluate alternatives at the
same (or better) quality level. I have heard that Sony has released a
laserdisk recorder (I think it is called the LVM-3000) in the $13-15K
range. I have also heard that it takes RGB direct from the computer (like
AT-Vista), transcodes it internally, records in component at Beta-SP
quality, and outputs either component or composite. It sounds too good to
be true. <grin>. Can anyone either confirm or deny any of these features
or add to a discussion?
We are not in a big hurry (have a couple of months to make a decision) but
would appreciate whatever you can do to help us make our decision. Thanks!
Ken Loss-Cutler
Ken:
Yes, Sony makes an LVR-3000 as well as their LVR-5000. It inputs direct
from the AT-Vista, or s-video, or composite, and outputs same.
It is wonderful! The unit is fast, reliable, and works every time! We
have had ours for about 6 months, and would'n even consider anything else!
We wrote some software controllers for it for even faster digitizing, and
can't say enough good things about it!
We are interested in a BVW75 for some editing – what are you getting for
yours? We are just starting to look around for a used one – but we know the
wear and tear frame-by-frame recording would have on a deck! <g>
Go for it!
Greg Pyros
Gregory:
Thanks for the recommendation. It puts us a step closer, for sure. You
will not be able to match the offer we have on the deck (it is tied in with
another company whose owner is a partner in my venture) but thanks for
asking <g>. You are right about the wear and tear on any animation deck. I
hope our entire industry gets away from moving parts real soon! We will be
working with Topas and 3DS and will be continuing to use our MiniVAS. I
have not checked with LyonLamb yet to see if they support the LVR-3000, but
I suppose there are other software-driven solutions out there by now. What
did you have to do for your 3DS interface? If it's proprietary, care to
sell us a copy?
Ken Loss-Cutler
Ken,
Chase Technologies SoftVTR ($995) supports that machine, has a 3DS driver,
has a Windows Driver and supports rotoscoping.
Ang
Ken:
Good hearing from you again! By the way, what did you ever end up doing
with that animation a few months ago that required exact timing without
frame animation?
Yes, we wrote our own code to control the Sony CRV laser disk. Turns out
that it's somewhere between 6 and 10 times the speed of some of the
big-name software controllers out there. We probably don't do as much
error checking, or have as pretty an interface, but it's FAST! Companies
out here in Hollywood like MR. FILM and Sony Pictures (was Columbia
Pictures and Tri-Star) swear by it! Sony has been referring all sorts of
Laser Disk purchasers to us for it! Looks like we are becoming software
publishers, in spite of ourselves!
And we even throw it in free when we sell a laser disk system! (hint,
hint!)
Greg Pyros
Gregory:
Hi! The aircraft accident settled last week, 24 hours before closing
arguments after 2 weeks in trial. The settlement amount is "classified",
but was in multiple millions. The First Chair sent out a letter to the
firm, desciribing our graphics as "remarkable", so I guess we helped
<grin>. Brian used an interesting variable framerate playback strategy
which he described a couple of weeks ago in a message (probably still in
the Forum somewhere).
Thanks for your recommendations. Can you or someone else provide us with a
simple distinction between the Sony 3000 and 5000 Disk Recorder, besides
the 422 Parallel port? Also, what is the list price on the 5000? Is the
difference in price justified?
Ken Loss-Cutler
I had the chance to evaluate one of those and couldn't get it going with my
diaquest board. It requires RS-232 control I believe and you may have to
write some software to get it going – Greg Pyros knows all about this.
Other than that everything you said is true *except* it is still not BetaSP
level, only Beta.
However, I believe it is an excellent machine.
Ken,
I believe Richard Sher just bought one of those puppies. The only drawback
is that you STILL need a broadcast quality VTR to record and deliver the
played back output of the disk recorder. . . unless your client has a disk
recorder as well. And those disks are not cheap, several hundred bucks
apiece.
Bruce
Richard Sher, are you there??? Is Bruce right that you purchased at
LVR-3000 recently? Bruce: thanks for the feedback. As you know, most of
our work is for attorneys these days, and they would be fine with S-VHS
output. Our occasional corporate clients who require BetaSP can be
serviced with a borrowed deck (that only happens once a month or so). The
faster render/dumps will permit us to be a lot more experimental in our
sequences.
Ken Loss-Cutler
We use an LVR-5000 (hopped up) here in Autodesk's Image Development lab. I
say hopped up because we got it 4 years ago for doing the Bored Room and
simply upgraded it as improvements came.
It is a crucial element in our lab and is responsible for all video
animations we render. Without it, none of our animations projects would
have come in on time.
My suggestion is to get the LVR-5000a. I'm pretty sure it has the drop-out
compensator (A MUST) built in plus it has both RS-232 and RS-422 support.
You'll need the RS-422 support if you plan to use this device with any
standard editing systems. (like another Betacam or Calaway editor)
It has a decent transcoder built in for RGB, YRB and Composite.
The time it takes to lay down a segment of video is about the fastest way
you can currently go, not to mention playback speed can be varied or
reversed with ease.
We've found it indispensable for doing animation tests as you can easily
flip between single video frames for study.
One drawback of this machine is support at on-line facilities (at least as
we've found it.) You have to convert to another format when you want to do
your on-line editing. Another drawback is it's write-once recording.
Anything you record is there until armageddon.
It will work with the Lyon Lamb, I used it that way for a while but at the
time the software LL had would pre-roll the LVR. It took as long as going
to a Betacam! (they must have resolved that by now)
I use it with a Diaquest controller and have had great success (witness all
the videos we've produced.) The Diaquest runs it in RS-232 mode, not 422.
This requires me to switch the machine between the two modes for when I
want to record from the Vista or edit with the Calaway. Not a big problem.
(Greg promised to let me play with his code but I guess he's too busy
<hehehe> Greg- will your code work in 422 mode?)
I all in all I think it's an excellent choice for a purchase, I would be
surprised if you didn't find it as important to your animation needs as we
have.
Jamie
Thanks a bunch (!) Jamie for your observations on the LVR-5000. Am I
correct in inferring that the 3000 lacks dropout compensation? You mention
that the 5000 has a RS-422 port, but then mention online-suite interface as
a problem. Please expalin more fully. I am going to call LyonLamb on
Monday and get a reading from them. I just had our PROMs updated last
year, so I am hopeful that we already have the interface in our MiniVAS.
Ken Loss-Cutler
I don't have specific knowledge of the LVR-3000, but my _guess_ is that it
does have a dropout compensator. Check with Sony to be sure, but I'd be
very surprised to find that that 3000 doesn't include it.
– G
Ken:
Both the LVR-5000a and the LVR-3000 have the dropout compensator. Both also
have the RS-422 and RS-232 serial interface included. Quality is similar.
Both will work with either hardware (DiaQuest 422 @ $2,000 list) or software
(DiaQuest 232 @ $1,000 or Pyros @ $500). Hardware solutions usually include
sync generator, software solutions need sync generator (Horita, $395 +/-)
The main differences are:
LVR-5000a: Pal Capable by adding internal board.
Comes as two units, Processor and Recorder. You can attatch
multiple recorders in a daisy-chain to one processor.
Great for computer-controlled playback of multiple disks.
Balanced Audio inputs and outputs. (much higher quality)
Has a very high res black and white mode.
List @ $20,000 for both pieces, $10,000 each unit
LVR-3000: No PAL capabilities.
Single unit – cannot control multiple disks.
Unbalanced Audio in and out. (Who cares for animation?)
List @ $16,000
In case anyone's interested, we have a 6 month-new LVR-5000a, includes
recording software, on the block for $14,800.
Hope this helps! Merry Christmas!
Greg Pyros, your not-so local Authorized Sony Professional Products Dealer