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NanoFlash FAQ`s
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1. lose the HD SD SDI or HDMI source during record The nanoFlash will simply close the current clip wait for the video input to become valid and then restart recording by opening a new clip 62 Can I lock out the keypad during recording backpack usage Yes if you select the remote control trigger the keypad is locked out during a record session You can also disconnect the remote cable during a record if desired 3 6 2009 Convergent Design Inc Page 12 of 21 NanoFlash FAQ s 63 Does nanoFlash have a record review option A record review function which plays back the last 10 seconds of video after a record session is complete is planned in a future firmware update 64 Can I record to the internal tape memory card on the camera for backup and to Compact Flash simultaneously Yes you can also set the nanoFlash to trigger on incrementing time code so it will automatically start and stop recording when the record button is pressed on the camera However for many cameras we recommend using our remote control instead For example some cameras stop incrementing timecode when recording to their internal media if their internal media becomes full If one were also recording to the nanoFlash then it would stop also which may not be desired There are also cases where the timecode increments when one is not recording such as when the camera is turned on or the tape door is opened 65 Can I erase the last clip Not at this
2. Mechanical Power Environmental 84 What is the size and weight of nanoFlash The nanoFlash is camera mountable 4 2 L x 3 7 W x 1 4 D 107x94x36mm and weight approximately 160z 400 g 85 Can I mount nanoFlash to the back of my camcorder We are working on several different mounting options with IDX and Anton Bauer batteries We plan to offer numerous mounting options for many popular cameras 3 6 2009 Convergent Design Inc Page 16 of 21 NanoFlash FAQ s 86 Can I mount the nanoFlash in the cold hot shoe on my camcorder Yes a cold hot shoe mount will be available which can be screwed into the tripod mount on the bottom of the nanoFlash case 87 When does the nanoFlash go from Active to Standby Power nanoFlash can detect the presence of a valid HD SD SDI input Therefore it can be programmed to switch from active state 7 5Watts power to standby state 0 2Watts of power when the HD SD SDI signal is turned off when you turn off your camera nanoFlash requires about 3 seconds to reboot when the HD SD SDI signal re appears nanoFlash automatically powers down the SDI transmitter and the HDMI I O if no cable connection is detected All power saving modes can be turned off via a menu option 88 What type of battery can be used with the optional battery adapter We have designed the optional battery adapter for a Sony NP QM71D InfoLithium M Series battery 7 2V with 19 9Wh capacity and 60z 160g weight This s
3. then since the nanoFlash locks to the incoming HD SD SDI source all nanoFlash s will automatically be genlocked together 57 Can trigger multiple nanoFlashes to start playback simultaneously Yes the remote control from multiple nanoFlashes can be tied together to a single master trigger switch For frame accurate playback a common HD SDI reference must also be sent to all nanoFlash through a distribution amp for example 58 Does nanoFlash support fast forward rewind or pause playback control Initially nanoFlash only supports normal playback Fast forward and pause will be part of a future firmware update However nanoFlash can very quickly jump from file to files during playback allowing you to quickly find any footage 59 What parameters are displayed on the LCD screen during recording Total remaining capacity in minutes remaining across all CF cards CF card level meters 0 to 100 Current Time Code HH MM SS FF Current Video Input Format 1080i59 94 etc Audio Level Meter 2 Channels 60 to 0 dB File Name and Recording Format MXF or QT 9290p 60 What is the file naming convention is used in nanoFlash File Names are 8 character name 3 character extension mov or mxf File name XXYYYZZ XX Camera ID or Unit ID Set by the user YYY Clip Number which increments with each record session ZZZ File number which increments automatically across 4GB boundaries 61 How will the nanoFlash respond if
4. During a long recording session the overall recording is broken down into files Sub clips under 4 Gigabytes each Only the last sub clip will be corrupted We do plan to develop software to recover this file 100 Does nanoFlash have internal temperature sensors Yes if the temperature approaches a maximum operating level then a warning message will be displayed on the LCD screen If the temperature exceeds safe levels the box will automatically close open files and power down to prevent damage General Questions 101 How can I connect nanoFlash to the Canon XL H1 Since the original Canon XL H1 did not have embedded audio or time code we recommend using the Flash XDR for this camera The nanoFlash is appropriate for the newer XL H1s 102 Can I really get 1080i recording from the JVC GY HD250 camcorder Yes the GY HD250 can be switched to output either 720p or 1080i HD SDI Internally only 720p HDV data can be recorded to tape However nanoFlash accepts and records in either 720p or 1080i formats 3 6 2009 Convergent Design Inc Page 18 of 21 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 NanoFlash FAQ s Which HD SDI Switchers are compatible with nanoFlash nanoFlash works with most professional HD SDI switchers with a compatible output format See recording option and formats section This makes nanoFlash an ideal live event recorder However for even greater record capacity you may want to consider the
5. Stop Record simple closure to ground will activate start stop record Pin 5 Tally LED Output 10ma 3 0V sufficient for most red LEDs Pin 6 Ground 80 Can nanoFlash be controlled externally via an RS485 bus The nanoFlash has built in RS 485 hardware Convergent Design is developing a USB to RS 485 dongle which will allow users to control one or more nanoFlashes connected on a common bus via a laptop or other handheld device with USB connectivity We anticipate rollout of this functionality in June 2009 ASI Encode and Decode 81 What is ASI and what advantages does it offer In a future release the nanoFlash will also fully support Asynchronous serial interface ASI for both input and output as an extra cost option ASI is a streaming data format for the broadcast industry ASI has many applications but is commonly used by mobile units to get their video and audio signal back to the station via microwave ASI is MPEG2 mapped onto an SDI transport stream ASI allows direct connection to satellite uplink as well as Internet connectivity via an ASI IP converter ASI can also be used to create cost effective DTV cable networks using QAM modulators and up converters 82 What video and audio formats are supported for ASI ASI uses long GOP 4 2 0 MPEG2 video and MPEG1 Layer II compressed stereo audio 83 What ASI stream parameters can be programmed ASI parameters include video PID audio PID PMT PID PCR PID and program number
6. an industry standard memory card widely used in digital cameras CF utilizes solid state NAND Flash memory and is extremely rugged no moving parts consumes very little power is very reliable low cost and is available with a lifetime warranty from some manufacturers 32 Does Compact Flash have sufficient read write bandwidth for HD video Yes Compact Flash has more than sufficient read write bandwidth and storage capacity for very high quality MPEG2 HD Video without stripping across multiple cards Master quality HD video requires 100 to 160 Mbps bandwidth a feat easily achievable on many Compact Flash cards SDHC cards on the other hand are too limited 45 Mbps read write for high quality video audio 33 Why Compact Flash instead of Hard Disk Drive or other solid state media Solid state media no moving parts Low power about 1 10 of hard disk drive Very reliable all solid state 100K write cycles 10 year data retention Easily removable 10K insertion cycles Low cost 32GB US 90 about 1 10 to 1 20 the price of other professional solid state media High read write bandwidth up to 300 Mbps read write speeds SDHC is limited to about 45 Mbps which is too low for high quality video Dango 3 6 2009 Convergent Design Inc Page 6 of 21 NanoFlash FAQ s g Widely available multiple vendors many sales outlets 34 Can I write the same data to two cards simultaneously for auto back up This is planned
7. does have an internal resettable fuse and overvoltage reverse voltage protection 94 Can I power mount nanoFlash to an Anton Bauer IDX battery You can power the nanoFlash via a D Tap to 4 pin Hirose cable available from Convergent Design We are developing various mounting plates for these batteries 3 6 2009 Convergent Design Inc Page 17 of 21 NanoFlash FAQ s 95 Can nanoFlash operate off the 7 2V 14 4V Lithium lon battery on my camcorder Yes provided your camera has a power outlet but you will likely need to increase your battery size to accommodate both your camera and the nanoFlash The nanoFlash draws about 1 0 0 5 amp from a 7 2 14 4V battery in active state and 0 030 0 015 amps in standby state 96 Can nanoFlash be used in high vibration applications race cars airplanes helicopters etc The Flash XDR has been field proven in a number of these applications so we expect that nanoFlash will also work well in these extreme conditions it s 100 solid state no moving parts 97 What is the operational temperature range The exact temperature range is not currently known but we are tentatively specifying 35 to 50 degrees C 98 What humidity levels are acceptable The exact humidity range is not currently known but we are tentatively specifying 5 to 90 non condensing 99 What happens if I lose power during a record session Currently the last file a sub clip will be corrupted and thus will be lost
8. for a future release This will allow you to create two original masters simultaneously The same data will be written to two cards simultaneously Writing the video audio to two cards creates an automatic backup so one card could then be safely stored away while the second card is handed off to the editor 35 How many Compact Flash card slots on nanoFlash nanoFlash supports two CF cards Users can enjoy very long record times as nanoFlash will automatically close one clip and start another on the next available CompactFlash card This is seamless across both record and playback 36 Can I hot swap the cards and continue recording indefinitely This is planned for release in June 2009 37 Can you record seamlessly from one CompactFlash card to another Yes as the remaining record capacity on the current CompactFlash card reaches a critical level the nanoFlash automatically closes the current file and then opens a new file on the next card This process is completely transparent to the user for both record and playback No frames of video or audio are lost during this process This means that you are not limited in length of recording to the amount of footage that will fit onto one CompactFlash card 38 How do I know it s time to remove a Compact Flash card There are bi color LEDs next to each CompactFlash card slot which indicates the current status of the card idle writing data to the card ready to eject etc Also the overa
9. number event DP etc are planned 77 Can the Nexto device be used for temporary storage of the recorded clips Yes our testing has shown that the Nexto DI eXtreme ND2700 device is an excellent device for the temporary storage of your clips The 500 GB Nexto is great for off loading your footage onto another medium especially when a laptop or other computer is not present http www nextodi com en product extreme_en html The clips on a CompactFlash card can be transferred to the Nexto s hard drive at approximately 25 megabytes per second MBps When extracting the clips to another computer via the built in ESATA interface the transfer speed is approximately 60 MBps We recommend purchasing the extra battery with the Nexto as the internal rechargeable battery power is limited to a transfer of approximately 80 Gigabytes User Interface Remote Control 78 How is the box configured Currently the box is configured using the front panel control Settings are saved and are automatically restored during power up In a future release we plan on supporting setup profiles 3 6 2009 Convergent Design Inc Page 15 of 21 NanoFlash FAQ s 79 What is the configuration for the remote control The remote control connector is a lockable 6 pin Hirose connector The corresponding plug is a Hirose part HR10A 7P 6S 73 available from Digikey The pinout is as follows Pin 1 LTC In Pin 2 RS485_D Pin 3 RS485_ D Pin 4 Start
10. storage device The CODEC compresses the video from about 1000 Mbps uncompressed HD to a more manageable 20 to 140 Mbps The storage device is typically a tape optical disk or possibly a memory card Compressed video along with audio and timecode is stored on these media for playback or transfer to a NLE HD SD Camcra with SDI HDMI Output Native Compression 25 Mbps 1440x1080 4 2 0 HD SD SDI Or HDMI Flash XDR nanoFlash _ CF 160 Mbps 1920x1080 4 2 2 Cards The CODEC and storage medium are both significant in determining your video quality In general the higher the compressed bit rate the better the video quality However most storage media severely restrict the possible data rates Mini DV tape used in HDV cameras for example has a fixed read write bandwidth about 25 Mbps SDHC memory cards are limited to about 45 Mbps So the ultimate data rate from the CODEC must be restricted to match the performance of the storage medium The level of sophistication and implementation of the CODEC play a major role as well l Frame only CODECs in general require two to three times the bit rate to equal the quality of the more sophisticated Long GOP CODECs 100 Mbps I Frame is roughly equivalent to 35 Mbps Long GOP in overall quality Most CODECs HDV DVCProHD XDCAM EX and even HDCAM also reduce the potential quality through color sample decimation 4 2 2 4 2 0 or 3 1 1 and or by horizontally sub sampli
11. the NLE compatibility with our 4 2 2 CODEC 11 Can nanoFlash be upgraded to support 4 4 4 sampling No this is outside the capabilities of the hardware design 12 Will 1080p60 59 94 or 1080p50 be possible in a future release Support of these formats requires 3G HD SDI which is not possible with the current hardware 13 Can nanoFlash auto detect the incoming HD SD SDI HDMI stream Yes auto detect is the default setting 14 Can nanoFlash be used as an HD SD SDI HDMI or HDMI HD SD SDI converter Yes this capability is inherent in the design 15 Does nanoFlash perform cross down conversions No nanoFlash does not perform 1080i lt 720p or HD SD type conversions Our design goals limited the power and size of the box Also cross down conversion was deemed unnecessary as most video sources already provide this functionality 3 6 2009 Convergent Design Inc Page 4 of 21 NanoFlash FAQ s 16 Can nanoFlash remove the pull down inverse telecine and record in 1080p24 23 98 This will be provided in a future firmware release Assuming the 1080i60 59 94 HD SDI input was created from a 24 23 98p frame rate then nanoFlash will remove the extra frames and record at the 24 23 98 frame rate 17 Can nanoFlash remove the pull down on the HDMI input Yes pull down removal will be possible on the HDMI input as well as the HD SDI input 18 Can nanoFlash also remove the extra frames on 720p25 24 over 60 formats VariCam an
12. time This feature is still under consideration Time Code Input Generator 66 Does nanoFlash have an internal clock Yes a high precision real time clock is included 67 Does nanoFlash have an LTC time code input Yes Multiple boxes can be jam synced to a master time code generator Also using a low cost BNC T or Tee connector one timecode source can be easily feed to multiple nanoFlash units The nanoFlash is specifically designed for this purpose 68 Can nanoFlash act as a time code generator No nanoFlash can receive timecode from an LTC source or HD SD SDI embedded nanoFlash also has an internal time code generator but can not source output timecode 69 Can jam sync the time code Yes the nanoFlash will switch over to the internal time code generator on loss of sync 70 What are the time code input options a Embedded in HD SD SDI stream per RP 188 b LTC In c Internal Record Run with preset option d Time of Day 3 6 2009 Convergent Design Inc Page 13 of 21 NanoFlash FAQ s NLE Support Workflow 71 Can really convert my existing camera to tapeless workflow Yes while your camera may be designed for tape based recording the nanoFlash converts it instantly to a tapeless workflow with all the benefits therein For example with tape many film producers and crew are very reluctant to rewind a tape to review the recorded clips This is for many reasons foremost is the more a tape is hand
13. very cost effective assuming short cable runs 3 6 2009 Convergent Design Inc Page 3 of 21 NanoFlash FAQ s Single Channel Multi Display Using HD SD SDI nanoFlash also features an HD SD SDI output which can be connected to an SDI distribution amp to simultaneously drive multiple professional monitors Cables runs up to 150 meters per link are possible using HD SDI connections 7 How can nanoFlash be used in video assist applications Currently users can play back any file using the control panel You can also move from file to file very quickly using the right and left arrows We are now developing remote RS 485 control which will allow the playback of any selected clip from one or more nanoFlash units via a simple menu selection on the remote PC handheld Metadata can also be input via this simple connection Video Audio I O 8 What video input and output connections are supported on nanoFlash nanoFlash uniquely includes both HD SD SDI In and Out as well as HDMI In and out connections The HD SD SDI connections are made via a standard BNC connector while the HDMI I O uses the new type C mini HDMI connector to save space 9 Which video input formats are supported 1080i60 59 94 50 1080psf30 29 97 25 24 23 98 1080p30 29 97 25 24 23 98 720p60 59 94 50 486i 576i 10 What about 720p29 97 25 23 98 support This is planned in a near term release Technically nanoFlash can support these formats however we are researching
14. NanoFlash FAQ s Most Frequently Asked Questions 1 When will the nanoFlash ship The target date for initial nanoFlash shipments is late May 2009 2 Can get a brief description of nanoFlash nanoFlash is a portable HD SD recorder player designed to mount on a camcorder It is also suited for use in a studio environment The nanoFlash is designed to record higher quality images than the camera itself using the camera s HD SDI HDMI output nanoFlash accepts an incoming HD SD SDI video signal with embedded audio and time code or an HDMI video and audio signal The nanoFlash records the video audio as MPEG2 at user selected bit rates This allows the user to choose for every shoot an appropriate image quality file size and maximum available length of recording The data is then stored on CompactFlash cards in either native Quicktime or native MXF file formats The nanoFlash uses 90 of the same code and components as the field proven and award winning Flash XDR nanoFlash customers will enjoy the benefits of all many hours debugging and testing the Flash XDR nanoFlash can also be upgraded to become a full ASI encoder and decoder an additional charge option ASI is a streaming format used for live news broadcast and DTV digital signage 3 What are the applications for nanoFlash To upgrade the video quality of your existing camera Tapeless Workflow Proxy Recorder Digital Signage Presentations Trade Shows Theme Parks Mu
15. actFlash cards Yes Yes Ability to record across multiple CF cards Yes Yes Compact Size No Yes Power Consumption in Watts 14 to 16 7 Image Quality Master Quality Master Quality 100 160 Mbps 4 2 2 Frame Only Yes Yes 50 100 Mbps 4 2 2 Long GOP Yes Yes 1080i 1080psf 720p Formats Yes Yes 486i 576i Support 03 09 Yes Playback of Selected Clips Yes Yes Audio Level Meters Yes Yes Timecode via HD SDI Yes Yes Timecode via External Timecode Input Yes Yes Record Trigger on Incrementing Timecode Yes Yes Remote Control with Tally Light Optional Yes Yes Records Audio Embedded in HD SDI Yes Yes Professional Analog Audio via XLR I O Yes No Headphone Output Yes No Audio Output Embedded in HD SDI Output Yes Yes Number of HD SDI Outputs 2 1 ASI Support Optional Extra Cost Yes Yes Programmable Function Keys Future No 8 Channels of HD SDI Embedded Audio 03 09 Yes Internal Timecode Generation 03 09 Yes RS 422 Deck Control Future No RS 485 Control 05 09 Yes Image Flip Future Future Redundant Recording Future Future 24p Pull Down Removal Future Future Time Lapse Recording Future Future Prerecord Buffer Future Future Metadata Support Future Future Full Uncompressed 10 Bit Future No Availability Now May 09 3 6 2009 Convergent Design Inc Page 21 of 21
16. anoFlash from power on Approximately 5 seconds How are field updates performed New firmware can be downloaded from our website unzipped and written to a Compact Flash card The card can be inserted into nanoFlash and the firmware via a message prompt Do need to update my box with all the previous versions of the firmware to get all the latest updates can I jump from vr 1 05 directly to vr 1 30 You do not need to update the box with the older firmware versions the latest firmware automatically includes all of the updates Will be notified of firmware updates If you register your unit after purchase send a e mail to support convergent design com then you will automatically receive an e mail when new firmware is posted to our website 3 6 2009 Convergent Design Inc Page 19 of 21 NanoFlash FAQ s 111 What s included in the shipping package The nanoFlash an 110 220V universal power supply USB CompactFlash card reader and the Quickstart Guide are included 112 How long is the warranty 24 Months limited warranty 3 6 2009 Convergent Design Inc Page 20 of 21 NanoFlash FAQ s 113 What s the difference between the nanoFlash and the Flash XDR Item or Feature Flash XDR nanoFlash HD SD SDI I O Yes Yes HDMI I O No Yes Number of CompactFlash card slots 4 2 Ability to use low cost Comp
17. d record at 25 24 fps Yes this capability will also be included after 720p29 97 25 23 98 support is finished 19 Can nanoFlash support 2K formats No unfortunately this is not possible 20 Can nanoFlash flip the image from the Red Rock Micro P S Technik or other 35 mm adapters In a future release a menu option will be provided to flip the frame to accommodate many 35mm lens adapters The HD SDI monitor output will show the corrected image but delayed two frames 2 _ Does nanoFlash have a genlock input No not in the traditional sense When recording you need to genlock the cameras Since nanoFlash locks to the incoming HD SD SDI source it will also be genlocked automatically During playback multiple nanoFlashes can be genlocked via a master HD SDI distribution amp 22 have two or more cameras can synchronize the capture on a frame by frame basis for 3 D for example Yes if all video sources are frame synchronized using a blackburst generator to each camera then all the video captures to each nanoFlash box will be synchronized If the various Cameras are not frame synchronized then the captures will be accurate to 1 frame 23 Does nanoFlash have a pre record buffer In a future release the nanoFlash will allow for a pre record buffer of approximately 8 seconds 24 Can I record continuously overwriting the oldest footage Given the low cost of the Compact Flash media and the ability in a future r
18. elease to hot swap the media overwriting the oldest footage is deemed unnecessary 25 How can I monitor the video nanoFlash has both HD SD SDI and HDMI outputs which are active during record loop thru as well as playback 3 6 2009 Convergent Design Inc Page 5 of 21 NanoFlash FAQ s 26 Is a color bar generator included This is planned for a future release Our plans are to automatically output a SMPTE color bar pattern if no incoming HD SDI signal is detected while the box is operating in record mode Additionally we plan a menu option to output a color bar pattern through the HD SDI outputs 27 What are the audio input choices Zero two four or eight channels of audio embedded in the HD SDI HDMI stream The audio is stored in PCM uncompressed 24 bit 48 kHz format 28 How can monitor the audio Audio levels are displayed on the LCD panel 2 Channels 60 to 0 dB nanoFlash does not have analog audio out but the headphone output from your camera may be used 29 Since nanoFlash does not have analog audio how can embed the audio into the HD SD SDI stream There are a number of audio embedders available we suggest the AJA HD10AMA 30 Can the audio be delayed advanced relative to the video In a future release the audio will be adjustable by up to 4 frames relative to the video The granularity of the adjustment has not yet been determined Compact Flash 31 What is Compact Flash Compact Flash CF is
19. erformance is very similar to USB 2 0 Note nanoFlash ships with a good performance USB 2 0 reader Another recommended model is the Sandisk Extreme Firewire 800 400 CompactFlash card reader The Lexar model allows for daisy chaining of multiple card readers 45 Is Compact Flash reliable enough for professional video Compact Flash has been widely adopted by professional photographers who demand the same reliability and data integrity as professional videographers CF card manufacturers typically specify 100 000 write cycles and 10 000 card insertion removals well beyond typical expected usage The Transcend 16 GB 300x card is rated at over 1 000 000 write cycles which is higher than the rating for the Transcend 32 GB 133x card In either case there are more write cycles than one can expect to reach Each write cycle applies to individual memory cells not to the device as a whole Thus one can easily record well over 50 000 events The operating temperature range for the Transcend cards is 25 to 85 degrees C with excellent shock and vibration characteristics Transcend offers a limited lifetime warranty With an all solid state construction and mean time between failure of greater than 1 000 000 hours Transcend figures Compact Flash is arguably one of the most reliable mediums available to store your video 3 6 2009 Convergent Design Inc Page 9 of 21 NanoFlash FAQ s 46 Can the CF cards be formatted on the nanoFlash Yes b
20. four 4 CompactFlash card capable Flash XDR Does the nanoFlash require routine maintenance Exposure to extreme conditions such as a sand or dust storm may require some cleaning All connectors regardless of quality and manufacturer have a finite life The elimination of routine and expensive maintenance of cameras and tape decks is a distinct advantage of the nanoFlash Over time the elimination of these expenses can easily pay for the nanoFlash Can the nanoFlash be transferred from one camera to another Yes this is one of the best parts The nanoFlash is easily transported to another camera The nanoFlash is an investment in the long term The image quality is stunning in our tests it is visually indistinguishable from uncompressed If you upgrade to a new camera you do not lose your investment in the nanoFlash There are no mechanical parts to wear out there is no maintenance under normal circumstances and the unit is repairable if the need ever arises How does nanoFlash compare to other HD Portable recorders nanoFlash redefines portable HD Recorders in terms of weight size power and price It is also completely silent Compared to portable PC based recorders tape decks or laptop converter box the nanoFlash uses far less power produces no noise is more rugged and can be mounted on the back of a camcorder It also costs considerably less than most of these alternative solutions How long does it take to boot up n
21. g nanoFlash retains the full 1920x1080 raster and samples in 4 2 2 nanoFlash also has a slightly higher compressed data rate 51 Will nanoFlash ever support uncompressed video record playback No this requires more bandwidth than is available on two Compact Flash cards Please see the Flash XDR for this functionality 3 6 2009 Convergent Design Inc Page 10 of 21 NanoFlash FAQ s 52 What recording options and formats are supported Bit Rate Compression Audio Format Color Raster Comments Sampling 160 Mbps I Frame Only PCM 24 Bit 48K 4 2 2 1920 x 1080 Master 1280 x 720p Quality 100 Mbps I Frame Only PCM 24 Bit 48K 4 2 2 1920 x 1080 1280 x 720p 100 Mbps Long GOP PCM 24 Bit 48K 4 2 2 1920 x 1080 Master 1280 x 720p Quality 50 Mbps Long GOP PCM 24 Bit 48K 4 2 2 1920 x 1080 High 1280 x 720p Quality 35 Mbps Long GOP PCM 24 Bit 48K 4 2 0 1920 x 1080 XDCAM EX 1280 x 720p 35 Mbps Long GOP PCM 24 Bit 48K 4 2 0 1440 x 1080 XDCAM HD 1280 x 720p 18 Mbps Long GOP PCM 24 Bit 48K 4 2 0 1440 x 1080 Proxy 1280 x 720p Recording 50 Mbps Frame Only PCM 24 Bit 48K 4 2 2 720 x 486i IMX 50 50 Mbps Frame Only PCM 24 Bit 48K 4 2 2 720 x 576i IMX 50 Streaming Only Not for Recording 18 Mbps Long GOP MPEG1 Layer 2 4 2 0 1440 x 1080 ASI 1280 x 720p 53 Is the bit rate constant with varying frame size and frame rate Yes the bit rate is
22. hould be sufficient for over 2 hours of record time The battery includes a built in gas gauge The battery and charger are widely available 89 Can nanoFlash monitor the battery level nanoFlash does not have a battery gas gauge However when the battery voltage degrades to about 6 25V nanoFlash will automatically close the current clip and power down So if nanoFlash is powered from a 7 2V Li lon battery then it will power down before the battery is completely discharged 90 Does nanoFlash have an internal fan No nanoFlash utilizes substantial internal heat sinks to dissipate the heat to the aluminum case Fans were deemed too noisy and a reliability issue 91 What material is used for the cabinet Aluminum is the primary material since it is both lightweight and has excellent heat conduction characteristics 92 Does nanoFlash include a battery or any power supply nanoFlash has a 4 pin Hirose power jack for battery power or for DC power supplied from the supplied 110 220V AC power supply The nanoFlash does not include a battery 93 What is the power input requirement and the connector specification The nanoFlash consumes from 7 5 watts active 0 2 watts standby The power connector is via a locking 4 Pin Hirose connector with pins 1 and 2 for power and pins 3 and 4 for ground The corresponding power plug connector is a Hirose HR10A 7P 4S 73 available from Digikey The voltage input range is 6 5V to 20V DC nanoFlash
23. independent of the frame size 1080 or 720 and the frame rate 24 25 30 etc So the effective compression is actually lower at lower frame rates For example 1080p24 at 160 Mbps is actually twice the bit rate of DVCProHD or AVC I which scales the bit rate to 80 Mbps when using this format Recording and Playback 54 Can the box be set up for time lapse interval recording Yes this will be available in a future release nanoFlash has an internal clock calendar so interval recording over a wide range of time increments will be available This is accomplished by recording the desired frames using I Frame Only option Long GOP is not suitable for time lapse recording 55 What are the record trigger start stop options Record start stop can be triggered by one of 4 selectable events 1 None nanoFlash setup for playback only 2 Incrementing time code Typically requires Record Run timecode 3 Record Start Stop button on the nanoFlash box 4 External Remote Control switch 3 6 2009 Convergent Design Inc Page 11 of 21 NanoFlash FAQ s 56 Can I trigger multiple nanoFlash units to start recording simultaneously Yes the simplest approach is to connect the remote start stop triggers from all cameras together to one master start stop switch Also the tally lights from all boxes can be wired together to a master tally light which is only active if all nanoFlashes are recording Finally if all cameras are genlocked
24. led rewound played fast forwarded the more likely a dropout is to occur Secondly repositioning the tape after playback must be done precisely If done incorrectly existing footage could be overwritten But with the tapeless workflow in the nanoFlash the last clip may be played back instantly at the press of one button Then even while playing back a clip the unit is ready to record instantly and no existing footage will be overwritten Even more important is the elimination of the capture process Capturing takes place in real time with the camera or tape deck playing the footage while the computer captures the digital data With a tapeless workflow the nanoFlash creates individual clips for each take or recording These individual clips can be copied in bulk faster than real time to your computer system In addition you can choose to only transfer the good takes if preferred without spending any time repositioning the tape If you have a fast CompactFlash card reader such as the Lexar Firewire 800 unit then you can actually play or edit the clips directly from the CompactFlash Card Also these readers can be daisy chained together so you can start a process to transfer up to four CompactFlash cards without further attention However unless one is really pressed for time we recommend copying the clips to your computer s hard drive first prior to editing Other advantages of a tapeless workflow a No tape d
25. ll remaining capacity of each card is displayed on the LCD 0 to 100 as well as the total number of minutes available across all cards 39 What are typical read write speeds for Compact Flash cards The read write speeds of CF is based on the old Compact Disk standard of 1X 150 KB s So a 133X CF card is rated at 133 x 150 KB s 20 MB s or 160 Mb s Below are some example read write performance measurements for CF cards tested and recommended for nanoFlash Manufacturer Write Speed Read Speed Max Allowed Bit Rate Transcend 133X 32GB 180 Mbps 360 Mbps 100 Mbps Transcend 300X 16GB 400 Mbps 410 Mbps 160 Mbps SanDisk Extreme III 32GB 216 Mbps 264 Mbps 160 Mbps Note Due to overhead considerations such as opening and closing files and updating the directory and FAT32 table the maximum allowable bit rate must always fall below the theoretical write read speed of a given Compact Flash card Note also that the read speed is generally much faster than the write speed 3 6 2009 Convergent Design Inc Page 7 of 21 NanoFlash FAQ s Please note that Transcend rates their cards based on the typically slower write speeds while other brands rate their cards on the typically faster read speeds For example a Transcend 133x card is a 300x read speed card with a 133x write speed Most other brands would rate this card as a 300x card For a comprehensive review of Compact Flash cards and readers please go t
26. ng 1920 1440 or 1920 1280 3 6 2009 Convergent Design Inc Page 2 of 21 NanoFlash FAQ s The Solution nanoFlash High Bit Rate Full Raster 4 2 2 The nanoFlash overcomes these quality robbing restrictions in your camera You connect to the HD SD SDI or HDMI camera output in live mode to send never compressed video directly from the CCD CMOS sensor to the high quality CODEC and then to the high speed digital storage CompactFlash cards in the nanoFlash Since nanoFlash records on CompactFlash solid state memory as opposed to tape optical disk or SDHC cards the bit rate can be substantially increased over your built in recorder Data rates up to and including 100 Mbps are easily achievable on low cost 133X 32GB US 90 cards while rates over 100 Mbps are possible on higher cost cards 233X 32GB US 205 nanoFlash features a sophisticated high quality Sony MPEG2 CODEC with data rates up to 100 Mbps in Long GOP mode I P B Frames and up to 160Mbps in I Frame only mode The CODEC compresses the video without reducing the color sampling full 4 2 2 and without sub sampling the horizontal data full 1920 So what does full raster 1920 full color 4 2 2 high bit rate 160 Mbps compression produce Well in our tests as well as independent tests the results are clear images that are visually indistinguishable from the uncompressed HD SDI HDMI images directly out of your camera So nanoFlash can vastl
27. o http www hjreqgel net cardspeed index html How fast can I transfer the files to my local hard drive For 50 100 Mbps recordings the files will transfer approximately 6 or 3 times faster than real time this depends on the bit rate of the recording One Hour recording can be transferred in 10 or 20 minutes The above assumes that a Lexar Firewire 800 card reader is used with the Transcend 133x card or the Transcend 300x card The read speeds for both of these CompactFlash cards is approximately 300X The transfer times will be longer when using a USB 2 0 card reader Please note that this is highly dependent on your computer system The most significant factor is the use of a fast disk drive system SATA II disk drives typically provide great performance while USB and Firewire attached external disk drives provide a lower level of performance RAID systems can be fast or slow depending on how they are implemented You should also consider the use of the portable Nexto drive for backup and offloading of the CF cards See question 77 for more information 40 How fast to import clips into an NLE Almost instantaneously since nanoFlash supports the native QT and MXF files used by most NLEs you can play edit the footage directly off the CF card without transcode or re wrap of the data 41 What is the cost of the CompactFlash media The cost of CompactFlash media varies daily At the time of this writing the cost are Tran
28. oth CompactFlash cards can be formatted simultaneously The formatting process takes under 10 seconds for two 32 GB cards Be certain to remove all cards with footage before formatting any cards as the formatting process formats both cards MPEG2 Compression 47 Why was MPEG2 chosen MPEGz2 is a very well proven widely accepted format that offers many advantages in a portable HD SD recorder player such as nanoFlash Advantages include Very wide range of supported bit rates 18 Mbps to 160 Mbps Sophisticated compression I Frame Only as well as Long GOP recording Master Quality Full raster 4 2 2 100 Mbps Long GOP or 160 Mbps I Frame Only Proxy recording at 1440x1080 4 2 0 18 Mbps Long GOP Near universal native NLE support FCP Avid Edius Vegas Premiere pending No need to transcode or translate files plays directly off the CF card Comprehensive HD and SD format support Low power and small size hardware implantation Sony CODEC module Ta 2Q0Tp 48 Does nanoFlash support DV DVCProHD DNxHD Cineform or ProRes 422 No nanoFlash only supports MPEG2 compression 49 Can I transcode to ProRes 422 DNxHD or another CODEC Yes the transcode can either be performed in software or by placing nanoFlash in playback and capturing via an HD SDI HDMI input on your NLE 50 Does nanoFlash actually record at higher quality levels than HDCAM Yes HDCAM resizes 1080i p video from 1920x1080 1440x1080 and then applies 3 1 1 color samplin
29. ropouts b No cleaning of the tape heads and tape path c CompactFlash cards are reusable thousands of times dramatically reducing media costs No maintenance of the tape mechanism No expensive tape deck is necessary No rewinding or positioning a tape to find a clip Each clip has a name timestamp and metadata information making it easy to document and find a clip Long Form recordings are easily achievable as a recording can go from one CompactFlash card to another seamlessly gt armeo 3 6 2009 Convergent Design Inc Page 14 of 21 NanoFlash FAQ s 72 Can instantaneously import the the video to my NLE for editing Yes Using a USB 2 0 or FireWire 800 reader you can import the video files directly to your NLE See Compact Flash section for more details 73 Do the nanoFlash clips work natively in FCP Avid Edius Vegas or Premiere Yes nanoFlash supports Apple Quicktime and MXF file formats We currently have support in Apple Final Cut Pro Avid Media Composer Edius Sony Vegas and in the future Adobe Premiere 74 Can I play back footage that was created in my NLE This capability is planned for a 3 Quarter 2009 release 75 Can I see some sample footage Please see our website for sample footage and image comparisons www convergent design com 76 What about metadata nanoFlash will support metadata in a future release The complete list is still under development but information such as time of day location shoot
30. scend 32 GB 133x approx US 90 Transcend 16 GB 300x approx US 165 SanDisk Extreme III 32GB approx US 210 3 6 2009 Convergent Design Inc Page 8 of 21 NanoFlash FAQ s 42 What is the recording time The recording capacity depends on the bit rate and the memory size of the card as shown in the chart below Recording Time Minutes Compact Flash Size 720p50 1080i159 94 1080p23 98 50 Mbps 100 Mbps 160 Mbps One 32 GB Card 70 35 20 64 GB 2 32GB Cards 140 70 40 128 GB 2 64GB Cards 280 140 80 43 Do you use FAT32 file structure Yes FAT32 allows the CompactFlash media to be easily used on both the Apple Macintosh and PC With FAT32 the maximum file size for an individual file clip is limited to around 4 GB This would normally be a problem but the nanoFlash seamlessly closes one file and starts another even if the next file is on another CompactFlash card A recording is not limited to the length of one clip One can record continuously until all of the cards are full When editing the individual clips can be easily put adjacent to each other on the timeline The limited size of each clip is also desirable if one wishes to archive the clips on DVD s or other media that is limited in size 44 What is your recommended CompactFlash card reader Lexar UDMA Firewire 800 approx US 60 The FireWire 800 reader can also operate at the older Firewire 400 1394a rate The FireWire 400 read p
31. seums Feature Production Review Helicopters Race Cars Airplanes Jets etc Portable HD SD recorder for switcher output POV camera recorder Video Assist Review of Footage on any HDMI HDTV or HD SDI or HDMI Monitor ASI Encode Decode AT Tae oQAOTD 4 Will nanoFlash work with my camera lf your camera has an HD SD SDI or HDMI output with a compatible format then the answer is yes Some popular cameras include a Sony PMW EX1 PMW EX3 V1U F900 F923 XDCAM HD b Canon XL H1s G1 HV20 HV30 c Iconix HR 1 d Hitachi HV HD30 DK H32 e Ikegami HDL 2 f JVC GY HD250 GY HD251 GY HD200UB g Panasonic HPX170 HPX500 GP US932 3 6 2009 Convergent Design Inc Page 1 of 21 NanoFlash FAQ s h Toshiba IK HR1S i Thomson Viper 5 Will nanoFlash improve the image quality of my existing camera Three major components largely determine the ultimate video quality from your camera the lens the CCD CMOS sensor and the built in recorder Some cameras do offer interchangeable lenses so you may have the option to upgrade over the standard issue The CCD CMOS sensor is fixed on all cameras and cannot be modified However all HD SDI and HDMI cameras allow users to upgrade the recording subsystem which can yield significant improvement at reasonable costs It s really quite simple but let s first discuss the problem with your built in recorder Your camera s recording subsystem has two major components the CODEC and the
32. y improve on the weakest link in the quality chain your camera s built in recorder Can you explain the usage in Digital Signage Presentations nanoFlash offers three distinct operating modes for digital signage presentations a Multi Channel Multi Display using the optional ASI to Consumer Display b Single Channel Multi Display using HDMI to Consumer Display c Single Channel Multi Display using HD SD SDI to Professional Display Multi Channel Multi Display Using ASI nanoFlash can be ordered with optional ASI encoding capability ASI streams compressed MPEG2 video and audio over an SDI transport The ASI output from nanoFlash can be directly connected to a QAM modulator from Blonder Tongue or RL Drake for example and output to a standard DTV channel Then using an RF amp and distribution network this signal can be combined with multiple channels and fed over a standard RF coax to one or more consumer DTV HD displays via the F connector All displays now have built in RF demodulators and MPEG2 decoders so no extra hardware is required A very cost effective multiple channel multiple display digital signage application can be assembled using one or more nanoFlash units with ASI connected to QAM modulators up converters Single Channel Multi Display Using HDMI nanoFlash can be directly connected to virtually any consumer HD display via HDMI Multiple displays can be driven using a HDMI distribution amp This topology can be
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