mark@bruce.cs.monash.OZ.AU (Mark Goodwin) (11/15/90)
Anyone know anything about video recorders which can record single frames? I have checked the domestic market, the high-end models have a digital frame buffer for single stepping on playback only (not record). Ideally, we want a recorder which accepts RGB and can be stepped under software control. I suppose the RGB source and the recorder will require common sync (genlock?). This is for animation and Sci. Vis. work. I'll summarize if I get any replies ... Mark Goodwin Senior Programmer, Monash Uni. Comp. Sci. A U S T R A L I A.
jim@baroque.Stanford.EDU (James Helman) (11/15/90)
I've heard that some of the lower end single frame recorders lack mechanical durability. Single frame recording should be quite hard on transport mechanisms: rewind past insertion point, preroll for 5-8 seconds to achieve sync and speed, lay down frame, stop, and repeat the sequence 27,000 times for 15 minutes of video!!! I'd be interested in hearing from if anyone who has experience, positive or negative, with low end deck reliability. Thanks, Jim Helman Department of Applied Physics Durand 012 Stanford University FAX: (415) 725-3377 (jim@KAOS.stanford.edu) Work: (415) 723-9127
mo@messy.bellcore.com (Michael O'Dell) (11/15/90)
I remember seeing an advert some time ago for Sony's Digital Animation Recorder. They showed it connected to a camera on an animation stand for traditional animation, but they also said in the ad that it was computer controllable for scientific data gathering, etc. You might talk to a Sony Professional representative. Hope this helps. -Mike
mo@messy.bellcore.com (Michael O'Dell) (11/15/90)
I think I butchered the name at this early hour - Sony's Video Animation Recorder, or some such. (but not "digital")
cook@sgi.com (Doug Cook) (11/16/90)
In article <JIM.90Nov14215919@baroque.Stanford.EDU> jim@baroque.Stanford.EDU (James Helman) writes: > >I've heard that some of the lower end single frame recorders lack >mechanical durability. Single frame recording should be quite hard on >transport mechanisms: rewind past insertion point, preroll for 5-8 >seconds to achieve sync and speed, lay down frame, stop, and repeat >the sequence 27,000 times for 15 minutes of video!!! This is true. One of the common things people do is use a video board with multiple frame buffers, or several synchronized boards, so that several frames may be laid down at once. This saves wear-and-tear on the video deck. -Doug Doug Cook |"Like a breakfast at the egg-house, Video Group, Advanced Systems Division | a waffle on the griddle, Silicon Graphics, Inc. | I'm burnt around the edges, Mountain View, CA | but I'm tender in the middle." | -Adrian Belew
kenb@amc-gw.amc.com (Ken Birdwell) (11/16/90)
Has anyone out there heard of the NEC PC VCR? I just heard about it today and called NEC (708-860-0335). They said that you could use it in conjunction with your computer to display any frame on your video tape. "what kind of controller does it need?" I asked. "It uses RS232" they said. When I asked if you could do single frame recording, the person immediately responded with a "YES, it sure can." When I asked the price they said "$2100" What, can this be true? A single frame VCR for under $5000. If you've used one, Im very interested in talking with you. Is it's quality high? Is it just a fancy event-recorder (BW, low quality) or is it usable for animation? What kind of software is needed? Im just dying to find out. --
tom@alias.UUCP (Tom Burns) (11/17/90)
In article <3361@bruce.cs.monash.OZ.AU> mark@bruce.cs.monash.OZ.AU (Mark Goodwin) writes: > >Anyone know anything about video recorders which can record single frames? > [...] >Ideally, we want a recorder which accepts RGB and can be stepped >under software control. Except for the old IVC-9000, long obsolete, no tape recorder will accept direct RGB analog component signals. For high quality single-frame work, I use a Betacam BVW-75 editing recorder which accepts Y, R-Y, B-Y (another type of three component video signal). I use a transcoder to convert RGB to Y, R-Y, B-Y. The "Y" is for luminance, the other signals are algebraic color difference signals similar to the "I" and "Q" of NTSC or the "U" and "V" of PAL composite video. This is expensive, though. US$ 50K for the Betacam, US$ 5K for the xcoder, another US$ 5K for a dedicated animation controller to step the VTR through the series of single frame insert edits required for animation recording... What you might consider is a recordable videodisk unit from SONY, the LVR-5000, which records RGB directly in 525- (NTSC) or 625- (PAL) line format. It is stepped though an ASCII command to an RS-232 port on the unit. Price is about US$ 18K for the unit, I don't know about the disks. Cheaper systems are available with lesser quality. -- Tom Burns, aka "The Video Guy" at: | "Ebben ne'andro lontana" - La Wally Alias Research Inc. (416) 362-9181 | 110 Richmond St E, Toronto M5C 1P1 | DOMAIN: tom%alias@csri.toronto.edu
dave@imax.com (Dave Martindale) (11/18/90)
In article <1990Nov16.211405.12123@alias.uucp> tom@alias.UUCP (Tom Burns) writes: > >What you might consider is a recordable videodisk unit from SONY, the >LVR-5000, which records RGB directly in 525- (NTSC) or 625- (PAL) line >format. It is stepped though an ASCII command to an RS-232 port on the unit. It doesn't actually record RGB; it records YUV (Y, R-Y, B-Y). The two colour components have 1/4 the bandwidth of Y, so it isn't as good as D-1 digital, but ought to be better than 3/4 inch and smaller VTR's. It has RGB inputs, so must contain an internal transcoder. I believe it also has NTSC input and output. Now a question: why does anyone use a VTR for inexpensive single-frame animation when videodisc recorders are available? A VTR requires an external single-frame controller to provide frame-accurate recording; the videodisc unit does not. The VTR requires time to shuttle back and forth, taking time and causing wear; the videodisc doesn't incur excess wear and can record frames as fast as you can supply them. In addition, with this Sony unit, it seems that you don't need an external sync generator and NTSC encoder, since it will accept RGB input and provide NTSC output. This makes up for most of the price difference between the Sony unit and the cheaper Panasonic.
mjh@zurich.ai.mit.edu (Mark Hood) (11/19/90)
I just picked up this topic, so I don't know if this has been mentioned, but there is an excellent article on page 353 of the July/Aug 1990 issue of Computers in Physics describing a low-cost (under $15K) Macintosh-based single-frame animation system. It consists of an 8MB Mac IIfx, a 4MB TruVision Vista card, a Diaquest animation controller, a TruVision VIDI/O encoder video, a JVC BRS-811U insert edit VTR, and a Sony PVM 2030B monitor. The Diaquest animation controller is described as the cornerstone of the system. -- Mark Hood mjh@zurich.ai.mit.edu
mark@bruce.cs.monash.OZ.AU (Mark Goodwin) (11/20/90)
> In article tom@alias.UUCP (Tom Burns) writes: > >What you might consider is a recordable videodisk unit from SONY, the >LVR-5000, which records RGB directly in 525- (NTSC) or 625- (PAL) line >format. It is stepped though an ASCII command to an RS-232 port on the unit. Recordable video-disks appear to be more practical than conventional analogue/tape recorders, especially with the advantages of random access, digital recording and mechanical durability. Are the recordable video-disks WORM drives (or can they be re-recorded)? Disk capacity? Playback speed? Any other details? Mark Goodwin Senior Programmer Monash Uni. Comp. Sci. A U S T R A L I A.
bruce@balilly.UUCP (Bruce Lilly) (11/22/90)
In article <1990Nov16.211405.12123@alias.uucp> tom@alias.UUCP (Tom Burns) writes: >In article <3361@bruce.cs.monash.OZ.AU> mark@bruce.cs.monash.OZ.AU (Mark Goodwin) writes: >> >>Anyone know anything about video recorders which can record single frames? >> [...] >>Ideally, we want a recorder which accepts RGB and can be stepped >>under software control. > >Except for the old IVC-9000, long obsolete, no tape recorder will >accept direct RGB analog component signals. Wrong! The Sony DVR/DVPC-1000 is a *digital* component recorder which will accept serial or parallel digital component video (per CCIR 601), analog RGB or Y/R-Y/B-Y signals, and has a set of Betacam(tm)-style multi-pin connectors for I/O. In addition to the digital video, 4 channels of independently-editable digital audio (16-20 bits/sample, 48 kHz sampling rate) are recorded on tape (D-1 format). Oh yes, by the way, the DVR/DVPC-1000 can record a single frame. In fact any duration from 2 fields (one frame) to 94 minutes, in on field increments, can be recorded. The machine has a feature which permits assembling an animation sequence by entering the inital frame's time code, and a duration; every time an edit command is given, an additonal bit of audio and/or video is tacked on to the end of the previosly recorded sequence. The edit command can be givem manually, via a contact closure, via RS-232-C, or via RS-422. The DVR/DVPC-1000 was shown in Sony's booth at SIGGRAPH. -- Bruce Lilly blilly!balilly!bruce@sonyd1.Broadcast.Sony.COM