Sony has announced a free software update for Sony V1U camcorder users.

“New functionality includes support for the progressive scan modes (24A and 30 modes on the V1U/V1J/V1N camcorders, and 25 mode on the V1E/V1P/V1C camcorders) on the Sony HVR-V1 series HDV camcorders, and a built-in import module for the HVR-DR60 Hard Disk Recording Unit. With the 7.0c update, Vegas will properly handle the V1 series progressive scan modes automatically, without manual intervention. Users can also manually remove pulldown from native or downconverted 24p DV files.”

And in somewhat related news, Steve Mullen has posted Part 2 of his HDV@Work article series on Smart GOP Splicing for HDV.

This is just a quick reminder that the entry window for MotionZoneHD’s Nov-Dec “Move It” contest will close at the end of this month. There is still time for entries, so if you have been putting it off like I was, send ‘em on in!

As we previously mentioned, the 1st Place winner will receive a Kessler KC-8 Crane and the 2nd Place entry gets Barry Green’s HVX-200 book.

So I recently found one of the best gadgets to add to my lighting kit. While some lights like my JTL have built in dimmers most PRO light kits do not and require the use of ND gels, diffusion cloth, a focusable fresnel, or physically moving the light to control the light output. The other option is an external dimmer pack which typically runs about$90-$150/ each. Standard household dimmers are ineffective for pro applications in that they were never designed to handle 500-1000Watt lights. They way the cycle the current also can create interference with mics and audio gear. Enter the Harbor Freight Router Speed control.
A small compact switch with 15Amp fuse protection and variable speed control. These things work like a charm and are capable of handling up to about a 1500W light, the switch will let you select full on, off, or variable where you dial in the amount of light you want specifically. Recently I was on a shoot where a practical light had been on in the background and at the right levels in my wider shots but I found when I moved in closer it was over-exposed, however because of continuity reasons I couldn’t just eliminate it. With my dimmer I could have just ran the practical lamp through the dimmer and brought it down to the correct levels. Anyone who routinely uses lighting should have a couple of these in there kit. The total cost of this handy unit is $12.49, and while there may be applications and uses for the more expensive dimmer packs, for most light kits this should work fine. I immediately bought 4 and will probably pick up a few more to keep in my kit.

GET THEM HERE

Over at kenstone.net, Dan Brockett has shared a extremely informative article on shooting a network television pilot using the Panasonic HVX 200 camcorder. The white paper is LONG and DETAILED, chock-full of real-world this-is-how-you-do-it type knowledge. The sort of information that Mike Curtis would to classify as “look at this here scar”. The Good Stuff, from people that know. Well worth the read.

35mm camcorder lens adapters are a strange breed. Part science, part art, they allow a shooter to utilize SLR still image and high-end 35mm cinema lenses on a video camera. DVXuser has an active DIY community that continually churns out home-built adapters, and a few of the more successful creations have launched companies. One of the reasons the DIY community is so active in this genre is price…commercially available adapter kits tend to be priced just north of $1000, and then you have to go lens shopping. But I personally believe that a major reason for the custom DIY creations is the “art” aspect. Each design offers unique tradeoffs, each has it’s own image signature. But I digress…

So, while PS+Technik was the company that brought the first commercial 35mm lens adapter to market, Redrock Micro is probably the most recognizable name in that genre. They have a very popular and successful product in the M2 adapter. Another company that has been making waves of late is Cinevate. The Cinevate Brevis adapter has been under a lot of active development for quite some time now, and they have recently launched several new improvements and accessories for the unit.

Thankfully, the guys over at Gear-Brain took both adapters for a ride on the Panasonic HVX-200, and you can take a gander at the comparative results for yourself (if you are so inclined). Initially, the tests seem to confirm that the Brevis has edge over the M2 on low-light performance (fairly significant loss of light is one of the tradeoffs of all 35mm adapter designs). But the article has a pretty extensive list of pros and cons for both products, and in the end it’s clear that each design offers unique features and unique tradeoffs. Suprise, suprise. There is no magic bullet. So if you are in the market, take a look at Gear-Brain’s comparison and pick your bullet of choice.

Cinematech’s Scott Kirsner was recently a guest of NPR’s “Talk of the Nation“. The topic was the community video-sharing site Youtube. You can stream the entire audio segment online.

“Web sites like YouTube turned any wanna-be director with a video camera and an internet connection into a full-fledged broadcaster and has left most of main stream media struggling to keep up. But author Scott Kirsner argues in his op-ed in Sunday’s San Jose Mercury News that the online video pendulum is swinging from quirky home videos back to professional grade quality.”

Along the same lines, Kirsner’s new book `The Future of Web Video‘ is now available in paperback. As I previously mentioned, it’s a brilliant read and I highly recommend it.

Former Panasonic executive Tore Nordahl is at it again. His latest edition of coax.tv, entitled “Will Panasonic’s AVC-Intra/P2 and Grass Valley’s JPEG2000/CF push out MPEG-2 in 2007?” suggests that MPEG-2 and more specifically HDV as an acquisition format will very soon be going the way of the buffalo.

“…HDV by definition is a temporary format in my opinion, particularly now that non-linear storage AVCHD consumer camcorders are shipping. And with flashRAM taking over as removable storage, there is little need to limit professional compressed bitrate to 25Mbps. HDV camcorders started shipping in 2004. In my opinion, HDV camcorder sales will drop significantly in the second half of 2007, and drop sharply in 2008. That is only a short 5-year life-span: 2004 -2008.”

We previously covered Nordahl’s AVC-HD soliloquy back in August. He’s now touting that those predictions are right on schedule, and that there will be affordable alternatives to long-GOP compression as early as 2007.

“You’ll have a choice, and there may not be a need to settle for MPEG-2 long GOP. Early in 2007 you’ll have the less than $30,000 fully professional HD camcorders choices from Panasonic (AVC-Intra) and Grass Valley (JPEG2000). Later in 2007, I predict that you’ll see less than $10,000 AVC-Intra HD camcorders from Panasonic as well as AVC/JPEG2000 models from other suppliers.”

He goes on to state that Panasonic will offer two pro intra-frame HD compression modes in their new HD camcorders in 2007 (AVC-Intra-50 and AVC-Intra-100), that Sony will announce a competing intra-frame CODEC capable HD camcorder by NAB 2007.

Steve Mullen begins exploring Smart GOP Splicing, in Part 1 of his HDV@Work series on the topic. Look for Part 2 on December 18th.

Hey everyone if you are like me (and I know I am), its time to check out some new footage from Red One.

Those of you who have been wanting to see exactly what Red One was capable of but either didn’t want to sit through a massive torrent download, or whose system performance just couldn’t push a measly 4K image, you’re in luck. Jarred Land at DVXuser.com has downconverted and hosted a 1080P clip of some Redcode footage, our first chance to look at some Redcode first hand, and it is impressive. So why are you still reading? Go check it out!!! The original torrent download is available at red.com.

Who would have thought that in a market where HD-DVD and BlueRay are struggling to get adapted and work out specs and 1080P televisions are just hitting the market hard, we would be talking of footage DOWN-CONVERTED to 1080P?

UPDATE: In somewhat-related news, Jim Jannard announced that the Red Drive will be a 320GB mini-RAID system, and priced under $1000. -MJ

After Effects gurus Chris Trish Meyer of Cybermotion have shared a fantastic free tutorial (PDF), compliments of Artbeats latest newsletter. They quickly and efficiently cover how to use Adobe After Effects to replaced a data screen, using AE’s built in motion tracker. It’s a quick tutorial at just 3 pages long, but they cover a lot. Here’s a few excerpts:

*Since we’re tracking the difference between the light bezel and
dark screen, set Channel to Luminance.

*You can usually leave Process Before Match off. If the footage is
blurry, enable it and choose Enhance; if it’s noisy or grainy, choose
Blur.

A good read. Hopefully you’ll learn as much as I did.

UPDATE: There is a larger and more extensive comparison matrix (draft version) that the author was kind enough to let us know about. This one digs a little deeper.

Techcrunch has compiled a chart that compares features of all the popular “Flickrs of Video”. Handy, if you’re into that sort of thing.

In related news, Life Goggles shares comparisons that show at a glance the disparities in video encoding quality between services. They show results from YouTube, Google Video, MetaCafe, Soapbox, Revver, Blip.tv, MyHeavy, and Vimeo. Coming soon are additional tests that will include the AOL and Myspace video services.