MOTU announced their new all in one V3hd Firewire Input/Output interface for video and audio today, and at first glance it looks very impressive! This realtime hardware device offers a staggering number of input and output options on the box, which also connects to your editing workstation via a single firewire cable. All functions can be controlled via software on a PC or Mac (FCP and Premiere Pro support) and also via a multi-use rotary knob on the front of the unit. In fact, the V3HD can be used completely as a standalone converter box with no computer connection required. That same control knob can be used to tweak volume monitoring AND output levels if necessary. There is a physical timecode display on the unit, and programmable metering. The software offers control via a intuitive graphical display showing the HD and SD signal path. Click the thumbnails to see all the input/output ports and options in detail, as well as a software screenshot.

The Motu V3HD can ingest any source and send it to the workstation over firewire in Uncompressed SD or DVCPRO, DVCPRO 50 and DVCPRO HD. Uncompressed HD is not an option, unfortunately, as it simply won’t fit over firewire. The V3HD preserves timecode on capture, so timecode-accurate HDMI or HDV captures could be transcoded to DVCPRO HD on the fly. The unit offers a host of monitoring options, basically anything you can think of. Monitor via HDMI, HD-SDI, Component, etc. Or all at once…

Meet the new hub for your video production studio. With one simple plug-and-play FireWire connection, the V3HD turns your Mac or PC desktop or laptop computer into a powerful HD/SD video production workstation equipped with all the video and audio I/O you need.Connect all your gear, from SD camcorders and CRT monitors to today’s latest professional HD cameras, video decks, LCD reference monitors and plasmas — all at the same time, with no cable swapping. Choose your input source, then log and capture HD and SD clips directly into Final Cut or Premiere, converted on the fly and ready for fast, CPU-efficient editing in pristine native DVCPro HD quality, without the costly overhead required for uncompressed HD. Monitor simultaneously in HD and SD with real-time SD-to-HD up-convert, HD-to-SD down-convert and real-time pull-down insertion or removal.

As you edit, watch your creation take shape in a variety of display formats simultaneously, from the pixel-for-pixel accuracy of a large plasma screen, to the color-corrected balance of an LCD reference monitor, to the real-world look of a consumer display. Use 32 channels of audio to capture, monitor, mix and master multichannel surround sound for your productions at sample rates up to 192kHz. Use time code, machine control, video reference and word clock to keep everything frame-accurate.

From start to finish, the V3HD streamlines your video production workflow, with unified control over all your video gear from your computer desktop.

At first glance, the Motu V3HD doesn’t seem to have a clear direct competitor. This device offers so many I/O options that it seems to stand alone in this regard. The nearest device that I would compare it to is the AJA IO/HD. One main difference would be that the I/O HD can push ProRes 422 across the firewire connection while the Motu uses DVCPRO HD as it’s HD codec. And of course the AJA I/O HD is already shipping. (I/O HD is not shipping until sometime later this summer. Apologies for the error. -MJ) Motu informed me that they are looking into the possibility of a ProRes codec addition, and the V3HD does include a USB port for firmware updates. Expect the product to be available sometime in Q3 2007, pricing info has not yet been released.