Atomos Integrates with FCPX and AVID
by Debra Kaufman|
Creative COW Magazine : Atomos Integrates with FCPX and AVID | ||||||
Atomos, the Melbourne, Australia-based company that creates solutions in continuous power technology and affordable digital recording to HDDs or SSDs, continues to extend its workflow-related products to many more media productions and projects. "We offer a lot of advantages to the camera man including ease of use," said CEO/co-founder Jeromy Young. "Our engineering specialty is low-power high function devices. We wanted to make a one-stop recorder where you can leave it for 10 hours. It's the entire eco-system and it's also a one-touch interface. We worked very hard to have that very simple. "I was happy with the reputation the company is getting as a complete solutions provider," he added. "We give you a Pelican case, a docking station and two batteries, and you can buy the disks from Frye's. The unit is very solid, very rugged. Everything locks into place, so you can throw it around a bit and it won't compromise the functionality of the product." At the show in Amsterdam, Atomos announced integration of its Ninja and Samurai field recorders with Apple Final Cut Pro X, with no transcoding, copying or legacy capture cards. Both the HDMI-equipped Ninja and the HD-SDI Samurai can record up to 8 hours of ProRes video onto a single HDD and also work well with SSDs. Both devices offer support for ProRes 422 HQ, ProRes 422, and ProRes 422 LT, and are priced at $995 and $1595, respectively. According to Atomos CEO Jeromy Young, "the Ninja and Samurai include all accessories required to start shooting and editing."  Ninja: a portable touchscreen HD recorder, monitor and playback device that captures video direct to Apple ProRes from any camera with an HDMI output onto removable 2 ½ inch hard disks. "Because we're recording directly to the editing codec from the center of the camera, we bypass the camera compression and give 4:2:2 10-bit quality from any camera," said Young. "So you can use a cheaper older camera and achieve better results. You can use a five year old SDI camera that still has great lenses, put the Samurai on top and for the fraction of the cost of a new camera, and get 10 to 20 times the quality of their current cameras." Atomos recorders are equipped with touchscreens, video monitors, and a "continuous-power" battery-looping system. The supplied batteries, as with all Atomos products, offer six to 10 hours of battery life. "The Ninja and Samurai were made for file-based workflows with Final Cut Pro X," explained Young. "The Ninja and Samurai produce beautiful ProRes files for fast and visually-lossless editing. It's an ideal solution for cost-conscious filmmakers who need speed and efficiency and don't want to compromise on quality."  The Samurai, a 10-Bit Field Recorder, Monitor and Playback & Playout Device In addition to Apple ProRes, the Samurai will support the Avid DNxHD production codec with instantly-accessible, 4:2:2, 10-bit resolution ready-to-edit imagery from the Samurai's HDD or SDD. Samurai is designed so that Avid DNxHD encoding, including Pulldown Removal if needed, runs at full hardware speed for transfer to an Avid Suite or shared network storage. Avid DNxHD codec will be available late 2011, priced at €99, £89 or $149 USD for any Samurai user.  Samurai with an S2H attached to it for actual use. For users who want to translate between HD-SDI and HDMI, remove pulldown and generate test patterns, Atomos offers its self-powered modular converters. These pocket-sized, battery-operated Connect converters are designed to simplify video interconnections anywhere they're required. Connect S2H connects HD-SDI to HDMI; Connect H2S, translates from HD-SDI to HDI. They both remove reverse-telecine when necessary and include test pattern and audio tone generation.  Connect S2H connects HD-SDI to HDMI  Connect H2S translates from HD-SDI to HDI Young said he was pleasantly surprised at the strong positive reaction Atomos' products got at IBC. "We discovered that cameramen like the fact that they can record, playback and review, instantly," he said. "And because the battery life is between 5 and 10 hours, and with continuous power, they can just change the battery, they don't have to worry about taking care of the unit." "Recording to hard disk also gives them low cost recording, which they're happy about," he added. "They can use it in an affordable 2.5 inch disk. If they're concerned about vibration, they can go to a solid-state recorder like SxS, which means it can function on a motorcycle helmet or in a helicopter. At 500 GBs for $60, the cost of media recording is very affordable for long record situations like events and for small production companies." Atomos now also offers a dual battery (one internal, one external) system for its Connect converters, offering up to 32 hours continuous operation from one external battery and the ability to swap batteries on the fly. This Continuous Power is especially aimed at use in remote locations. AC power options are also available. By adding a Connect converter to, for example, a Marshall monitor, that monitor inherits Atomos' Continuous Power technology, allowing uninterrupted monitoring in the field. In the studio, up to 6 Connect converters can be rack-mounted using Atomos' rack-mount adaptor. Multiple Connects can be stacked and powered from a single battery source.  A stack of Connect Converters with batteries showing how easily you can extend the length of use time.  ¾ view of the Connect, a battery powered, in-the-field converter tool. According to Young, Connect converters are future proofed because of their "true 3G chipsets and updatable hardware." He adds, "With Connect, you'll never be without a working product, whatever happens. These really are the ultimate tools for video production and infrastructure." Connect converters will be available in late 2011 for $349 USD. Atomos also has new products planned for NAB 2012. "We have a five-inch screen on the Samurai and it's HD-SDI only," said Young. "There's more for us to do to go to the higher end. We have a lot to do in converging a monitor, recorder and playback device into one device, and keeping it simple and easy."
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