Small on-board HD recorder

[Jason Ellson]

Hi, can anyone please recommend an on-board recorder option? I have a PRO rig, HD. Requirements: lightweight, compact and all that stuff.

Thanks

Jason

[Victor Lazaro]

Transvideo StarliteHD seems to be the best bet right now. It records small files in 720p which is more than enough for demo reels without taking too much disk space. There are also the Atomos Samurai Blade is higher recording quality but much bulkier (Media Blackout makes a bracket to install it instead of a battery on your sled. I personally have a BlackMagic Design Hyperdeck Shuttle 2, that I modified to attach to an anton bauer plate on my sled, it was the cheapest option but does have some caveats.

[chris fawcett]

I agree with Victor. The Starlite does the job nicely.

 

Chris

[brett.mayfield]

i like the nanoflash by convergent design. no monitor, but very small and light with a few mounting threads and easy with velcro. they are discontinued but usually available. in fact ive got an extra that id consider selling. they record to CF with a variety of codecs, etc. also converts SDI/HDMI.

 

brett.

[Frederic Chamberland]

I just got the Blackmagic Video assist. Nice little device. simple to use and light enough. Saves the shots on SD cards. Add some power cables or canon batteries and you are ready to go.

[Christopher Moone]

I'm guessing the Blackmagic has an SDI trigger? For under $500 it seems like a bargain. The Atmos Blade is the same price, do who have tried both have a preference? $500 to the Transvideo's $2k is not insubstantial.

 

I just got the Blackmagic Video assist. Nice little device. simple to use and light enough. Saves the shots on SD cards. Add some power cables or canon batteries and you are ready to go.

[Christopher Moone]

And to Victor, what are the caveats you refer to?

[Victor Lazaro]

for the Hyperdeck Shuttle, the issues are:

- The SDI connections are not BNC but DIN 1.0/2.3 connector which are a pain and tend to break or get desoldered from the motherboard. It requires an adaptor cable for the in and out, get a right angle DIN or your port will be destroyed in minutes.

- Power is a barrel connector.

- You cannot delete clips or format your SSD or dial in your recorder's settings in the device, you need to do that on a computer.

- Recording is Prores 10 bit 422 only, no LT or any other lighter format, resulting in really big files to manage (not ideal when it is only for personal archival and demo reel purpose)

- The SDI trigger works with Red and some Sony camera, not sure with Canon, and will NOT work with the ARRI cameras. You will need to manually press the red button to start/stop it.

- there is no on screen display, it either live view or playback with no ID of the clip number or anything. You can get lost in which taker you are playing back.

- there is no screen on the device (that doesn't bother me personally)

- there are no mounting points. The cheese plate that they are selling is twice heavier as the recorder itself and renders the whole damn thing useless.

- there is a DISP button on the machine that does absolutely nothing. It was meant for an update that never came.

- make sure you have the right kind of SSD, some are not compatible and will not record properly.

[Matthias Biber]

Hi guys,

 

when you find the right recorder, I have a nice mounting bracket that fits many recorders.

It works also to mount a small return monitor below the main monitor for PGM on live shows.

 

 

 

http://cam-jam.de/recordermount.html

 

 

Personally, I like the Transvideo Starlite. Unfortunately it has no Video output connector. Only loop through.

 

https://vimeo.com/152759144

 

 

 

[Alec Jarnagin SOC]

Matthias,

 

Nicely done! I was testing the new Anton Bauer Cine 90s awhile back, requiring me to take the "recorder mount" off my sled (so the top back battery would fit) and was thinking I'd need to design a bracket like yours! Great. (On a side note, I hate the size of the Cine 90s so I won't be going that direction).

[Collin Thrash]

I can second the Video Assist from Blackmagic. It's built tough and the ability to input up to a 4k signal is a plus. I use it primarily as a return monitor for studio and live sports work, but I record the return feed to the SD card for using in demo reels, etc.

 

There is also the Atomos Ninja Star, but that only has HDMI inputs and records to CFast cards. With batteries, it's about 4 ounces lighter than the Video Assist (8 vs 12oz) but it also doesn't have a screen to check the signal, just LED indicators.

 

I do live close by the SmallHD offices in North Carolina, and a friend there said be on the lookout for a recorder-monitor to compete with the Video Assist (hopefully arriving at NAB 2016)

Edited January 26, 2016 by Collin Thrash

[Alan Rencher]

The Intersex Plate and Monster Hands also work very well with the Blackmagic Video Assist.

 

http://mediablackout.net/collections/intersex-plate-kit

[Alan Rencher]

Just a note, these photos are of Alan Kelly's sled, and they were also taken by him.