Dennis Southgate Posted May 9, 2004 Share Posted May 9, 2004 I'm looking for advice on the best "bang for the buck" downconverter to mount on my new HDW-F900. Sony, Miranda, AJA and Evertz all make them, but with huge differences in cost and convenience. I'm looking for an on camera device to convert HD to NTSC for onset monitoring using a standard monitor. Is there a standard, what are you guys using? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member David Mullen ASC Posted May 9, 2004 Premium Member Share Posted May 9, 2004 I usually use the little purple downconverter by Miranda (I think). Fits over the three analog HD BNC "out". You just need to look at them and see how large they are, how they mount, and how many "outs" they have and how many do you need for NTSC and HD monitoring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis Southgate Posted May 9, 2004 Author Share Posted May 9, 2004 Thanks David, I've gone to the Miranda site http://www.miranda.com/search.php?s=mdc-700 and had a look, this unit would fit the bill most times, but I see that the signal is not recordable? In case the client wants 'dailies" recorded, what would you recommend next. Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member David Mullen ASC Posted May 10, 2004 Premium Member Share Posted May 10, 2004 Why would the NTSC signal not be recordable? It's just a BNC cable carrying an NTSC signal, going to a monitor - and a deck if you wanted to. I've used them on Steadicams and the operator never had a problem recording the take on his little Hi-8 deck. Don't know about the wisdom of using the signal for dailies since it's just an analog NTSC signal with no time code information. For that, you'd probably need to run an HDSDI cable from the HDSDI box that attaches to the back of the F900, and this signal could go through a bigger converter box, maybe by Evertz. Then there might be an SDI out that could go into a DVCAM deck. Just a guess though. I certainly don't want to start being responsible for generating dailies tapes while on location shooting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis Southgate Posted May 10, 2004 Author Share Posted May 10, 2004 I don't know why it would not be recordable, some of the rental houses state that it's for monitoring only and this one http://www.fvesco.com/rental/video/miranda.htm states "For monitor use only; NTSC signal not recordable." The bottom line is we are trying to figure out the best (read cheapest) way to get a video signal to NTSC monitors (dolly grip etc.) and from time to time, with timecode to a record deck for dailies. After laying out a huge pile of cash for the F900 and an HD monitor, it's kind of annoying to have to come up with another 10k (Canadian) for NTSC viewing. I guess for now we'll just rent a Miranda or Evertz box when needed. Thanks for your thoughts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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