Jason Rodriguez

Hi, I've uploaded a new video tutorial outline the unique workflow attributes of working with RAW inside of Premiere Pro CS3. You can find it here: http://www.siliconimaging.com/DigitalCinema/Workflows.html Thanks, Jason

Hello, I've posted some clips from the Duke City Shootout online now in our video gallery. It's called "The Spider Experiment" and was directed by Scott and Paula Merrow. It can be downloaded at: www.siliconimaging.com/DigitalCinema/gallery_footage.html Thanks, Jason

I'm very sorry about the WM9 issue, that is completely out of our hands . . .

Hi everyone, Just wanted to announce that we have a new music video from Madina Lake and directed by Dori Oskowitz in association with Oasis Production Services called "Here I stand". It was completely shot with SI cameras, and is now playing on MTV2,. It can also be viewed online at: http://www.mtv2.com/#videoPremiere/1563998 Check it out!

Well, for right now, they don't support third-party codecs, end of story. So that means transcoding from our RAW files into a native AVID format. The good news for QT support is that your AVID should be capable of at least ingesting the footage into something like DNxHD, but after that conversion, you are going to loose access to the RAW data . . . that's just a fact of life with AVID right now.

Hi Glen, The cameras are not vaporware . . . the MINI is shipping right now, and the SI-2K will be out in limited numbers next month (i.e., the first production run is already sold). We've got a number of people shooting and demoing the cameras right now. It might not be a couple thousand people at this point, but the users are out there. A lot of people though are waiting for the SI-2K. You can call Steve Nordhauser at (518) 279-9098 or use our contact page on our website (www.si-2k.com) to order a camera. If you want a SI-2K though (not the MINI), it maybe be around late August, since again, the first production run is already sold, and it takes around 4 weeks to machine, assemble, and test a complete camera system from the start of the production run. A

Hello, On Thursday June 7th, Silicon Imaging will be at the 2007 Chicago HD Expo in booth #411, next to Fletcher Chicago. Come check out the SI-2K and the SI-2K MINI in action. Click here for RSVP information.

BTW, quick clarification on my above post . . . I am *not* saying that the Phantoms or CineSpeed CAM's are using the LUPA4000 from Fill-factory . . . re-reading my post I realize that the two might get connected there . . . the LUPA4000 is a generic part from FillFactory and is not cinema-friendly (it's a great industrial sensor, but it wasn't designed for cinema screens). The Phantom's and CineSpeed CAM on the other-hand use custom sensors fine-tuned for their respective cinema-targetted applications. I apologize if my above post was misleading and I am editing it to make it clearer . . . I'm basically saying global shutters are not hard to-do, at least not as complex as a FT CCD or as costly, but that they do create some more non-uniformity issues over a traditional 3T design. My post should not be interpreted to say that Phantom's and the CineSpeed CAM produce dodgy image quality, which for those who have used the cameras will know that is certainly NOT the case.

It's actually not that hard to-do and can be done with a single A/D converter if you wanted . . . CMOS sensors, unlike inflexible CCD's can add transistors at each photosite to act as a charge storage pool so that the pixel can integrate while reading out, giving you global shutter capabilities. The only problem with this approach is reduced fill factor and increase PRNU as well as fixed pattern noise which reduces overall dynamic range. Fill Factory for instance has been making global-shuttered CMOS sensors for years, and they are used in the likes of the Phantom V-series or CineSpeed Cam series of cameras which are global shuttered (6T pixels vs. standard 3T pixels). For example, their generic LUPA4000 series only has two A/D converters, and can do a global shutter at 4mpix at 15fps (so it could do a 2Kx1152 image at 24fps through windowing). The only issues are that the imager is an industrial, not a cinema designed sensor, and so is not very good-looking for cinema use, again, mainly due to the pixel design (6T design = high PRNU and fixed pattern noise, along with shading errors). They make other sensors for cinema use, so global shutters do not preclude good image quality, but that's just the basic characteristcs of their off-the-shelf LUPA part. EDIT: Split and modified last paragraph as clarification . . . see my next post below.

Hello, I've uploaded the first video in a series of video tutorials that we will be providing that outlines the operation of SiliconDVR, the embedded software environment that powers the SI-2K and the SI-2K MINI camera system. You can download the video here: http://www.siliconimaging.com/DigitalCinema/Workflows.html There will be more videos in the coming weeks outlining other aspects of the Silicon Imaging workflow, such as working with CineForm RAW files, creating .look files with IRIDAS SpeedGrade OnSet and the embedded IRIDAS tools in SiliconDVR, as well as our integrated keying environment. Enjoy!

I've uploaded some CineForm RAW footage from the CML bash and also a few clips from "Blood: A Butcher's Tale". I will add a couple more clips in the coming days. http://www.siliconimaging.com/DigitalCinem...ry_footage.html There's a Read Me along with the RAW files giving directions on how to work with the CineForm RAW footage. You can download a 15-day trial of Prospect 2K to work with the files in either Premiere Pro and/or After Effects (Quicktime and Final Cut support for RAW isn't available yet but is coming soon . . . QT will enable support in other applications such as Combustion, FCP, etc.). It's available at: http://www.cineform.com/products/Downloads/Downloads.htm A demo of SpeedGrade OnSet can be obtained from IRIDAS at www.iridas.com. for working with the .look files (making additional additional .look files and attaching them to the footage). Thanks, Jason

The Altasens chip is still 2/3", so the adapter converts 35mm lenses to 2/3", maintaining the lens FOV and DOF characteristics . . . similar concept to the Pro35 . . .

Hi Tim, We're still not done with all our annoucements ;) Let's just say it's not the SI-2K, but something new, and shipping this summer . . . :) If you're coming to NAB, we'll have it in the booth.

Some more exciting new announcements: Silicon Imaging and P+S Technik Launch Strategic Partnership to deliver Modular SI-2K? Digital Cinema Cameras, Optics and Production Equipment P+S Technik enables new ergonomic modular form-factors and universal lens mount system for Silicon Imaging SI-2K? cameras including the 2K-B4? lens adapter, 2K-35? 35mm lens converter, and cinema-optimized Zeiss 35mm prime lenses. Silicon Imaging Integrates SpeedGrade Color-Correction and Green-Screen Keying into SI-2K? Cinema Cameras IRIDAS? color-correction and keying toolset allows for intuitive color manipulation with live feedback in the camera interface.

Hello Everyone, Here is the first salvo in our NAB 2007 press releases: Silicon Imaging Announces Availability of SI-2K Digital Cinema Camera Powered by AltaSens ProCamHD? CMOS Sensors Next-generation design combines 12-bit CMOS sensor technology with CineForm RAW? direct-to-disk recording to revolutionize film and HD television production. Jennifer Sciole Goes for Blood A Hollywood fresh face and up-and-coming star Jennifer Sciole will star in the visually inventive, highly stylized, thriller-horror that will be the first in the Horror genre to have the look and feel of 300 and Sin City.

Hi everyone, just wanted to announce that we will be doing another "Virtual NAB 2007" feature on our website this year for those of you who can't make the show. Just go to the front-page at www.siliconimaging.com/DigitalCinema It will start on Monday morning. See you there!

I've seen it for 18.500 Euros (so $24,290.65), and it's using the AltaSens sensor (same as the SI-2K and SI-2K Mini from Silicon Imaging).

While I'm not necessarily familiar with the HDN-X10 camera itself, I can tell you that it's AltaSens CMOS sensors are top notch! It should produce some very pretty pictures and give you a lot of shooting room and latitude.

Well, we just had it in England at Axis Films for the tests with Geoff Boyle, but unfortunately they didn't have a computer with gigabit ethernet to run the camera with . . . I'm pretty sure there will be other stuff in the future since the European market is very important as well, and we already have distributors and partners for our other existing camera systems in Germany.

We are planning more showings in the future . . . what part of Texas are you in? Also will you be at NAB?

Hi Everyone, There will be 3 new seminars being offered by Silicon Imaging and Cineform on the SI-2K Mini and the Cineform RAW workflow. They will be: 2/13 at NYU in NYC 2/14 at PS Production Services in Toronto 2/15 at B.B. Mobile Productions in Orlando Click on the links above to see more information about each and where to sign-up. Thanks and hope to see you there, Jason Rodriguez Silicon Imaging

Joel, If you're not doing run-and-gun documentary type work . . . i.e., you plan on having a "video-village" setup somewhere, then the MINI is actually a pretty good deal . . . I know I'm a bit biased in that regard, but just pointing out that if you're going to be tethered to video village, you tethered period, doesn't matter what camera you're using. BTW, we now have a trigger button for recording (and it plugs directly into the camera head, so no extra cables going back to the controlling computer for that), so you don't need to use the touchscreen to activate recording, recording can now be done with the trigger button at the camera head . . . so your cam operator can handle the camera and start/stop recording without requiring touchscreen support. You would still require another person back at the laptop/video-village to run the rest of the software functions though. But two small CAT6 cables would be all that are required for video and the camera. I do agree with you though, if you do indeed require run-and-gun type stuff on the streets, the Mini (or any camera that's tethered) is not ideal for that.

Hi Troy, I would combined the EPIX frame-grabbers with some sort of CCD camera that had a full-frame shutter, rather than the rolling shutter of the Micron . . . not that rolling shutter is no good in and of itself, but the Micron's read-out rate is too slow for cinematography use. As I mentioned before, the Altasens has a rolling shutter, but the read-out rate is 3x faster to prevent any visible skew. There are a number of cameras on the market based on the 4-megapixel Kodak KAI-4021, I would try some of those. Imperx for example, or Pulnix. They can do 24fps at up to 2K resolutions, and will give you pretty clean results out of the box. Combined those with the EPIX frame-grabbers and some recording/VTR software, and you'll have a pretty powerful and high-quality recording combination based on industrial camera technology.

Hi Charlie, BTW, I want to qualify my statement about XCAP being really "bad" . . . it's quite powerful and has a very full-featured assembly of engineering and analysis tools (we use it internally at SI quite a bit), it's just not very straight forward when it comes to recording as a cinematographer in the field (which is not what it's intended for). Sorry, since this is a Cinematography forum, I was making a general statement to the use of XCAP as one would use it in this profession, not it's overall capabilities, and *definitely not* it's capabilities as a sensor profiling, engineering, and data analysis tool. And of course you guys make great frame-grabbers :)

Not wanting to nip this discussion, as it is a very viable idea, but not with the Micron CMOS sensors. I'm not sure if you're familiar with the notion of a rolling shutter, but that is what the Micron sensor uses, and it's read-out rate is too slow to get rid of the "skew" that a rolling shutter with too slow a read-out rate will deliver. You can read more about it here: http://digitalcontentproducer.com/hdhdv/de...h_hdv_10092006/ But basically the Micron is no good for cinematography . . . it produces some excellent images, and has great color reproduction, but is not designed with the high-speed readouts necessary for cinematography work, and any panning, etc. will show a really bad "skew" to the footage like you see in Steve Mullen's examples. For instance, the Altasens chips we're using in the SI-2K read out almost three times as fast as the Micron sensor, which prevents any issues with rolling shutter skew. Also I've used XCAP . . . ugh . . . their frame-grabbers are very nice and quite economical, but the software is really bad. I would suggest the EPIX frame-grabbers, but get StreamPix or Video Savant as recording software instead of XCAP.