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UHD output on Amira


Brian Drysdale

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With productions needing UHD deliverables, the AMIRA will now offer the ability to record all ProRes codecs in Ultra High Definition.

ARRI Group: ARRI announces ProRes UHD output for AMIRA[tt_news]=1664&tx_ttnews[backPid]=7581&cHash=b5e1e534809b25789e921c2e46655a47

Although not having a 4k sensor, the Arri cameras have been the camera of choice on many productions that receive a 4k distribution.

http://www.redsharknews.com/technology/item/1953-shock-amira-uhd-announcement-will-shake-the-world-of-4k-to-its-roots

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Arri's got the edge on usablity over Sony. But even with this development the fact remains that for less rental cash Sony provides 4K raw with 16 bit depth at up to 200 FPS, all of it with a global shutter.

 

Arri needs to reassess its priorities. Either that, or with Sony's colour science being more widely understood, there's going to be a lot of hurt indeed. Mostly if one adds Sony's addition of prores, or the Aja Cion into the equation.

They've got way too lazy over the last two years whilst the competition's been working real hard to come up with appealling alternatives.

My humble thoughts.

Edited by John Miguel King
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Arri's got the edge on usablity over Sony. But even with this development the fact remains that for less rental cash Sony provides 4K raw with 16 bit depth at up to 200 FPS, all of it with a global shutter.

 

Arri needs to reassess its priorities. Either that, or with Sony's colour science being more widely understood, there's going to be a lot of hurt indeed. Mostly if one adds Sony's addition of prores, or the Aja Cion into the equation.

 

They've got way too lazy over the last two years whilst the competition's been working real hard to come up with appealling alternatives.

 

My humble thoughts.

 

I actually think the Sony F5 is even more of a challenge given the price. It seems like there is a lot of functionality hidden away in that camera given that people have already managed to make it shoot to XAVC UHD internally.

 

Freya

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People overthink this and talk about it as if these were sports teams in terms of winning and losing.

 

The market goes up and down. ARRI has been on top for a number of years now with the Alexa and their sensor, which in digital terms, is like being on top for decades, so it's inevitable that their lead will slip while they transition to a new product. Doesn't mean that they are doing something wrong or being lazy, it's hard to time product development and release. The Alexa was "late" compared to the Red One and Genesis, Sony F35, etc. and benefitted from learning what worked and didn't work on those cameras, but during that time when the D21 was their only digital camera, people were saying that ARRI was losing, was lazy, was behind everyone else -- and then they came out with the Alexa and dominated the market for the next four years or so, which is a long stretch. Now their competitors are finally catching up and perhaps will overtake them, people will say that ARRI is too complacent, is behind the times, etc. -- until the market cycles again and they have a new product that becomes more popular than the competition again, etc. Or not.

 

Depending on where you draw the line in a timeline, you are either ahead or behind your competition. And while it may be possible to always be releasing new products that keep you ahead of everyone, I think it's been good to have this brief period of technical stability with the Alexa and I'm sure many owner/operators have been happy that ARRI didn't release a better camera than the one they bought just 12 months later.

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Definitely.

 

I think Arri have something up their sleeve however.

It's interesting to note that this upgrade is only coming to the Amira and not the Alexa.

I think this indicates that they have something else in mind for the higher end.

 

Also the footage from the Amira looks great and an Amira that can shoot 3.2K in ProRes is going to knock peoples socks off I think.

 

I think Arri are going to be riding high for a while to come yet!

 

Freya

Edited by Freya Black
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Josh, I think the answer to your question is compression. Unless you're recording the raw sensor data then you're better off scaling in camera before any compression. The Amira does output uncompressed HD but that's not the sensor raw (Arri Raw) output like you get with the Alexa over T-link. Since the Amira records in prores -- a lossy format -- it'd be better to scale before the prores compression no matter which prores flavor is used.

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  • 3 weeks later...
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Hi, the way I see it, ProRes is a lovely codex. One that all my clients are happy with. Simple and efficient. Arri is a great company that understand clients and the market needs. I'm putting a order on the Amira since it will do UHD 4k. Sexy name that all clients find more and more attractive... Just a little scoop. Somebody at Arri, told me that the Amira will be able to have the new XQ ProRes in a year. Amazing 500 mgb codec that will satisfied everyone of my clients. Even the most demanding ones. Not Raw but amazingly beautiful high end image quality that easy to deal with in post. The way I see it, even with his price tag, the Amira might become my best investment in years. It seem that Arri have big plans for this camera and are working hard to keep it up to date for years to come. Can't wait to work with it!

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