Firewire titler

[kippard]

I am shooting an event video with a DV camera, recording to DVR decks and want to add some titles here and there on the fly. Any good, affordable (basic, cheap) hardware w/ firewire in and out, solutions?

[SingSing]

You really need to get hold of the idea, that firewire is not video. It is like USB or Com port.

[julitomg]

Maybe something like the Videonics Titlemaker ?, it also works with the MX-Pro DV wich I believe has indeed firewire output (you can find Videonics products at ebay or buy them brand new under the Focus Enhancements name)

http://www.videonics.com/solutions/catalog.asp?id=10

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=179240&...ughType=search

[kippard]

Thanks, wow expensive. I need a basic titler w/ firewire ports... shucks.

[kippard]

You really need to get hold of the idea, that firewire is not video. It is like USB or Com port.

I totally get what your saying. Thank you.

Perhaps there is a way to mix in the camera itself?

[guns1inger]

Some cameras do support built in titles and effects, but for the most part they are pretty simplistic and cheesy.

If you don't already have a firewire based mixer then you probably won't find a cheap solution. If you want to do this type of thing live, you need to pay for the right kit. Otherwise, do it in post.

[julitomg]

Thanks, wow expensive. I need a basic titler w/ firewire ports... shucks.

Videonics used to have several products for the prosumer market that would meet (more or less) your needs, today their products are indeed more expensive and more "pro" oriented.
Sima also used to sell a small video mixer with a built in titler and Panasonic had one or two simple prosumer (or "serious consumer")mixers.
Maybe you can find a good used Titlemaker 3000 (videonics); a lot of people stopped using them when they turned to non linear and started to make their titles in post, with better quality and more options. You´ll probably find the quality of the titles generated with a stand alone unit(like these)dissapointing compared to CG titling and they certainly don´t support firewire (if you still think you absolutely need it)

[Cornucopia]

I think this is exactly where that Enosoft DV Processor would work well.

Scott

[JohnnyMalaria]

I think this is exactly where that Enosoft DV Processor would work well.

Scott

Thanks for the plug

Currently, our Enosoft DV Processor supports realtime logo insertion. You can create your titles as bitmaps and use them as logos.

There are limitations (for now) - mainly the bmp is converted to greyscale. However, we have already modified that (for a future beta release) so that color logos/titles will be supported from PNG, JPEG, GIF, TIF and BMP - complete with full alpha channel support.

(In fact, a custom version is already in use by a couple of satellite TV music channels for realtime 'channel branding').

We are also going to add a list of "favorites" to allow quick switching from one logo/title to another etc.

Oh...and it's firewire in to firewire out...

And if it doesn't do what you want it to do, please let us know!

[kippard]

I think this is exactly where that Enosoft DV Processor would work well.

Scott

What kind of hardware is needed? Two firewire ports? How does this work exactly?

[edDV]

This is what you need but maybe not what you can afford.
http://www.filmmakers.com/store/video/camcorder/info/vdvifwdvcg.htm
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/first_firewire_cg_09_25_01.htm

You can also do it from a computer with Premiere or Vegas title programs over their Firewire (IEEE-1394) monitoring output.

Lower end Premiere Elements and Vegas Movie Studio lack Firewire support.

[JohnnyMalaria]

I think this is exactly where that Enosoft DV Processor would work well.

Scott

What kind of hardware is needed? Two firewire ports? How does this work exactly?

You have a number of options:

1. With single firewire port - transfer the DV footage to a PC using the Enosoft DV Processor. It will add the titles on the fly during transfer - you will end up with a DV AVI file.

2. With two firewire ports - connect two DV devices. Play the footage on one and record the titled version with the other. No need to 'capture' to an AVI file.

Read this page for more detail: http://www.enosoft.net/enosoftdvprocessor.html

PC-wise, you need Windows XP running on a processor that supports SSE2.

All the processing (e.g., to add a title) is done with as little decoding of the original DV stream as possible. All operations take place in the YCrCb color space and, where possible, in the DCT domain.

[kippard]

Great, thanks. You know your stuff. Yeh, I don't want to capture an AVI. I want to go right to a DVR. Not sure if we have SSE2, will it say in system properties? Also, can you animate a title in and out or is it just logo/TC full time? Thanks again. kippard

[JohnnyMalaria]

Great, thanks. You know your stuff. Yeh, I don't want to capture an AVI. I want to go right to a DVR. Not sure if we have SSE2, will it say in system properties? Also, can you animate a title in and out or is it just logo/TC full time? Thanks again. kippard

The installer will check for SSE2 and, if it doesn't exist, it won't complete the install.

At the moment, you can turn the logo etc on/off. You can manually move it around, change its appearance (opaque/semitransparent etc) and the source image file while the DV transfer is taking place.