Any unscripted live action reality show, concert, etc. could have unpredictable interesting moments. The only way to capture most of the action is to increase the number of recorded channels. Abundance of material recorded from multiple cameras enables the director and video editors to produce creative, high quality professional video product.
A Director experienced with tape technology is unlikely to be delighted with the prospect of unlimited number of recording channels. No wonder - the specifics of tape recording allowed the program director to manage just a few channels. To handle more recording channels (long focus, crane, steadicam, etc.) director needed a number of assistants. As a result, creative freedom in practice became a headache caused by the need to coordinate the work of a growing number of people and devices to produce desired program output.
The use of modern multi-channel recording devices eliminated traditional problems such as limited tape recording time and losses due to the need of periodic cassette changes.
By itself, transition from magnetic tape to large capacity hard drives is not the answer to all questions. Organizational aspects of video production still remain. Displaying increasing number of channels on a multi-screen monitor and the ability to intuitively manage these channels from one control console changed the quality of directing.
To turn the potential of multi-channel digital video recording into reality our company is using in our systems carefully selected and tested components, proprietary technology and constantly refined software. Recording up to eight (Fulcrum), sixteen (Dominator AT/12G), and even twenty four (BlackJack AT/4K) channels in a single unit requires extremely high system performance because along with recording of video material to internal storage it is also simultaneously recorded to a removable or network DMR™ storage systems. Unlike the manufacturer of motorcycles Ducati, which motto was "a true racing machine must break down after the finish", slomo.tv machines are not only stunningly fast, but last for a long time. We also have taken unprecedented measures to ensure our fundamental principle - safety of recorded video. Unlike some competing solutions, where a simple power failure led to the loss of material, video material captured by our systems is guaranteed to survive even if the unit or any of its subsystems fail.
Our DMR™ (Direct Movie Record) technology is a key component of recording for non-linear editing (NLE) and deserves a separate detailed description. Here we will just briefly state that video is recorded to removable or network storage in the native format of a non-linear editing system and in parallel, in resolution of Full HD and SD proxy. DMR™ technology completely eliminates delays in conversion to NLE format and reduces or eliminates the time delays in transferring the recorded material to editing systems. All of our systems support 1 GbE DirectConnect networking. In addition, to meet the most demanding two-way operational exchange of video material, the latest systems Dominator AT/12G and BlackJack AT/4K, can be connected via high-speed fiber-optic interfaces to NAS and SAN storage.
Along with these powerful systems, we also offer a super compact 6+6+2 solution – Ripley / Ripley Plus. This unit provides up to 6-channel recording and fits into a small suitcase.
Slomo.tv customers no longer need convincing of the usefulness of a large number of channels. Some can not imagine shooting a show with less than 12 channels, while others will not record a concert with less than 18 channels.
Channel density, reliability, intuitive ergonomic interface and easy integration into any infrastructure provide effective support of video production process at adequate costs.
