New ReaZons To Go SDI (Intergraph Studio-Z sidebar to Digital-S story)

Although we had access to a Studio-Z computer from Intergraph, we literally ignored the SDI output capability for more than a year! After all, were we going to go out and get a D-1 or Digital Beta system to review a Studio-Z? And for what client would we apply this enhanced quality? None I knew were asking for digital production...yet.

This ignorance came to a crashing end, when we realized two essential facts. The first was that our competition was moving into digital production - clients were asking for Digital Beta shooting and willing to pay commensurate costs along the production chain. The second was that JVC had achieved the digital equivalent of Digital Betacam at about a third of the price. We decided to give it a serious examination, and with the Studio-Z in hand, we knew just how.

Studio-Z is an option that can be obtained on most Intergraph computers. Put quite simply, it is a single PCI board and WindowsNT software that allows for the acquisition and output of SDI video. Intergraph accomplishes this feat by employing a proprietary form of AVI file creation that is accessed by way of a simple VCR-type Windows interface, similar to, but less robust than the DPS Perception card interface.

Using the interface, SDI signals can be captured by the Intergraph and used in any compliant program, such as Adobe After Effects, Eyeon's Digital Fusion and Kinetix's 3-D Studio Max. Such uses would include nonlinear editing, compositing of both video and feature film input and uses of such input as surface elements in a 3-D environment.

SDI signals are consequently output from the Studio-Z using the interface's VCR controls. In order to access the SDI output capabilities, all files must be rendered using the Studio-Z driver, which creates the Studio-Z AVI files. For instance, in Adobe After Effects, the user has the option to render in Studio-Z, with a wide assortment of options, such as field order, resolution, aspect ratio, frame rate, etc. This interface takes some experimentation before acceptable results can be obtained, but the work is worth the effort. 3-D Studio Max, however, offers no interface except the choice to render to Studio-Z driver and it's files are generated without user choices.

We would assume that each software vendor, wishing to access the superior quality of SDI output will build links to the Studio-Z driver and, if your interest includes Intergraph's hardware, you should evaluate this essential part of any SDI-capable product.

Physical output of the SDI board is delivered in SDI, composite and Y-C connectors at the back of the computer.

Employing a JVC BR-D85U edit recorder, we were able to record animations with superior resolution and color detail to anything in the component mode. We would imagine, that in future, further utilities will be added to the Intergraph's functionality, as well as the functionality of third party software vendors to maximize the advantages of the JVC equipment, such as 9-pin serial deck control and the pre-read features of the BR-D85 and BR-D92 edit decks.

SDI record and play capability is a feature that can be retro-fitted to all JVC Digital-S players and recorders (recorder SDI option lists for $3,500). When combined with the low cost of Digital-S, a user may obtain full 4:2:2, 50 megabits per second quality images on half-inch tape for under $20,000. This makes an immediate re-evaluation of all SDI capable peripherals imperative for competitive producers.