Have any of you used last year's Blackmagic Hyperdeck Shuttle? I ask because it always seemed like an incredible deal. An uncompressed HD-SDI recorder for less than $350 that lets you swap in SSDs of your choice. Seems like a perfect device to pair with the Sony FS100 or F3 (or any DSLR with a clean output). Despite not having used it myself, I bring it up because at CES last week Blackmagic released the Hyperdeck Shuttle 2, which adds an important feature: the ability to record to a high-quality compressed codec.


Uncompressed recording sounds great in theory until you realize the amount of storage space and bandwidth it requires (the Convergent Gemini also records uncompressed, albeit at a much higher price point). The Hyperdeck Shuttle adds the ability to record to Avid's DNxHD codec at 220Mbit/s, 10-bit. DNxHD is similar to Apple's ProRes (you'll notice that 220Mbit bitrate is the same as ProRes 422 HQ), and if you download the Avid Codecs package you should be able to edit DNxHD files within Premiere Pro and other Quicktime-based editors (in addition to Avid programs). So what you end up with is an external recorder that can record to a ProRes-equivalent for less than $350 (unfortunately, the new DNxHD codec is not available as a software upgrade for the first Hyperdeck Shuttle). Anyone who has any experience with the Hyperdeck, please chime in!

Also of note, a new editing I/O system from Blackmagic for under $250, Intensity Shuttle with Thunderbolt. The next 6 months should see a lot of Thunderbolt releases...

Intensity Shuttle with Thunderbolt

  • SD and HD compressed and uncompressed 10-bit video capture and playback.
  • HDMI in and out.
  • Component analog in and out.
  • Composite video in and out.
  • S-Video in and out.
  • Stereo analog audio in and out.
  • Thunderbolt™ port.
  • Powered over Thunderbolt™ cable.
  • Supports Apple FInal Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere, Avid Media Composer and leading editing software.
  • Supports Adobe After Effects, Adobe Photoshop, The Foundry and more design and compositing tools.
  • Includes Blackmagic Design Media Express capture and playback software.

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[via AbelCine, CreativeCow]