RED RAW PORT module [Archive]

Joffy

08-13-2007, 11:30 AM

Hey All,

A question from a total newby. What does the RAW PORT module do? What is the value in the $6500 price?

Much appriecated!

Stuart English

08-13-2007, 11:38 AM

RAW PORT is an option by which you can obtain the uncompressed RAW data from the Mysterium sensor. It includes fiber optic translator and utilizes 10GBit Ethernet.

Most users will not require RAW PORT for their application, REDCODE RAW (compressed) data being visually lossless.

Jack Wester

08-13-2007, 11:39 AM

Hey All,

A question from a total newby. What does the RAW PORT module do? What is the value in the $6500 price?

Much appriecated!
I was wondering that myself, but were to affraid to ask :poster_stupid:.

[EDIT:Okay answer already provided]

Jack Wester

08-13-2007, 11:57 AM

Edmund Boyle

08-13-2007, 12:22 PM

RAW PORT is tan option by which you can obtain the uncompressed RAW data from the Mysterium sensor. It includes fiber optic translator and utilizes 10GBit Ethernet.

Most users will not require RAW PORT for their application, REDCODE RAW (compressed) data being visually lossless.

I sent a request to RED for an answer on this last week and they have not answered yet

Maybe another forum for these things is "Things you wanted to know but were afriaid to ask!"

Stuart (or anyone), What features on RED will I miss or limit myself too if this is not included?

Is the faster frame rate comprimised without this port or will the RED Drive still be capable of this?

I have looked through the forum for this information and it is there (Im sure) in a lot of different places including a very good workflow diagram submitted by Michael Morlan back in March. I just cant translate this into an easier to understand format.

Apologies to Brook if these are repeated questions. I just want to make sure that by ommitting the Raw port on my RED order I wont be limiting major functionality now or upgrdes in the future and leaving me free to spend the $6500 on much needed accessories.

Rocket

08-13-2007, 12:36 PM

I sent a request to RED for an answer on this last week and they have not answered yet

Maybe another forum for these things is "Things you wanted to know but were afriaid to ask!"

Stuart (or anyone), What features on RED will I miss or limit myself too if this is not included?

Is the faster frame rate comprimised without this port or will the RED Drive still be capable of this?

I have looked through the forum for this information and it is there (Im sure) in a lot of different places including a very good workflow diagram submitted by Michael Morlan back in March. I just cant translate this into an easier to understand format.

Apologies to Brook if these are repeated questions. I just want to make sure that by ommitting the Raw port on my RED order I wont be limiting major functionality now or upgrdes in the future and leaving me free to spend the $6500 on much needed accessories.

One thing to take into consideration is that you will have to get that RAW data onto disk, that means a pretty serious RAID array and a 10Gig ethernet port on whatever host system you are recording to. You will also have to have a conform system (such as Scratch, Baselight, etc..) to conform your final 4K online from your offline EDL. Unless you are investing in all this, you will be wasting your money.

The more I am learning, the more this all seems unnecessary. It depends what you want to do, if you want no compression at all out of the camera, and want to work in the uncompressed domain through post, then RAW is what you want, but if you want to take your footage straight into FCP or Premiere, then shoot Redcode, the RAW port will be a waste of money.

If Redcode to Compact Flash is good enough for Steven Soderburgh, that should say something, it's changed my mind about a lot of workflow issues. I came to this forum thinking shooting totally uncompressed RAW was the ultimate, and maybe it is, but now I'm asking myself if it's really worth it.

We'll shoot Redcode, but output uncompressed DPX from Redcine for the online conform. I don't think anyone will be able to tell the difference.

Zack Birlew

08-13-2007, 02:02 PM

Frame rates, frame rates, frame rates! That's what the RED RAW Port is all about! Granted, a lot of people won't need to take advantage of it but for me, I plan on making films that will feature really crisp slow-motion scenes and the only way to get that, currently, is through the RAW Port module. The big downside is trying to learn all about RAIDs and which one will work best and so on, that's really the hardest part about it. =P

I just hope the RED RAID is ready by next summer when I plan to start production on a project that needs the RAW port.

Curran Giddens

08-13-2007, 02:23 PM

What features on RED will I miss or limit myself too if this is not included?

Is the faster frame rate comprimised without this port or will the RED Drive still be capable of this?

4.5k@60p is only available with the RAW Port. But, on the other hand, if you get the RAW Port option installed, you cannot use any other onboard storage medium other then RED-DRIVE or RED-RAM.

Blair S. Paulsen

08-13-2007, 03:09 PM

A well implemented fully uncompressed RAW data pipeline has always been part of the roadmap for RED. For some specialized workflows it may offer some important advantages. For the rest of us...

IMHO, based on my close tracking of this project for over a year, it will be far more productive to think of the RedOne as a camera that spits out RedCode RAW media only. RedCodeRAW based workflows will best take advantage of the strengths of the camera system in the near term, and, for most users will provide the best option for years to come.

The RAW Port can always be added later. I would even contend that most folks who have a project that demands the capabilities of the RAW Port will have plenty of budget to retrofit the rig at that time.

$6,500 worth of accessories, quicker repos and actual talent on your crew will yield higher quality results than all the effort to avoid visually lossless wavelet compression.

Curran Giddens

08-13-2007, 03:40 PM

The RAW Port can always be added later. I would even contend that most folks who have a project that demands the capabilities of the RAW Port will have plenty of budget to retrofit the rig at that time.

$6,500 worth of accessories, quicker repos and actual talent on your crew will yield higher quality results than all the effort to avoid visually lossless wavelet compression.

I think people would get the RAW port for the higher framerates rather then to avoid visually lossless wavelet compression. Also, we don't know how quick the turnaround would be to send the camera to RED to get the RAW port retrofit, and get the camera back again. On the other hand, maybe getting the RAW port installed in the factory before shipment, will also delay delivery of the camera. But I hope this is not the case....

Zakaree Sandberg

08-16-2007, 02:17 PM

I Bloom

08-16-2007, 02:23 PM

I was thinking that switching between the RAW port and the CF module would be difficult but possible to do yourself. Something akin to putting a new video card into a computer. Am I off track in this thinking?

IBloom

Curran Giddens

08-16-2007, 03:38 PM

ill be getting a red-drive and a flash module.. and will be using CF cards.. seems like a pretty solid solution. red-drive would definatly be the better choice for documentary or eng type stuff.. but CF cards would be a perfect solution for commercial, music vid, and feature work.

I'll be getting RED-RAM for most work and a RED-DRIVE to use while the RED-RAM is being offloaded. You are right though, the RED-DRIVE is definitely a better choice for doc or eng type stuff. The RED-DRIVE will also be great for shooting live concerts. You could shoot the entire show on a single drive!