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Reviews

DV Direct to Disk is Here

CitiDISK DV by Shining Technology

by Orlando Luna

Direct to disk capture for the prosumer has arrived. On the high end you have high profile Hollywood films such as Star Wars and The Matrix shooting High Def straight to disk for all or parts of the production. On the Commercial side there are manufacturers including Sony (DSR-DU1) and Focus Enhancements (Firestore) that have had DV to disk offerings available for over year. However, all of these offerings are squarely targeted at the mid to high level pro user. This leaves the prosumer/guerilla shooter out in the cold.

The CitiDISK DV by Shining Technology delivers a DV to disk camera capture solution that is both functionally and economically targeted at prosumer users. Unlike the Sony and Focus Solutions devices, which are designed as camera mounted systems, the CitiDISK DV is around the size of a typical Pocket Portable Hard Drive. Shining ships the drive in a fashionably black, ready to wear case that conveniently attaches to your belt. The case not only holds your CitiDisk but also has a spot for the wrapped up 4 to 6 pin FireWire cable.

Setup is pretty straightforward. A Quickstart Guide steps you through recording format changes you may desire. A CD with utilities is included although a Mac OS X version is not available. There are two buttons on the front of the unit which light upon power up. Pressing the buttons in a specific order allow you to make changes to the format. I must say I did miss the LCD on the front of the Sony DSR-DU1 I recently tested. But I do understand that some concession must be made. A CitiDISK DV with matching capacity to the Sony unit retails for about one-fifth the price. My test unit was setup for QuickTime DV recording which works natively for programs like Final Cut Pro. You can opt for .AVI or DV Stream files for use with other editing programs.

The workflow takes a little getting used to. Options include duplicating what you are recording to tape or you can forego the tape all together. When you shoot a separate clip is created as you stop and start recording. On my Canon GL2 duplicating to tape was a little tricky and required some adjustments to the DV control settings on the camera. Although you can record without tape, I would recommend using the dupe method for at least your first few shooting sessions. Shooting without tape requires hitting the record button on the CitiDISK to shoot. A remote option would be a welcomed addition. One thing to be really careful with is the FireWire connection to the camera. Shining recommends that you run the cable through the hand strap on most recorders. But you still have to be careful that you do not pull out the cable while recording.

Battery life is advertised at 90 minutes. The front of the unit has tiny almost unusable switch that activates the battery. My original test unit topped out at around 40 minutes. I contacted Shining and they shipped me out a replacement unit that recorded well over an hour without issue. An AC adapter ships with the unit for recharging or on the fly shooting. The battery also recharges while hooked into a 6-pin FireWire connection, although you will need your own 6-pin to 6-pin cable.

Shooting times vary depending on the capacity of the unit. The units start at 20GB that will hold about 90 minutes of footage. The largest current unit is 80GB, which tops out at 360 minutes. The larger units make editing right on the drive a snap. With the smaller units you may need to clear them out by transferring files over to another drive to open up space for rendering and file generation.

Editing on my Powerbook with Final Cut Pro was a snap. After connecting the drive I simply imported the clips from the Media folder into Final Cut Pro. The naming conventions on the disk are generic. If you need custom matching names for your clips and NLE references, it may be a good idea to create a new folder on the drive and rename the clips as you move them over.

On the minor inconvenience side, I found out the hard way that the disk must be in FAT32 (Windows) format to work. The utilities included only work with Windows or Mac OS9, but there is a pretty simple process to format properly with Mac OS X. A better interface, remote control and an improved battery activation switch would tops on my wish list.

The CitiDISK DV is the first device of its kind targeted at Prosumers. The unit comes in five capacities starting at $599 for the 20GB unit and $879 for the 80GB version. The pluses on this device heavily outweigh any of the negatives. The bottom line is you will save time on your production. One of the most time consuming areas of any edit session is the log and/or capture session. Being able to plug in a drive and immediately import almost seems like cheating. But it's good cheat!

April 2004