Recording Buyers Guide
Recording is the most fundamental part in any video production, if what we were shooting wasn’t recorded then what would be the point! As such it’s no surprise that there are several different ways to capture what the sensor in your camera outputs outside of the cameras internal recording functions. This guide will talk you through the different solutions and how they may potentially fit into your workflow to make your content creation as simple as can be.
Disk Recorders
Recording is the most fundamental part in any video production, if what we were shooting wasn’t recorded then what would be the point! As such it’s no surprise that there are several different ways to capture what the sensor in your camera outputs outside of the cameras internal recording functions. This guide will talk you through the different solutions and how they may potentially fit into your workflow to make your content creation as simple as can be.
Media
Not all disk recorders will capture to the same type of media, for example the AJA Ki Pro Go captures to USB drives whilst the Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Studio Pro can capture directly to SSDs. This choice of media doesn’t affect their ability to record but may play a part in your choice of device. If you simply want to capture the program output of your vision mixer so that you have an ISO (Isolated) recording for archiving purposes then you may wish to capture directly to a hard drive. However if you are recording a live event and want to be able to market recordings of the event immediately afterwards, capturing to USB or SD card would allow you to do so!
Video I/O
We have quite an in depth guide on how I/O (Input/Output) devices can be utilised here. In short these are devices that allow you to capture a video signal directly to, or playback from, your computer.
BROWSE THE I/O BUYERS GUIDEPlayback
What do we do with captured video? We play it back! Both disk recorders and I/O devices can be used as sources for your workflow. Whether it is feeding displays in shop windows or reviewing your footage at the end of a shoot, they are a critical component of any workflow.
Remote Control
Many disk recorders support remote functionality, allowing you to control or even upload or download files from any inserted media.
RS422
RS422 is a common connection across production and post production facilities. With disk recorders often replacing traditional tape decks which also shared this functionality, this connection allows you to control one or more decks. Connecting a hardware controller or I/O device to a deck via RS422 makes capturing from and laying back to tape simple. You can line up specific timecode points and drop the deck into record or playback at the press of a button.
Ethernet
Some disk recorders support ethernet control using telnet and FTP protocol to give you not only control of the deck but also the ability to upload or download clips straight from the media drive! This allows you to have remote devices that may not be easily accessible but still have complete control. In the case of the Blackmagic Design HyperDeck units you can even control them over ethernet from their ATEM Production switcher, using the decks as additional sources.
The best recording equipment
There you have it, everything you need to know when choosing recording equipment. We hope you've found this buyers guide helpful. Don't hesitate to contact one of our friendly advisors for more advice if you still have questions on how to select the perfect recording equipment. If you’re all set to go we recommend checking out the recording equipment from these top brands.
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