May 10

FireStore FS-4 by:  mike

05/10/2005 10:29 PM

DMN By Stephen Schleicher Tapeless Acquisition in the Palm of Your Hand My biggest gripe when taping a long format production is the tape always wants to run out at a dramatic moment. The second biggest gripe is waiting an eternity while the tape is digitized into my NLE system. Imagine how happy I was when my complaints disappeared thanks to the FireStore FS-4 DTE recorder from Focus Enhancements. The FireStore FS-4 is a fairly small system that is about the size of a thick paperback book (1.5 inches), and weighs less than a pound. Don’t let the weight fool you; inside the FS-4 is a 40GB hard drive that allows you to record up to three hours of video using Direct to Edit (DTE) technology. DTE allows you to record DV25 video to a hard drive and when connected to your NLE , the files are ready to edit, eliminating the need to wait for hours while the tape is digitized. The FireStore FS-4 utilizes a FAT32 drive which allows it to be used in both the Mac and PC environment. Because the FS-4 can be used in virtually any editing environment, it has the ability to record in most of the popular formats including QuickTime, QuickTime 24P RawDV, AVI Type 1 and 2, 24P AVI Type 2, Matrox AVI, and Canopus AVI. The FS-4 Pro can also record in the Avid OMF and Pinnacle AVI formats, although the Pinnacle format may not be a necessity in the future. If your ears perked when you read 24P recording, don’t get too worked up unless you have a camera that supports 24P recording. Currently the FireStore FS-4 and FS-4Pro units do not support the HDV or HD MPEG formats, but a software update is in the making and can be purchased from the FireStore site for those who buy now. read more...


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