HDStorm marketing confusion?

[kwshaw1]

I received an email today pitching HDStorm as the HD replcement for DVStorm, and my first thought was that isn't quite right. For me a proper DVStorm replacement would include real-time HD delivery format encoding, as proposed for the new encoding boards. I hope no one buys HDStorm thinking that's what they're getting, and to be clear about this it would have better been named the "HD Raptor". But what's done is done as far as naming is concerned, so it's the marketing which should be clearer. That would be better for customers and might also make it easier to sell the encoding boards when they start shipping...

[STORMDAVE]

If you remember the original DVStorm, it never included the MPEG card but you had to buy it separately. I remember with the DVStorm2 there were 3 packages if I am not mistaken. One with the card alone, then one with the mpeg card and another one with all three (card, mpeg addon and component addon).

[GrassValley_KH]

It's a replacement in more than one particular area.

True, it does not accelerate the actual realtime HD editing experience, it does contain a hardware encoder chip (Canopus HQ instead of Canopus DV).

It replaces the hardware on a support level - DVStorm is out, HDSTORM is in (with the release of v5)

It provides complete analog I/O support with the Plus package.

Lastly, "DVStorm" has very strong brand recognition. We weren't granted the flexibility to use "HDStorm" with the release of EDIUS NX (what you may consider to be the closest thing to a successor), but now that we can drive the naming of products a bit more, we couldn't pass this opportunity up a second time.

[kwshaw1]

If you remember the original DVStorm, it never included the MPEG card but you had to buy it separately. I remember with the DVStorm2 there were 3 packages if I am not mistaken. One with the card alone, then one with the mpeg card and another one with all three (card, mpeg addon and component addon).

It occurred to me after I posted my original comment that that was the case, so as long as people know what they're getting now it makes sense. It would be interesting to see an "HDStorm Plus" bundle with an encoder board included for around the same price as DVStorm2.

[Jerry]

It's a replacement in more than one particular area.

True, it does not accelerate the actual realtime HD editing experience, it does contain a hardware encoder chip (Canopus HQ instead of Canopus DV).

It replaces the hardware on a support level - DVStorm is out, HDSTORM is in (with the release of v5)

It provides complete analog I/O support with the Plus package.

Lastly, "DVStorm" has very strong brand recognition. We weren't granted the flexibility to use "HDStorm" with the release of EDIUS NX (what you may consider to be the closest thing to a successor), but now that we can drive the naming of products a bit more, we couldn't pass this opportunity up a second time.

Now that we have HDMI and Analog capture in HD available, can one capture to uncompressed using the HDSTORM in either HDMI or analog? I like having this option due to banding on certain subject material with the HQ codec.
Unless, of course, this has been corrected with the ability to capture through HDMI and analog as opposed to firewire.

[GrassValley_KH]

It's not (currently) possible to bypass the hardware chip and capture in other codecs. While it isn't impossible to add the ability to do this in the future, I have no information available to say if/when this might happen.

[STORMDAVE]

If users have access to all the options in the HQ Encoder during capture from HDMI sources, I'm sure if you raise the bitrate to the max, it would be visually lossless.

[Jerry]

If users have access to all the options in the HQ Encoder during capture from HDMI sources, I'm sure if you raise the bitrate to the max, it would be visually lossless.

It still would be nice to be able to capture to any of the codecs available as well as uncompressed.