For what seemed like ages, wireless technology was either considered too slow or obtrusive for regular use in video workflows. Instead, users were forced to use USB cables, FireWire cables, and recently, to plug their media straight into the computer. While transfer technology has definitely improved over the years with FireWire 800 and USB 2.0, there is still a sense of somehow being chained down to the computer. I mean who wouldn’t want to skip an entire step in their video workflow? Enter Eye-Fi and Toshiba. When Eye-Fi introduced their wireless SD card technology back in 2007, they showed every SD card manufacturer that there was a real demand for wireless storage devices. So with Toshiba’s announcement to put together a standard for wireless SDHC memory cards, it finally seems as if the wireless data age has definitely arrived for both stills and video.

Getting rid of the cables would be great, but  in order to be a complete wireless storage solution, Toshiba will have to agree on not only a standard for SD cards (which work on AVCHD camcorders), but also a standard for CF cards (which work on DSLRs). The only real solution to this problem right now is to use a wireless SD card set inside of a CF card adapter. However, if companies can fit a wireless adapter into something as small as an SD card, can you honestly tell me that they can’t also fit one into the much larger form factor of a CF card? It seems like only a matter of time.

At the same time, if you’ve ever hauled around both a monitor and a camera at a run n’ gun shoot for a client, you know just how much of a hassle cables can be. They can get in the way of your controls, trip up both the operator and the client, and drag equipment precisely when you don’t want it to. That is why having an affordable real time wireless video transfer system would be the icing on the wireless cake for video enthusiasts. There are already wireless video transmission solutions for some camcorders, but unless you have a serious amount of cash just lying around and a really expensive camera, they are usually impossible to get. That’s why it would be a huge game changer if companies like Eye-Fi or Toshiba could make wireless storage cards that could monitor video. Maybe with the addition of Toshiba to the wireless storage market, we’ll start seeing these kinds of cards soon. Either way, it’s about time that other manufacturers joined the wireless media revolution. With the advances that result, we may finally be able to put away our cables for good.

This is a very exciting time for videographers, cinematographers, and filmmakers alike. With the introduction of video DSLR cameras by Canon and Nikon in the past few years, along with RED’s announcement of their high resolution digital still motion picture cameras, traditional camcorder manufacturers have no doubt been feeling some real pressure to rethink their approach to filmmaking. With their announcements, Canon, Nikon, and RED proved that prosumers were looking for more than just a new recording medium, they were looking for the flexibility of super high resolution images and the beauty of interchangeable lenses. Not to be undone however, ARRI, Panasonic, and Sony have come back in full force with their exciting new high resolution camcorders.

At this year’s National Association of Broadcasters show, or NAB, ARRI surprised everyone by announcing the specs on a new camcorder named the Alexa. This camcorder, with its 3072 x 1728 resolution, was the first indication that traditional camcorder companies were finally listening to the prosumer world. It wasn’t hard to figure out that there was a high demand for such a product. All over the blogosphere, there were people literally begging Panasonic, Sony, and JVC to put their DSLR technology inside of a traditional camcorder body. With the superior depth of field and image quality, DSLR camcorders were the natural progression camcorder companies all around the world. Videomaker first realized this when we received both the Canon 7D and 1D Mark IV for review a month back. As soon as we turned these cameras on and saw the images they produced, it was obvious that filmmaking had reached a whole new level. It even took our productions up a notch when we used them for our weekly vidcasts. Read the rest of this entry »

At CES 2009, the SD card association announced a new standard for SD (Secure Digital) cards: SDXC (Secure Digital eXtended Capacity).

This new standard builds on the current SDHC (High Capacity) cards by setting specifications for memory sizes from 32GB up to 2 Terabytes, and access speeds of 104MB/s, all in the same SD card form factor.  These capacities and speeds will make SD cards more applicable for data intensive applications like HD video recording. Allowing for significantly less compressed video codecs and longer record times. In addition the ruggedness and longevity of flash memory lends itself as a permanent archiving solution at these capacities.

The SD association just set the spec, so it’s now up to the manufacturers to turn this into tangible products for the market, so don’t expect 2TB SD cards immediately, but it’s nice to know what’s on the horizon.