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Video Review: Edirol F-1 Field Video Recorder
As we near the sunset of the analog era, we are seeing more tools for recording HD video and compatible audio on media other than videotape. One of the strongest arguments for continuing to use tape despite the many alternatives has been its cost efficiency as expressed in minutes of video/dollar (or dollars per min.), especially when compared to high-speed Flash media, at least until very recently. Hard drive-based solutions have had the advantage of higher capacity and a lower cost per unit of storage, but without the stability of Flash or even of tape. Roland takes aim at these tradeoffs with the Edirol F-1 Video Field Recorder.
Description
In terms of recording capacity, the F-1 boasts the ability to record nine hours of 1080i HDV or 12 hours of 720p on a single internal 120 GB drive. The drives can be swapped in a matter of seconds, making it feasible to record endlessly with only momentary interruptions every 9-12 hours.
As with most other tapeless media, video recorded with the F-1 is ready to edit as soon as it’s downloaded into an NLE. This underlines the clear advantages of disk-based media for capture where budget is a prime factor. While DV tape is still more cost-effective per minute than most (if not all) tapeless alternatives on a single-use basis given the limited reusability of even HDV mastering tape, this cost advantage quickly erodes when considered on a per-use basis compared with drive-based alternatives, such as the F-1.
The F-1 is more than an external hard drive. It is a full-featured hard disk-based video recorder/player that records HDV and DV video and two tracks of PCM audio, plus two additional tracks of 48kHz audio via external mics feeding a pair of balanced XLR inputs. This pair of audio channels can be synched to the video and audio being captured via the camera but accompany the digital stream as separate uncompressed linear broadcast WAV files. The other two tracks are recorded by the camera and then fed to the F-1 recorder via FireWire. The net result is four-track field audio recording with 16-bit/48Hz quality, a rare capability in the HDV genre. This makes the F-1 an invaluable tool when recording live music and other live events where the location audio comprises many elements and is critical to the overall production.
The F-1 also has a 15-pin RGB output for connecting to a VGA monitor for viewing the thumbnail images that identify each captured clip. There is also a standard USB port for use of a mouse to navigate the F-1 interface on the video monitor. The unit has an onboard 1.25” black-and-white data display for navigating the menu. According to Edirol, touchscreen functionality is feasible via an additional (free) downloadable utility. A built-in LAN network port makes it possible to remotely control up to four F-1s from a laptop or other computer.
In terms of size, the F-1 probably falls between the middle and the lower end of the pack, with dimensions of 2 3/8 inches by 4 3/8 inches by 7 1/16 inches.
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Carl Mrozek is a freelance writer specializing in audiovisual technology.
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