Convergent Design did confirm a while back they will not be releasing a new version or successor to their Odyssey7Q+ Raw recorder at the upcoming NAB 2017 trade show, which is good news for current owners, but this does not necessarily mean that they won’t have new products at the show. It comes as no surprise that just earlier today Convergent Design announced the Element Series of multi-camera video recorders and switchers.
Convergent Design are no stranger to multi-camera recording functionality (i.e. their Titan HD Extract function and Apollo switcher/recorder) so they have designed the new lightweight and portable Element Series as simple to use, cost-effective products, capable of streamlining fast video productions by eliminating many time-consuming steps while providing unprecedented access to your video footage, even while you are still shooting.
There are currently 3 models in the Element series – the Element 1 (Multi-cam HD recorder), Element 2 (Multi-Cam HD Recorder + Switcher), and Element 3 (Multi-Cam 4K Recorder + Switcher), with the first two being limited to Full HD and the biggest and most advanced Element 3 variant supporting 4K and UHD up to 60fps.
Convergent Design ELEMENT 1
- 4 Channel HD Recorder
- 4 x HDMI Input and 1 x Output
- 2-Ch Embedded or Analog Audio
- Quad-Split / Program-Out to USB Drive
- Synchronized Quad-Split monitor/review
- Network Media Access
- Removable 1 x SSD Media
- Matched Filename/Timecode/CODEC/Start Frame
- Jog/Scrub control via rotary knob
Convergent Design ELEMENT 2
- 4 Channel HD Recorder
- Switcher
- Luma Keyer (Lower thirds/Logo Overlays)
- 4 x HDMI In and 2 x HDMI Out
- 2-Ch Embedded or Analog Audio
- Quad-Split / Program-Out to USB Drive
- Synchronized Quad-Split monitor/review
- Network Media Access
- Removable 1 x SSD
- Matched Filename/Timecode/CODEC/Start Frame
- Jog/Scrub control via rotary knob
Convergent Design ELEMENT 3
- 4 Channel HD Recorder
- Support for 4K and UHD/60p
- 4 x 12G SDI Inputs, 2 x 12G SDI Out
- Switcher
- Mix/Effects (M/E) Engines
- Luma Keyer (Lower thirds/Logo Overlays)
- 2 x 4K HDMI Input and 2 x 4K HDMI Output
- 2-Ch Embedded or Analog Audio
- Quad-Split / Program-Out to USB Drive
- Synchronized Quad-Split monitor/review
- Network Media Access
- Removable 2 x SSD Media
- Matched Filename/Timecode/CODEC/Start Frame
- Jog/Scrub control via rotary knob
The Element series may lack that gorgeous OLED touchscreen that Odyssey7Q+/Apollo users have been so used to, but can hugely benefit multi-cam shoots by routing all camera feeds to a single multi-channel recorder, thus eliminating many of the mundane (and time-consuming) tasks such as copying multiple media cards, renaming video clips, re-syncing timecode, transcoding to a common edit-ready CODEC, and aligning clips to the first frame, are eliminated.
ISO recording of all cameras to a single SSD minimizes media and data-wrangling costs. Once shooting is complete, the footage is immediately ready for editing, providing access to all video clips with no additional processing steps. A lightweight proxy of the Program Out or Multi-View can simultaneously be recorded to removable USB media.
Using a high-speed multi-processor architecture, Element can transfer compressed video clips over Gigabit Ethernet, while simultaneously recording or playing back four streams of video/audio.
The new Element devices have the potential to dramatically speed up production by enabling editing, QC review of takes, social media posts, backup, and upload to the cloud. Element’s Network Media Access makes the time-consuming process of uploading footage after the shoot a thing of the past.
The CD Element series devices feature a lightweight, low-power, portable form factor with easy-to-use backlit buttons, rotary encoder for menu navigation and scrub/jog control of playback. Synchronized playback of all channels is provided in a Multi-Viewer format.
Convergent Design have not yet released details on pricing and availability, but I am sure as we get closer to NAB we will probably know a bit more. For more details head over to Convergent Design.
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Technically, could I use the Element 3 (4K, 60 FPS version) like an Atomos Ninja Star to record 10-bit, 4K ProRes from something like a Sony FS5 or GH5 (up to 60fps)? Multi-Cam syncing is great, but hoping this could also work as smaller, non-monitor, ProRes recorder to unlock the potential of FS5 and GH5.