Introduction
Are you the kind of person who could care less
about knowing the difference between a RAM chip and a RAM drive?
Does the idea of actually diagnosing a computer hardware problem
cause chills to run up and down your spine? Would you rather spend
your creative juices editing video rather than figuring out that
cable X belongs in connector Y? If so, you may want to take a
close look at the VideoCanvas DV-7 by Edirol.
This
all-in-one system boasts being a true integrated solution for
Audio and Video editing. And from the beating we gave it their
claims may be closer to the truth than you might expect.
In this review, we'll take a close look at the
DV-7, highlight the system's strengths and point out its weaknesses.
Finally, we will give you our evaluation of this system and recommendation
of who might be its ideal candidate.
Opening the box
The front and back panels of this unit contain
essentially all connections required to capture, display, and
output video. In addition to the Power, Reset, CD-ROM drive and
function display, the front panel contains a 4-pin DV port, S-Video
and composite input port, an auxiliary jack for input of analog
audio (such as a cassette deck), a microphone jack with volume
control, a headphone jack with volume control, and a Hard Disk
bay for an optional removable hard disk.
Looking behind
the box you will find an i/o panel just as rich. Along with Power,
monitor, keyboard and mouse ports, you'll also find another 4-pin
DV port, two sets of composite and S-Video output ports, another
auxiliary port (again, for audio devices such as a cassette deck),
and another composite and S-Video input port. Whew!
There are
also two remote ports. Currently, these ports are reserved for
a dedicated remote controller -- the DV-7C controller (MSRP:
$325). The DV-7C provides playback, stop, jog, and other operations.
There are also special-purpose buttons that perform frame advance
and go back, as well as set and delete In Point and Out Point
markers.
You will find a "T-Bar" situated
in the middle of this unit. The user manual indicated the T-Bar
is designed to do provide fade-to-black and fade-to-video capabilities.
It turns out after talking with the folks at Edirol, however,
this feature will not be available until their next release (ver
1.5 - the equipment used for this review was version 1.013). For
now, the T-Bar changes the scale of the time-line. Actually, in
the 1.5 version you will have the option of selecting either fade-to-black
or time-line scale adjustment.
Finally, the DV-7 comes equipped with
an audio fader that gives you control over each of the three available
audio tracks as well as a master control. For our
testing purposes, we included the use of the DV-7C.
Capturing Data
The first thing we noticed was the ease
with which we were able to get this system up and running. We,
literally, unboxed it, connected power, monitor, mouse, keyboard,
and other devices, fired up the unit, and after a few seconds
time we were staring at the Editing Screen - ready to get
to work!
After spending a short time experimenting with
the Sample project that came included with the system,
we were ready to begin capturing some of our own footage. For
this test, we connected our Canon GL1 camera to the DV port located
on the front panel using the included 4-pin to 4-pin DV cable.
We also, connected a Sony Trinitron color display monitor utilizing
one of the two composite output ports on the back of the unit.
For sound, we attached Edirol's MA-10D Amplified Digital Micro-Monitor
speakers.
After opening
a new project, we clicked the Capture button located on
the Tool Bar. This Tool Bar contains five buttons: Title,
Capture, Output, Library and Audio CD. Each of these buttons displays
the tools most often used.
Clicking the Capture button opens the Capture
Screen. This screen includes a number of helpful controls
including a preview screen, an audio input level meter with adjustment
slider, a time code counter, and capture Start/Stop buttons. One
nice feature (especially for those who are sometimes a little
intimidated computers) is the Input Select box. This box
displays an image corresponding to the actual input jack that
will be used for capturing video. Having this visual representation
can prevent inadvertent or misleading placement of connections.
Nice touch!
The DV-7 supports device control and we had
no problems beginning our capture process all from within the
Capture Screen. We experienced no problems capturing our 30-minutes
of footage and appreciated the automatic shut-off of the camera
once we reached the end of our tape. Of course, we could have
started and stopped capturing at any time using the controls provided.
Our first disappointment came when we noticed
that our entire piece of footage was contained in a single clip.
I only found out "after-the-fact" that there is a "DV
Auto Split" option that automatically splits material when
a RECord or PAUSE operation is performed during taping. It would
have been better, in my opinion, if that option were set as the
default.
Capture Audio
Capturing
audio was a delight! Selecting the Audio CD button displays
the Audio CD window which allows you to capture directly from
the CD-ROM drive on the front panel of the DV-7 unit.
This window displays all tracks on the CD and
allows you to preview each track before capture. Capturing tracks
is as easy as highlighting the desired track and clicking the
Capture button. We found this to be easy and trouble free.
All captured tracks are placed in the Audio palette in the Editing
window for easy access.
Editing Data
The real fun starts
once you've captured your video and audio. The DV-7 supports a
Timeline and Storyboard palette. The DV-7 utilizes a total of
eight tracks on its timeline: the Main video track, a secondary
video track for placing two-screen compositing (such as picture-in-picture),
two titling tracks, three audio tracks and a transition effect
track.
Most editing actions were drag-and-drop or executed
by mouse clicks. It would have been nice, however, to have keyboard
shortcuts. Having to, essentially, rely on the mouse for all command
execution was a little distracting from the editing process. Utilizing
the DV-7C controller tended to offset this minor inconvenience,
however.
The DV-7 includes a generous suite of transitions
and effects. The Effect Window, located in the upper right-hand
corner of the Editing window, displays icons for the various effects,
arranged by category. The categories include: Transition FX, Composition
FX, Filter FX and Audio FX. Each effect is customizable so you
can spend lots of time adjusting effects to your liking.
The Time palette utilizes a vertical position
bar for scrubbing and a time scale is conveniently placed along
the top of the palette. A nice feature of the audio tracks on
the timeline is that they expand to display greater detail which
comes in handy when intricate video or audio edits are required.
All video and audio
clips and titles are editable and, when selected, open to their
own editing window. We were a bit confused initially because
updates made to clips residing in the timeline are not also made
to the original material found in the palette. You need
to remember that fact to prevent the inadvertent overwriting of
modified material.
Output Data
Outputting a completed sequence of tape
requires selecting the Output Tool from the main Editing
window. Output of video can be made through the supplied analog
output jacks on the back of the unit or through the use of one
of the two DV ports.
The Output window
includes an Output Select drop-down list which displays
the various output connections. We simply selected the output
item corresponding to the connection we were using. For
this test, we used both DV and analog output. Both worked
smoothing, and in realtime! No rendering was required! Wow!
I should note here
that with certain effects some rendering is required. It is recommended
to select the "Auto Rendering" option. In this
way, effects that require rendering will do so during the edit
process and, once completed, will display in realtime.
What we Liked...
I have
only touched on some of the many capabilities of this virtually
self-contained video/audio editing system. There is certainly more than enough goodies to
keep most videographers happy and busy. There are a number
of features worthy of note and I'll touch on them now.
The DV-7 has excellent
Titling capabilities. Two titling tracks are available in
the Edit window and these should handle most requirements.
Titles are easily created and are fully customizable. There
are controls for setting Title In times and effects as
well as Title Out. Other features include 25 pre-installed
text fonts (I understand additional fonts may be imported), a
text warp feature as well as a formatting panel that allows you
to add other embellishments.
I was also
impressed with the Video and Audio Capture feature. Each
has an easy interface and provide enough controls to easily work
with video and audio clips. The device control feature was
also a plus.
I also found
the Audio tracks on the timeline to be easy to manipulate.
The "expand" feature made adjusting sound levels a snap.
Of course,
realtime output of completed sequences speaks for itself.
What a delight it was to complete our test project and immediately
output it to both MiniDV (back to our GL1) and our trusty VCR!
Big plus!
Although most
folks may not think this is a big deal, I liked the included user
manual. Too often I have been lost in a sea of words and
"techno-jargon". This manual, however, was concise
and easy to follow. There were enough pictures to keep things
interesting and enough technical information to make it worth
the reading.
the DV-7 has
an included Library feature that I like very much.
With the Library you have the ability to move clips from one project
to another. Nice touch because I often create reusable clips
and having the ability to "share" with other projects
reduces editing time significantly.
Finally, I
enjoyed working with the DV-7C Controller. While not necessary
to work with the DV-7, the controller sped up editing time to
a good degree. I particularly found the jog and shuttle
device to be useful. At a MSRP of $325, however, this may
be more of a luxury.
What gave us trouble...
Like
with most products, there will always be something that needs
fixing or improving. The DV-7 is no exception. While
there are many features that performed quite well; still there
were others that gave me concern.
The first of which
was the unexpected System 'hang' that occurred while applying
a dissolve effect between two clips. I was forced to do
a hard 'reset' of the system. To DV-7's credit, however,
my project came back without the loss of previous work.
I am told that each action taken initiates an immediate "save".
Nice, but still I am concerned when the system decides to take
an unexpected "vacation" at the expense of my project!
Another BIG
"Gotcha" was the loss of video/audio sync that occurred
after I was removing an unwanted portion of a clip within my video
sequence. Re-sync'ing audio and video is a "pain",
to say the least, and left me feeling a little more than concerned.
In addition
to losing audio/video sync, I also lost "all" audio
for no apparent reason. This was really strange. It
just stopped! After attempting a number of actions to restore
sound I finally resorted to restarting the application.
This seemed to work as sound was restored but left me a little
baffled as to why this happened in the first place.
It would have been
nice if the DV-7 came with some kind of burner (CD or DVD).
For those outputting to something other than VHS or MiniDV the
risk of adding additional equipment dollars is very real.
I would also have
liked to seen a larger hard disk. The included 60 GB drive
will contain just over 4 hours of video which could be limiting
to a more serious video professional. The optional removable
hard drive also tops out at 60 GB and will contain about 5 hours
of additional footage.
Finally, there
were moment during the review I felt the system was working harder
than I was. At times, commands seemed sluggish. For
example, when scrubbing a particular clip the video portion seemed
to halt mid-stream in the Preview window. The sound was
fine but it seemed as though the video was trying to "catch
up". For a system that is advertised as being optimized
for video and audio editing you would think it would have behaved
with a little more robustness.
Recommendations...
The first question that comes to my mind
is: Is this system for everyone? In my view, the answer
is 'no'. Second: Is there a market for this system?
To this, my answer is 'yes'.
Competition will
be stiff when pitted against other high-end professional video
editing systems. However, I believe there are many videographers,
or people serious about getting into this business, who have little
experience or interest with a PC or MAC based editing system.
People who would appreciate a true turn-key solution. One
that comes out-of-the-box configured to do one, and only one thing,
and that's to produce high quality digital video. To those
folks, the DV-7 may be just the ticket.
If you are the
kind of person who could care less about knowing the difference
between a RAM chip and a RAM drive, and are looking for an integrated
solution for video and audio editing, you may wish to consider
the VideoCanvas DV-7 from Edirol.
Kevin Carpenter
Guy Graphics
More information about the DV-7:
Edirol
VideoCanvas DV-7
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