FROM OUR BLOG: WHICH EDIUS IS RIGHT FOR ME?
 The
first thing that I should say about the new EDIUS NX/SP HDV solutions
is WOW! Anyone that was able to view our demos at the DVExpo can
attest to the quality of the HD output from the Canopus cards,
but that is just the beginning.
The new EDIUS cards are the
first hardware-based HDV accelerated-editing cards available for
the PC. They support the new HDV compression format and will work
with both the JVC and Sony HDV camcorders. For this review I did
all testing with a Sony HDR-FX1 HDV camcorder except where noted.
Also, I will be talking about
the EDIUS SP and EDIUS NX cards in this review as if they were
the same product (hereafter referred to as "The EDIUS Cards").
They are functionally equivalent with the major differences being
the additional I/O capabilities of the EDIUS SP. I'll be going
over all the specific differences between the cards as well as
the NX expansion kit in a section below.
 The EDIUS Cards are a new breed of card from Canopus.
The hardware functions as a codec processing unit, analog/digital
converter and realtime effects accelerator. Based on the same
scalable technology that Canopus is famous for, The EDIUS Cards
will perform better in higher powered computers. At the very least
you will need a dual XEON computer with a PCIe video card. While
The EDIUS Cards will function in single P4 systems with AGP video
cards you will not be able to edit HDV with such a setup. This
means that most DVStorm users who may be considering one of the
new EDIUS Cards as an upgrade will also need a complete system
overhaul. In terms of performance, the determining factors will
be CPU speed, Hard drive speed, video card performance and RAM.
For the majority of this review I used a system with the following
configuration:
Dual Xeon 3.6GHz CPUs
4GB DDR2 RAM
i7525 Motherboard
Nvidia Quadro FX 3000
800GB RAID (2x400GB SATA, 120MB/sec r/w)
For other system specifics visit our
workstation configurator.
Installation
Assuming you have a properly
configured machine with approved components, installation is very
easy. The EDIUS Cards take up two PCI slots. The main card needs
to be installed in a 64bit for HDV editing capability while the
component output card can be installed in a standard 32bit PCI
slot. The cards connect together via a 1394 cable, a small ribbon
cable and an audio cable that also passes the audio to the sound
card. No more external loop through cables!
Once The EDIUS Cards are installed,
the software installation is a breeze. The drivers and EDIUS Pro
3 software is a straightforward menu-driven procedure. Once that's
done the TitleMotion Pro installation software can be run (not
available on NX systems without Expansion Kit)
Externally you can connect your
gear to the EDIUS Card I/O. If you have an HD monitor you'll want
to connect it to the Component Output PCI card using the BNC connectors.
(Note that The EDIUS Cards do not come with any analog cables).
EDIUS Hardware
The EDIUS card set is comprised
of two cards. The main card is a dual-layer card that uses the
same board for both version on the bottom portion (different firmware).
The top layer card contains the I/O, with the NX providing Y/C
and composite video and unbalanced audio. The SP adds component
SD and balanced audio. I/O is provided with an "octopus"
cable on the SP or via the optional 19-inch rack-mountable breakout
box. On the NX I/O is available on the back of the card and on
the optional bay (available in the expansion kit).
The second card is the HD component
output card. This card's primary purpose is to take the video
from the timeline (25mb/s HD @ 1440x1080i for HDV projects) and
convert it in realtime to uncompressed 1920x1080i. The card has
component BNC connectors that can be connected to any HD monitor
capable of displaying 1080i. (For NX users this card is only available
with the Expansion Kit). This card does not appear to be necessary
to edit HDV, but is required to get analog HD out of your machine
in realtime. This card will also output uncompressed component
SD when editing in the D1 project mode.
During our testing we were only
able to get either HD or SD to output depending on the editing
mode. In other words, we could not get HD and SD to output simultaneously
while editing HDV footage. This was confirmed by Canopus as currently
not working. The published information about the EDIUS cards seems
to indicate this will work as does the "multifunction"
option in the output setting screen of EDIUS. So, we wait for
the definitive answer or fix from Canopus to see if this will
work as hoped.
EDIUS SP vs NX
While the performance and functionality
of the EDIUS NX and EDIUS SP are identical, there is a $2000 difference
between the two packages. The main difference is the additional
I/O provided by the EDIUS SP. In addition to the composite and
s-video (Y/C) I/O, the SP also has component I/O, balanced audio
and RS-422 device control.
 EDIUS NX Expansion Kit
If you are looking at the EDIUS
NX you'll want to know that there is an optional Expansion Kit
available for it. The Expansion Kit includes the NXBay and the
Component Output PCI card mentioned above.
 EDIUS SP BOB
The Breakout Box option available
for the SP provides easy access to all the I/O options available
in a neat 19" breakout box. The box is basically a pass through
cable to the back of the card. Too bad there is no I/O on the
front of the box.
ADVC Functionality
The new EDIUS Cards also include
full ADVC functionality with analog filtering similar to the ADVC-300.
This is important because it means that the hardware can be used
with any OHCI compatible editing software. Applications like Vegas,
Adobe Premiere, Avid Xpress and more will all work with The EDIUS
Cards, but The Cards will not provide any acceleration without
special plugins.
Capture Formats
An important feature of The
EDIUS Cards is that they can capture analog video as uncompressed.
This is important for those that are still dealing with SD video
and need quality above that of the DV format. Note that analog
HD video cannot be captured.
Standard Definition Analog footage
can also be captured using the Canopus DV, Canopus HQ, or Canopus
lossless codecs.
I captured a 30 second analog
clip with each of the four codecs and came up with the following:
D1 (uncompressed) - 624MB
DV - 110MB
HQ (SD resolution) - 90MB
Lossless - 249MB
HDV footage can be captured
via the iLink port directly in Edius. While the HD project setting uses the HQ codec, HDV footage is saved as a MPEG2 Transport Stream (.mts) unless converted to the HQ format. HDV footage cannot be captured to the HQ format (directly in Edius). Note: This was only the case with the first versions of Edius Pro. Starting with version 3.6 and higher realtime capture to HQ from HDV is possible from within Edius, and is now the default.
For those that are using the
Panasonic DVCPro50 or DVCProHD acquisition formats you will need
to spend an additional $1000 for the optional Canopus Codec Pack. This is a software only upgrade. Note: The codec option is now part of the Edius Broadcast version.
The Canopus HQ codec
Some of Canopus' competition
make a point of specifying that they edit HDV (or will be when
they actually are shipping product) using "the native HDV
transport stream format" with their software-based editing
solutions. For those using this as a critical point against Canopus,
please note that the EDIUS software and EDIUS hardware cards are
fully capable of editing the native HDV format. If this is such
a good thing why does Canopus have a new codec for editing HDV?
To get to the bottom of this I went straight to the Canopus Japanese
site: http://www.canopus.co.jp/catalog/hdws/hq_codec.htm
Basically, The Canopus HQ codec
is better than HDV and even DVCPRO-HD codecs:) The HQ codec maintains
a 4:2:2 color space which is important for keying and compositing.
Since the HQ codec is not limited by a specified data rate, the
HQ codec uses a variable datarate which can fluctuate according
to the need of the video beyond the simple variation provided
by a restricted datarate determined by a tape speed.
From the Canopus website: "The
HQ codec supports the HDV resolutions employed by Sony and JVC,
1440 x 1080 and 1280 x 720 respectively, with intra-field coding
as opposed to inter-frame coding featured with HDV. This provides
high-quality, frame-accurate editing of footage, while maintaining
the image quality at 4:2:2 chroma sub-sampling, compared to HDV's
4:2:0 sub-sampling."
Output Formats
Realtime DV Out - The hardware will output DV as long
as you are editing in the DV or D1 modes. There is no DV out when
set to the HD editing modes.
HDV Out - The only way to get HDV out (to record back
to your HDV deck or camera) is by using the MPEG TS Writer utility.
There is no realtime HDV output.
Analog Out (Component PCI
Card) - If you have
the SP or NX expansion kit you will have the additional Component
PCI card. These outputs are only active in the HD editing mode
and in the SD editing mode. They do not work in the DV Project
setting.
Analog Out (EDIUS card) - The S-video, Composite, and Component
(SP Only) outputs will output standard definition video while
editing with the SD and DV project settings. The Analog Outs are
not live when editing in HD mode.
Using EDIUS 3 Pro
The principal editing tool included
with The EDIUS Cards is none other than its namesake, EDIUS. This
time we get the newest version of EDIUS -- EDIUS Pro 3.1. This
newer, improved version boasts many exciting features with an
improved interface and the capability to mix multiple formats
on the timeline. While I'll leave most of the features for another
EDIUS-specific review, I'll mention one here:
Layout: Since most HD projects will involve mixes multiple
types of video it is important to be able to mix them together
in a predictable way. The Layout tool (accessible by right-clicking
on any clip on the timeline) takes care of the scaling of HD and
SD footage in a 4:3 or 16:9 project.
Titlemotion Pro
I debated on mentioning this
software in my review, but I feel that having a good titler is
important. Titlemotion Pro has been my favorite titler for years
and is now included with the EDIUS SP card. For NX users it is
included in the Expansion Kit. This updated version supports HD
and SD resolutions. Once it is installed it becomes the default
titler and can be accessed by clicking the "T" on the
timeline.
EDIUS also includes a new QuickTitler.
It is good for basic needs but may be too basic for some.
What about Adobe Premiere
support?
Conspicuously absent from the
EDIUS package are any drivers for Adobe Premiere. There is a paper
included with the package indicating that drivers are forthcoming
and will be available for a free download. As of the time of this
writing Beta drivers are available on the Canopus site. Since
these drivers are beta I will not remark on them at this time.
Canopus assures us that while
support for Adobe Premiere is important to them, their main focus
will be on EDIUS. There is no version of The EDIUS Cards bundled
with the Adobe software.
Testing the EDIUS Cards
For my tests I used the following
footage:
Test footage provided by Canopus
(HQ codec converted from DVCProHD)
HDV Native footage (Captured from Sony HDR-FX1)
Canopus HQ footage (Captured via analog)
Uncompressed SD (Captured via analog)
Lossless SD (Captured via analog)
Canopus DV (Digital Juice Jumpbacks converted with Juicer)
Canopus DV (Captured from Panasonic DVX100)
DV Editing Mode Performance
For my first test I wanted to
see how well The EDIUS Cards would edit DV footage. I set up a
new project using the DV NTSC 4:3 preset. All other settings were
left at default.
Using my own captured DV footage
and Jumpbacks I set up a project to test how many layers could
be played back in realtime. I started by setting one clip as the
background layer. Every 10 seconds I added another clip as a PIP
on another track. This is the procedure I followed during the
course of all my testing with different media formats. I would
continue adding layers until I received the "PCI BUS BUSY"
(PBB) dialog box.
Results:
Using Canopus DV clips I was
able play back 20 layers without a single hiccup. I'm sure I could
have added more, but I got tired of adding video tracks and arranging
the PIPs.
Using 1 HDV clip as the background
I was able to add 18 layers of DV before PBB.
Using 2 HDV clips (one as background,
one as moving PIP) I was able to add 12 layers of DV before PBB.
Using 3 HDV clips (one background,
two moving PIPs) I was able to add 6 layers of DV before PBB.
I could sustain 3 HDV clips
in realtime. PBB would occur when a fourth HDV clip was added.
Output:
While in DV Editing mode I got
realtime output from the DV-out and Analog-outputs. There was
no output from the Component PCI card.
HDV Editing Mode Performance
For my second test I set up
a new project using the HD 1440x1080/60i preset. I set up a similar
project as my DV test using HDV files.
Results:
I could sustain playback of
4 HDV clips (one background, three PIPs). PBB would occur when
a fourth HDV PIP was added. PBB would also occur when an DV clip
was added.
Using 3 HDV clips (one background,
two moving PIPs) I was able to add 2 layers of DV before PBB.
Using DV only I could add 4
clips (one background, three moving PIP). Any additional Clips
caused PBB.
I was able to Chromakey 1 HDV
layer over an HDV background layer. Any additional video (DV or
HDV) would cause PBB.
Outputs:
While in HDV Editing Mode I
got realtime output from the Component output (1080i) only. There
is no output from the DV port or any of the other analog ports
in HD mode.
D1 (uncompressed) Editing
Mode Performance
The EDIUS Cards can handle uncompressed
D1 video as either 4:3 or 16:9. I set up a new project with the
default D1 settings.
Results:
I was able to play 2 uncompressed
layers in realtime. An additional layer would cause PBB.
I was able play back over 20
DV layers without a problem.
I could play back 2 HDV layers
and 4 DV layers.
Outputs:
The D1/SD mode is the only setting
which makes all the outputs function simultaneously. The DV port
outputs in realtime. The analog ports all output. The component
PCI card also outputs (SD).
DVD Encoding
The MPEG and DVD capabilities
are all part of Procoder Express. You can use it to burn the timeline
directly to DVD or create MPEG2 elementary files for use in your
favorite authoring application (the package comes with DVD Workshop
SE). Because the MPEG encoding is all done in software, it can
take a while depending on the project settings and the complexity
of effects. I found DV projects to render out in near realtime
while HDV projects took about 5X realtime.
There is a spot on The EDIUS
Cards for an encoder card that is not available yet. It is my
understanding that Canopus is waiting for the final HD DVD format
to be decided before it releases the encoder option. At that time
hopefully we'll get realtime encoding similar to the StormEncoder.
What about the DVStorm?
 While
the new EDIUS cards may be the DVStorm's replacement for many
users, the DVStorm still has some benefits over The EDIUS Cards.
First off, the price is significantly less. The DVStorm2 Pro with
EDIUS is about a third of the price of the EDIUS NX with the Expansion
Kit. While the DVStorm2 Pro won't output HD, it does have Component
Output and comes with the StormBay. The support for Adobe Premiere
is much more mature with the DVStorm2. If DVD production is important
to you then you'll want to consider the realtime MPEG encoding
capabilities of the DVStorm. The DVStorm allows you to capture
in realtime to MPEG and also export to MPEG in realtime from the
timeline using the hardware StormEncoder module.
HDV Editing Workflow
Since one of the main selling
points of The EDIUS Cards is their ability to edit HDV. I anticipate
that this is going to become even more important as more people
acquire the new HDV cameras and as camcorder manufacturers build
new models. If you're used to the standard DV workflow things
are a little different now.
Capture:
 If you own the Sony HDR-FX1 you'll need
to go through a specific process to capture and output your footage
pack to tape. Unfortunately, you cannot use the standard EDIUS
capture tools to capture from the FX1. You need to use the MPEG
Capture tool to transfer video from the camera to the hard drive.
The file is saved as a MPEG Transport Stream (.mts). As far as
I can tell, there is no way to batch capture .
Export:
In order to put your edited
timeline back to tape through your camera (for archival) you first
need to export the timeline to a MPEG Transport Stream file. This
is done through the integrated Procoder Express software. The
process is easy enough, but I found it to be very slow. For the
easiest test I took an HDV file (.mts extension) and put it on
the timeline of an HDV project. I then used the Procoder wizard
to export out to a new MTS file. For a one minute timeline it
took 4 minutes. A smarter exporter would have realized it was
already in the proper format.
Write to tape:
Once you have the MTS file on
your hard drive you can write it to tape by using the MPEG TS
Writer utility. This utility is straightforward enough. You simply
find your file and click a button to write back to the camera.
This happens in realtime.
Remarks:
Overall, I was disappointed
that there is not a capture method for HDV consistent with capturing
other video. With the built-in DV down conversion capability of
the FX1 I was hoping that we'd be able to capture as DV offline
(to leverage the awesome DV editing power) and have the option
to recapture the HDV streams later. Also, any DVStorm or DVRex
user will be used to a realtime output to tape. With HDV it is
a 5-6XRT procedure. Hopefully this is a temporary solution only.
Of course, if you'll be doing all your HDV online with no need
to write back to tape it won't matter.
Conclusion
EDIUS is the first hardware-based
HDV editing solution, but besides the HDV capabilities most of
the hardware is designed for dealing with analog SP I/O. Since
most of us are still dealing with SD/DV footage, and will be for
the next few years, The EDIUS Cards allow us to "kick it
up a notch" by allowing us to mix uncompressed SD with HDV
in the same project. In terms of quality, it's hard to beat the
Canopus codecs.
For the DV editor it's hard
to beat the performance offered by The EDIUS Cards. I don't know
of any other hardware that can handle as many layers in realtime.
Being able to maintain the highest quality by editing in an uncompressed
project will give you the best compositing.
Much of the realtime capabilities
seem to be handled by the EDIUS Pro software and are therefore
primarily CPU based. Compared with its software-only competitors,
The EDIUS Cards hold their own in terms of performance with similar
system requirements. The fact is that if you expect any decent
level of performance with any editing package while editing native
HDV you will need a fast dual CPU machine. My testing (currently
not published) of The EDIUS Cards on a single P4 machine indicates
the same performance level of the DVStorm while editing DV video.
Things I'd like to see added
Realtime MPEG Encoder - Once
the Blu Ray/HD DVD format war is resolved and we get our add-on
encoder I'm sure we'll get a huge advantage that only hardware
can give us. Based on the current speed of rendering an HDV timeline
down to DVD a realtime MPEG encoder will be welcome.
Simultaneous HD & SD Output
- Many users that will be buying The EDIUS Cards will be using
it for HDV editing but will also need to output SD versions. Having
to render out the timeline is one time-consuming solution. The
other option is to change the project settings, but then you need
to adjust any clip layouts and PIP settings.
Consistent HDV Capture - It
would be nice if we could capture from the FX1 just like any other
camera. This would make it a more productive tool for long-format
projects with lots of source footage.
Wrap Up
Please let me know if you have
any questions, or if there are any inaccuracies. I will be adding
more pictures, test results and details as time permits and as
the products are updated.
For more product information visit our
product listings.
Ashley Guy
video@guygraphics.com | 
