Convergent Design unveils nano3D
Posted on Apr 13, 2010 by Alex Fice
Building on the successful nanoFlash, Convergent Design has unveiled, nano3D, one of the world’s smallest professional 3D-HD portable recorder/player. nano3D combines two nanoFlash recorders/players, for fully-synchronized stereoscopic recording and playback. Additionally, nano3D can also be used for simultaneous off-line/online (high quality + proxy modes) or redundant (2 identical masters) recording.
The diminutive size: 3”(H) x 4.2” (L) x 3.8”(W), lightweight (2 lbs), and lower power (12 W), makes nano3D an ideal choice for almost every 3D camera rig. nano3D utilizes the very high quality full-raster 4:2:2 Sony MPEG2 CODEC, but extends the bit-rate up to 280 Mbps for superb video quality. Compressed video and audio are stored on affordable Compact Flash media (now up to 64GB) in Quicktime or MXF file format, providing universal NLE support, including Avid, Final Cut Pro, Edius, Vegas and Premiere.
As a recorder, nano3D features dual HD-SDI inputs as well as a LTC input for time-code. It supports a wide range of video formats, including 1080i60/50, 1080p30/25/24, and 720p60/50/30/25/24. I-Frame only recording (up to 280 Mbps) guarantees that both the left and right frames are processed identically, for superior 3D rendering. Finally, up to 8-channels of embedded audio per HD-SDI stream can be recorded in uncompressed 24-bit 48KHz format, enabling full HD 5.1 or 7.1 program creation.
As a playback device, nano3D offers the standard dual-stream synchronized HD-SDI output. However, what really sets nano3D apart, is the built-in combiner function which merges the left and right video into one of the popular 3D formats such as side by side, top and bottom, or line by line. The merged video is output over a single HD-SDI cable for display on professional 3D monitors. Furthermore, the addition of a low-cost HD-SDI to HDMI converter enables the 3D HD-SDI stream to be displayed on consumer 3D TVs. This is important, as a large-screen is considered essential for critical analysis of 3D material.
”The nano3D is a significant advance, since for the first time, a low-cost 3D recorder / 3D playback solution will allow the immediate critical analysis of footage on-set, allowing for an immediate confirmation that the scene was recorded properly. This will enable 3D projects to be shot with confidence”, said Dan Keaton, Director of Sales and Marketing for Convergent Design.
“nanoFlash revolutionized the market as an affordable high-quality recorder that could be mounted-on and powered-by, your camera. nanoFlash continues to set the standard in terms of size, weight, power, and quality. We expect nano3D, with synchronized record / playback and built-in stream combiner, will now revolutionize 3D production,” noted Mike Schell, President of Convergent Design.
