Camera, Imaging & Optics

What is the difference between the SI-2K MINI and SiliconDVR?

The SI-2K MINI is the hardware component of the Silicon Imaging camera system, while SiliconDVR is the software component that drives and controls the camera hardware. SiliconDVR is designed to be both an embedded in-the-field recorder and also suiteable for studio or "video-village" style desktop environments. SiliconDVR will be a common software platform capable of supporting multiple future hardware devices in the Silicon Imaging 2K-series of cameras, with the SI-2K MINI being the first commercially available hardware device supported.

Will you be supporting B4-mount (Sony mount) lenses?

Yes, the new 2K-B4™ from P+S Technik allow you to mount B4-mount lenses without the optical aberations associated with placing lenses designed for 3-chip cameras on single-chip designs.

Who makes the hard-drive carrier for the SI-2K, and what drive types does it support?

Our drive carrier fits in a standard 3.5" drive enclosure defined by the ATX standard. It is currently a device made by CRU-dataport. CRU has been making removeable drive enclosures not only for the commercial sector, but also for the goverment, military, police, and other high-demand physical industrial environments. The drive carrier itself can take any 2.5" SATA or IDE drive, including off-the-shelf HDD's from Segate, Hitachi, Toshiba, etc., as well as SSD's (solid state disks) from SanDisk, Samsung, and PNY.

Are there any C-mount lenses which match the quality of the traditional PL mount optics?

Yes. Fujinon has a series of low-cost C-mount lenses rated for 2/3” sensors up to 5 megapixels, easily exceeding the optical resolution of the 2/3” CMOS sensor in the SI-2K MINI. Other 16mm film-style c-mount lenses from manufacturers like Schneider or Switar can also be of use, and should provide enough optical resolution. In either case, prime lenses are suggested for the maximum optical quality.

Is the SI-2K MINI compatible with all my current film and HD camera optics and accessories?

Yes.  The SI-2K MINI supports a removable lens mount with support for a variety of PL-mount lenses for Super16 and 16mm film cameras.  Other adapters for additional lens mounts can be mounted to the 28mm lens adapter ring or the base c-mount for alternative lens choices.

The SI-2K MINI is designed for the BP series of Arri baseplates, as well as containing an internal mount for light-weight 15mm rods.

How far away can I place the remote camera head from the controlling computer platform?

The remote head can be up to 100m from the camera body using copper gigabit ethernet connections. With the addition of a fiber link (such as one from Geffen), distances can be extended to over 1Km.

Does Silicon Imaging plan on making an S35 size sensor camera?

Silicon Imaging has been developing high-speed and large format cameras beyond 2/3" chips for several years. We are directly open to customer feedback, and if the our customers demand a larger format camera with its associated higher entry price point, we can do it. The cost of a camera is usually proportionate to the size of the physical pixel array. The bigger the size the fewer parts that can be made on a wafer, and the higher the resulting cost. We designed the SI-2K MINI to satisfy the demands of the bulk of the current market's cost-to-performance needs. There are always those in the market who can afford significant investments for small incremental performance in specific areas. We feel the innovative feature-set of the SI-2K MINI will provide a satisfactory cost-performance ratio with the added flexibility of a software support architecture that can grow as the market's needs change.

How is the SI-2K MINI significantly different than products currently on the market?

Currently the HD cameras available on the market, in our price range, are limited to highly compressed 8-bit codecs with visual compression artifacts, must have relatively expensive editing VTR’s to read their tapes, and in the case of HDV, record compressed 16-bit audio.  Other cameras that bypass the tape route and record direct-to-disk either use very expensive drive cartridges or solid state media that do not compete with our direct-to-disk approach that utilizes any modern 2.5” 5400RPM off-the-shelf ATA drive.  In both cases, there is NO camera on the market under $60K with an on-board recorder that records to a 10-bit format at 2K DCI-compliant resolutions.  We at Silicon Imaging feel that these current compromises by other camera manufactures with their 8-bit DCT codecs can’t meet the requirements and flexibility of high-end film-making in the same manner that the 10-bit CineForm RAW™ format can.

I’ve noticed the SI-2K MINI is a single-sensor design.  Does this mean that it’s using a Bayer mosaic to generate color?  If so, does that mean that there’s significant resolution loss over 3-Chip prism designs?

There are a number of advantages to the single-sensor design over the traditional 3-chip design.  Single-sensor designs require much simpler lens designs because they do not need to overcome the artifacts induced by the prism of a 3-chip camera, resulting in cheaper lenses.  We have chosen for our 2/3” sensor to use the PL-mount that is the current standard among film-camera designs, meaning that any current 16mm and Super16 PL-lenses on the market can be used with the SI-2K MINI and maintain full compatibility with the numerous amount of film-accessories on the market.  Additionally other lens mounts can be adapted to fit the PL-mount, such as B4(Sony)-mount, C-mount, F-mount, etc., providing a number of optical options for the end-user. 

Unlike other single-sensor cameras that rely on FPGA’s for real-time demosaic of the Bayer image, our software-based approach and custom Bayer codec demosaic the image with a complicated, iterative non-linear algorithm, resulting in a very accurate, artifact free image that maintains as much of the original resolution of the camera as possible. Additionally the installed optical low-pass filter is an optional item, meaning that if the user desires greater sharpness or apparent resolution, they can remove the optical low-pass filter.

If the SI-2K MINI captures pixel data with a 12-bit A/D converter, but only records at 10-bit, isn’t dynamic range lost?

No.  While we are not using a logarithmic file format for saving the information off the camera head, the gamma-correction LUT we are using was designed to visually maintain the entire dynamic range that the camera head can deliver in a 12-to-10-bit conversion workflow. Also because we are capturing a 10-bit file using a high-dynamic range/low-noise sensor, there is much more room for under-exposure than other 8-bit tape-based formats and CCD-based HD cameras, so the user can maintain highlight detail by under-exposing the camera without damaging any information in the shadows.  The noise floor is the only limit for dynamic range.   We are not doing what is typical of the Rec. ITU-709 transfer curve that clips the highlights and throws away the over-exposure headroom of the sensor, nor are we relying on dynamic knee controls to “automatically” squeeze as much visual dynamic range into the recorded image.  The LUT, along with its associated fixed knee, is designed to transfer the entire dynamic range that the sensor captured to the 10-bit CineForm RAW™ file format.

What is SET BLACK, and how often should I do it?

SET BLACK calibrates the black level of the sensor, performing a correction of any fixed pattern noise and column-to-column variations created from inconsistencies in the analog-to-digital conversion process, as well as removing any hot or deviant pixels. Fixed pattern noise on a CMOS sensor looks like a fixed "screen-door" effect, or like fixed vertical lines going down the image, and is typically visible in darker or gained up portions of the image. All CMOS sensors have this attribute, but because this fixed pattern noise is a black pure offset, it can easily be removed through a subtraction process which the SET BLACK operations performs. Furthermore, Altasens CMOS sensor designs exhibit extremely low amounts of fixed pattern noise, further enabling the SI-2K to maintain clean blacks after a calibration operation.

After a SET BLACK operation, SiliconDVR saves the black frame for that resolution on the disk so that it can be recalled the next time you boot the program or swich modes. This prevents the user from having to repeatedly cover the lens and SET BLACK. It also saves a listing of deviant pixels that are masked out, preventing them from being embedded in the recorded RAW files.

The frequency of having to SET BLACK will depend on the shooting environment and the subject matter. Typically after approximately five minutes from a cold boot, the camera will reach a temperature stabilization point where any further deviation will be insignificant compared to that which occured in the first five minutes. Another black recalibration may not be necessary for hours thereafter, espcially if one is shooting complex scenery or brighter scenery that is not against dimly lit flat white subject matter (where fixed pattern noise, if it's apparent will typically be the most visible). If one is shooting in hot environment, or is changing the environment rapidly, black recalibrations may be necessary. Also for dark scenes where the shadows are gained up higher, black recalibration may be required more often to make sure that there are no inconsistencies in the blacks with fixed pattern noise that gain may result from temperature variations within the camera as it runs.

What is the dynamic range and sensitivity of the SI-2K MINI?

Approximately 11 f-stops , or around 2000:1. The ISO rating is 320 at 0db.

What are the ISO's for the other gain settings?

For -3db, the native ISO is 250. At +3db, it increases to apprioximately ISO 400. At +6db it increases to ISO 640. +9db increase the ISO to 800. and +12db increases the camera native ISO to 1000.

The gain stages of the SI-2K are analog, and therefore provide smoother gain results that digital gains. Because they are analog though, they are not reversable metadata.

IMPORTANT NOTE: When increasing the analog gains on the camera more than +/-3db, a black recalibration step should be performed for optimum image performance, especially in the shadows to prevent any fixed pattern noise artifacts.

PC & Networking

Can I use a Apple Macbook Pro to record from the SI-2K Mini?

Yes. You will need to boot the MacBook Pro into Windows XP 32-bit using Bootcamp. We recommend users either have a 2.33Ghz or 2.4Ghz model with at least 2GB of RAM in order to run SiliconDVR. Also be sure to configure the internal NIC for 9K packets, which is accomplished in the Windows device manager for the NIC.

Can I use Vista?

Currently SiliconDVR is not supported under Vista. It is only supported under Windows XP 32-bit only.

What are the differences between the SI-2K MINI and the Wafian HR-1, and can the two work together?

The Wafian HR-1 can run SiliconDVR, essentially using the Wafian like any other controlling PC platform. Additionally, the Wafian can ingest from a variety of other YUV-based analog and digital camera sources, and should be strongly considered if one is doing a multi-camera shoot. The Wafian can also serve as a centralized NAS hub for CineForm RAW™ recording, with files from the SI-2K MINI and SiliconDVR-based recording PC being streamed over gigabit ethernet to the Wafian in the background while recording of other devices takes place in the foreground. Using the Wafian as a centralized NAS, CineForm RAW™ and YUV HD files can then be seamlessly edited together on a single Premiere Pro timeline without any cross-rendering needed for real-time performance.

I own a Core 2 Duo 2.16GHz notebook. Can I use it?

Only for 1080/24P/25P recording and below, as this processor speed will not be capable of keeping up with the recording of 2K projects.

Software

How do I pass .look files between SiliconDVR and SpeedGrade OnSet?

We've created a step-by-step tutorial video demonstrating the integration between SiliconDVR and SpeedGrade OnSet. You can view this video and other training videos in our workflow section of the website.

I've taken my AVI/QT files to a new machine, and the "look" is gone? What do I do?

You need to "register" the .look file by having a machine with CineForm RAW installed (either using the free NeoPlayer from CineForm, or one of the other cross-platform Neo or Prospect packages). Registering a .look is done by taking the .look files for that project (which are located in the same recording directory as the AVI/QT files), and simply double-clicking the .look file.

Why am I seeing a red screen in embedded Iridas OnSet and a red-and-white checker-board pattern in SpeedGrade OnSet when I open a .look file?

The solid red screen or the red-white checkerboard comes from not having a .cube, .ilut, or .itx file installed in a location that IRIDAS can see to generate the .look file.

These .cube, .ilut, and .itx files must be installed inside of /Program Files/IRIDAS SpeedGrade OnSet/LUTs/ or /Program Files/Silicon Imaging/Silicon DVR/Data/Iridas/LUTs/ in order for SpeedGrade OnSet or embedded OnSetto locate them.

These LUT files are specific to IRIDAS products, so they do not need to be carried around to any other applications that you will use in the post chain. Outside of SpeedGrade OnSet, the CineForm engine *only* looks at the final .look file. If you open a .look file, you'll see in the XML a tag called <data></data>. That is containing the 3D LUT that CineForm is referencing. So everything that CineForm needs is inside the .look file.

With trying to modify the .look inside of SpeedGrade OnSet though, since you're now trying to modify the original .look file, it's no longer using the information in the <data></data> tags, and instead is trying to regenerate the .look from the source parameters. You therefore have to have one of these source LUT's (i.e., the .ilut, .cube, or .itx) in order to regenerate the .look file, hence the reason for the red-checker pattern.

What is the point of these .itx, .cube, and .ilut files? Why do I need them in the first place?

These LUT files are typically used for pre-calibration of the image inside of SpeedGrade OnSet in order to align the RAW data from the camera into a specific color-space that creative "looks" can then be properly applied to.

For instance our imaging pipeline inside a .look file may look something like this:

RAW File (pre-white-balanced, but camera native color-space) -> Calibration to a "base point color-space " through the "Matrix & LUT" tab using LUT's and a matrix or maybe just a single 3D LUT -> Creative color correction -> Output LUT (this last stage is optional . . . could be print emulation) by adding another LUT shader as the last shader layer in SpeedGrade OnSet.

The power of a 3D LUT system like the IRIDAS .look file is that it can concatenate all these transformations into one LUT that the camera then uses to create the WYSIWYG "look" from the RAW camera data in real-time on the camera display, and embed in the AVI/QT as metadata that you take into post for further manipulation. Since the .look file is a 32-bit float representation of the color-correction, no information from the RAW file is clipped.

In cases where more than one LUT is required (such as the output LUT stage described above), using more than one LUT creates a compouding effect in that the output of one LUT becomes the input into the next LUT that is further downstream. Since the LUT's are floating point, they can reverse each other but it's easiest to think of this process as a node-type approach just as any other filtering system where you add one node after the other (i.e., Shake), and the output of one node is the input to the next one.

How do I modify a .look file inside of Premiere Pro or other application using CineForm RAW™?

Because CineForm RAW is just using the 3D LUT information inside the .look file, which is a "flattened" final output from the SpeedGrade OnSet process, there is no additional metadata needed, or accessible from inside Premiere Pro. You can't modify .look files inside of Premiere Pro. CineForm is just allowing you to modify the color metadata information that is placed into our AVI/QT files. This pipeline goes as follows:

RAW (no color-correction) -> White Balance -> Matrix -> 3D LUT.

The matrix transformation in this case is actually a legacy function, and should not be used for normal purposes except for slight tweaking to the image such as exposure adjustment. The rest of the functionality in the matrix such as saturation, etc. can be wrapped into the .look file itself. The main things to be concerned about are the White-Balance and the Look sections. You can change the white-balance using the slider, and that information is then passed as the input into the .look file (3D LUT). Please note that the RAW file information being passed into the SpeedGrade LUT is typically white-balanced first. CineForm RAW gives you the controls to re-do the white-balance, and white-balance is decoupled from the 3D LUT. This was done so that the end user will not have to be concered with .look files all tied to one specific white-balance setting, or requiring multiple versions of .look files all giving the same "look" at different white-balance settings. Instead, one can simply change the white-balance in the camera like what would normally happen on any other camera, and the 3D LUT will give a similar "look" because it's getting passed the same pre-white-balanced information. Basically the white-balance is serving as a pre-calibration, or pre-normalization step, so once normalized data is passed into the 3D LUT, it should behave in a similar fashion no matter what the white-balance is.

Do I need to purchase Adobe and Prospect-2K to Edit the SI footage in Final-Cut?

Not necessarily. CineForm will be releasing a version of Neo2K Edit for OSX that will enable RAW editing within Final Cut Pro. Until this version is released though, you will have to use Adobe products and Prospect-2K on Windows to convert the RAW AVI footage files over to QT's compatible with Final Cut Pro. Please contact CineForm for more information on the release of RAW editing for Neo2K on OSX, and any cross-platform "cross-over" licenses they may be able to provide as an interim solution if your final goal is to edit soley on Final Cut Pro and OSX, and not use Windows XP.