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[Dan Keaton]

Dear Friends,

Here is a Status Update on our Gemini 4:4:4 and our ARRIRAW Option.

We sold our 100th ARRIRAW Option yesterday morning, August 3, 2012. All of these are now installed in user's Gemini 4:4:4's.

We have been working on quite a few new features for the Gemini 4:4:4.

Our goal is to have all of these features fully tested and released by August 24, 2012.

1. We have implemented 4:3 support in our ARRIRAW Option for the Gemini 4:4:4.

This is a free firmware update for those with the ARRIRAW Option.

2. We have implemented anamorphic de-squeeze for 2.0 lenses.

The de-squeeze features works with our internal 5.0 inch monitor and the HD-SDI outputs.

This feature works in Live View and Playback only. During recording the extra processing that this takes prevents us from safely performing  the de-squeeze during recording.

We have not implemented de-squeeze of 1.3 anamorphic lenses.

This next release will also include our 3D Option, an extra cost feature.

This works in HD (1920 x 1080), up to 30 frames per second, and we do not currently support recording 3D in ARRIRAW.

Our 3D Option includes very sophisticated 3D Combining Functions:

Side by Side
Line by Line
Anaglyph
50% + 50% Composite
Left minus Right Luma
Right minus Left Luma

Each of the above functions can be activated for our internal monitor and our HD-SDI Output Port A, and another function can be activated separately for HD-SDI Output Port B.

We have been working very closely with Rob Stiff and greatly appreciate his support and suggestions. We did not think we could implement the de-squeeze function. Rob asked for it and we found a way to implement it.

As far as we know, our de-squeeze is industry first for an ARRIRAW recorder.

Rob also asked us for a way to record a single frame of video, quickly and easily.
We have implemented his request and we plan on enhancing this feature before we release the new firmware around August 24, 2012.

With this feature, one can easily record a single frame when the Gemini 4:4:4 is in Live View. It will only take a short time to record the single frame.

The frame will be record in industry standard DPX file format if the camera is in HD and in ARRIRAW Format if the camera is in ARRIRAW Mode.

(We may consider recording the single frame in DPX, even if the ALEXA and Gemini 4:4:4 are in ARRIRAW Mode, if we can, and if our users feel that this would be best.)

I wish to thank the ARRI ALEXA Community which has been very enthusiastic about our Gemini 4:4:4.

We provide 24/7 live technical support.
All of my phone numbers are listed at the bottom of this link.

http://convergent-design.com/Support.aspx

If you do not reach me on one number, please try another.         

[Dan Keaton]

Dear Friends,

I forgot to add that we have added Time-Lapse to the Gemini 4:4:4.

This will be included in our next firmware release.

[Rainer Fritz]

Dan, do you think there will be a way, that we could record prores 4444 in full resolution (2880x1620) when the gemini is feeded with T-Link raw signal? 

[Dan Keaton]

Dan, do you think there will be a way, that we could record prores 4444 in full resolution (2880x1620) when the gemini is feeded with T-Link raw signal?

Dear Ranier,

We are developing Avid DNxHD support for the Gemini 4:4:4.

Please forgive me if you already know all of the following:

For the sake of this post, I will refer to a Photosite as one photo sensor in the camera, and each photosite accepts the light from just one color, red, blue or green.

Also, I will refer to Pixels, with each Pixel containing Red, Blue and Green values, and these values are obtained by processing individual photosites, which is known as deBayering the image.

To record Avid DNxHD, or Apple ProRes, one has to first deBayer the images.

In 16:9 mode, the ALEXA outputs 2880 x 1620 photosites,
and in 4:3 mode 2880 x 2160 photosites.

Thus, we have to deBayer the above individual photosites, with each photosite only having the information for one color, to create the desired resolution.

Thus, when one records in a codec such as Avid DNxHD or Apple ProRes, the Pixel Resolution will be different from number of raw photosites.

For Full HD (1920 x 1080), there will be 1920 x 1080 Pixels, created from the 2880 x 1620 or 2880 x 2160 raw photosites.

Our Avid DNxHD file will be very friendly to, and very usable in Final Cut Pro and other editing systems.

When recording in ARRIRAW Mode, as opposed to using Avid DNxHD, we record in full ARRIRAW resolution, 2880 x 1620 (16:9) or 2880 x 2160 (4:3) photosites.

I hope this helps. I invite others to explain this better.

(The term Pixels has different definitions, I just used one definition.)

[nugat]

Debayering can also be done 1:1, without downsampling. All 2880x2160 Alexa pixels could be debayered into a 2880x2160 RGB stream. Or a compressed codec stream, such as Prores IF it supports such resolution.
So the questions are:
1.Can arriraw be debayered into 2880x2160 RGB?
2. Is there any  codec to accomodate such stream?
3. More interesting would be a 4k stream, see my separate "4k"post

[Nick Shaw]

1.Can arriraw be debayered into 2880x2160 RGB?

Yes. Any ARRI RAW supporting application can do it, including the free ARRI RAW Converter.

2. Is there any  codec to accomodate such stream?

Yes. ProRes, for example, is not limited to fixed resolutions as DNxHD is, but there are plenty of others too.

3. More interesting would be a 4k stream, see my separate "4k"post

See my answer in that thread.