sideKick HD Studio by Fast Forward Video

Fast Forward Video, Inc. (FFV) announced the sideKick HD Studio, a rack-mounted version of the company’s new sideKick HD family of multiformat, straight-to-edit digital video recorders (DVRs).

Designed for use in base stations and studio locations, the sideKick HD Studio delivers image quality for video captured by today’s camcorders. Also, by recording video directly into industry-leading NLE codecs such as Avid DNxHD and Apple ProRes, the sideKick HD Studio enables the seamless movement of high-quality content directly into studio editing and playout workflows.

"Throughout its 27-year history, FFV has been focused on image quality – and now, with the sideKick HD family, we’ve taken that quest for the absolute highest quality several steps farther by enhancing camera-to-edit production workflows," said Paul DeKeyser, founder of FFV. "With our earlier introduction of the sideKick HD and now sideKick HD Studio, we’re at the beginning stages of an entire range of products that will bring unprecedented workflow improvements to digital video productions of all types and sizes."

Occupying a half RU in width and 2RU in height, the sideKick HD Studio is for fixed production environments such as studios, base stations, and OB trucks that require the smooth workflows for acquiring and editing raw camera footage and then playing it out to air. Like the camera-mounted sideKick HD, the sideKick HD Studio is able to record at 220 megabits per second at only 7:1 compression, delivering higher image quality than the internal recording systems of the most advanced camcorders.

Because the sideKick HD Studio records directly onto 2.5-inch SSD drives in native DNxHD or ProRes formats, files can be uploaded directly into the NLE environment without requiring time-consuming ingest or transcoding. Users can transfer field footage recorded by the camera-mounted sideKick HD into the sideKick HD Studio and begin editing. They can also use the sideKick HD Studio to record video from other content sources such as satellite feeds and studio cameras. In further support of file-based workflows, the sideKick HD Studio features a 1GbE port for uploading of content directly into editing workstations.

For playback and playout, it features a front panel offering DVR/VTR functions, as well as scrub and jog capabilities. The system also includes a 4.3-inch on-board confidence monitor, genlock, 4:2:2 sampling, and timing control. With RS422 control, operators can connect the sideKick HD Studio to a standard machine controller to enable extended functionality such as cueing, slow-motion play speed control, and reverse play.