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.



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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).



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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.



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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.



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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.



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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. 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.

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.



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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."



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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.



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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.



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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.



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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.



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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)



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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.



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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.



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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).



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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.



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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.



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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.



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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.

Product versions reviewed may differ from those currently available.