Grass Valley FIRECODER Blu

Accelerated Blu-ray Encoder and More
Based on the PCI Express form factor, our FIRECODER Blu board provides accelerated encoding of Blu-ray compatible video sourced from any number of video applications, including our own EDIUS nonlinear editing software. You can then output its results directly to a Blu-ray disc or to a Blu-ray compatible file for additional authoring.

The FIRECODER Blu board also lets you transcode between H.264 and MPEG-2 formats; it supports 1080i and 720p as well as native 24p Blu-ray formats. It supports up- and downconversion of standard- and high-definition (SD and HD) sources. And it encodes HD source materials 2X faster than real time—and SD source materials 4-5X faster than real time.

The board also includes our FIRECODER WRITER software, a collection of basic Blu-ray and DVD authoring tools. Among other capabilities, these tools let you create chapters from Canopus HQ source files.

FIRECODER Blu: Key Features

• Faster than real-time encoding of Blu-ray compatible video
  • HD source materials: 2X faster than real time
  • SD source materials 4-5X faster than real time
• Direct writing to Blu-ray disk or output to file for additional authoring
• Transcodes between H.264- and HDV-compatible MPEG-2 formats
• Supports 1080i and 720p as well as native 24p Blu-ray formats
• Up- and downconversion of standard- and high-definition (SD and HD) sources
• Bundled FIRECODER WRITER software provides basic Blu-ray and DVD authoring tools including creation of chapters from these source files:
  • Canpous HQ/Canopus DV
  • MPEG-2 transport stream
  • MPEG-2 program stream (HDV compatible)
  • H.264 (AVCHD compatible)
• Encodes files created by EDIUS 5 nonlinear editing software*

* Future release

FIRECODER WRITER Software for Transcoding and Authoring

FIRECODER Blu: Specifications

Package Contents:

• FIRECODER Blu (HMX-C1) PCI Express x1 bus card
• FIRECODER WRITER installation CD-ROM
• User Manual

Technical Specifications
Bus Interface

• PCI Express Rev. 1.1 x1 lane

Input Formats (FIRECODER WRITER)

• Canpous HQ/Canopus DV
• MPEG-2 transport stream
• MPEG-2 program stream (HDV compatible)
• H.264 (AVCHD compatible)

Output Formats (FIRECODER WRITER)

• BD-R/BD-RE writing: H.264, MPEG-4 AVC
• DVD writing: MPEG-2
• File output: H.264 (MPEG-2 transport stream), MPEG-2 program stream, MPEG-2 transport stream (HDV)

Supported Encoding Resolutions (Hardware)

• DVD/Blu-ray creation
  • 1920x1080/59.94i, 23.98p, 50i *, **
  • 1440x1080/59.94i, 23.98p, 50i *, **
  • 1280x1080/59.94i, 23.98p, 50i *, **
  • 720x480/59.94i
  • 720x576/50i
• HDV file output
  • 1920x1080/59.94i, 50i
  • 1440x1080/59.94i, 50i
  • 1280x1080/59.94i, 50i
  • 720x480/59.94i
  • 720x576/50i

Power Requirements

• +12V: 1.75A, +3.3V: 0.15A

Physical Dimensions

• 111.15 x 167.65 mm (4.375 x 6.600 in.) (HxW)

Regulatory Compliance

• CE, FCC CLASS B, C-Tick

* Clips will be downcoverted when outputting to DVD
** 23.98p only supports Blu-ray

Minimum System Requirements

• PC/AT compatible machine with an Intel Pentium 4 2.8 GHz or higher
• 1 GB RAM (2 GB or more recommended)
• BD-R/RW and/or DVD+/-R/RW drive (USB or serial ATA), for Blu-ray and DVD creation
• One free PCI Express x1 (Rev. 1.1) bus slot
• 500 MB or more space required for software installation
• Drive with serial ATA 3 Gb/s, 7200 rpm drive or faster for capturing
• A graphics card with 1024×768 dpi resolution 32 bit or higher color (must support DirectX 9.0c)
• CD-ROM drive is required for software installation
• Windows XP Home Edition or Windows XP Professional (SP2 or later, 32-bit)
• Windows Vista (SP1 or later, 32-bit or 64-bit), including the following operating systems:
  • Windows Vista Home Basic
  • Windows Vista Home Premium
  • Windows Vista Business
  • Windows Vista Ultimate

Service and Support

• Limited warranty
• Access to the Product-related Downloads section for FIRECODER Blu, when you register your product in an active Canopus User Account