Thu Feb 01, 2018 12:56 am
Hi Daniel
The one thing that's worth noting about the Teranex 2D is that although it's a "converter" it still cannot reclock the incoming timebase from analogue videotape sources! I find that incredible, considering the manner in which Blackmagic promotes its ability to accept video inputs from anything - including SD.
In terms of quality, yes the Teranex 2D is better than a Shuttle, but in ways that aren't immediately noticeable to the untrained eye. What the Teranex models give you is much more control over the image - colour correction, noise reduction, aspect ratio conversion and up/down scaling etc. The Shuttle is a great device but is essentially a pass-through device with minimal control options. I do like it though and it's great for the price.
However, the fact that you'll be using a Snell & Wilcox Kudos TBC in your workflow will make a huge difference. Given that it can issue an SDI output, you'll then give this to the Teranex for onward processing and have a large range of options. In answer to your question/s, I do regularly take a SD 4:3 PAL (720x576i/50) input and capture it either "as is" (professional video/TV/film archives tend to specify no aspect conversion whatever) or I'll convert to a 4:3 image within a 16:9 frame (pillarbox) or upscaled slightly to 14:9. The latter works well for stuff that's coming from Beta-SP, DigiBeta, DVCAM, DVCPro etc etc. Rarely am I asked to upscale SD material to 16:9 widescreen HD (1080i, 1080p or 720p) because it does actually introduce some geometric distortion on the Y axis, although you'd have to be familiar with the 4:3 original to detect it.
In your position, I'd capture as 4:3 SD only. When I've done this from very old videotapes for broadcast TV companies or prod co's they prefer this because their editors can then make aspect ratio decisions in Avid or whatever and the results are usually pretty good. It also leaves their options open.
One more thing - I wouldn't bother with the Teranex 2D because I have a feeling that it will be discontinued soon (it has a single Thunderbolt 2 connector which is no good these days). The Teranex AV does all you need and is much cheaper - and it has better audio inputs in the form of XLR connections which the 2D doesn't. That, for me, is a real pain because I can't be bothered with the DB25 multi connector which needs an Avid-spec snake. Crazy.
So,,,,,, S&W Kudos + Teranex = a great combo for A-D capture. Go for it!
Colin
Blackmagic Teranex 2D, Ultrastudio Express, Intensity Shuttle (Thunderbolt), Two H.264 Pro Recorders (Mac OSX) & lots of old VTRs used for digital archiving of legacy video formats for major libraries, broadcasters, universities and public archives.