The workflow of today centers on tapeless acquisition. Yet we must remember that it was Focus Enhancements—through its FireStore Direct To Edit products—that led the way to tapeless acquisition even when everyone was exclusively shooting tape.

Life was simpler in those good old days of just a few years ago. We shot SD, and then HDV came along in a few flavors: Sony's initial Long GOP format, joined by JVC's ProHD, and then Canon's 24F mode. Panasonic made the first leap in quality at the low end of the market with the AG-HVX200, which recorded DVCPRO HD to P2 cards. But Focus was already producing hard-drive-based recorders for SD and quickly entered the HDV market with offerings for Sony, JVC and Canon. Working with Panasonic, Focus developed the FS-100 specifically for DVCPRO HD cameras, extending recording time beyond the time then available on P2 cards.

All of these earlier units, as well as the more recently introduced FireStore FS-5, use hard drives. While reports of drive failures have been infrequent (owing to the ruggedized mechanisms and excellent shock absorbing features of the units), a mechanical device with its failure potential made some shooters nervous.

Focus has answered those concerns with the FS-H200 and FS-H200 Pro Direct To Edit solid-state recorders. Based on the same compact, lightweight form factor as the FS-5, the FS-H200 and FS-H200 Pro record to 16GB or 32GB CF cards (SanDisk-supported, primarily) for up to 2.3 hours of video per card.

Insert a compact CF card into a side slot, connect the FireWire cable to your HDV camcorder and record. It's that simple. It is also very important to note that the one unit supports all the flavors of HDV offered by Sony, Canon and JVC.

The 200s will record in any format for any NLE, including QuickTime, AVI and M2T. Files can be brought directly into your timeline without any conversion or log and transfer time. HDV shooters can really have the best of all possible worlds. Run tape and just archive it. Copy files from the CF card to your edit system and then reformat the CF card. Tape still remains an inexpensive and durable archival medium.

I recently had the opportunity to work with the FS-200 and immediately noticed how light and compact it was compared to the much heavier and bulkier FS-100 I once owned. Focus also provides a mount for just about any HDV camera. The display screen is clear and shows all control options clearly—the FS-200 is not a playback device and does not display video, only status. What was also tremendously impressive was its autosensing of the input, 720 or 1080, running at any possible frame rate.

FS-200 vs. FS-200 Pro
The display shortcomings of the FS-200 have been rectified with the FS-200 Pro, which costs only $300 more. (FS-200 owners may return their device to Focus for a paid firmware upgrade to the Pro level.)

The Pro adds proxy thumbnail display, clip naming, creation and sharing of MPEG-4 proxies either through the card or through optional wired or wireless network adapters. This opens any number of possibilities for Web sharing of video.

Record. Create MPEG-4 proxies and then just upload via the optional network interfaces. Most impressive, though, is that clip-naming feature. Using a computer or handheld device, all kinds of metadata can be assigned to a clip, and that metadata remains with the clip upon ingest to whatever NLE or media management solution you use. (Take note, camera manufacturers.)

The FS-H200 and 200 Pro are priced at $895 and $1,195, respectively. For any shooter working with HDV, either unit represents a major upgrade to the workflow. The tedious task of logging HDV tape is now gone, and the time saved more than makes up for the reasonable cost of these units.

Unfortunately, however, the FSH devices are applicable only to a specific segment of a market that is being flooded with new cameras featuring higher-quality codecs. Virtually all new cameras shoot to one form or another of solid-state media, eliminating the need for a solid-state external device that does not provide any enhanced quality of video (unlike much more expensive units that can record from HDMI or SDI outputs to data rates and color samplings greater than the native camera).

In short, the FSH units are wonderful devices for a format that is being superseded. The FS-H200 and FS-H200 Pro should be part of any HDV shooter's toolkit. For the $300 difference, the Pro adds some nice features, but even the $895 original unit provides secure tapeless functionality.

The HDV format and cameras will certainly be around for a while and will remain useful for a number of shooters, especially those whose clients do not need or even care about HD. So anyone who is not moving to different cameras and codecs would do well to consider the FS-H200s, which represent an apex of external tapeless recording for SD and HDV.

Focus Enhancements FS-H200 & FS-H200 Pro
Pros: Compact, lightweight. CF recording. All HDV and DV formats. Easy menu system.
Cons: HDV only. Only one card slot.
MSRP: $895; $1,195