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The Rise of Video Recorders

A trend in the last fifteen years was adoption of file-based workflows. Tape recording is no longer used.
Most production cameras have now HDMI, HD-SDI (or 3G/6G-SDI) and 4K-SDI (12G/6G) allowing output to be recorded externally.

External recorders extend the possibilities of video cameras in terms of format, quality, bitrate, audio capture and workflow.
Internal camera recording can also happen in parallel without external output in some cameras.

Atomos Ninja 2

Solid state drives (SSD) and high-speed connectivity through HD-SDI and Thunderbolt enable live recording of RAW and uncompressed feeds from 4K cameras.

ProRes and DNxHD formats, previously only used in post-production, are now productions formats. External Recorders are also important for Cinema, 4K and RAW workflows.

Most common failure modes seen in video recorders are loss of power during file transfer or recording, drive ejected when device not ready, loss of HD-SDI or HDMI signal, and software malfunction.

Production Formats

Format	Most Common Recorders	Treasured Support
ProRes	AJA Ki Pro family BlackMagic Design Atomos Ninja, Samurai, Ronin, Shogun Cinedeck EX MX RX Sound Devices PIX series	Yes, including 4K
DNxHD	Aja Ki Pro Mini BlackMagic Design Atomos Ninja 2, Samurai, Ronin, Shogun Cinedeck EX MX RX Sound Devices PIX series Convergent Design Odyssey7	Yes
H.264	BlackMagic Design H.264 Pro Recorder BlackMagic ATEM Television Studio Cinedeck EX MX RX	Yes
MPEG-2 422 XDCAM HD Canon XF IMX	Convergent Design NanoFlash Convergent Design Odyssey7 BlackMagic UltraStudio	Yes

Aja Ki Pro Quad mounted on cinema rig

4K and Cinema Formats, RAW Worflows

Format	Recorders	Treasured Support
ProRes 4K	AJA Ki Pro Quad BlackMagic Design Atomos Shogun	Yes
Sony RAW	Sony AXSR5 recorder	Yes
CineForm RAW	Cinedeck EX MX RX	Yes
ARRIRAW	Convergent Design Odyssey7Q Convergent Design Gemini 444 Codex Onboard PLUS ARRI XR	Yes
Canon RAW	Convergent Design Odyssey7Q Convergent Design Gemini 444 Codex Onboard PLUS AstroDesign HR series	Yes
Sony XAVC AVC-Intra	BlackMagic UltraStudio	Yes
DNxHR	Atomos Shogun	Yes
Uncompressed 8bit, 10bit YUV, RGB	BlackMagic Design Cinedeck EX MX RX Convergent Design Odyssey7 Convergent Design Gemini 444 Codex Onboard ARRI XR	Yes