Gemini RAW, the new 4K RAW recorder

Convergent Design recently announced the new Gemini RAW, the latest member of its series of recorders with 4K RAW recording and playback capabilities.

Today we are in the transition to 4K, and this company wanted to catch up by launching this recorder, which includes all the features of the previous Gemini 4:4:4:4 and significantly improves its processing.

When recording in 4K, it is possible to view the material on an external monitor (4K) via HD-SDI. It also includes a 5″ (800×480) LCD touch screen on which the captured clips can be displayed, even in quad-split (in HD) when several simultaneous recordings are made.

At the moment, the RAW formats supported are: CinemaDNG, ARRIRAW and Canon RAW; although more will be available in the future.

In addition to these two major new features, its ability to record simultaneously in different resolutions is possibly one of its greatest advantages, since thanks to this and the increased number of available inputs and outputs, Gemini RAW offers a wide range of possible recordings.

It can be recorded in 4K, 2K, uncompressed HD or with the Avid DNxHD codec. At the moment recording in this codec is limited to type 220, although in the future it will also support Avid DNxHD 444.

Gemini RAW is capable of recording two uncompressed video streams, or up to four in DNxHD. In this type of recording, the cameras must be synchronized (“genlocked”), so it is very suitable for multi-camera recordings.

This capability offers many advantages for different workflows. For example, if we take into account the editing process, it could be very useful to capture simultaneously without compression and with Avid DNxHD 36.

It can also be done by recording in RAW on one side and DNxHD 220 on the other; or even make two masters on the two SSD cards, creating a backup from the same shoot.

In addition to all these options, it can be configured for s3D recording, with several output options, such as side-by-side or anaglyph, among others.

It uses two SSD drives (1.8″) that support recordings of:
– Four 1080p30 streams
– Four 2K RAW streams
– A single 4K RAW stream (up to 30p)
– A single 180p stream (up to 120fps)
– A single 2K RAW stream (up to 120fps) – A single 2K RAW stream (up to 120fps)

Depending on the camera and resolution, Gemini RAW can record at 48fps, 60fps or 120fps, although the latter is only supported in 2K and HD, never 4K.

Another feature that makes it a versatile recorder is the six programmable 3GSDI ports. They can be configured as 4 inputs and 2 outputs or vice versa, allowing multiple recording options.

It comes with a simple SSD transfer station that can use USB 2.0 or 3.0, Firewire 800 and Thunderbolt connections.

Gemini RAW will be available later this fall and its price is yet to be determined. You can see all its specifications here.