Introducing the Odyssey7 and 7Q from Convergent Design

The Odyssey is intended to follow users as they journey through their careers from DSLRs to high-end 4K raw cine cameras, hugging the ever-changing camera technology curve and adapting to change without hardware changes or costly upgrades. While Odyssey is an advanced, professional device, it’s simplicity that drove its design.

“Odyssey7 and Odyssey7Q simplify on-camera setups, eliminating the need for separate products. Simplicity also drove the overall architectural design, gaining greater reliability, lower power, and less weight (features that have defined the Convergent Design brand). The user interface is simple and easy to use, minimizing set-up time and on-set frustration. The Odyssey automatically detects the incoming video format and, when possible, sets up the entire recorder/monitor, based on camera metadata (ARRIRAW, Canon Raw, 2K Raw, etc.). The 1280x800 OLED allows for an uncluttered video display,” says Mike Schell, President.

In spite of the affordable price, a comprehensive set of professional features is included:  Waveform, RGB Parade, Zebras, 1:1 Pixel, Focus Assist (Peaking), Vectorscope, Histogram, LUT Support, False Color and more. The 7.7” OLED has a 1280x800 RGB pixel array, wide color gamut, and 3400:1 contrast, with virtually no motion blurring and true blacks. Bluetooth LE supports simple remote control through iPhone and Android apps.

As a recorder, Odyssey7 and 7Q support a wide range of recording formats including Avid DNxHD (up to 120fps), uncompressed HD/2K RGB 444 (up to 60p), 2K/HD Raw, ARRIRAW (4:3 and 16:9), and Canon 4K Raw. All recording formats are extra-cost options. New 2.5" highly-reliable “Server-Grade” SSD’s support read/write bandwidths in excess of 500 MBytes/sec per drive, enabling Canon 4K Raw at 60 fps on a single recorder. The unique dual SSD architecture can be configured in spanning mode (to double record times), RAID 1 mode, for auto-backup or in RAID 0 mode for data-rates in excess of 1 GByte/sec.

"A new nanoFlash or an advanced Gemini was due or in development. Gemini RAW was announced at NAB 2012. While in limbo waiting on SSD technology to catch up to our design, it was decided that we could re-engineer the recorder, and simultaneously reinvent the monitor,” explains Amber Cowles, Marketing and Communications Director.

Based on extensive market feedback, Convergent Design is introducing a new purchasing model to on-board recorders. Odyssey7 or 7Q ships as a monitor only, which can be upgraded to a recorder as needed. For the first time, support for recording options can be purchased outright or “rented” at competitive rates. Add optional features anytime from anywhere, via a secure online purchase from the CD website to obtain an activation key, provided at the point of purchase and you’re up and running! Rental of recording options (ARRIRAW, for example) provides many benefits including no shipping hassles, no insurance certificates, and none of the scheduling issues of traditional rentals. Recording options are rented in 24-hour blocks, with unused blocks available for future use.

The Odyssey7Q utilizes the same 7.7” OLED architecture; the Odyssey7 is intended for single stream support (up to 4K Raw), while the 7Q adds additional bi-directional HD-SDI 3G ports. The 7Q’s extra processing power enables certain extra cost options to support: four-stream HD/2K monitoring (quad-split) and compressed recording, 4K video and high-speed (120fps) support, and simultaneous recording of proxy (DNxHD-36) and Raw video. The price of the Odyssey7Q is to be determined, but will be competitively priced and use the same, affordable 2.5” premium media as Odyssey7.

A wide range of battery accessories, mounting options, and sunshade, are planned to support both products. Odyssey7 and Odyssey7Q will be on display at NAB booth C6713.