Atomos Shogun Studio
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Atomos has released their Shogun Studio, the latest edition to their family of professional recording, playback and monitoring devices. Well-known for their portable Samurai and Ninja recorders, the Shogun Studio is a 4K UHD and HD studio rackmount unit that combines two-channel Apple ProRes or Avid DNxHD recording and playback with independent monitors and built-in waveform and vectorscope displays and much more.
You can record from HDMI or SDI video sources and output both HDMI and SDI at the same time. You can record two independent programs at the same time as separate files to an SSD or 2.5 inch hard drive. Or you can continuously record the same program (once one drive fills-up the system automatically switches over to the second drive and continues to record). Or you can record the same program to each drive at the same time for redundant recording purposes. Taking the process a step further, you can have both a ProRes and a DNxHR recording of the same program or footage. Or a 4K RAW file plus an HD proxy file for editing purposes. Time-lapse recording for photographic and security applications is included.
Audio display . . . more about this at a later time. You have a headphone output for each recorder. The rear-mounted XLR inputs and outputs support both mic and line-level signals. Both HDMI and SDI audio can be monitored and controlled
Click here for the Atomos PDF brochure. The Shogun Studio lists for $3,495.00. For additional technical information and/or our introductory-pricing information, please contact Matt Drabick of DigiTek Systems via email or mdrabick@mindspring.com or pick up the phone and call 919 790 5488.
Front-view of the Shogun Studio showing the two 7-inch monitors (1920 by 1200 pixels each) with touchscreen controls, 3U rackmount form, and bottom-mounted caddies for SSDs or 2.5 inch hard drives. And yes, that is Kiki Stockhammer from NewTek. We're also a NewTek TriCaster dealer and used our TriCaster Mini and TriCaster 410 to feed the Shogun Studio HDMI and SDI video sources for this review.
Rear view showing the SDI and HDMI connectors plus the XLR balanced audio connectors. You can selectively record HDMI or SDI sources and output both at the same time with each recorder. You have duplicate input-output connectors because the Shogun Studio combines two recorders and playback devices into one 3U rackmount unit. And yes, those are my feet at the bottom of the image. Not pictured are the two power supplies.
Full-screen waveform overlay . . . you can also have a lower-third display or a quarter-screen display if you need to see more of the image being monitored.
Input screen, with the ability to select HDMI or SDI video sources. The resolution and frame-rates for both input and output are available. Pre-roll recording is possible, along with triggering the unit to start and stop recording.
Audio display . . . more about this at a later time. You have a headphone output for each recorder. The rear-mounted XLR inputs and outputs support both mic and line-level signals. Both HDMI and SDI audio can be monitored and controlled.
Close-up view of the left screen from above showing the smaller waveform display overlaid on top of the main image plus record and playback controls at the bottom. The touchscreen controls are easy and simple to use. Playlists can be can created for automated playback or you can manually playback clips.
Close-up rear view detailing the various video and audio plus Genlock sync and LTC time-code connectors. RS422 and AMP remote control is possible via the included RS-422 and Ethernet ports. The Shogun Studio works with time-code from both HDMI and SDI sources. Recording can also be triggered by HDMI and SDI sources.
Waveform display, also available in different sizes.
The Shogun Studio records Apple ProRes or Avid DNxHD files. Different compression rates are available per codec, with the resulting amount of storage time displayed given the size of the SSD or HD being used. 4K DCI Raw (4096 by 2160), 4K UHD (3840 by 2160), and HD (1920 by 1080 and 1920 by 720) record and playback modes are available in both Apple ProRes and Avid DNxHD formats. Click here and go to page 22 for the details.
The Shogun Studio uses a caddy to house the SSD or HD for recording purposes. Five caddies are included and more can be purchased if needed. A caddy dock with USB 2.0 and 3.0 connectors is included. Simply remove the caddy from the recorder, insert it into the dock, connect the dock to your software editor, and start editing the file. That's a quarter on the left for a size comparison.Click here for compatible drives.