GRASS VALLEY FIRECODER BLU Datasheet

FIRECODER Blu

ACC E L ER AT E D BLU - R AY E N CO D I N G
AND MORE

H.264/MPEG-2 hardware transcoder
board that provides high-speed
encoding of video files for use in DVD
and Blu-ray disc production.

PRODUCT DATA SHEET

FIRECODER® Blu is a single PCI
Express form factor board that provides
accelerated encoding of Blu-ray
compatible video sourced from video
applications such as Grass Valley™
EDIUS® nonlinear editing software.
Output may be directly to a Blu-ray
disc or to a Blu-ray compatible file
for additional authoring . Additionally,
FIRECODER Blu transcodes between

KEY FEATURES

Transcodes AVCHD to MPEG-2 •
(transport stream and program
stream) and MPEG-2 to H.264
(transport stream)

2 times faster than real-time encoding •
of HD Blu-ray compatible video

4-5 times faster than real-time •
encoding of SD Blu-ray compatible
video

AVCHD- and HDV-compatible MPEG-2
formats. It supports 1080i and 720p, as
well as native 24p Blu-ray.

The included FIRECODER WRITER
software provides basic Blu-ray and DVD
authoring tools including creation of titles
and chapters from Canopus® HQ (avi),
HDV (m2t) and MPEG-2 PS (mpg, m2p)
source files.

Direct writing to Blu-ray disc •

Supports 1080i and 720p as well as •
native 24p Blu-ray

Up- and down-conversion of SD and •
HD sources

FIRECODER Blu provides high-speed
encoding of video files for use in DVD
(four to five times faster than real-time
encoding) and Blu-ray disc production
(twice as fast as real-time encoding).

FIRECODER Blu also supports up- and
down-conversion of SD and HD sources.

Included FIRECODER WRITER •
software provides basic Blu-ray
and DVD authoring tools including
creation of titles and chapters from
Canopus DV, Canopus HQ (avi), HDV
(m2t) and MPEG-2 PS (mpg, m2p)
source files

Encodes or transcodes files created •
by Grass Valley EDIUS nonlinear
editing software (not included)

www.grassvalley.com

SPECIFICATIONS

PRODUCT DATA SHEET

PACKAGE CONTENTS

FIRECODER Blu (MHX-C1) PCI Express x1 bus card •
FIRECODER WRITER v1.11 installation disc (CD-ROM) •
Hardware setup manual•

Bus Interface

PCI Express Rev. 1.1 x1 lane

Input Formats (FIRECODER WRITER)

Canopus DV •
Canopus HQ•
H.264 (AVCHD compatible)•
MPEG-2 transport stream (TS)•
MPEG-2 program stream (PS) •

(HDV Compatible)

Output Formats (FIRECODER
WRITER)

BD-R/BD-RE writing: H.264, MPEG-4 •
AVC

DVD writing: MPEG-2•
File output: H.264 (MPEG-2 TS), •

MPEG-2 PS, MPEG-2 TS (HDV)

Power Requirements

+12V: 1.75A, +3.3V: 0.15A

Physical Dimensions

111.15 x 167.65 mm (4.375 x 6.600 in.)
(HxW)

Regulatory Compliance

CE, FCC CLASS B, C-Tick

System Requirements

PC/AT compatible machine with an •
Intel Pentium 4 2.8 GHz or higher

1 GB RAM (2 GB or more •
recommended)

One free PCI Express x1 (Rev. 1.1) •
bus slot

500 MB or more space required for •
software installation

Drive with serial ATA 3 Gb/s, 7200 •
rpm drive or faster for capturing

A graphics card with 1024_768 dpi •
resolution 32 bit or higher color (must
support DirectX 9.0c)

CD-ROM drive is required for •
software installation

Windows XP Home Edition or •
Windows XP Professional (SP2 or
later, 32-bit)

Windows Vista (SP1 or later, 32-bit •
or 64-bit), including the following
operating systems:

Windows Vista Home Basic —
Windows Vista Home Premium —
Windows Vista Business —
Windows Vista Ultimate —

DEALERS/RESELLERS

To find your local reseller or dealer for Grass Valley professional audio
video products, please visit professional.grassvalley.com/sales/.

© Copyright 2011 Grass Valley USA, LLC. All rights reserved. EDIUS, FIRECODER, and Canopus are registered trademarks and Grass Valley is a trademark of
GVBB Holdings S.a.r.l. All other tradenames referenced are service marks, trademarks, or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Specifications
subject to change without notice. PRV-4057D-2

SERVICE & SUPPORT

Twelve-month limited warranty with service provided through local
resellers. Additional support available on a contractual basis.