With the FS-5 Portable DTE Recorder, you’ll go from acquisition to editing with unparalleled speed, efficiency, and reliability. By combining DTE Technology with advanced caching, the FS-5 ensures that you never miss an important shot or lose critical footage. And best of all, your footage is ready to edit instantly. Rugged, shock resistant, and extremely power efficient, the FS-5 features a 100GB hard disk. Using the Universal Disk Format (UDF) to write files, the FS-5 saves long recordings (up to 1.5 hours) as a single clip (instead of a series of individual clips), making management of clips in postproduction much faster and easier.

Go from Acquisition to Editing in One Step
Featuring a backlit color display, an easy-to-use menu system, a hard drive, and a removable, rechargeable battery, the Focus FS-5 is the perfect DTE companion for your HDV or DV camcorder. Audio, video, timecode, and control information is passed through a single FireWire cable, allowing you to record to disk or to disk and tape simultaneously. Designed for use in even the roughest conditions, the FS-5 includes a 10-second electronic shock cache to ensure that you never lose footage. Advanced features such as timelapse (DV mode only), retro disk recording, scene marking, and clip categorization make the FS-5 perfect for handheld shoots. When recording is complete, your footage is ready to edit instantly—no capturing, file transfer, or file conversion is required.

Assign Custom Metadata on the Fly
With the FS-5, you can personalize and optimize workflow—during shooting or playback. With your wireless handheld device or laptop, you can access one or more FS-5 units through a browser (new in 2.0), define metadata, and assign it to video while you’re recording or during playback, eliminating the need to tag footage when the shoot is over.

View Thumbnails and Video Clips - NEW in 2.0!
With the FS-5, you can view thumbnails and video clips on its brilliant color display. Thumbnails can also be viewed on a web page when the FS-5 is connected to a network. MPEG-4 proxy files can be generated and transferred to a host computer or a video-sharing web site, as well as distributed to portable media devices, making collaboration easy.

Connectivity
With its FireWire/iLINK, GPI/RS-232, and USB 2.0 ports, the FS-5 easily connects to your camera, a remote control unit, or your wired network. For wireless connectivity, simply plug the optional 802.11 dongle into the USB 2.0 port and use your wireless PDA or laptop to send custom metadata to the FS-5 while your footage is recording or playing back.

Count On the FS-5 to Deliver

Powerful, Flexible, and Easy to Use

• Record in a wide range of HDV and DV formats
• Navigate quickly and easily using the intuitive menu structure
• View thumbnails and video clips on the built-in color LCD

Perfect for Long Recordings

• Record up to 10 hours of HDV video at a time (100GB model) and up to 1.5 hours of HDV or DV video as a single clip; a new clip is created when the end of the current clip is reached
• Take advantage of up to three hours of recording time from the standard-capacity battery

Equipped for Connectivity

• Connect to a wired or wireless network via the USB 2.0 port and transfer clips from the FS-5 to your NLE system or PX Media Server
• Assign metadata to footage while it’s being recorded2 using the FS-5 browser-based interface and your wireless handheld device or laptop

Quiet, Energy-Efficient Operation

• Enjoy the quiet operation of the FS-5—made possible by its hard drive which does not require a fan

Convenient Video Playback - NEW in 2.0!

• Supports DV and HDV playback
• Supports 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios
• Thumbnails include clip details, such as name and file wrapper type
• Listen to audio using an optional USBbased wired headset
• Generate MPEG-4 proxy files for a single clip or for the entire recording; transfer and share clips for preview and collaboration
• Monitor the status of proxy generation

100GB drive stores up to 7.5 hours of DV or HDV 1080i footage or up to 10 hours of HDV 720p.

Engineered for Portability, Durability, and Ease of Use
Only 2.75 inches wide, 5.4 inches high, and 1.25 inches deep, the FS-5 packs a wealth of functionality into a sleek and durable package that weighs only 12 ounces. Crafted from the inside out to meet the reliability and quality standards that video professionals demand, the FS-5 is designed to deliver great results under even the most challenging shooting conditions.

Recording Modes

HDV Recording Modes

• .m2t 720p 24/25/30/50/60
• .m2t 1080i 24/25/30/50/60
• MXF HDV (720p 30)
• MXF HDV (1080i 50/60)
• QuickTime 1080i 50/60
• QuickTime 720p 30

DV Recording Modes

• AVI Type 1
• AVI Type 2
• AVI Type 2 24p
• Canopus AVI
• Matrox AVI
• MXF
• Pinnacle AVI
• QuickTime
• QuickTime 24p
• RawDV

Metadata Formats

• Avid
• Final Cut Pro
• Focus PX
• ProxSys MA

Native MXF HDV Support
With the FS-5, you can record native MXF HDV 720p 30 and 1080i 50/60 clips and import them into Avid Xpress Pro, Avid Media Composer, or Avid NewsCutter for editing.

Native QuickTime HDV Support
With the FS-5, you can record 1080i 50/60 or 720p 30 clips as native QuickTime HDV. The FS-5 extracts and decodes the audio from the incoming HDV stream, combines it with the video stream, and wraps it as a QuickTime HDV file. When recording is complete, your QuickTime HDV file can be imported directly into Final Cut Pro—no capture or conversion is required.

Designed to Transform Workflow at the Recording Stage
Not only does the FS-5 enable you to go straight from shooting to editing by recording video in the NLE-compatible file format of your choice, it also allows you to add custom metadata to footage during recording or playback. With three simple steps, you can define metadata fields for your shoot, add metadata tags to footage, and transfer edit-ready clips to your NLE system or PX Media Server, complete with camera-generated and custom defined metadata. This simple three-step process dramatically streamlines workflow and saves numerous hours typically spent reviewing, logging, and tagging footage after the shoot is over.

1. Create Meta Data Template
   With your wired or wireless laptop or handheld device, access the FS-5 through its browser-based interface, define metadata categories and fields, and save them as a template on the FS-5.
   
   
2. Tag MEDIA on the fly
   When you’re ready to shoot footage or play it back, access the metatdata template on the FS-5 from the browser on your laptop or handheld device and assign metadata. Use the metadata fields in your template or create new metatdata tags on the fly.
   
   
3. Transfer and Organize
   After the shoot, transfer clips from the FS-5 to your NLE system or to the PX Media Server. Custom metadata is transferred with your footage, making it simple to search for and organize clips.

Click here for a complete Camera Compatibility and File Format Compatibility Guide to find out which Focus DTE Recorder is best for you (PDF)

Technical Specifications

• NTSC only (PAL available - special order - call for pricing)
  
• Display
  2.5-inch (diagonal) color TFT LCD display; 320- by 240-pixel resolution
  
  
• Input/Outputs
  • DV I/O: 25 Mbps
  • HDV I/O: MPEG-2 transport stream (19.8 or 25 Mbps)
  • Computer I/F: USB 2.0 (up to 480 Mbps) (1 x USB-A female); Video
  • I/O: 1 x 6-pin IEEE-1394 (FireWire/i.LINK); GPI and RS-232C control (1 x 3.5mm minijack)
    
    
• Audio
  • DV input: Embedded 2-channel (48 kHz, 16-bit) or 4-channel (32 kHz, 12-bit)
    Note: 4-channel (12-bit, 32 kHz) audio is supported only in DTE Technology with RawDV file format
  • HDV input: Embedded MPEG-1 Audio Layer II
    
    
• Video (DV)
  25 Mbps; 8-bit 4:1:1 (NTSC-DV) or 4:2:0 (PAL-DV) (model dependent)
  
  
• Video (HDV)
  MPEG-2 (MP@H-14) 720p (8-bit,19.7 Mbps) or 1080i (8-bit, 25 Mbps)
  
  
• Timecode
  DV embedded timecode (drop or nondrop)
  
  
• DTE Formats (SD)
  AVI Type 1, AVI Type 2, AVI Type 2 24p, Canopus AVI, Matrox AVI, MXF, Pinnacle AVI, QuickTime, QuickTime 24p, RawDV
  
  
• DTE Formats (HD)
  .m2t HDV (720p 24/25/30/50/60, 1080i 24/25/30/50/60), MXF HDV (720p 30, 1080i 50/60), QuickTime HDV (720p 30, 1080i 50/60)
  
  
• Disk
  1.8"; 60GB or 100GB
  
  
• Disk Speed
  4200 RPM; 8MB cache
  
  
• Disk Format
  UDF (Universal Disk Format)
  
  
• Networking
  USB 802.11 dongle (optional) or USB Ethernet adapter (optional)
  
  
• OS Compatibility
  Windows XP, Vista; Mac OS X
  
  
• Power Adapter
  11-18V DC; minijack power connector
  
  
• Battery
  Custom removable Li-ion rechargeable battery
  
  
• Battery Capacity
  Standard-capacity battery (180 minutes)
  
  
• Dimensions
  2.75" wide by 5.4" high by 1.25" deep (70mm x 137mm x 32mm)
  
  
• Weight
  12 oz. (0.34 kg)

Focus FS-5 100GB DTE Recorder  |  Focus FS-5 60GB DTE Recorder

Click here for Focus DTE Recorder Bundles

VIDEOGUYS SPECIAL! Focus FS-5 Camera Handle Mount Cradle FREE with purchase of the 100GB Focus FS-5 while supplies last. $129.95 Value.

 Videoguys' FAQ: Focus FS-5

The Focus FS-5 is the new, lighter, and more portable disk recorder with a color screen featuring the next generation of Direct to Edit technology. DTE lets you bring your captured files directly from the FS-5 into your computer and begin editing. No messy file conversions or re-compressing is required. With FS-5, Focus takes DTE beyond simple file transfers into workflow productivity improvements using metadata that will allow you to edit faster and better. read more...

Click here for the Videoguys' Top 10 Products of 2008

I've been a big fan of Focus Enhancements Direct-To-Edit (D.T.E.) technology since we first got a sneak peak at the FS-1 many years ago. When they introduced the FS-4 family in 2005, I felt they had given us a device that fully delivered on the promise and opportunity of D.T.E. Now, the FS-5 goes even beyond that and is a Videoguys Top 10 Product of 2008. read more...