Convergent Design, who recently announced they are expanding third party SSD support for use in their Odyssey7/Q/7Q+ family 4K recorder/monitors, also recently released a new firmware update (2015.7), which added some new functionality and enabled third party support for certain models Samsung SSD drives.

The new third party SSD drives supported are Samsung 850 Pro in the following capacities - 128GB, 256GB, 512GB and 1TB. The Samsung 850 EVO 1000GB is also supported. These SSD's are generally more affordable than the proprietary Convergent Design drives, which were also recently reduced in price. In addition, all new purchases of the Odyssey7Q+ will include a 256GB Converent Design SSD in the box at no additional charge.

New features include centre extraction anamorphic de-squeeze modes for 1.33x and 2.0x crops, exposure compensation LUT's for the FS7 and new Hyper Zoom mode with up to 12x pixel zoom.

See all new features in firmware update 2015.7

Odyssey7Q Plus Firmware 2015.7

NEW FEATURES - ODYSSEY7 / ODYSSEY7Q / ODYSSEY7Q+

Third-Party SSD Support Use qualified third-party SSDs in Odyssey monitor/recorders.  (SSD Handle kits required to mount.)

Qualified third-party SSDs:

Samsung 850 PRO in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB & 1TB (1024GB) Samsung 850 EVO 1000GB

NOTE:  Samsung SSDs draw more power than Odyssey SSDs.  Convergent Design highly recommends using an AC-powered USB3 adapter or a Thunderbolt adapter when connecting Samsung SSDs to a computer.

Additional Anamorphic De-Squeeze options - Center Extraction Desqueezes and magnifies center portion of image for common anamorphic formats.  Adjusted image sent to video outputs; recording unaffected.

Center Extraction modes:

  • 1.33x (1.78:1) - Stretches centre 4:3 image to cover 16:9 frame
  • 2.0x (2.39:1) - 2.0x stretch with image zoom & crop to 2.39:1
  • 2.0x (2.67:1) - 2.0x stretch with image zoom to 2.67:1

Hyper Zoom Additional Pixel Zoom mode. 4,6,8,10, & 12X Hyper Zoom on a selected portion of image, displayed in the lower right corner of OLED display.

Selectable Color reference frame

Exposure Compensation LUTs Combination S-Log to REC.709 and exposure compensation for re-rating FS7 and FS700 cameras to 1000 ISO (1 stop over) or 500 ISO (2 stops over).  Reduces noise and increases apparent bit depth.

Additional Preset LUTs:

Sony FS700 (Exposure Compensation) SONY_EE_SL2_L709A-1 SONY_EE_SL2_L709A-2

Sony FS7 (Exposure Compensation)

SONY_EE_SL3C_L709A-1 SONY_EE_SL3C_L709A-2

 IMG_0152

FIXES & IMPROVEMENTS

  • FIXED Histogram with 720p source
  • FIXED Image tearing on PSF inputs in HD Prores
  • FIXED DPX video outputs when PSF output turned on
  • FIXED Appearance of a single pixel in or near the audio meters 
  • FIXED LUT Extended/Legal setting saved through a power cycle
  • FIXED Scene and Project setting saved through a power cycle
  • FIXED Audio corruption on DPX and DNG file spanning
  • FIXED Audio playback on Odyssey in all ProRes formats 
  • FIXED Pixel Zoom reaches full image in 4K
  • FIXED GH4 Motion Picture Luminance Level under 0-255 
  • FIXED FS7 Camera Trigger in HD Apple ProRes
  • FIXED FS7 Camera Trigger in 4K Raw->Apple ProRes
  • FIXED 4K RAW->2K/HD Apple ProRes 50p playback 
  • FIXED 4K RAW->2K/HD Apple ProRes 100/120p live image 
  • FIXED Stuttering video in FS700 4K RAW->HD/2K 100/120p burst mode
  • IMPROVED On screen counter during LUT import
  • IMPROVED Upper Toolbar Setup Menu

SOFTWARE UPDATES

CD Apple ProRes Transfer Utility 1.8 (PC / Mac) 

  • Fixes for installation Issues
  • Fixes for transfer issues

CD LUT Utility 1.8 (PC / Mac)

  • Fixes for installation Issues 
  • Fixes with issues due to region settings
  • Fixes for inverted LUTs 

GO TO FIRMWARE DOWNLOADS

NOTE: Updating firmware on an Odyssey monitor/recorder requires the use of an SSD.  If an Odyssey monitor/recorder is currently running firmware version 5.10.100 (March 2015) or 2015.5 (May 2015) then a qualified Samsung SSD (see list above) as well as an Odyssey SSD can be used to perform the update.  Samsung SSDs require the Convergent Design SSD Handle kit to mount in an Odyssey monitor/recorder. Odyssey monitor/recorders running earlier firmware versions must use an Odyssey SSD to perform the update.