Review: Raw4Pro Backup Champion for Simplified Media Offloading
In my search for an ideal camera media file offloading workflow using a low-cost tablet, the missing piece of the puzzle has been a finger-friendly, Windows-based media-backup application. Raw4Pro Backup Champion may be exactly the solution I was looking for.
I’ve written here and here about using a low-cost WinBook tablet with USB 3.0 to quickly offload your camera media files to external USB 3.0 HDDs at more than 66 MB/sec. The tablet cost is low enough that you can think of the tablet as a camera accessory and it can be left in the camera kit so it’s always there when you need it.
It’s cheaper than a lot of other camera accessories, and can also be used as a full-on Windows computer to do camera control, clip playback, as well as email and other tasks as needed.
What was missing was a finger-friendly, Windows-based media-backup application. But now I have found the final piece of the puzzle. I recently purchased Raw4Pro Backup Champion through an offer I found online and I have found it to be well worth it.
Raw4Pro
Backup Champion is part of a new application called Raw4Pro (Figure 1, below). Raw4Pro was built for those shooting RAW or CinemaDNG to be able to quickly and simply render preview videos to H.264, ProRes, Cineform, or DNxHD. It also handles sequential RAW and JPG images for timelapses.
Figure 1. Raw4Pro
You can output HD files ready for any NLE. CineformRAW has also been tested with Blackmagic Design and Digital Bolex footage sources to output HD, 2K, 2.5K, and 4K CineformRAW. You can set Raw4Pro to export individual clips, or use it for batch processing.
In addition to making a video clip, it can automatically synchronize audio files captured with CinemaDNGs and deliver video with the audio already in sync. If you expose to the right (ETTR) you can click a check box and Raw4Pro automatically compensates for that. But best of all, you can apply your LUT (look-up table) of choice to your RAW footage during conversion and deliver a finished-looking video (Figure 2, below).
Figure 2. Applying a LUT during conversion
System Requirements
The system requirements for Raw4Pro are surprisingly modest, but a higher-horsepower machine will complete heavy export and rendering tasks faster.
Raw4Pro requires Windows OS 7 or 8, either x32 or x64-bit, with Microsoft .NET Framework 4, and Internet Explorer browser installed. Your PC must have a C:\ drive. These are all very basic requirements.
If you’re on a Mac, Raw4Pro won’t work natively. Raw4Pro has been tested to run in VMware Fusion, Windows Virtual Machine on Apple Mac. Some Mac users also reported success running Raw4Pro using Parallels, but I did not test Raw4Pro on a Mac, so I cannot confirm that.
Recommended screen resolution is 1280×720 and up, but the application will also work on a 1024×768.
Included Encoders and Decoders
The H.264 video output (proxy) encoder, the ProRes video output encoder, and the DNxHD video output encoder come free with Raw4Pro with no separate installation needed.
The DNxHD decoder is free as well. A download link included with Raw4Pro in case you don’t have it installed yet. The Cineform/CineformRAW codec is also a separate free download. The link comes with Raw4Pro if you don't already have it with other GoPro hardware.
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After using my new media wrangling kit in the field a few times, I've augmented it with a few accessories and come to a few realizations that made it worth revisiting this entire premise. As in many cases, smaller is not always better, and when it comes to operating a computer, this is definitely the case.
In this article, I'll take a look at three cost-effective and compact mobile media wrangling tools on the market today: the RAVpower RP-WD01 portable media device, as well as the WinBook TW800 and WinBook TW100, which are Windows 8 tablets featuring a full-size USB 3.0 port on the edge.