RED has engineered the RED ONE to be capable of extraordinary performance, thanks to its sophisticated FPGA design. Although more expensive in nature to build, the system allows for re-programming, which allows capabilities to be added through firmware builds. With each build, the RED ONE becomes more feature-rich and exceeds the abilities originally imagined for it. With the implementation of Build 16, the RED ONE has fulfilled all its promises and then some. Future builds will continue to add features, increase performance and solve new challenges, while always being free of charge and part of the experience for the RED ONE owner.

RED provides free downloads of Firmware Builds to all registered owners on its Customer Support page at red.com. The download is then placed on a CF or SD card and placed in the camera. Upon booting, the camera's display will acknowledge the recognition of a new build on the inserted media and cue the user to accept or deny.

When the camera boots up, it displays the firmware build and serial number.

One of the most unusual facets of the RED ONE is the fact that it captures information, unprocessed, off of a Bayer Pattern CMOS sensor. This raw data is simply all the information that the sensor is able to "see", comprising all color information in a single channel, and is not processed. Identical to the way a DSLR still camera captures a RAW file, this enables the user to adjust parameters after the fact, as color, gain and sharpening can all be done post capture.

Shooting RAW differs from traditional video recording in that recording a video signal requires adjusting color temperature, exposure, gain, sharpening, knee, toe, pedestal and black levels prior to processing the signal. In a RAW capture, all this information can be addressed after the recording is made. The sensor simply captures what it sees and all processing takes place in post, offering the ability to make all adjustments for the perfect picture in the editing process. Exposure, in the form of shutter and iris, is the only finite adjustment that need be made, at time of capture, to obtain the correct image.

REDCODE is the magic codec that compresses 4K RED RAW into a manageable file size that can be recorded on any media from a compact flash card to a spinning drive. Without REDCODE, a 4K 24 fps information stream runs as high as 20GB/min.

There are two compression settings on the RED ONE, REDCODE 28 and REDCODE 36.

Although it is tempting to ascribe MB/sec. to the two compression choices, they simply represent a rough value to the compression, which varies as a function of the image complexity and detail. Traditional shooting would be well suited to REDCODE 28, while REDCODE 36, using less compression, would be beneficial for high detail or complex scenes. It's also important to note that these figures are megaBYTES per second, not megaBITS per second. As an example, HDV is a format that provides 25Mb/sec (megabits per second) while the RED ONE runs, as a default 4K, at roughly 28 MB/sec (megabytes per second), which is equivalent to 224 Mb/sec. (megabits per second), almost 10 times the amount of information as HDV.

The RED ONE camera currently offers 3 solutions for recording.

First, and recommended as the most reliable, bullet-proof and dependable solution, is recording directly to compact flash, using the RED CF Module, an internal recording solution that adds $500 to the cost of the body. This solution is so viable that RED builds every body with this option in place. In addition to providing the best recording solution, it also allows the best method for uploading firmware builds for the camera. Recording times for a RED 8GB CF card run between 4 and 5 minutes, depending on resolution and compression, roughly the equivalent of a 400' film reel.

The second solution is the RED DRIVE (RAID) which comprises two 160GB drives in a RAID 0 configuration. This solution provides roughly 3 hours of 4K record time.

RED strongly recommends the use of RED branded 8GB cards. RED has tested virtually all high speed 8GB cards and put their name on the best performance product. Due to the tremendous amount of data being written to these cards, it is only the very highest speed cards that can handle the data stream. RED is currently testing 16GB cards and will only sign off when the card meets our stringent requirements.

Frame Size	Resolution
4K 2:1	4096x2048
4K 16:9	4096x2304
3K 2:1	3072x1536
3K 16:9	3072x1728
2K 2:1	2048x1024
2K 16:9	2048x1152
Anamorphic 1.2:1	2764x2304

The RED ONE has a built-in intervalometer and the ability to capture single frame by automatic control, record button or GPI trigger.

The RED ONE sensor is an APS-C sized sensor, similar in size to those used in DSLR still digital cameras, as well the same area as Super 35 film. Sensor dimensions are 24.4mm x 13.7mm.

4K recording utilizes the full sensor, a 22.2mm x 12.6mm area, 3K uses a smaller windowed area at 16.65mm x 9.36mm area, and 2K uses an 11.1mm x 6.24mm portion of the sensor.

When shooting with the RED One, one is always benefited in shooting at 4K, which offers the highest legacy resolution possible, as well as offering the user the option of choosing a lower resolution finish with all the DOF control of full sensor recording. When choosing 2K or 3K acquisition, the RED sensor is "windowed", that is to say, a smaller area of the sensor is used, creating less selective focus, but having the advantage of allowing higher frame rates and longer recording times.

Shooting 2K "scaled" means that the 4K area of the sensor is sampled and downrezed, or scaled, to 2K to enable a 2K recording with 4K DOF (depth of field). Scaled capture is not available on the RED One. Because scaling is processor intensive, requiring full sensor scan and de-interpolation, there is no frame rate increase with scaled technology. The beauty of shooting 4K originals is the ability to scale in post to any res necessary, 3K, 2K, 1080P, 720P, all with 4K DOF.

Given 35mm 36mm x 24mm = 1.0X RED 4K 22.2mm x 12.6mm = 1.62X RED 3K 16.65mm x 9.36mm = 2.16X RED 2K 11.1mm x 6.24mm = 3.24X

(4) Mini-XLR Balanced Audio Inputs (48V Phantom Power) (1) MiniJack Headphone 2 ch Output (1) Audio Monitor 2 ch. Output (1) Timecode In/Out (1) Genlock (1) EVF 1280x848 Video Output (1) LCD 1024x600 Video Output (2) Single 720P/ Dual Link 1080P HD-SDI (1) Preview HD-SDI 720P (1) HDMI Output (1) USB2 (Type A) (1) USB2 (Type B) (1) B4 Lens Power Connector (12V Regulated) (1) Power Input (11.5 - 17V DC) (2) Aux Power Outputs (battery pass-through) 1A & GPIO (1) Drive Connector (eSata & Power)

Build 16 has offered the ability to custom define many of the control buttons on the RED One. These include the two user buttons on the side of the camera, as well as the ABC buttons to the left of the rear display. Two additional user buttons on the EVF as well as one button on the LCD can also be defined.

The EVF video output is 1280 x 720 Progressive, the LCD video output is 1024 x 600. 720P can be tapped from the HDMI and HD-SDI ports, while HD-SDI Dual Port and HDMI will provide 1080P output in playback only.

1080P is available as a playback output only, through the HD-SDI Dual Port and HDMI port.

The RED ONE offers no standard definition output.

The RED ONE offers four discreet channels of audio recording.

Although the RED ONE has no internal microphone, it does provide 4 separate Mini-XLR connectors.

The RED ONE provides full playback in camera with audio available through the headphone jack.