I recently received a small black booklet from Panasonic entitled "AVC-intra". It was a thank you for completing a survey that I had received by E-mail. The booklet is extremely informative regarding the evolution and technical details of all of the major compression techniques. I don't know where others can get it, but I highly recommend it to anyone who has a technical interest in codecs and compression. It compares and contrasts intraframe versus long GOP compression, and includes details regarding data rates and 8 versus 10 bit encoding. Although I have a strong background in electronics and computers, quite a bit of it was beyond my understanding. It is truly incredible that there are people out there who can develop the concepts and write the software needed to create these codecs. I'm in awe ...

Mark wrote:I recently received a small black booklet from Panasonic entitled "AVC-intra".

Which Panasonic did you recieve this from? Europe? USA?

Let us know.

Best,

jan

Jan - the cover letter came from the PASS Support Team, Systems Business Group, Panasonic Corp, Osaka, Japan. The booklet's official title is "AVC Intra Illustrated Video Technologies". It is 30 pages long, about 5x8 inches in size, with black front and back covers. It is an outstanding source of information - something that I am sure that others would find very interesting. Mark

Thanks Mark, I haven't seen this so yes I will look into locating it.

Best,

Jan

I received the booklet as well from Panasonic after filling out a survey. Great information, good tables on AVC Intra run times, found out that AVC Intra can do 1080/24P Native.

Jeff Regan
Shooting Star Video
Shooting Star Video (http://www.ssv.com)

You should also check out the Panasonic "Best Practices" document. The name seems a little generic but the paper covers the benefits of AVC-Intra, Film-Rec, and a whole host of features on the new VariCams. It really helps to explain the high-end Panasonic line.

ftp://ftp.panasonic.com/pub/Panasonic/business/provideo/whitepapers/Best_Practices_Guide_Web_Optimized.pdf

Or a bunch of other Panasonic white papers - http://www.panasonic.com/business/provideo/p2-hd/white-papers.asp

Andy,

Thank you for the links--useful information for sure. I am surprised at how many DP's and DIT's aren't aware of the DRS circuit and its capabilities. Also happy to see about more refinements than I knew about with the HPX3700 vs. HPX3000.

Jeff Regan
Shooting Star Video (http://www.ssv.com)

You should also check out the Panasonic "Best Practices" document. The name seems a little generic but the paper covers the benefits of AVC-Intra, Film-Rec, and a whole host of features on the new VariCams. It really helps to explain the high-end Panasonic line.

ftp://ftp.panasonic.com/pub/Panasonic/business/provideo/whitepapers/Best_Practices_Guide_Web_Optimized.pdf

Or a bunch of other Panasonic white papers - White Papers - Why P2 HD - The Beauty of P2 HD (http://www.panasonic.com/business/provideo/p2-hd/white-papers.asp)

Andy,

These are fantastic resources. As an HPX2700 owner, it would be great if Panasonic included these with the camera. Thank you for providing the links!

Peter

Peter:

How about some feedback on your thoughts on the 2700? What kind of programming do you shoot with it? What are your thoughts about how a lot of people seemed overly concerned that the 2700 lacks the full resolution CCDs of the 3700? Are you happy with your purchase? Would you buy it again if you had a time machine? Any comments about the AVC Intra codec? I am currently testing the new HPX300 and so far, I am pretty impressed with that codec.

Thanks,

Dan

Dan,

I just wrote a huge reply with impressions of the camera and then my browser crashed. In sum:

--I shoot and direct commercials and broadcast docs
--The camera is fantastic. Would buy again, for sure.
--Not having native 1080 has not been an issue for anyone I work with, but I know some people require native 1080. Having VFR, however, has helped the camera work more.
--I think the AVCIntra codec is fabulous, and the images from the camera are always natural, organic, rock solid. I think the Varicam creates an image with "soul", and, though it may not be quite as sharp or clean as some Sony cameras (and really that's a "may") it creates an image that is more appealingly to me as a filmmaker and that I feel better helps communicate a mood and a story.
--I think CMOS is fantastic, but ultimately there is no free lunch, and the "jello cam" characteristics of the format were a deal-breaker for me.

I hope that is helpful info!

Peter

Jesse Rosen, our technical director, has posted a link on our blog comparing DVCPRO HD and AVC-Intra. He made up some simple visual comparisons. Good stuff.

Check it out here: Image Evaluation Series: Compression (Pt.2) | CineTechnica (http://blog.abelcine.com/2009/05/22/image-evaluation-series-compression-pt2/)