I have been searching all over the web for this information I hope you can help. Just a little back ground I have been producing videos for about ten years. Weddings corporate stuff commercials for cable. I have been using Sony V1 cameras and have never had any real problem with them.

Well I was hired to shoot a movie the company that hired me is sure they will get distribution. So I am getting ready to shoot this thing when DV Magazine comes out with this article about Megaconda Tapeless Terror. I skim the article and pick up that they are using a Sony V1. I think cool no problem with the gear. Then I look again and see they had problems with the V1 footage and changed to the EX1 on the next project Megaconda.

They talk about finishing at Film looks in California so I email them at Film Look to find out what kind of problems they had. The guys at Film Look can not remember the project but recommend against any HDV camera. They recommend using the EX1.

Now I am getting an EX1 to shoot this project. I email Film Look to see what they recommend using 1080Ii or 24p to shoot the movie in. No return email from them and I really can not find much on the web.

Here is the dilemma We know we want to deliver on DVD and Blue Ray and deliver in US and other regions. What would be the safest way to shoot for multiple distribution paths. 1080i or 24p?
Any discussion on this would be greatly appreciated.

24p is really universal, we are all used to seeing pulldown. Most DVD players will remove pulldown and present in 24p. And Bluray is 24p compatible. It is also easy to convert to PAL/SECAM.

60i is fairly easy to convert but will not look as good on screen.

The worst would be 30p, very hard to make look good in PAL or 24p.

I would shoot 1080 HQ 24p in an EX camera.

I would shoot 1080 HQ 24p in an EX camera.

Ditto. If I was going to have to even THINK about going to PAL, I'd be shooting 24p.

Deffo shoot P. P is sooo much easier to convert/scale/transfer etc than interlace. 24P to 25P and back is very easy.

What's critical to realise is that 1080i/30 and 1080p/24 will give you two very different "looks". 1080i/30 will give a "smoothness" to motion (as you'd expect watching sport), whilst 1080p/24 will give a more "jerky" look (as you'd expect watching a feature film).

So what's your subject? Whilst broadly agreeing with what others have said above, 1080p/24 would be very unsuitable if you needed the smooth motion look.

Thank you for your help.

The cameras we will be using are the EX3 and EX1. I have been using the V1 and it has two 24p modes. 24p and 24pa.

Do the EX cameras work that way or are they just 24p?

The only choice is "true" 24p.

The only choice is "true" 24p.

Well, TRUE 23.976! :)

I edit in Adobe Premiere CS4, with Matrox Axio card. Matrox card does not accept 30p, but does accept 23.976. Sony EX3 also shoots in 23.976 so, to be consistent throughout, I shoot and edit in 23.976. 1080p of course, not 1080i.

1080i would be good for broadcast because most, if not all, cable companies feed a 1080i signal.

HOWEVER, for Hi Def DVD release, home players and Hi Def TVs mostly are 1080p .... so you want to shoot and edit and release your DVD in 1080p.

Your standard DVDs will look fantastic, and your Blu Ray DVDs will look even more so.

Good luck . . .

1080i would be good for broadcast because most, if not all, cable companies feed a 1080i signal.

HOWEVER, for Hi Def DVD release, home players and Hi Def TVs mostly are 1080p ....
Yes, but for broadcast those same cable companies (the majority of HD broadcasters, for that matter) will have no problem transmitting a 1080p/24 signal - as 1080psf/24. In terms of information content, there's no difference between 1080p/24 and 1080psf/24. It's just that for 1080psf/24, the information is re-ordered to amke it appear as a 1080i/30 signal for compatability.

To the receiver there is no technical difference between 1080i/30 and 1080psf/24. To the eye, the former gives smooth motion, the latter "film-look".