FYI:
Any HD camera head can output HD-SDI SMPTE 292/296 (4:2:2 10 bit) 1.485Gbps USING EXTERNAL SYNC if required for around $1500. I cant understand why Canon have included it as standard - its just pushing the base price up into a cost conscious market.

from B&H site:

The HD10A is an Analog to Digital HDTV signal converter; it accepts a 3-wire Component HDTV analog video signal (and sync) and converts to HD-SDI digital HDTV signal.

Input Component Analog HDTV, 1080i @ 50/59.94/60 Hz, 1035i @ 50/59.94/60 Hz, 1080psf @ 23.98/24/25/29.97/30 Hz, 720p @ 59.94/60 Hz, on three BNC connectors
Sync, on a BNC connector

Output SDI-HD Digital Video x3, SMPTE 292 and SMPTE 296, on BNC connectors

Conversion Analog Component HDTV Video to HD-SDI Digital Video

Control External Dip Switch
Sync Mode
Input Mode
Output Mode

<<Any HD camera head can output HD-SDI SMPTE 292/296 (4:2:2 10 bit) 1.485Gbps USING EXTERNAL SYNC if required for around $1500. I cant understand why Canon have included it as standard - its just pushing the base price up into a cost conscious market.>>

Then stick to DV or HDV. What Canon has done is provide a *professional
standard* with all the benefits therein, which until now, was available
only on cameras that cost $60,000.00!!!

Good move Canon!!! (Standing ovation!)

John,

The only problem with that method is that the signal is analog and can have noise and other issues. While it will look good it would never be as good as with SDI. It is the same reason why high end SD users would choose SDI over component because it looks better. Before we all thought HD uncompressed component was great because we never in a million years thought we even had a chance of getting HD SDI.

... have you tried it? - can you say fo'sure?


all CCD are analogue - who's to say Canons A/D is any noisier than using the AJA?

is Canon's a professional standard? - I see no SMPTE 292/296 in the specs?

valid questions - no concrete answers to date.

all CCD are analogue - who's to say Canons A/D is any noisier than using the AJA?

Yeah, but now you're going analog from the CCD's to digital for the DSP, back to analog for the uncompressed component outs, then converting back to digital... Extra conversions, no matter how good, will add noise and/or degrade the signal, no matter how slight...

is Canon's a professional standard? - I see no SMPTE 292/296 in the specs?

According to Canon's website and the reports from the Canon expo it is SMPTE 292/296... it's been answered already...

is Canon's a professional standard? - I see no SMPTE 292/296 in the specs?

Yes, it's in the specs. See this link.

http://www.dvinfo.net/canonxlh1/xlh1skinny.php

It's mentioned in the very first paragraph.

-gb-

Yeah, but now you're going analog from the CCD's to digital for the DSP, back to analog for the uncompressed component outs, then converting back to digital... Extra conversions, no matter how good, will add noise and/or degrade the signal, no matter how slight......

Theory is correct but quanta still not known and is dependent on shielding and D/A quality and bit depth.

Where does it say 10 bit 4:2:2 ?, the 1.485Gbps data rate sort of implies it but it is not specifically stated?



According to Canon's website and the reports from the Canon expo it is SMPTE 292/296... it's been answered already...

OK my bad - ive been looking here

http://consumer.usa.canon.com/ir/controller?act=ModelTechSpecsAct&fcategoryid=165&modelid=12152

but I see the SMPTE cable drivers are mentioned elsewhere

The article referenced at

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=51305

specifically states that Canon is using 8bit signal

if this is correct and can be independently verified it looks as though there is a lot of fat in that H1 SDI output.

I noticed that too John.
I wasn't sure if that was a known fact, or just a guess by that reviewer.
I'm hoping it's not true... that would be a pretty big let down on an otherwise really cool feature.

A big let down?

Do you know what bit depth of HDV is? (It ain't 10 bit.)

From my understanding, DV, DVCPro50 and DVCPro100 are all 8 bit codecs.
The BBC found no one could tell the difference between 8 bit DVCPro 50
and 10 bit Digital Betacam @ 90mbps. Where it really matters is in
compositing, animation and smooth gradations.

Many cameras do initially capture at 12 bit and use those bits in
processing before they record 8 bit to tape. Yet, if you want to get
10 bit out of a Varicam, you use HD-SDI out to a $100,000.00
D5 deck that can record 10 bit (or a computer).

Yes, Canon's XL1 was/is 8 bit the whole way through and
its images suffer accordingly when compared to the current champ
the DVX100a. I do hope that Canon has stepped up to 12 bit
processing, but IMO what really matters is the final output.

So instead of it being a big let down, let's wait and see.