I intend to shoot a documentary in HDV 50i CF25. The budget doesn´t allow a pro monitor rental, so we´re going to check the tapes after each day of shooting using a NTSC TV.

To make the test, I connected the component cable to the TV and turned the camera on. The colors were ok, but the image was flicking a lot -- mostly on highlights.

Do I have to change any settings to fix it? Is it a camera or a TV problem? That flick won´t continue when I capture, cut and convert to NTSC, for the brazilian broadcast specs?

Thanks!

An NTSC TV will be expecting 60i SD video, not 50i HDV. It's not surprising that the image is flickering. Maybe your budget can stretch to a cheap LCD panel that accepts PAL and NTSC?

Richard

Richard is right. You can't watch PAL (50i) footage on an NTSC (60i) TV. Some newer monitors/tv's may support both formats, but none of mine will (including a 2 year old Panasonic plasma TV and a 3 year sold Samsung LCD).

If your funds are really limited then I'm afraid you'll have to settle for watching the video on your computer.

Hey Boyd, if you were to buy today, would you go with a plasma or LCD, let's say for displaying your video workage. I have to pick up either an LCD or plasma prior to the end of this year.

Well the playing field is constantly changing, and since I don't have any "disposable income" to spend on a new HDTV, I really haven't looked at the current crop.

I'm still very happy with my 37" Panasonic Vierra plasma screen, even though it's an "ED" (854x480) screen. I don't have any HDTV programming and primarily use it to watch DVD's which look great. When I bought that screen (Feb 2004 IIRC) it was the best fit for my budget and I spent a long time comparing screens at local retailers. The plasma had the highest contrast ratio, it was bright enough to use in a room with lots of daylight, and it cost around $2,000. The specs are different on the newer Panasonic plasmas so I don't know how they compare.

One problem with LCD's is that you don't get rich blacks - they are always grey because of the backlight (newer screens have improved on this). I keep hearing great things about the Sony rear projection DLP screens, but they seem kind of big and heavy to me. Having moved twice within the last 4 years, I have now promised myself to only buy flat screens from here on out (although the plasma screens are heavier than they look).