HF100 HDMI Issues at DVinfo.net

Ed Hecht · June 1st, 2008, 04:49 PM

Well, I took a leap of faith and sold my HV20 in favor of an HF100, thinking I could leapfrog the whole mts/AVCHD issue by capturing to Cineform via Intensity Pro (HDMI). (I use Premiere Pro CS3. The native MTS playback/editing performance I've seen in Vegas Pro 8 on my dual core machine is unacceptable.) I bought a mini HDMI to HDMI cable at Fry's and can't get a signal on my HDTV or my Benq HDMI monitors. I've tried playback of both 60i and 30p files. Is anyone else having similar issues? In the menu system, HDMI Status shows "DVI". I know what a DVI signal is. But I can't find ANY reference to this status online or in the manual. If, by chance, it's the cable, can anyone recommend a mini-HDMI to HDMI cable brand that works for them? Thanks in advance.

Dave Blackhurst · June 1st, 2008, 05:05 PM

DVi refers to the same interface you find on many digital flat panel computer monitors/video cards - and there must be some compatibilities as I've got a cable with DVi on one end and HDMI onthe other as my TV's don't have HDMI in... but have the DVi... Maybe you need to switch something around on the cam or TV?

Ed Hecht · June 1st, 2008, 05:19 PM

Thanks, Dave. I've check the manual over and over. I can't find any reference to "DVI" under HDMI Status. HDMI Status displays just a dashed line when not connected to an HDMI TV or monitor.

Bruce Foreman · June 1st, 2008, 05:47 PM

Ed, The very first time I hooked up my HF100 to an HD TV using the mini HDMI to HDMI cable it worked perfectly.

My first thought is perhaps a defective HDMI cable. I have encountered a couple of those. If you have a dealer nearby you might take your camcorder and see if they will hook it up with one of their cables and see what happens.

If you get the same result with another cable it is time for a lightning fast trip to Canon for the cam.

Sorry you are having problems with yours. I like most everything about mine except for lack of a viewfinder that one can see in daylight. I use a hood on mine.

Ed Hecht · June 1st, 2008, 10:57 PM

Thanks, Bruce. It turns out that it WAS the cable. I went back to Fry's and bought Belkin's mini-HDMI to HDMI cable. It works fine.

Michael Mann · June 2nd, 2008, 01:38 AM

Ed, does capturing via HDMI cable deliver a less compressed color/data rate than AVCHD?

Brian W. Smith · June 2nd, 2008, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bruce Foreman

My first thought is perhaps a defective HDMI cable. I have encountered a couple of those. If you have a dealer nearby you might take your camcorder and see if they will hook it up with one of their cables and see what happens.

If you get the same result with another cable it is time for a lightning fast trip to Canon for the cam.

Sorry you are having problems with yours. I like most everything about mine except for lack of a viewfinder that one can see in daylight. I use a hood on mine.

I think I remember that post here. I wonder why so many cables are going bad ?

Ed Hecht · June 2nd, 2008, 11:06 AM

Michael,
Unfortunately I can't actually answer that question right now. I am currently without a desktop machine until I can convince the wife of the need for a new one. :) I am HDMI captureless on my Core 2 Duo laptop. Does no one make a portable/laptop HDMI capture solution? I would think this would be right up Black Magic's or Canopus's alley. I see Black Magic has a new product coming in July, the Blackmagic Video Recorder, which does analog capture through USB. But I couldn't figure out if it does HD capture via component (which would be limted to 1440x1080, no?). With all the AVCHD cameras coming to market, I would think a portable (not-too-costly) HDMI capture solution is a no-brainer.

Brian,
As for the bad cable, it WAS some never heard of brand name for $20. I guess I should have gone with Belkin in the first place ($35).

Ed Hecht · June 17th, 2008, 11:38 AM

Just curious, as I am stilll without a desktop: Does anyone here have any experience with capturing clips from the HF100 via HDMI (Intensity Pro)? I am trying to plan for possible hardware/system configuration changes.

Pietro Impagliazzo · June 17th, 2008, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Mann

Ed, does capturing via HDMI cable deliver a less compressed color/data rate than AVCHD?

Capturing what already was compressed and recorded to tape through HDMI will not give you better results. You already lost data!

But I've seen samples, and some kind of 4:2:0 to 4:2:2 upconversion goes on, and it actually helps some blown out reds and this kind of stuff that can get quite bad in HDV.

But this guy was using a Z1 capturing through Component. So I'm not sure the upconversion was done by the camera or the Intensity card.

However he posted some V1 grabs captured directly to the PC through HDMI, with no compression whatsoever. Nice results, but not much different. Not really worth it unless you are doing VFX stuff.

Lubomir Zvolensky · June 18th, 2008, 01:04 PM

> Capturing what already was compressed and recorded to tape through HDMI will not give you better results. You already lost data!

since when does hf100 record to tape? And also, this question was not about playing already recorded data from tape [errr, SD card this time] but about capturing live-events directly thru HDMI.

I think that many members here would agree that capturing "live" HDMI output is as pristine as it could get from all these small cams, be it Canon Hf100, hf10, hv20, hv30 or Sony sr11, sr12 etc. You have full color space, 4:2:2, non-compressed at all. I'm also eagerly waiting for some kind of really portable solution, something like ExpressCard Intensity Pro would save my days many times. I don't do professional things and I don't earn money by using camcorder, I'm just amater - but I'm purist and I'd like to shoot tethered to notebook in my backpack capturing to Cineform codecs.

enjoy!

Pietro Impagliazzo · June 18th, 2008, 04:09 PM

I only saw that it was the AVCHD forum later.
Just replace tape with card/hdd/whatever and it all makes sense.
It's all compressed anyway...

I was just answering the guy I quoted that even already compressed stuff can benefit from HDMI capture.

;)

Ed Hecht · June 18th, 2008, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pietro Impagliazzo

I only saw that it was the AVCHD forum later.
Just replace tape with card/hdd/whatever and it all makes sense.
It's all compressed anyway...

I was just answering the guy I quoted that even already compressed stuff can benefit from HDMI capture.

;)

Thanks, Pietro. I was just curious on whether there is any noticeable loss in quality or any artifacting capturing an already (highly) compressed signal.

Chris Kidd · August 2nd, 2008, 04:40 PM

I have the HF100 hooked up to my tv with HDMI, however no audio comes out the TV....What am I doing wrong? Bad cable?

June 1st, 2008, 04:49 PM	#1
Ed Hecht Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Silicon Valley, CA Posts: 60	HF100 HDMI Issues Well, I took a leap of faith and sold my HV20 in favor of an HF100, thinking I could leapfrog the whole mts/AVCHD issue by capturing to Cineform via Intensity Pro (HDMI). (I use Premiere Pro CS3. The native MTS playback/editing performance I've seen in Vegas Pro 8 on my dual core machine is unacceptable.) I bought a mini HDMI to HDMI cable at Fry's and can't get a signal on my HDTV or my Benq HDMI monitors. I've tried playback of both 60i and 30p files. Is anyone else having similar issues? In the menu system, HDMI Status shows "DVI". I know what a DVI signal is. But I can't find ANY reference to this status online or in the manual. If, by chance, it's the cable, can anyone recommend a mini-HDMI to HDMI cable brand that works for them? Thanks in advance.

June 2nd, 2008, 01:38 AM	#6
Michael Mann Major Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Kelkheim, Germany Posts: 375	Ed, does capturing via HDMI cable deliver a less compressed color/data rate than AVCHD? __________________ Michael

June 17th, 2008, 11:38 AM	#9
Ed Hecht Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Silicon Valley, CA Posts: 60	HF100 via HDMI Just curious, as I am stilll without a desktop: Does anyone here have any experience with capturing clips from the HF100 via HDMI (Intensity Pro)? I am trying to plan for possible hardware/system configuration changes.

June 18th, 2008, 04:09 PM	#12
Pietro Impagliazzo Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Rio de Janeiro, BR Posts: 170	I only saw that it was the AVCHD forum later. Just replace tape with card/hdd/whatever and it all makes sense. It's all compressed anyway... I was just answering the guy I quoted that even already compressed stuff can benefit from HDMI capture. ;) __________________ Pietro Impagliazzo flickr.com/photos/impagliazzo

August 2nd, 2008, 04:40 PM	#14
Chris Kidd Tourist Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Grain Valley, MO Posts: 1	Hdmi Audio I have the HF100 hooked up to my tv with HDMI, however no audio comes out the TV....What am I doing wrong? Bad cable?

June 1st, 2008, 05:05 PM	#2
Dave Blackhurst Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Apple Valley CA Posts: 4,874	DVi refers to the same interface you find on many digital flat panel computer monitors/video cards - and there must be some compatibilities as I've got a cable with DVi on one end and HDMI onthe other as my TV's don't have HDMI in... but have the DVi... Maybe you need to switch something around on the cam or TV?

June 1st, 2008, 05:19 PM	#3
Ed Hecht Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Silicon Valley, CA Posts: 60	Thanks, Dave. I've check the manual over and over. I can't find any reference to "DVI" under HDMI Status. HDMI Status displays just a dashed line when not connected to an HDMI TV or monitor.

June 1st, 2008, 05:47 PM	#4
Bruce Foreman Trustee Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: San Angelo Texas Posts: 1,518	Ed, The very first time I hooked up my HF100 to an HD TV using the mini HDMI to HDMI cable it worked perfectly. My first thought is perhaps a defective HDMI cable. I have encountered a couple of those. If you have a dealer nearby you might take your camcorder and see if they will hook it up with one of their cables and see what happens. If you get the same result with another cable it is time for a lightning fast trip to Canon for the cam. Sorry you are having problems with yours. I like most everything about mine except for lack of a viewfinder that one can see in daylight. I use a hood on mine.

June 1st, 2008, 10:57 PM	#5
Ed Hecht Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Silicon Valley, CA Posts: 60	Thanks, Bruce. It turns out that it WAS the cable. I went back to Fry's and bought Belkin's mini-HDMI to HDMI cable. It works fine.

June 2nd, 2008, 11:06 AM	#8
Ed Hecht Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Silicon Valley, CA Posts: 60	Michael, Unfortunately I can't actually answer that question right now. I am currently without a desktop machine until I can convince the wife of the need for a new one. :) I am HDMI captureless on my Core 2 Duo laptop. Does no one make a portable/laptop HDMI capture solution? I would think this would be right up Black Magic's or Canopus's alley. I see Black Magic has a new product coming in July, the Blackmagic Video Recorder, which does analog capture through USB. But I couldn't figure out if it does HD capture via component (which would be limted to 1440x1080, no?). With all the AVCHD cameras coming to market, I would think a portable (not-too-costly) HDMI capture solution is a no-brainer. Brian, As for the bad cable, it WAS some never heard of brand name for $20. I guess I should have gone with Belkin in the first place ($35).

June 18th, 2008, 01:04 PM	#11
Lubomir Zvolensky New Boot Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Bratislava, Slovakia Posts: 8	> Capturing what already was compressed and recorded to tape through HDMI will not give you better results. You already lost data! since when does hf100 record to tape? And also, this question was not about playing already recorded data from tape [errr, SD card this time] but about capturing live-events directly thru HDMI. I think that many members here would agree that capturing "live" HDMI output is as pristine as it could get from all these small cams, be it Canon Hf100, hf10, hv20, hv30 or Sony sr11, sr12 etc. You have full color space, 4:2:2, non-compressed at all. I'm also eagerly waiting for some kind of really portable solution, something like ExpressCard Intensity Pro would save my days many times. I don't do professional things and I don't earn money by using camcorder, I'm just amater - but I'm purist and I'd like to shoot tethered to notebook in my backpack capturing to Cineform codecs. enjoy!