What format and bit rate should I use? at DVinfo.net

Tracy Painter · April 25th, 2016, 02:06 PM

My company shoots many dance recitals in the spring. In previous years we have recorded with the Sony Z5, Z7 and NX3. We record in HD, convert down and deliver DVDs to the parents.

This year we have added more studios and I would like to use the Canon G30 that I purchased last fall.

The questions I have are;

Which format would be the best to record these recitals, MP4 or AVCHD?

I like the idea of back up, would I be sacrificing too much quality if I recorded the recitals at 24mbps (the highest rate I can use for dual recording)?

Thanks in advance for your insight.

Rainer Listing · April 25th, 2016, 06:00 PM

It probably isn't going to matter all that much, and everything's a trade-off. In the G30 both AVCHD and MP4 use the same H264 compression. AVCHD has a certain amount of baggage when it comes to post. 24mbps per frame is higher quality than 35mps double frame rate. You'd have to do some very close pixel peeping to notice. The high frame rate gives you the most flexibility in distribution and better represents fast motion. If you're producing interlaced DVDs with fast movement, most NLE's will properly treat the double frame rate and convert frames to fields for smoother motion. The risk of card failure is very small, but present, up to you if you want to take the risk of not doing dual recording. Summary my recommendation: 24mpbs MP4 at 50/60 fps.

Tracy Painter · April 26th, 2016, 07:20 AM

Thank you for the detailed explanation. 24mbps MP4 was the way I was leaning.

April 25th, 2016, 02:06 PM	#1
Tracy Painter New Boot Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 20	What format and bit rate should I use? My company shoots many dance recitals in the spring. In previous years we have recorded with the Sony Z5, Z7 and NX3. We record in HD, convert down and deliver DVDs to the parents. This year we have added more studios and I would like to use the Canon G30 that I purchased last fall. The questions I have are; Which format would be the best to record these recitals, MP4 or AVCHD? I like the idea of back up, would I be sacrificing too much quality if I recorded the recitals at 24mbps (the highest rate I can use for dual recording)? Thanks in advance for your insight.

April 25th, 2016, 06:00 PM	#2
Rainer Listing Major Player Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Nowra, Australia Posts: 440	Re: What format and bit rate should I use? It probably isn't going to matter all that much, and everything's a trade-off. In the G30 both AVCHD and MP4 use the same H264 compression. AVCHD has a certain amount of baggage when it comes to post. 24mbps per frame is higher quality than 35mps double frame rate. You'd have to do some very close pixel peeping to notice. The high frame rate gives you the most flexibility in distribution and better represents fast motion. If you're producing interlaced DVDs with fast movement, most NLE's will properly treat the double frame rate and convert frames to fields for smoother motion. The risk of card failure is very small, but present, up to you if you want to take the risk of not doing dual recording. Summary my recommendation: 24mpbs MP4 at 50/60 fps.

April 26th, 2016, 07:20 AM	#3
Tracy Painter New Boot Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 20	Re: What format and bit rate should I use? Thank you for the detailed explanation. 24mbps MP4 was the way I was leaning.