Is downconversion not an official feature?

Henry Posner · September 5th, 2007, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ben Spinler

I just called B&H to purchase an XH-A1. But the individual told me there is no downconversion feature in the camera. He said the v1u does this but the Canon does not. I have to either record SD or HD. I could of course downconvert in the computer he told me.

Confused by what I'm reading here vs what B&H said, I called Canon and they told me no such feature exists as well. Am I missing something? Anyone have this experience? I looked through other threads with no luck.

I am sorry for the inaccuracy. We make serious efforts to make sure all our sales associates are familiar with every product in the genres they're responsible for selling, but we do rely on info from manufacturers as well as in-person product training. I apologize for the inaccuracy.

Henry Posner · September 5th, 2007, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill Pryor

One basic rule of dealing with audiovisual equipment salesmen: Never believe a word they say. I've been lied to by more than one local pro dealer in this area. (Although, as I said earlier, I've been very favorably impressed by Zotz and Tapeworks Texas.) When somebody pushes one brand over another and you find out there's some innacuracy there...keep in mind that there may be different commission structures in the company, ie., he may get a better commission for selling a Sony camera. As they used to say on "X-Files"...Trust No One.

Speaking only for B&H -- our sales associates are NOT paid by commission at all. We prefer a sales associate recommend items best suited for the customer, not for the sales associate's pay envelope. In this case, a sales associate made an honest error, which we regret, but no one here lied, or lies.

Ben Spinler · September 5th, 2007, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Henry Posner

I am sorry for the inaccuracy. We make serious efforts to make sure all our sales associates are familiar with every product in the genres they're responsible for selling, but we do rely on info from manufacturers as well as in-person product training. I apologize for the inaccuracy.

Henry - thanks for taking the time to apologize. I wasn't expecting a full blown apology. No problem - I've received great advice and help from B&H in the past and that's why I ended up purchasing it from your store anyway. It's hard to expect B&H to answer a question differently than the manufacturer answered it. Canon told me the same thing. I make mistakes too.

I appreciated receiving a follow up call from B&H today just to let me know everything was in stock and I would have it Friday. I'll be purchasing from B&H again in the future.

Ben Spinler · September 5th, 2007, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill Pryor

Ben--congrats! You'll love it.

First thing: Set it up on a tripod, make a pot of coffee (or open a 2 litre bottle of Pepsi, or whatever your thing is, booze is not a good idea at this point), and spend some quality time with the manual. I found it nice to have the downloaded version on my iBook...don't need a free hand to keep it open.

Bogdan and Bill - thanks for the heads up on the owner's manual and the OIS - I suppose the manual will join Car & Driver and the latest B&H catalog in the bathroom. Is this camera much more complex than the Xl2?

Jack Walker · September 5th, 2007, 11:34 AM

I have received excellent advice from B&H several times, in a couple of them advice that actually saved me money. They have been very good pointing me to preferred products, telling me why, and pointing out things I may not have been aware of.

Ben Spinler · September 7th, 2007, 10:19 PM

Got my XH-A1 tonight - had a family gathering so I couldn't play with it - I might do some shooting tomorrow. I could smell that new car smell when I opened it - intoxicating.

Manuel Hernandez-Stumpfhauser · October 18th, 2007, 01:58 PM

Hello Ben,

one question, could you record in HDV with your camera and then capture with firewire in SD (720X480) with Premiere Pro 2?

thanks

Ben Spinler · October 18th, 2007, 02:23 PM

Manuel,

I had problems on every level getting downconversion done with PP2. First I couldn't get the incamera downconversion to work (and still can't - the feature stays grayed out no matter what I do) and then I decided to try to capture HDV and got sound but no video.

After reading some obscure forum post I found someone who found that if they reset the in-camera settings while hooked to PP2 it made things start recording. Sure enough it worked for me then to record HDV - I had to do the downconversion with PP2 in the computer - it wasn't the best. I think I've heard somewhere around here there is a downconversion utility - I don't know what it's called though.

I've gone to using DV 16:9 with the A1 alot since I use it in conjunction with my XL2. I'm hoping the upgrades to CS3 make a difference when I can afford it.

Not sure if I answered your question or not.

Bill Busby · October 18th, 2007, 03:13 PM

Ben, I don't know if you've done this already because you don't mention anything in the "I've tried everything" statement... but what you have to do for the downconvert to work is disconnect the firewire cable from the A1, then in the menu select downconversion - ON, letterboxed - ON (if you want that), & then reconnect the firewire cable to the A1.

Bill

Ben Spinler · October 18th, 2007, 03:25 PM

Thanks Bill - I think I did that. Does the camera need to stay on in this process? I always shut it off before unplugging the firewire for fear of frying the firewire port. I read somewhere this was good practice. Is this so?

thanks again for the advice.

Bill Busby · October 18th, 2007, 03:37 PM

I believe it has to stay powered. I can't fully recall but I think I remember when I 1st tried several attempts, I was turning it off before disconnecting & I THINK it didn't hold the settings. I could be wrong though. Try is & see. If you come to the conclusion it needs to stay powered, then just be carefull when re-connecting & say a prayer before so :)

Bill

Roger Lee · October 18th, 2007, 03:44 PM

Hello Ben,

I'm from Fergus Falls, MN....a bit of a distance from you. I just ordered my A-1.

Perhaps we could meet and chat sometime?

Regards,

Rog Lee

Ben Spinler · October 19th, 2007, 01:34 PM

Bill thanks for the tip - I'm nervous to give that try - but it may be worth it. I was always shutting it down.

Roger - nice to see a fellow Minnesota resident on the forum. I'd be glad to meet. Send me an email sometime. Congratulations on the A1!

Andre Tira · October 24th, 2007, 07:36 PM

I shot some footage on miniDV in my a1 in HD but I want to transfer it to a SD miniDV. Can I accomplish this with my a1 and hv20? And if yes, how so?

Juni Zhao · October 24th, 2007, 07:51 PM

I never did it myself, but it should work if you connect 2 cameras with a firewire cable and set the A1 in VCR mode with downconversion on and the other DV camera at VCR as well, one play and one record.....

September 7th, 2007, 10:19 PM	#21
Ben Spinler New Boot Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Owatonna, MN Posts: 13	Got my XH-A1 tonight - had a family gathering so I couldn't play with it - I might do some shooting tomorrow. I could smell that new car smell when I opened it - intoxicating. Last edited by Ben Spinler; September 7th, 2007 at 11:55 PM.

October 18th, 2007, 01:58 PM	#22
Manuel Hernandez-Stumpfhauser Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Queretaro, Mexico Posts: 40	Hello Ben, one question, could you record in HDV with your camera and then capture with firewire in SD (720X480) with Premiere Pro 2? thanks __________________ Manuel Hernandez-Stumpfhauser Director Oxes Tv

October 24th, 2007, 07:36 PM	#29
Andre Tira Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 83	downconvert from camera to camera? I shot some footage on miniDV in my a1 in HD but I want to transfer it to a SD miniDV. Can I accomplish this with my a1 and hv20? And if yes, how so?

September 5th, 2007, 11:34 AM	#20
Jack Walker Trustee Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Burbank Posts: 1,811	I have received excellent advice from B&H several times, in a couple of them advice that actually saved me money. They have been very good pointing me to preferred products, telling me why, and pointing out things I may not have been aware of.

October 18th, 2007, 02:23 PM	#23
Ben Spinler New Boot Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Owatonna, MN Posts: 13	Manuel, I had problems on every level getting downconversion done with PP2. First I couldn't get the incamera downconversion to work (and still can't - the feature stays grayed out no matter what I do) and then I decided to try to capture HDV and got sound but no video. After reading some obscure forum post I found someone who found that if they reset the in-camera settings while hooked to PP2 it made things start recording. Sure enough it worked for me then to record HDV - I had to do the downconversion with PP2 in the computer - it wasn't the best. I think I've heard somewhere around here there is a downconversion utility - I don't know what it's called though. I've gone to using DV 16:9 with the A1 alot since I use it in conjunction with my XL2. I'm hoping the upgrades to CS3 make a difference when I can afford it. Not sure if I answered your question or not.

October 18th, 2007, 03:13 PM	#24
Bill Busby Major Player Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 959	Ben, I don't know if you've done this already because you don't mention anything in the "I've tried everything" statement... but what you have to do for the downconvert to work is disconnect the firewire cable from the A1, then in the menu select downconversion - ON, letterboxed - ON (if you want that), & then reconnect the firewire cable to the A1. Bill

October 18th, 2007, 03:25 PM	#25
Ben Spinler New Boot Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Owatonna, MN Posts: 13	Thanks Bill - I think I did that. Does the camera need to stay on in this process? I always shut it off before unplugging the firewire for fear of frying the firewire port. I read somewhere this was good practice. Is this so? thanks again for the advice.

October 18th, 2007, 03:37 PM	#26
Bill Busby Major Player Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 959	I believe it has to stay powered. I can't fully recall but I think I remember when I 1st tried several attempts, I was turning it off before disconnecting & I THINK it didn't hold the settings. I could be wrong though. Try is & see. If you come to the conclusion it needs to stay powered, then just be carefull when re-connecting & say a prayer before so :) Bill

October 18th, 2007, 03:44 PM	#27
Roger Lee Major Player Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Western Minnesota Posts: 227	Hello Ben, I'm from Fergus Falls, MN....a bit of a distance from you. I just ordered my A-1. Perhaps we could meet and chat sometime? Regards, Rog Lee

October 19th, 2007, 01:34 PM	#28
Ben Spinler New Boot Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Owatonna, MN Posts: 13	Bill thanks for the tip - I'm nervous to give that try - but it may be worth it. I was always shutting it down. Roger - nice to see a fellow Minnesota resident on the forum. I'd be glad to meet. Send me an email sometime. Congratulations on the A1!

October 24th, 2007, 07:51 PM	#30
Juni Zhao Regular Crew Join Date: May 2007 Location: North Andover, Ma Posts: 102	I never did it myself, but it should work if you connect 2 cameras with a firewire cable and set the A1 in VCR mode with downconversion on and the other DV camera at VCR as well, one play and one record.....