Canon unveils the XHG1 and XHA1

Chris Hurd · August 1st, 2006, 10:56 PM

Quote:

HDV 24f... what do you guys use to edit it?

You can edit Canon 24F with Sony Vegas, Canopus Edius, and Adobe Premiere Pro.

Mathieu Kassovitz · August 2nd, 2006, 09:16 PM

Cineform codec will be the best offer.

Soeren Mueller · August 3rd, 2006, 12:55 AM

Some folks even convert HDV to DVCProHD (e.g. on http://www.starwaypictures.com/twenty-third/) however I have to agree with Mathieu - at least if you're on a windows platform - that Cineform is currently by far the best trade off codec wise in regard to speed, nearly-loselesslyness (ugh?! ;o) and compression ratio! No real (open source) alternatives in sight.

When using HDVSplit in conjunction with AviSynth you can even automatically do some great stuff in realtime (high quality downscaling/deinterlacing/pre-CC/noise/block filtering whatever) while transcoding/capturing - although that's not suitable for the average user I presume.
So for example an interesting approach would be adding a HDV specialized high quality de-blocking filter while transcoding to Cineform... :)

Hideaki Anno · August 3rd, 2006, 01:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soeren Mueller

interesting approach would be adding a HDV specialized high quality de-blocking filter while transcoding to Cineform... :)

Great idea! :)

Soeren Mueller · August 3rd, 2006, 01:23 AM

Thx :) .. some time ago I developed a nice DV deartifacting filter but I'm currently looking into some "intelligent" HDV deartifacting algorithm. Although it is said that the HDV/MPEG2 compression "engine" that is used by Canon delivers a slightly higher quality output than the one used in the FX1/Z1 there still will be artefacts of course - especially in scenes with fast movement or camera movement. The most ugly HDV artefact simply is "blockiness". With the NTSC FX1 the effective resolution could even drop below SD if you had fast movement _and_ a shaky camera.

Of course this is not so big of a problem when doing a "real" movie with mostly locked down camera work. But as you all know - even if you're doing sth like that you still want camera movement. Some scenes just demand more dynamic camera movement.

I guess the most "HDV friendly" movie I've seen recently was Michael Hanekes "Caché". :-)

Simon Wyndham · August 3rd, 2006, 02:32 AM

Algolith has a fantastic filter for AE that gets rid of MPEG artefacts and mosquito noise around edges. It works absolutely brilliantly.

Soeren Mueller · August 3rd, 2006, 02:34 AM

But afaik it's nowhere near realtime, right? As are most of Algoliths treats.. of course they work great - but are more on the CPU intensive side.. ;)

Simon Wyndham · August 3rd, 2006, 03:22 AM

They do have hardware solutions (actually hardware is their main forte), but I'm not sure if they have SDI etc on them.

Soeren Mueller · August 3rd, 2006, 03:24 AM

yes i know.. but their hw is quite expensive afaik and not really a feasable option with what we discussed here... and i guess it's not bad to have some competition around ;)

Terje Hanssen · August 6th, 2006, 05:18 PM

I wish to jump from my Sony TR2000 Hi8 camcorder to Canon XH A1 HDV and possibly HV10 as a second camcorder.
As I have a lot of legacy footage on Hi8 tapes to convert and backup, I wonder if XH A1 has S-video IN/OUT to convert analog Hi8 IN from TR2000 as a vcr to typical DV out?

August 2nd, 2006, 09:16 PM	#212
Mathieu Kassovitz Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: paris Posts: 289	Cineform codec will be the best offer.

August 3rd, 2006, 12:55 AM	#213
Soeren Mueller Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Düsseldorf, Germany / Denver, CO Posts: 137	Some folks even convert HDV to DVCProHD (e.g. on http://www.starwaypictures.com/twenty-third/) however I have to agree with Mathieu - at least if you're on a windows platform - that Cineform is currently by far the best trade off codec wise in regard to speed, nearly-loselesslyness (ugh?! ;o) and compression ratio! No real (open source) alternatives in sight. When using HDVSplit in conjunction with AviSynth you can even automatically do some great stuff in realtime (high quality downscaling/deinterlacing/pre-CC/noise/block filtering whatever) while transcoding/capturing - although that's not suitable for the average user I presume. So for example an interesting approach would be adding a HDV specialized high quality de-blocking filter while transcoding to Cineform... :)

August 3rd, 2006, 01:23 AM	#215
Soeren Mueller Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Düsseldorf, Germany / Denver, CO Posts: 137	Thx :) .. some time ago I developed a nice DV deartifacting filter but I'm currently looking into some "intelligent" HDV deartifacting algorithm. Although it is said that the HDV/MPEG2 compression "engine" that is used by Canon delivers a slightly higher quality output than the one used in the FX1/Z1 there still will be artefacts of course - especially in scenes with fast movement or camera movement. The most ugly HDV artefact simply is "blockiness". With the NTSC FX1 the effective resolution could even drop below SD if you had fast movement _and_ a shaky camera. Of course this is not so big of a problem when doing a "real" movie with mostly locked down camera work. But as you all know - even if you're doing sth like that you still want camera movement. Some scenes just demand more dynamic camera movement. I guess the most "HDV friendly" movie I've seen recently was Michael Hanekes "Caché". :-)

August 3rd, 2006, 02:32 AM	#216
Simon Wyndham Trustee Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Malvern UK Posts: 1,931	Algolith has a fantastic filter for AE that gets rid of MPEG artefacts and mosquito noise around edges. It works absolutely brilliantly.

August 3rd, 2006, 02:34 AM	#217
Soeren Mueller Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Düsseldorf, Germany / Denver, CO Posts: 137	But afaik it's nowhere near realtime, right? As are most of Algoliths treats.. of course they work great - but are more on the CPU intensive side.. ;)

August 3rd, 2006, 03:22 AM	#218
Simon Wyndham Trustee Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Malvern UK Posts: 1,931	They do have hardware solutions (actually hardware is their main forte), but I'm not sure if they have SDI etc on them.

August 3rd, 2006, 03:24 AM	#219
Soeren Mueller Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Düsseldorf, Germany / Denver, CO Posts: 137	yes i know.. but their hw is quite expensive afaik and not really a feasable option with what we discussed here... and i guess it's not bad to have some competition around ;)

August 6th, 2006, 05:18 PM	#220
Terje Hanssen Tourist Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Mo i Rana, Norway Posts: 2	I wish to jump from my Sony TR2000 Hi8 camcorder to Canon XH A1 HDV and possibly HV10 as a second camcorder. As I have a lot of legacy footage on Hi8 tapes to convert and backup, I wonder if XH A1 has S-video IN/OUT to convert analog Hi8 IN from TR2000 as a vcr to typical DV out?