Can I take SD component video from an HD video camera at DVinfo.net

Dan Gonzales · May 14th, 2008, 10:23 PM

If I have an hd camera in sd mode, can I use the 3 rca component outs? Will this give me any benefit in picture quality or colorspace?

Ervin Farkas · May 15th, 2008, 07:40 AM

If an SD+HD camcorder has component output, it operates in the resolution the camera is working in, so yes, if you're filming SD, the component output will deliver SD.

Benefit? Absolutely, the component out is the highest quality you can get out of your camera, higher than firewire.

Bill Davis · May 15th, 2008, 04:37 PM

Dan,

Shoot in HD and post in SD is a capability a LOT of us are interested in.

Many of us are looking for this so that we can start shooting and archiving in HD, yet support our client's current lower resolution (SD video, web, iPhone, etc) workflows in the short term.

But the hard fact is that an HD camera has a different pixel raster than is optimal for SD. Each manufacturer is free to figure out their own way to "scale" the HD sensor data down when working in SD mode. So it's up to the design engineer how they do it - for better or worse.

The soon to be released Sony EX3 has a companion hardware deck that I understand will transcode from the HD native video generated by the EX3 directly to Standard Def out in real time. That's something that has a lot of us excited.

It remains to be seen how good the transcoding is. But crunching a bigger HD raster down into a smaller SD raster isn't a trivial matter - and done wrong, is currently NOT as good as simply shooting, editing and mastering all in SD.

I don't know of another HD shooting option (aside from the promise of the EX3) that does this without the need to ingest in camera native HD and transcode/scale the footage down to SD with all the attendant processing/rendering time and hassles.

FWIW.

May 14th, 2008, 10:23 PM	#1
Dan Gonzales Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Alton IL Posts: 46	Can I take SD component video from an HD video camera If I have an hd camera in sd mode, can I use the 3 rca component outs? Will this give me any benefit in picture quality or colorspace?

May 15th, 2008, 07:40 AM	#2
Ervin Farkas Inner Circle Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Atlanta/USA Posts: 2,515	If an SD+HD camcorder has component output, it operates in the resolution the camera is working in, so yes, if you're filming SD, the component output will deliver SD. Benefit? Absolutely, the component out is the highest quality you can get out of your camera, higher than firewire. __________________ Ervin Farkas www.AtlantaLegalVideo.com

May 15th, 2008, 04:37 PM	#3
Bill Davis Trustee Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Scottsdale, AZ 85260 Posts: 1,538	Dan, Shoot in HD and post in SD is a capability a LOT of us are interested in. Many of us are looking for this so that we can start shooting and archiving in HD, yet support our client's current lower resolution (SD video, web, iPhone, etc) workflows in the short term. But the hard fact is that an HD camera has a different pixel raster than is optimal for SD. Each manufacturer is free to figure out their own way to "scale" the HD sensor data down when working in SD mode. So it's up to the design engineer how they do it - for better or worse. The soon to be released Sony EX3 has a companion hardware deck that I understand will transcode from the HD native video generated by the EX3 directly to Standard Def out in real time. That's something that has a lot of us excited. It remains to be seen how good the transcoding is. But crunching a bigger HD raster down into a smaller SD raster isn't a trivial matter - and done wrong, is currently NOT as good as simply shooting, editing and mastering all in SD. I don't know of another HD shooting option (aside from the promise of the EX3) that does this without the need to ingest in camera native HD and transcode/scale the footage down to SD with all the attendant processing/rendering time and hassles. FWIW.