Need Settings Advice at DVinfo.net

Mark Williams · July 2nd, 2009, 01:26 PM

New HPX170 owner here. I have read Barry's book from cover to cover familarizing myself with the cam and shot a few test scenes. I am trying to dial it in for a Waterfalls documentary SD-DVD that I will be working on for the next year. I need some help on settings as I come from a DV format only background. I have experimented with 720/30pn in film cam mode with shutter on at 1/60 shutter speed as well as frame rate of 60 for slow-motion. Also experimented with some scene files. Does anyone have any experience with a similar project and would like to share some advice?

Thanks,

Mark Donnell · July 3rd, 2009, 12:32 PM

Mark - If you have no plans to use the footage in HD format, I would recommend that you record in DVCPRO 50. This codes to DVD very easily and the quality is excellent. I just recently made several DVDs from performances which I recorded in DVCPRO 50 at 720p 60 fps - the color was fabulous and every frame was sharp on individual examination. Converting from HD to SD is a problem, and I have yet to see any conversion that looks as good as the DVCPRO 50 to DVD. Good luck on your project.

Mark Williams · July 3rd, 2009, 03:04 PM

Mark D.,
Thanks for your response. I am a little confused. You recommend shooting in DVCPRO50 format at 720p. The 720p option does not exist in the DVCPRO50 format because it is SD. The options range from 480i/60i down to 480i/24pa. What am I missing here?

Thanks

TingSern Wong · July 3rd, 2009, 10:20 PM

Mark W, you are right. 720p is only for HD. For SD, there is no such thing as 720p. So, Mark D. must have made a mistake here. DVCPRO50 is SD. I can't recommend anything for SD - because I am from the PAL world ... you need people who are more familiar with NTSC to tell you what the best setting for DVCPRO50 at NTSC SD.

Mark Donnell · July 5th, 2009, 11:11 AM

So sorry, Mark. You and TingSern are correct. DVCPRO 50 is a SD codec and there is no 720p. I shoot most of my material in HD at 720p 60 fps, and that fell in there by mistake. I do, however, still strongly recommend you use DVCPRO 50 for a DVD project - it works very well and gives much better color than any other DV mode, and again, HD is not that easy to convert to good-looking SD.

July 2nd, 2009, 01:26 PM	#1
Mark Williams Trustee Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Deep South, U.S. Posts: 1,526	Need Settings Advice New HPX170 owner here. I have read Barry's book from cover to cover familarizing myself with the cam and shot a few test scenes. I am trying to dial it in for a Waterfalls documentary SD-DVD that I will be working on for the next year. I need some help on settings as I come from a DV format only background. I have experimented with 720/30pn in film cam mode with shutter on at 1/60 shutter speed as well as frame rate of 60 for slow-motion. Also experimented with some scene files. Does anyone have any experience with a similar project and would like to share some advice? Thanks, __________________ Mark videos: http://vimeo.com/channels/3523 Stock: http://www.pond5.com/artist/mark29

July 3rd, 2009, 03:04 PM	#3
Mark Williams Trustee Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Deep South, U.S. Posts: 1,526	Mark D., Thanks for your response. I am a little confused. You recommend shooting in DVCPRO50 format at 720p. The 720p option does not exist in the DVCPRO50 format because it is SD. The options range from 480i/60i down to 480i/24pa. What am I missing here? Thanks __________________ Mark videos: http://vimeo.com/channels/3523 Stock: http://www.pond5.com/artist/mark29 Last edited by Mark Williams; July 3rd, 2009 at 05:25 PM.

July 3rd, 2009, 12:32 PM	#2
Mark Donnell Major Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Silver City, NM Posts: 385	Mark - If you have no plans to use the footage in HD format, I would recommend that you record in DVCPRO 50. This codes to DVD very easily and the quality is excellent. I just recently made several DVDs from performances which I recorded in DVCPRO 50 at 720p 60 fps - the color was fabulous and every frame was sharp on individual examination. Converting from HD to SD is a problem, and I have yet to see any conversion that looks as good as the DVCPRO 50 to DVD. Good luck on your project.

July 3rd, 2009, 10:20 PM	#4
TingSern Wong Major Player Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Singapore, Rep of SINGAPORE Posts: 749	Mark W, you are right. 720p is only for HD. For SD, there is no such thing as 720p. So, Mark D. must have made a mistake here. DVCPRO50 is SD. I can't recommend anything for SD - because I am from the PAL world ... you need people who are more familiar with NTSC to tell you what the best setting for DVCPRO50 at NTSC SD.

July 5th, 2009, 11:11 AM	#5
Mark Donnell Major Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Silver City, NM Posts: 385	So sorry, Mark. You and TingSern are correct. DVCPRO 50 is a SD codec and there is no 720p. I shoot most of my material in HD at 720p 60 fps, and that fell in there by mistake. I do, however, still strongly recommend you use DVCPRO 50 for a DVD project - it works very well and gives much better color than any other DV mode, and again, HD is not that easy to convert to good-looking SD.