HDMI/Component Output settings vs Record modes

[Amir Qureshi]

Hi all,

So I have been doing some reading and educating myself on the various Record and Output settings in the camera and have a couple of questions.

I am primarily interested in recording externally via HDMI the standard 1080p 24 and the 1080p 24 with 60 fps (for slow motion) formats, so the whole description below is based on these two formats

According to the sony manual, you could set the HDMI/Component output to be either 1080p or 1080i. Since the camera adds the 3:2 pull down while outputting the standard 1080p 24 via HDMI, I can set the HDMI output to 1080i for external recording (setting my external recorder to remove the 3:2 at its input).

As for the S&Q 1080p 24 (60 fps) format, I am not sure what the camera outputs via HDMI while internally recording this slow motion clip on its SD card or while in the Standby mode. If it is outputting a regular 1080p 60 progressive signal (while it records 1080p 24 (60 fps) slow motion internally) then I could set the HDMI/Component out to 1080p, correct? And my external recorder will simply see this HDMI signal as a standard 1080p 60 (with 60 fps playback frame rate which I can change back for it to be playing back at 24 fps as I conform in an NLE, etc.), does this make sense?

Also, with the above S&Q recording scenario (1080p 24 with 60 fps), what if I left the HDMI/Component output to be at 1080i, what type of signal (progressive or interlaced) would the camera be outputting then?

If the camera sends out a standard 1080p 60 signal out its HDMI (while recording 1080p 24 with 60fps S&Q), shouldn't the camera just disable/grey-out the HDMI/Component's 1080"i" output option in the menu as the output signal is actually progressive? But then if they did that and forced you to keep the HDMI output option as 1080p during the S&Q operation, what would happen if after recording your slow motion clip, you decided to check it play it back off of SD card (which would now be played back at standard 24 fps) or an earlier recorded, non S&Q motion, standard 1080p 24 clip, both of which would now require the 3:2 insertion hence resulting into an interlaced signal before they could be output thru the HDMI (which would be set to 1080p if the 1080i option was disabled).

The manual doesn't say that the HDMI/Component output setting will "Auto-switch" between 1080p and 1080i based on whats being played back out of the camera or whats being recorded. Which kinda forces you to manually set the correct output standard (progressive or interlaced) based on what you are playing back or recording. And it would be have been fine if, based on your current Record setting or Playback clip format, the camera simply "greyed out" the non-corresponding HDMI output options in the menu, reducing chances of error or signal mutilation, unless of course, the camera does just that for you (auto-switches between 1080i and 1080p) behind the curtains and we just don't know.

Any clarification from the experts would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

[Duncan Say]

Hi Amir,

I'm not sure I can entirely clarify here but I do know that what is recorded internally has no effect on what is output via the HDMI. So it is possible for example to record 1080 internally and 720 externally via the HDMI and vice versa as long as these are the settings in the camera. Whether you use S&Q or not doesn't seem to affect the HDMI out.

The only fly in the ointment comes if you want to use the component or composite out from the camera. You can't do that and use the HDMI out at the same time. It's one or the other. Hope that helps