SD or HD?

John Stakes · March 13th, 2008, 12:51 AM

Hello all,
I have been using my A1 for about three months now. Well I have my first wedding coming up! I have only been shooting in SD and have had some great results.

My question is this, being that I only have one cam, should I just stick to what I have been doing, shooting in SD? I am thinking "what if I shoot in HD and miss something important due to drooped frames and the whole concept of GOP." I'm sure there wouldn't be any problem, but with one cam, I think the safest way should be the way taken. Right?

Or am I overthinking : )

PS: I shoot with the Panny PQs but would use AMQs if recorded in HD

Oleg Kalyan · March 13th, 2008, 02:13 AM

John, Hi
I always shoot in HDV, some projects down convert to SD for editing.
The only dropped frames I've had were due to a bad tape stock.

in one case all the tapes exhibited dropped frames at first 2.5 minutes,
another batch, it was all over the tape, very consistent with whole batch.
If tape is good quality, I wouldn't worry.

John Stakes · March 13th, 2008, 03:04 PM

Thanks Oleg. So is it safe to say (at least in theory) that dropped frames are dependent on the batch of tape, rather than switching from DV to HDV tape (assuming same brand of tape is used and camera is clean)?

Vito DeFilippo · March 14th, 2008, 11:26 AM

John, I wouldn't worry about the difference in dropouts between DV and HDV. Both formats are very reliable in that sense.

The advantage of HDV is getting native 16:9 (does the A1 shoot native 16:9 in DV?), the possibility of a future HD output, usually better looking SD DVDs than if you had shot DV (at least this is true with my Z1).

On some editing programs (such as Sony Vegas) you can shoot HDV, and 'pan and scan' on the timeline to zoom in, fix framing, etc if you know you only want SD output. Others might have good tips for this, as I haven't personally tried it.

Samuel Hinterlang · March 14th, 2008, 03:59 PM

Vito ans Oleg both have it right.

I never had problems with drop out with good tapes.

Most NLEs have some way to pan and crop your shots, but I love Vegas for that; my personal workhorse.

Vito DeFilippo · March 14th, 2008, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samuel Hinterlang

Most NLEs have some way to pan and crop your shots, but I love Vegas for that; my personal workhorse.

I use AVID, and as far as I know, it can't do it...

Doug Lange · March 14th, 2008, 08:05 PM

I have had very few problems with my XH A1 and I often just use the cheap Panny's from the store.

I like shooting HDV because I can digitally pan, zoom and crop in FCP without any loss of resolution when I convert to SD for DVDs.

John Stakes · March 17th, 2008, 07:58 AM

I ended up recording in HD. I really felt different inside, guess I'm so used to non-HD. but...I liked it! Can't wait to start editing!!!

well, the event went great...except for one big hickup (my fault and too embarrassing to mention). Anyhow, when capturing, I had a few dropouts on the second tape. However I think it is because I have successfully maxed out my hard drive : ). The tape plays fine when not capturing.

QUICK QUESTION: I am only able to capture in DV NTSC with DOWN CONV [ON]. I know there are other ways to capture, can someone help?

Thanks for the advice everyone

-JS

Vito DeFilippo · March 17th, 2008, 08:27 AM

We would need to know your editing platform, and what you are trying to do. You mean you want to capture and edit in native HDV?

John Stakes · March 17th, 2008, 08:32 AM

Yes. I am shooting with the XH A1 and editing with FCP2.

Vito DeFilippo · March 17th, 2008, 08:59 AM

Hmmm. I don't use Final Cut or that camera, but you must make sure that your project type is correct, and that downconvert is turned off in the camera before you connect it to the computer.

I'll let others with more knowledge of your camera and NLE chime in...

Jonathan Schwartz · March 17th, 2008, 05:19 PM

John,

What format do you want to capture in? if you want HDV then turn downconvert off and go to Easy Setup in FCS2 and select HDV Firewire Basic. If you want anamorphic (which is what you will want to select when capturing A-1 footage on downconvert) then select NTSC Anamorphic. All of your choices are there under easy setup. Hope this helps.

Jon Schwartz
CA Video Productions

Jonathan Bufkin · June 9th, 2008, 07:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doug Lange

I have had very few problems with my XH A1 and I often just use the cheap Panny's from the store.

I like shooting HDV because I can digitally pan, zoom and crop in FCP without any loss of resolution when I convert to SD for DVDs.

Doug,

What is your workflow for doing pan and zoom with HDV in FCP? I've only seen negative posts about this and would love to know how to accomplish this.

March 13th, 2008, 12:51 AM	#1
John Stakes Major Player Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 558	SD or HD? - single cam Hello all, I have been using my A1 for about three months now. Well I have my first wedding coming up! I have only been shooting in SD and have had some great results. My question is this, being that I only have one cam, should I just stick to what I have been doing, shooting in SD? I am thinking "what if I shoot in HD and miss something important due to drooped frames and the whole concept of GOP." I'm sure there wouldn't be any problem, but with one cam, I think the safest way should be the way taken. Right? Or am I overthinking : ) PS: I shoot with the Panny PQs but would use AMQs if recorded in HD

March 14th, 2008, 11:26 AM	#4
Vito DeFilippo Trustee Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Montreal, Quebec Posts: 1,585	John, I wouldn't worry about the difference in dropouts between DV and HDV. Both formats are very reliable in that sense. The advantage of HDV is getting native 16:9 (does the A1 shoot native 16:9 in DV?), the possibility of a future HD output, usually better looking SD DVDs than if you had shot DV (at least this is true with my Z1). On some editing programs (such as Sony Vegas) you can shoot HDV, and 'pan and scan' on the timeline to zoom in, fix framing, etc if you know you only want SD output. Others might have good tips for this, as I haven't personally tried it. __________________ . http://www.nosmallroles.com

March 14th, 2008, 08:05 PM	#7
Doug Lange Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Fairbanks, Alaska Posts: 138	I have had very few problems with my XH A1 and I often just use the cheap Panny's from the store. I like shooting HDV because I can digitally pan, zoom and crop in FCP without any loss of resolution when I convert to SD for DVDs. __________________ After years of lurking, I finally made the mistake of opening my mouth.

March 17th, 2008, 08:27 AM	#9
Vito DeFilippo Trustee Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Montreal, Quebec Posts: 1,585	We would need to know your editing platform, and what you are trying to do. You mean you want to capture and edit in native HDV? __________________ . http://www.nosmallroles.com

March 17th, 2008, 08:59 AM	#11
Vito DeFilippo Trustee Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Montreal, Quebec Posts: 1,585	Hmmm. I don't use Final Cut or that camera, but you must make sure that your project type is correct, and that downconvert is turned off in the camera before you connect it to the computer. I'll let others with more knowledge of your camera and NLE chime in... __________________ . http://www.nosmallroles.com

March 13th, 2008, 02:13 AM	#2
Oleg Kalyan Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: MOSCOW Posts: 860	John, Hi I always shoot in HDV, some projects down convert to SD for editing. The only dropped frames I've had were due to a bad tape stock. in one case all the tapes exhibited dropped frames at first 2.5 minutes, another batch, it was all over the tape, very consistent with whole batch. If tape is good quality, I wouldn't worry.

March 13th, 2008, 03:04 PM	#3
John Stakes Major Player Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 558	Thanks Oleg. So is it safe to say (at least in theory) that dropped frames are dependent on the batch of tape, rather than switching from DV to HDV tape (assuming same brand of tape is used and camera is clean)?

March 14th, 2008, 03:59 PM	#5
Samuel Hinterlang Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Pittsburgh, PA, USA Posts: 79	Vito ans Oleg both have it right. I never had problems with drop out with good tapes. Most NLEs have some way to pan and crop your shots, but I love Vegas for that; my personal workhorse.

March 17th, 2008, 07:58 AM	#8
John Stakes Major Player Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 558	I ended up recording in HD. I really felt different inside, guess I'm so used to non-HD. but...I liked it! Can't wait to start editing!!! well, the event went great...except for one big hickup (my fault and too embarrassing to mention). Anyhow, when capturing, I had a few dropouts on the second tape. However I think it is because I have successfully maxed out my hard drive : ). The tape plays fine when not capturing. QUICK QUESTION: I am only able to capture in DV NTSC with DOWN CONV [ON]. I know there are other ways to capture, can someone help? Thanks for the advice everyone -JS

March 17th, 2008, 08:32 AM	#10
John Stakes Major Player Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 558	Yes. I am shooting with the XH A1 and editing with FCP2.

March 17th, 2008, 05:19 PM	#12
Jonathan Schwartz Major Player Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Ocean Springs, MS Posts: 211	Format John, What format do you want to capture in? if you want HDV then turn downconvert off and go to Easy Setup in FCS2 and select HDV Firewire Basic. If you want anamorphic (which is what you will want to select when capturing A-1 footage on downconvert) then select NTSC Anamorphic. All of your choices are there under easy setup. Hope this helps. Jon Schwartz CA Video Productions