Widescreen footage in DVD Architect

Jeff Harper · May 5th, 2008, 01:28 PM

You're right about the widescreen cams, but I am going HD as to invest in three new non-HD cams just for widescreen wouldn't make sense to me.

Jarrod Whaley · May 5th, 2008, 01:28 PM

Right, but if he buys four 16:9-capable SD cameras right now, he's just going to have to turn around and buy HD cameras pretty soon anyway. Even if it takes a little longer to save up for HD, I think that's the most cost-effective and reasonable thing to do because otherwise, he's adding the cost of the SD cameras to the cost of the HD cameras he'll have to buy later on anyway.

It all just depends on how pressing the need is when weighed against the thickness of one's wallet. It sounds like Jeff can manage for a while longer in his market with 4:3, but should probably look into moving up to HD as soon as he can.

Keep in mind I'm shooting on an SD 16:9 camera myself (XL2), so I'm not some HD-zealot or anything (no offense intended, HD shooters!). It's just that if I were buying right now, I probably wouldn't buy the XL2 because pretty soon I'd need HD and would basically be doubling my expense in the long run.

Rick Diaz · May 5th, 2008, 01:40 PM

Jarrod, I totally agree. I mentioned the option simply as an affordable stopgap measure that would allow him to increase the quality of what he's doing now while delivering a product that more matches his customer's needs. For me, I would just make the leap to HD even if you aren't going to output to that format. The main reason being that even video shot in HDV and downsampled to SD format is superior in quality to footage shot solely in DV and output to SD. But I also had to make costly improvement to my computing platform and software to be able to even work with HDV content, and more will be spent in the coming months so that I can output in Blu-Ray format. This is all done with an eye towards the future regardless of whether my customers demand it or not.

May 5th, 2008, 01:28 PM	#17
Jarrod Whaley Major Player Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: chattanooga, tn Posts: 721	Right, but if he buys four 16:9-capable SD cameras right now, he's just going to have to turn around and buy HD cameras pretty soon anyway. Even if it takes a little longer to save up for HD, I think that's the most cost-effective and reasonable thing to do because otherwise, he's adding the cost of the SD cameras to the cost of the HD cameras he'll have to buy later on anyway. It all just depends on how pressing the need is when weighed against the thickness of one's wallet. It sounds like Jeff can manage for a while longer in his market with 4:3, but should probably look into moving up to HD as soon as he can. Keep in mind I'm shooting on an SD 16:9 camera myself (XL2), so I'm not some HD-zealot or anything (no offense intended, HD shooters!). It's just that if I were buying right now, I probably wouldn't buy the XL2 because pretty soon I'd need HD and would basically be doubling my expense in the long run. __________________ -->jarrod whaley. www.oakstreetfilms.com

May 5th, 2008, 01:28 PM	#16
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	You're right about the widescreen cams, but I am going HD as to invest in three new non-HD cams just for widescreen wouldn't make sense to me.

May 5th, 2008, 01:40 PM	#18
Rick Diaz Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 146	Jarrod, I totally agree. I mentioned the option simply as an affordable stopgap measure that would allow him to increase the quality of what he's doing now while delivering a product that more matches his customer's needs. For me, I would just make the leap to HD even if you aren't going to output to that format. The main reason being that even video shot in HDV and downsampled to SD format is superior in quality to footage shot solely in DV and output to SD. But I also had to make costly improvement to my computing platform and software to be able to even work with HDV content, and more will be spent in the coming months so that I can output in Blu-Ray format. This is all done with an eye towards the future regardless of whether my customers demand it or not.