Sony FX1: Using HDV capture as new default..

ken c wrote on 3/10/2005, 1:32 PM
Excellent article/review about the FX1 in eventDV magazine, just out.. (page 28, eventdv.net)
http://www.eventdv.net/Articles/ReadArticle.aspx?CategoryID=62&ArticleID=9491

interesting point about capturing in HD format as the default as a good way to get high-resolution captures, so if for example, you want to zoom in, you'd get better resolution than capturing in regular DV format... also had ideas about how it would be better for chromakey..

anyone have experience in using FX1/HD format footage in Vegas? lessons learned?

I'm a newbie to this stuff, don't know how HD format would work (if it does) in vegas, I'd assume it would, just a higher resolution source avi footage, is that right? or is hd captured in mpg?

appreciate any insights..

ken

Comments

Spot|DSE wrote on 3/10/2005, 1:40 PM
HDV is captured in m2t files, which are indeed, MPEG files. For Vegas, you'll want to use Cineform Connect HD to convert them from MPEG to .avi format or you'll be experiencing a lot of painful, slow editing.

the article you cite is pretty good overall, and he does show the benefits of HD right now. You can read a bunch more of this, and start playing with HDV if you want, by visiting the VASST HDV Portal.
www.vasst.com/hdv/hdvportal.com
Bill Ravens wrote on 3/10/2005, 3:05 PM
this is the most sensical article on HDV i've read to date. almost makes me want to run out and order a z1. still, as he said, the workflow process is still primitive. i struggled thru the maturing of DV and really don't want to repeat the process. capture of HDV material still requires more HD space than straight DV. Is this worth the added ability to zoom some shots...hmmm...thinking, thinking.
Spot|DSE wrote on 3/10/2005, 7:02 PM
No dropouts so far, except for one that I forced. (In "beating up" the camera, it was my goal to force a dropout in shooting) The image quality is great with HDV, no doubt.
People don't understand the MPEG for delivery vs aquisition. They are different animals. Same format, but different management. MPEG is not a good editing format in almost any situation. Dropouts are not related to compression, that's another myth. Do you see dropouts as a result of DV compression? MP3 compression? WMV compression? Nope. You see dropouts due to tape losing good contact with the drum, due to dirt, voltage drop, sudden jar, wrinkled tape, etc.
Tomorrow we're doing yet another "nasty" test with the Z1, mounting it in a housing and attaching it to the front of a motocross bike that the rider will be doing some nasty bumps with. We'll see if we can force a dropout.
I'm a big fan of HDV, because it really comes close to leveling the playing field in the 35K and lower cameras. I saw some images at Sony in New Jersey that supported my "matching" recipe of getting the Z1 to closely emulate cameras costing 10 times as much. It's great that a low cost camera can provide such great images for videographers, IMO.
ken c wrote on 3/11/2005, 10:53 AM
Thanks Douglas, great insights as always, I'll check out the VASST HD resource area as well.

ken