720p HD Good Enough For Me

[Jerry Jones]

Well, I've been doing quite a few tests.

1. Video source from Sony HDR-UX1 AVCHD camcorder;

2. Video source from Sanyo VPC-HD2 MPEG-4 HD camcorder;

3. Cineform codec

I am absolutely pleased with Cineform.

This codec allows me to conform video from two very different HD camcorders to a single project setting:

NTSC drop frame (29.97 fps)
Microsoft AVI files
24 bits, 1440 x 1080, 29.97 fps
Frame-based
CineForm HD Codec V3.1.1
Interleave audio for every 1 frames
PCM, 48.000 kHz, 16 Bit, Stereo

I edit with ease.

Smart Render works great.

And then I export to WMV HD at 720p and I play it.

Wow.

It looks very decent.

I've decided I won't need to upgrade to any high definition disc format.

I can produce any high definition content as WMV HD .

Who doesn't own Microsoft Windows Media Player?

720p seems to be the ideal distribution format because it plays smoothly even on slow PCs... including my Gateway 7426gx, which is just an AMD Mobile Athlon 64 at 2.4 GHz.

This is where I stop.

And since Adobe bought Serious Magic, I won't be upgrading my Ultra virtual set software.

ADOBE has done what ADOBE does best: jack the price up -- $799 upgrade -- to the point where only the wealthy can afford to play:

http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/production/upgrade/

So I'll be doing all of my virtual set work in Ultra version 1... which means 4:3 aspect ratio support only... which means I keep working with MiniDV.

It's too bad Adobe bought Serious Magic.

Jerry Jones

http://www.jonesgroup.net

[wkulecz]

Could you please tell us more about the Sony HDR-UX1 AVCHD camcorder. This is the DVD+/-RW disk version, correct? Does it create a single file on the disk or does it create a new file every time recording is started and stopped? Can these disks be read in a "standard" multi-format DVD-ROM drive using Windows and or Mac without special drivers?

This seems like a very lot of camera for the price and might be the place for me to start playing with HD video.

"Everybody" does not have WMV playback -- on Linux its somewhat difficult to setup and quasi-legal at best.

--wally.

[Nowhere]

...and on Macs. That said, does WMV HD uses VC-1 codec? If yes then it should be fairly good supported (MS made the codec "open"), if it isn't already (with VLC player for example...

BTW, you say "720p seems to be the ideal distribution format because it plays smoothly even on slow PCs..." and give Athlon 64 2,4 GHz as an example? Try with AthlonXP 1466MHz - yes, 720p (H264) can be played on it.

[Sasq]

mac = flip4mac (quicktime codec plugin), so generally no problem.

[Jerry Jones]

The Sony HDR-UX1 is going for $599.95:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/446815-REG/Sony_HDRUX1_HDR_UX1_AVC_HD_DVD.html

Reviews:

http://www.videomaker.com/article/12936/

http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-camcorders/sony-handycam-hdr-ux1/4505-6500_7-31979961.html#more

http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/Sony-HDR-UX1-Camcorder-Review.htm

http://www.eventdv.net/Articles/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=11994

http://www.docs.sony.com/release/HDRUX1.PDF (OFFICIAL MANUAL)

http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/swu...teType=Updates (FIRMWARE UPDATE - AUDIO ISSUE)

Cons: Limited record times on the 8cm discs; firmware upgrade required to fix external microphone recordings on certain serial number models.

Pros: Price, Sony build quality, headphone jack, external microphone input, extensive manual controls, AVCHD for small HD file sizes, standard definition MPEG-2 recording capability. Very decent image quality.

Jerry Jones

http://www.jonesgroup.net

[Jerry Jones]

Standard drives can only read the disc contents as "data" and then transfer that data to one's computer for editing.

To "play" the video recorded on the small 8cm discs, you need a "Blu-ray Disc" player.

I suspect some "HD DVD" disc players *might* play the 8cm discs.

I haven't tested this, yet.

Jerry Jones

http://www.jonesgroup.net

Can these disks be read in a "standard" multi-format DVD-ROM drive using Windows and or Mac without special drivers?

[Jerry Jones]

This is a question that I need to investigate further.

So far, the AVCHD captures from my 8cm discs break each scene into a separate file.

However, I've noted that the Pinnacle Studio Ultimate 11 software, when grabbing video off of the standard definition 8cm disc recorded by my old standard definition DVD camcorder, grabs each chapter and joins them together as a single file... unlike the Corel (Ulead) VideoStudio 11 Plus software, which breaks everything into separate files during capture.

So I need to test this further.

Jerry Jones

http://www.jonesgroup.net

Does it create a single file on the disk or does it create a new file every time recording is started and stopped?

[Hulk]

Jerry,

Thanks for the info. I agree with you regarding 720p. I really don't like the 1080i format.

99.9% of people aren't going to be viewing on a interlaced monitor.

By the time you deinterlace and view on a progressive monitor if the video has any motion then you're looking at video that's around 720p resolution anyway. So the extra lines recorded are really just a burden to the editing process and the recording process. I'd rather have less, larger photosites and better low light performance than that damn interlaced format.

I know I go on about this every time this is brought up but I just think it's so silly that manufacturers don't focus on good consumer and prosumer 720p camcorders.

[Mikele]

Hulk, I think the same. 720p is the logical way to HD.

[wkulecz]

Since about the only HDTV I watch is sports, 1080i blows away 720p/30 here.

--wally.

[Hulk]

Since about the only HDTV I watch is sports, 1080i blows away 720p/30 here.

--wally.

Yes but that's REAL 1080i with 1920x1080 resolution not anamorphic 1080i at 1440x1080.

The 1440 has to go through a remapping AND deinterlacing to be properly viewed on a progressive monitor.

[wkulecz]

At this point I think HDV is only a "toy" for people willing to watch video on their computer screen. From the samples I've downloaded, 720p is the only thing that works on non top of the line machines and I agree its more than good enough for computer viewing and probably would look very good if I had a video card that would output the playback to my HDTV set.

Given that HD-DVD and Blu-Ray is looking worse than the DVD +/- R/RW debacle, I am afraid we are stuck without a viable HD distribution format for small video runs.

I know folks have high hopes for computer video and internet distribution, but until its DVD player easy (amazing how many folks still have trouble hooking up a progressive scan DVD player!) to play a video on the computer and have it display on the living room TV, its never gonna fly for non-geeks.

--wally.

[Hulk]

Given that HD-DVD and Blu-Ray is looking worse than the DVD +/- R/RW debacle, I am afraid we are stuck without a viable HD distribution format for small video runs.

--wally.

Sad but true.