View Full Version : 720 vs 1080 for analogue SD output
I whipped this less than scientific comparison out today, I was very interested in the results, especially from the compositie outputs.
http://www.xdcamexinfo.com/analogue_out/index.htm
MitchLewis
04-08-2009, 07:31 AM
Thanks Guy. But I have to say I thoughly enjoyed reading your "What Were They Thinking" page even more. Great stuff in there! (you should be a writer)
basspig
04-08-2009, 11:57 AM
A lot depends on how your DVD encoder software handles the two formats and the downsampling algorithms.
I am not terribly thrilled with the color subsampling at 720P, so I use 1080P when possible, otherwise, red objects show blockiness. I would think that starting with a better image with more information would yield a better final SD render.
Yea but your talking about rendering out etc which has a lot more variables in it as you say, all this simple article was looking at was the pure analogue output feed from the camera which is why I photographed the TV screen rather than take frame captures etc
***Thanks Mitch, I just write what comes to mind, most times the sarcasism is lost in translation to the keypad though... lol, the only thing I struggled with at school was English. Math, Chemistry, Physics etc were all a breeze compared to English.
devnull
04-08-2009, 09:11 PM
The BBC whitepaper on the EX also recommends 720P for down conversion to 576i as it reduces twitter.
adamr316
04-09-2009, 09:23 AM
I actually had the same subjective opinion about this. The 720/24p mode appears to downconvert in-software better than 1080/24p. I am not going to kill the resolution of my HD master though to make the SD DVD copy look a little bit better.
Why?
If the general public is willing to watch YouTube quality videos and compressed streaming video on their little cell phone screens, what's a little perceived resolution loss on a standard def copy? Plus I think the software image shrinkers still aren't *there* yet, so why risk it?
It'd be like shooting at a low quality jpeg setting on a still camera that can handle RAW files and you have 64 GB of memory cards. The thing is...Photoshop et. al. reduce the image output better than NLEs reduce video images...at this point in time.
I actually had the same subjective opinion about this. The 720/24p mode appears to downconvert in-software better than 1080/24p. I am not going to kill the resolution of my HD master though to make the SD DVD copy look a little bit better.
I totally agree. Having said that, each Saturday this winter (most of your summer...) I am shooting Australian Rules Football games. All these guys want is an analogue SD out to a bank of DVD recorders, a few little hard drive recorders and even one VHS machine (all composite in)..... No need for any HD master here, they will NEVER want it so I might as well set the camera in 720 50p as there is quite a difference in image between 720 & 1080 from composite .