Low cost view/distribution of HD?

[david.cheney]

Newb here :)

I'm a student and will not be distributing via cable or network, so...
what are low cost options for viewing 720P and/or 1080i shot with
the HVX? I normally burn DV to DVD.... where is my upgrade path?
I'm thinking to view: write back to P2, insert and play in HVX connected
to an HD television - can that be done? Can't share that with others,
hmmm. Alternatives?

ty, Dave

[MarkS22]

One cheap option is exporting your finished video as a WMV HD (Windows Media HD Video) or Quicktime HD, then saving it to a standard DVD-R. A reasonably fast computer will be able to play those videos from the DVD-R at 720p.

If you have a fast laptop, you can do a fullscreen HD playback of these files to many LCDs, projectors, and plasmas. Simply send your VGA output from the laptop to the display. (You can even find VGA to component cables if that'll make it easier.) There might be some slight issues with your laptop's resolution not matching 720p exactly, but it can still look pretty good.

Alternatively, Pinnacle has an HD-DVD authoring pack (for Pinnacle Studio) that allows you to burn 20-30 minutes of HD-DVD video to a standard DVD-R disc. Make sure you test DVD-R compatibility with any HD-DVD players/drives before you commit to this option.

The next level up would be mastering to a $650 Blu-ray DVD-RAM, which you could then playback at HD resolution on any PS3 or Blu-ray players. Not exactly cheap, but it beats purchasing an HDCAM/DVCPROHD deck.

Finally, something I haven't tried personally, but you should be able to "print to tape" HDV quality footage to a $1000 HDV camcorder. Not only do you get a "B camera" out of the deal, it's fast and easy to carry around for screenings.

[NeverColdCall]

According to an article I read you can write up to about 50 minutes of full HD to a standard DVD-R in DVD Studio Pro 4. I haven't tried it since I don't have an HDTV. Kinda silly since I have an HVX, ha?

[Betacam2]

Just an FYI about some tests I did.

The HD that you can write to a DVD-R with dvd studio pro is kind of finickey. I tested it out and it plays back good on a Mac, but, it was hard finding other devices (that I had) to play it back on. I also tried playing it back on a PS3 and that didn't work.

Just wanted to let you know

[David Saraceno]

We recently encoded some DVCProHD 720/24p footage of the Bloomsday Road Race in Spokane.

We used the 10 mbps H.264 and played it out a Toshiba HD DVD A1 to a Pioneer Elite 42 inch plasma via HDMI.

Pretty fabulous looking footage.

Authored in DVD SP 4.1.2 to a red laser dye DVD R

[david.cheney]

to all who offered insights ... :)
Dave