Official: HDMI 1080 IS INTERLACED ONLY

[md673]

Gents! I'm happy to report that the HDMI output w/o cards in the D800 is progressive. That is according to my Panasonic plasma. Picked up the camera this morning, plugged it in first thing, and the TV says 1080p. The TV doesn't report the frame rate, but the camera shows 24, so I'm assuming that's correct. What's weird is that the camera menu says HDMI is 1080i, but the TV says 1080p. Who knows why, but I'll take it!

[Cosimo Bullo]

Do you have an external recorder?? Love to see some examples!!

[md673]

Do you have an external recorder?? Love to see some examples!!

I don't, but I plan to buy one. Waiting for NAB to roll around. I'm guessing/hoping that some new ones will come out.

[Jon Thorn]

The Nikon D4, with no QXD or CompactFlash card inserted, can be configured to output clean HDMI 1080p 23.98. The AJA Ki Pro Mini, beginning with version 3.0 firmware, which was recently released, will correctly interpret the D4's output and will report and record 1080p 23.98. A few things to keep in mind: the camera must be set to Auto for the HDMI output format and Live View must be activated for the "handshake" to happen properly. (It is doubtful that all external video recorders will behave in the same way as the "handshake" requires some work to achieve.) Also, it is good to be aware that when entering Menu on the camera, be aware that 1080i will be output. Another thing to keep in mind, noted in some very brief initial testing (so not completely quantified), is that it appears that Live View audio may not be delayed to match Live View video so some compensation in post may be needed for a/v sync when using an external video recorder. (If double-system sound is being recorded, likely this isn't an issue since there are software tools that provide compensation and "auto" a/v sync that are available.) Additionally, this has only been very briefly tested with the Nikon D4, not the Nikon D800.

Hope this information is helpful. Please be aware that I am not able to post sample videos, sorry, but can say that the images produced from the camera output being recorded by the Ki Pro Mini do look quite nice.

Jon Thorn
Senior Product Manager
AJA Video Systems, Inc.

[Daniel Kim]

Wow. This is great news. thank you for posting this information. Hopefully the D800 can also output clean HDMI 1080p.

[eteam]

The Nikon D4, with no QXD or CompactFlash card inserted, can be configured to output clean HDMI 1080p 23.98.

Jon Thorn
Senior Product Manager
AJA Video Systems, Inc.

Jon,

Thank you very much for the report. This is indeed good news, and helps clear up a number of lingering questions.

If it isn't too much trouble, can you offer any insight into additional details:

• Is the D4 HDMI output 4:2:2 YCrCb or 4:4:4 RGB (this should show up in the AJA Ki Pro Mini report) ?
• Have you also tried and confirmed 1080p30 (actually 1080p29.97) ?
• Audio is indeed embedded in HDMI (Live) output?
• Would the presence of timecode be reported by the AJA Ki Pro Mini?

Again, thank you for your posting.

-- Bob Elkind

[eteam]

Hopefully the D800 can also output clean HDMI 1080p.

This would be an entirely reasonable assumption. The wording of the D4 and the D800 manuals in this aspect are essentially identical.

[Jon Thorn]

Bob E. - You asked the following questions. (Please see answers in-line below your questions.)

- Is the D4 HDMI output 4:2:2 YCrCb or 4:4:4 RGB (this should show up in the AJA Ki Pro Mini report) ?
Reply: The AJA Ki Pro Mini is a 4:2:2 recorder so the output of the Nikon D4 is interpreted as a 4:2:2 signal.

- Have you also tried and confirmed 1080p30 (actually 1080p 29.97) ?
Reply: If the camera is configured for 1920x1080; 30 fps in the Movie Settings, the AJA Ki Pro Mini can receive and interpret this as 1080p 29.97. For 1920x1080; 25 fps, the AJA Ki Pro Mini will receive and interpret this as 1080p 25. For 1920x1080; 24 fps, the AJA Ki Pro Mini will receive and interpret this as 1080p 23.98.

- Audio is indeed embedded in HDMI (Live) output?
Reply: Yes, this would appear to be the case as I can hear audio and see the AJA Ki Pro Mini VU meters responding to the HDMI audio output of the camera. I also have audio when I play back the recording created with the AJA Ki Pro Mini. Again, it is worth noting, in initial testing, there appears to be an offset between the HDMI video and HDMI audio being output. I have a question regarding this delay posed to a collaborative contact at Nikon.

- Would the presence of timecode be reported by the AJA Ki Pro Mini?
Reply: This assumes a few factors (if I understand the way you are posing the question correctly); first, the camera would need to be outputting timecode via HDMI. So far, the only cameras on the market that offer HDMI timecode output support are select Sony NXCAM camcorders (which the AJA Ki Pro Mini supports beginning with v3.0 firmware) and second, if the HDMI timecode output was coming from the Nikon D4, but was not in the same methodology (assuming it is output) as the Sony camcorders, then the AJA Ki Pro Mini would not know how to interpret it at this time. (HDMI timecode is not a SMPTE specification or recommended practice at this time, so each implementation would be a unique effort for AJA.) It is worthwhile to keep in mind, when speaking about timecode, that the AJA Ki Pro Mini would be the master recorder and thus you could use the Ki Pro Mini's ability to generate a pre-set timecode value or time-of-day timecode value in drop or non-drop frame form.

I hope this additional information is helpful,
Jon Thorn
Senior Product Manager
AJA Video Systems, Inc.

[eteam]

I hope this additional information is helpful,
Jon Thorn
Senior Product Manager
AJA Video Systems, Inc.

You and your colleagues have cleared up a number of lingering questions. Thank you, again, for your contributions.

HDMI timecode is not a SMPTE specification or recommended practice at this time, so each implementation would be a unique effort for AJA.

Yes, but I imagine the infinitely curious wizards at AJA would notice some non-audio auxiliary data packets in the HDMI data stream.

Yet another followup question: Does the AJA recorder also support 1080p24/25/30 in 4:4:4 RGB (as opposed to 4:2:2 YCrCb) format on its HDMI input?

Here is why I ask: The D800 and D4 are, fundamentally, RGB acquisition devices. A YCrCb output would need to be encoded from RGB data stream inside the camera. A "purist" might prefer deferring colour space conversion until it is needed (e.g. final h.264 encoding).

-- Bob Elkind

[Jon Thorn]

Bob E. - You asked: "Does the AJA recorder also support 1080p24/25/30 in 4:4:4 RGB (as opposed to 4:2:2 YCrCb) format on its HDMI input?"

Okay... we could end up veering off into a more complex discussion about HDMI standards, color specificity/management/conversion/handling, etc.... which I don't think is the focus of this thread... so I'll try to make my answer brief, not because I'm being evasive about an answer, but because I think the simplest answer is best here. The short answer is that the AJA Ki Pro Mini is a 4:2:2 recorder, and therefore, wants to receive a 4:2:2 YCbCr signal via HDMI.

Hope this is helpful,
Jon Thorn
Senior Product Manager
AJA Video Systems, Inc.