Broadcast Quality

F

f5freddyj

Active member
A client recently asked me if my camera, an HVX 200 is broadcast quality.

I suppose the answer is... "It depends."

DV Ntsc tape isn't exactly broadcast quality, even though a ton of footage makes it on air that was shot in this format.

The DVC pro 50 stuff is broadcast quality

As for HD, i'm not sure. Does the 1080i stuff meet broadcast quality standards. The 24p.

Barry... care to elaborate?

Just wondering
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadcast_quality

The correct answer for your client would probably be "I would only use equipment that is going to look great when it goes to air," or "the industry doesn't really use that term anymore, but my work has been broadcast in standard and high def" or something else to diffuse them.

The music video for "Some Postman" was shot on cell phones, for heaven's sake. It's not about the camera.
 
your client is using a kind of antiquated way of checking your grit or trying to make themselves sound knowledgeable. i think what the prof says is the best approach. but here is my response when asked that:

considering modern camera technology, even most cheap consumer cameras achieve "broadcast quality" so the industry doesn't really use that term anymore. but my work has been broadcast in standard and high def and ive yet to hear any complains from neither my clients nor broadcasters. so - i guess that would be a yes ; )
 
'Broadcast Quality' had a long list of specifications once and it was the broadcasters right to reject material based on such.

Seems to have gone now and basically everything is broadcastable... so by definition...everything is "broadcast quality". May just be that the quality has slipped.

The HVX can certainly meet the technical specs of the broadcasters I deal with.
 
Pretty much what I figured.

And I have filmed with my hvx in several different modes and seen my footage on the TV. Was just wondering what the real meaning of broadcast quality means these days.

Thanks.

fj
 
I love it, NOT, when people use the term BroadCast quality. That's so abused these days!
Always tell them YES, and tell them Broadcast quality costs more too! See how much they care about Broadcast quality then. :)
 
I must say, the main reason I purchased the HVX in the first place was because of the tape option in SD. I wasn't about to buy a used Betacam and some networks were intent on going to the full size XD cams. Since then, I have not had a single complaint from
clients or editors who were inter-cutting with full size broadcast cameras. To take it one step further, I have more repeat work from those clients. The key really is good composition, lighting and exposure (not to mention focus). In outdoor, high contrast situations, I make it a point to avoid going over 100. When I have seen footage I shot on the air, it cut like butter. The only client I have lost recently was due to about 20 minutes of lost HD files from my Firestore which I will never depend on again at least using a 4-pin cable connection. Good luck.
 
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