DVX100B - DF or NDF - when output is WEB and DVD

E

EDJI

New member
If I use 30P and the video output is web streaming and DVD video, should I use DF or NDF time code ?
I used to work as a cameraman for the news in a television broadcast station where we always use DF time code. That’s ok… the output was the « normal » television. So the time code had to be very accurate... because of insertion of TV ads for example.

On the web and on DVD, where the total time not have to be accurate, I think it’s better to shoot in NDF. So, it will be easier for the customer to select the portion of video he likes when using a burnt in time code for example. Am I right ?
 
It doesn't matter much, it's just a numbering system. NDF means that every frame will be individually numbered, so yes it probably would be just a tad easier for a customer to select in/out (just because there won't be any missing numbers, like going from 59:29 to 1:00:02 or whatever). But it won't make any difference to the footage itself.
 
Thanks.

I know that DF and NDF is the footage... it's the timing calculation that is different. We call it "Drop frame", but the frame itself is not drop... it's just the timing that change. I knew it.

What are the advantages to use the DF mode if the output is only WEB or DVD ?
 
It's not really like that. I mean, there's no specific advantage, it's just what you're looking for.

DF was created because the frame numbering system is designed around 30fps, and NTSC video isn't 30fps, it's 29.97. So they had to come up with a way to compensate for that 0.1% speed difference. Otherwise, an hour of footage would show a NDF timecode of something like 59:46:12 or something. So DF timecode was invented to make the timecode advance 0.1% faster, so that after one hour of footage, the timecode will read 1:00:00.

But the tradeoff is, the numbers aren't sequential. You'll have 00:59:28, 00:59:29, and 01:00:02 all in a row. With NDF that wouldn't happen, you'd have 00:59:28, 00:59:29, 01:00:00 all in a row. But, not a full hour would have gone by.

So the question goes back to you -- which one of those numbering systems would make a difference in your workflow? For TV it makes a difference because the broadcaster needs to know precisely how long a program is, and the DF timecode tells them the exact running time (in real time). For special effects work, NDF might be better because it sequentially numbers every frame.

As to whether one's better than the other for your work, you just have to decide which aspect is more important to you.
 
Wow, you bring me back to school theory...

I knew already what you are talking about and you explained it very well.

So, I think I should use NDF because the exact duration of the video I make (WEB and DVD) does not have to be precise.

Thanks a lot!
 
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