HVX200-Degraded Quality When Shooting DV25 on P2?

K

kfrogg

Active member
Would appreciate help with this P2 mystery...

The Project: Three-camera podcast shoot on HVX200s...four people around a conference table...DV25 to P2 cards...Cam A is a four shot. Cams B & C alternate between singles and two-shots.

We're taking great pains to focus properly using a Panasonic BTLH900A.

Viewing live on the monitor, the wide, four-shot looks fine. But when I import or view on Mac laptop, the quality is obviously degraded. It doesn't matter if I import with FCP Log and Transfer or view directly from the cards using P2CMS.

Cams B & C - with the singles and two-shots...are consistently better image quality.

This is not an issue when shooting 720p. (P2 Card space and clips we're mixing podcast footage with force us to shoot SD.)

Thanks in advance for any tips...
 
Degraded from: 1. What we see live on the monitor, compared to footage viewed from the P2 card after the fact and 2. Comparing A Cam with the B&C Cams in post.

B&C Cams look as monitored, and handle CC'ing well. A-Cam, not so much.

My next step, once I get editing out the way, is to do a camera test. I'll try to post screen grabs of the footage soon.
 
Quality Difference Between P2 and Tape SD/DV Footage?

Quality Difference Between P2 and Tape SD/DV Footage?

In researching more, I think what I'm seeing is DV stairstepping on long, straight lines...far worse than I have ever encountered in five years of extensive experience with DVXs and HVXs.

The only variable is that I've only recently begun to shoot SD/DV25 to P2 cards. Previously, all my SD shooting was done to tape.

THIS BEGS THE QUESTION: Has anyone encountered a quality difference between tape and P2 DV footage on the HVX? In theory, there shouldn't be.

I will do some camera tests next week and post screen grabs for anyone who is interested...
 
No difference between tape and P2. However, there is a huge difference between 480/60i and 480/24p or 480/30p. The 480/60i from the original HVX is known to have a whole lot of stairstepping.
 
Hi Barry, thanks for weighing in. It is an HVX200 (not HVX200A). But I'm pretty sure we shot in 24PA. I will doublecheck monday...
 
bump.. im coming up on a shoot this weekend and it too will be my first using HVX P2 and shooting "SD" to p2. i was thinking of shooting 480i/30p. i will be mixing with a sony vx2100 SD footage. Final output will be SD 720x480 on single DVD L. I take it my hvx format selection of 30p will match up well with the 29fps vx2100 footage?

LOL i feel so lost shooting SD on hvx but i have not choice.. I cld shoot tape but i like the tapleess part of using my hvx200.

Will i run into any issue shooting to p2 or should i just go buy tapes and transfer footage?
 
The VX2100 doesn't shoot 30p, does it? I think it's interlaced-only, and if that's the case you'd want to use 480/60i on the HVX if you're trying to match the look.
 
the vx2100 shoots sd footage at 29.97 fps.
if I shoot 480i/30p with my hvx will it match up to the vx2100?
last night I ran test footage w my hvx and tranfered hvx footage into fcp 6 and notice my time line setting comformed to match my footage using DV/NTSC 720x480 (3:2) instead of 4:3 which in fcp itis 640x480 (4:3). Will be a problem if dump my vx2100 footage into a 3:2 time line?
 
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Can only speak for 25p in DV PAL, but the HVX looks good there too...
But normally I try to avoid tape and shoot DV50 to P2 whenever possible - still the most efficient format for my needs.
 
mcvideo said:
the vx2100 shoots sd footage at 29.97 fps.
if I shoot 480i/30p with my hvx will it match up to the vx2100?
Click to expand...

This is one of the confusing things about given frame rates.

The 2100 shoots 60i NTSC. This is commonly referred to as "29.97" even though it really shouldn't be. It's not 29.97 frames per second; it shoots 59.94 fields per second, and each field is a separate picture, a separate moment in time.

30p would actually be 29.97 whole pictures per second, where each picture is a moment in time.

In other words, 30p has half the moments in the time as 60i. So, the motion is different between the two -- as is the resolution.


last night I ran test footage w my hvx and tranfered hvx footage into fcp 6 and notice my time line setting comformed to match my footage using DV/NTSC 720x480 (3:2) instead of 4:3 which in fcp itis 640x480 (4:3). Will be a problem if dump my vx2100 footage into a 3:2 time line?
Click to expand...

What's a "3:2" timeline? Do you mean 24p? Or do you mean aspect ratio?
 
@ David. Thanks for the feedback. When I said 3:2 I ment the aspect raio (like 720X480 4:3 TV output)
when I dropped my hvx200 footy last night this is what my timeline seq conformed to.

Going back to the 480i /30p p2 footage topic, are you saying I should choose the 480i/60 instead? This will match up decent with my vx2100 Footage? Also does it matter if I stick with DV or should I go with DVPRO50?
 
480/60i will match the motion of the 2100, and DVCPRO 50 is better-quality than the 2100's DV.

HOWEVER, 480/60i is also the weakest mode of the HVX200. You may not like what you see. It will most likely have problems that you won't see in 30p.
 
so 30p is what I should shoot under the circumstances? What issues will I run into shooting 30p regarding the motion?
 
mcvideo said:
720x480 (3:2) instead of 4:3 which in fcp itis 640x480 (4:3). Will be a problem if dump my vx2100 footage into a 3:2 time line?
Click to expand...

Standard DV is 720x480 (having a pixel aspect ratio of 1.5 ...i.e. 3:2. Your VX2100 is capable of taking a photo snapshot at 640 x 480.....i.e with a pixel aspect of 1.3333....i.e. 4:3. As long as you're shooting standard DV (which I believe is all your VX2100 can do) it should conform perfectly to the FCP NTSC/DV timeline.
 
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