My DVX100 was delivered today.. I have a couple of questions.

[Boxing Fanatix]

This camera does not record true widescreen, am I correct so if I use letterbox, it's just cutting the video whereas I can do that in post? So it's better to just shoot in regular 4:3 with this camera? What's the squeeze do? I see it, but really can't explain what it does.

Also, I see that there is either progessive 24p or progressive 24p advanced. What is the difference between these two?

And when I transfer the footage from my camera to Sony Vegas, my video is all jittery. Does this have to do with the fact that I captured 24p footage and did not do something special with it? I heard something about pulldown, etc.

Besides that, this camera is great. I'm loving it!

 

[Alex H.]

Which DVX do you have? 100a or 100b? If you have the SQUEEZE option, you don't have the original DVX100 as that feature was added fo rthe 100a. Did you get new or used? Did it come with a manual?

The camera does not have native 16:9 chips. What SQUEEZE mode does is to crop the image to 16:9 and literally sqeeze it to an anamorphic image that fits in full-frame 4:3. Then, when you edit, you can stretch it back out to 16:9 (without the letterboxing).

The difference between 24p and 24pA is in the cadence (how the pull down is added to record the 24p footage at 29.97). There's a great article HERE that will explain that.

As for capturing into Vegas, I'm not a Vegas user. All footage with the DVX, though, is recorded at 29.97 and that creates interlaced frames in the 24p stream. If the pull down is not removed, or not properly removed, you'll see interlacing.

You might want to locate a copy of Barry Green's DVX Book and DVD (available in the DVXUser shop). It'll give you lots of good ins and outs of the camera so that you can familiarize yourself with its capabilities much faster. The better you know your camera, the better a shooter you'll be!

Last, I highly recommend that you do some reading around this forum. Especially check out the Technical - DVX forum. Read stickies whenever you see them. Many of these basic questions are asked over and over again... the information is there!

Last, and certainly not least, congratulations on getting a DVX! It is a great camera, and lots of fun.