question regarding capturing of HDV.

[thebullfrog]

I'm new to HDV as a whole and was wondering if its at all possible to capture HD footage using a normal, cheap mini-DV camcorder, rather then the HDV camcorder or a tape deck.

Basically, is using a normal camcorder an alright substitute for capturing HD with?

Side question: i notice that there are HD mini-dv tapes, is it possible to film HD on normal dv tapes using an HD camera? or should HDDV tapes only be used?

thanks.

 

[thebullfrog]

mmmm, i think i worded it all wrong...

i don't mean capture HD as in filming, i mean capture as in transferring the data to an editing station.

hope that clears it up.

 

[jls4]

No you can't.

HDV is a weird format. The way the data stream is built is different for every company (Sony, Canon, JVC) and every camera. so you'll need the camera that did the filmming to actually put into the computer for editing.

I do encouage Cineform as a wrapper for your HDV footage. It has made editing much easier for me. I've seen people try to edit without cineform and they complain about how difficult it is. But the software is not cheap and the HDV stream may work better on the Mac than a PC, which I use.

Hope this helps.

 

[David Saraceno]

If the camcorder doesn't output HDV, you can't use it.

And yes, you can use normal DV tapes for capturing HDV.

 

[thebullfrog]

I do encouage Cineform as a wrapper for your HDV footage. It has made editing much easier for me. I've seen people try to edit without cineform and they complain about how difficult it is. But the software is not cheap and the HDV stream may work better on the Mac than a PC, which I use.

looking that up right now, but what exactly does that do?

and thanks for the replies, now i know.

 

[Conrad Radzik]

If the camcorder doesn't output HDV, you can't use it.

And yes, you can use normal DV tapes for capturing HDV.

Then why are more expensive "HD" tapes sold? Can any DV sized tape record Hi-Def HDV at the same quality as a HDV tape?

 

[Barry_Green]

Then why are more expensive "HD" tapes sold?

Because if you get hit with a dropout on DV, it might glitch a few tiny squares of one frame of footage, whereas the exact same dropout on HDV results in 15 frames of video just disappearing. HDV is extremely intolerant of errors on the tape, so the manufacturers are making higher-quality tapes to help prevent any dropouts from happening.

Can any DV sized tape record Hi-Def HDV at the same quality as a HDV tape?

Yes. The only question is whether you'll get hit with dropouts; the theory is the HDV tapes should be immune (or much more immune) to dropouts.