Recommended Format: For Current TV Broadcast but Future Proof

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Beck_Summers

Member
Currently about to start shooting doc with HVX200 for broadcast this fall ... ideally I would want to shoot it in DVCPRO 50 for current SD delivery but I also want to shoot it HD in order to future proof the doc ... have been looking at the threads but don't see a clear answer to this. If someone has a link to an answer this would be great!

What do you recommend? Is it fine to shoot DVCPRO HD just to downconvert in FCP to DVCPRO 50? If so, should 1080p or 720pN or 720p be used? Can 720p(N) and 1080p be edited together? I want to be able to use variable frame rates, but at the same time a lot of HD channels specifiy 1080p (like NHK here in Japan).

Any help most appreciated ... cheers, beck
 
If you have an HVX and you're shooting for SD broadcast, then why not just shoot DVCPRO 50 in the first place?
 
"Can 720p(N) and 1080p be edited together?"

I have done this with Edius Broadcast'

You can shoot HD and then transfer to SD from the P2 card to Tape in the Camera.

There are lots of info for the differant formats to shoot on the list here.I shoot 1080/24p. some and also 720 24PN . The 720 24PN givesme 50 min with 5 4G P2 Cards.
I just shot Keith Urban when he came to our town to return a payback deal he made with a local car dealer. I shot it with tape due to my cards being full from a previous shoot, not having time to download.It looked very good. It was for the dealer who was a friend of mine. No charge, and he loved it.
This is one fine camera.
Mule Ferguson:love4:
 
Thanks for the quick replies ... regarding future proofing, prior to the HVX (not counting the Z1U and HDV) it was too expensive to future proof docs destined for initial SD broadcast ... now that I have the HVX (plenty of units here in Tokyo) it seems a no brainer to just shoot DVCPROD HD to cover any potential HD use in the future ... i don't understand why you would limit potential distribution by shooting DVCPRO 50 in the first place ... please enlighten me on this one.

From reading the posts it seems as though DVCPRO 50 is being recommended the most for current SD broadcasts .... just wondering what I am missing in the equation here ... is shooting DVCPROD HD and then downconverting to DVCPRO 50 in FCP somehow inferior in quality? Or is it just the question of DVCPROD HD taking up way too much storage?

Thanks for the reply regarding mixing 720p and 1080p ... does it matter if i shoot 720pN and mix with 1080p or does it have to be 720p to mix with 1080p ... again, I'd want to shoot in a format which supports variable frame speeds and then mix these sequences into the predominate format which I was thinking would be 1080p (but a lot of posts are recommending DVCPRO 50).

Confusingly, Beck
 
I think shooting HD for future proofing is sensible. At least for anything with any likely shelf life whatsoever.

I think it's been seen as OK to then downconvert to DVCPRO50 for SD use (or probably DigiBeta for that matter), but not to use a DV25 codec.
 
Dusty65 said:
From reading the posts it seems as though DVCPRO 50 is being recommended the most for current SD broadcasts .... just wondering what I am missing in the equation here ... is shooting DVCPROD HD and then downconverting to DVCPRO 50 in FCP somehow inferior in quality?
Click to expand...

You'll get a (slightly) better image from DVCPro50 than from DVCProHD downconverted to SD. DVCPro50 uses less compression, and you're avoiding a generation of recompression.

On the other hand, why not edit and master in DVCProHD. You can create a broadcast master via SDI to DigiBeta (or whatever format the broadcasters want) for playout. The Decklink cards can do on the fly conversion from HD to SD (in a Mac). Personally I don't think going to DVCPro50 is a necessary step if you're shooting HD.
 
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Hi Guys ... thanks for your input ... greatly appreciated ... I like the idea of going directly to DigiBeta from DVCPROD HD ...

Just wanted to confirm that I can mix and match 720p with 1080p ... again, i am having to use 720p for variable frame rates ... I'd have to use 720pn for this, correct?
 
Dusty65 said:
... i don't understand why you would limit potential distribution by shooting DVCPRO 50 in the first place ... please enlighten me on this one.
Click to expand...
Well my opinion on this is that a lot of people imagine far-reaching long-term scenarios that will never pan out. The first thing that I'll shoot with my HVX, when it gets here, will be DVCPRO 50 stuff because there isn't any need at all for HD. The stuff I'm going to shoot will not likely ever appear in HD, and the additional workflow step of down-converting just isn't worth the time and effort.

There's nothing wrong with shooting HD if you think you'll use it for that purpose, but if not, really, why bother?
 
one reason to shoot hd, albeit not the deciding one, but an important one, is the ability to shoot at 24pn and get double the footage in the same amount of storage space
 
Double compared to what? 8 gigs will get you 20 minutes of 720/24pn, while DVCPRO 50 will get 16 minutes. DV/DVCPRO will get 32.
 
sorry my math was off - i change my statement to more footage in less space

not a whole lot but some


my mistake
 
John_Hudson said:
What is this hang-up with future proofing ? Has Past Works ever been future proofed ?
Click to expand...
I believe "Gone With the Wind" was shot with 1080p in 1939, although Casablanca (1942) only used 720p.
 
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