Settings in DVX for TV broadcast

BillyD

BillyD

New member
We're considering shooting a commercial on a 100B for television broadcast. Does anyone with experience in this arena know specific settings. technical requirements etc for optimal broadcast quality? The best our local station can tell us is that they'll inform us if there are any problems when they have the video. ::sigh:: I've read many conflicting articles regarding things like oversaturated colors, audio buzz when displaying captions, warbling audio etc but I'm hoping to get the bottom line from someone with specific experience. Thanks.
 
I've shot many commercials for broadcast on a DVX without a problem. Color saturation isn't an issue as long as you don't crank it way up in camera or in post, and audio buzz during broadcast is usually caused by over-saturated red. The same basics of any project apply:

- Shoot flat and add your color treatment in post.
- Use your scopes for proper color correction (this will keep colors under control).
- Make sure your audio peaks at -12dB, and since this is for broadcast keep the low end of the dynamic range above -22dB.
- The difference between 60i and 24p is really in the look that you want. Just make sure that you deliver in 29.97, which will only be an issue if you go with 24pA and edit at 23.976 (you'll need to add the pull-down back in when you export the finished product).
 
KGI, from my experience you are correct. Also you dont want it to be over 100 IRE. Most broadcasters also have a saturation max of 100%. If you are using FCP, the saturation cant go outside of the outer most ring of the vectorscope.

I would check with them too to see if they have audio track requirements, ie stereo mix on 1&2, nat sound on 3, music on 4.
 
kgimedia said:
If the local station is not all digital should he not us 7.5 IRE and not 0?
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LittleTreeMedia said:
KGI, from my experience you are correct. Also you dont want it to be over 100 IRE. Most broadcasters also have a saturation max of 100%. If you are using FCP, the saturation cant go outside of the outer most ring of the vectorscope.
Click to expand...

The DV world does not have setup. That's an analog thing, and if the station is not all digital, their DV/DVCAM decks will add the 7.5 IRE pedestal on playback.

As for 100IRE, that would be why I said to use the scopes for color correction. That step allows you to bring things below 100 (using the waveform monitor) and to keep colors in their target areas (using the vectorscope).
 
C2V said:
The DV world does not have setup. That's an analog thing, and if the station is not all digital, their DV/DVCAM decks will add the 7.5 IRE pedestal on playback.

As for 100IRE, that would be why I said to use the scopes for color correction. That step allows you to bring things below 100 (using the waveform monitor) and to keep colors in their target areas (using the vectorscope).
Click to expand...
The DV world does not have IRE, because IRE is an analog thing. But DV complies with Rec 601, which defines black as 16 and white as 235. What do you call 16 if not setup?
 
I should have been more specific... yes, DV complies with Rec 601. I was talking in terms of kgimedia's statement about 0 vs. 7.5 IRE. The waveform monitor in FCP does give an IRE scale, however. That confuses the situation, though color correction should pull the whites down below 100 even on that waveform.
 
Just purchased a DVX and started shooting a program for tv, and was also concerned about fitting within broadcast specs (especially since the camera that we had used before did not, which caused the broadcaster to issue a letter informing us of our short-comings). I can tell you that the DVX runs a bit hot on the reds and the blacks can use some boosting...this information comes from seeing the results on the waveform/vectorscope within Edius NLE. The hot red and the (slightly) weak black can be easily adjusted. Over the week-end I shot an outdoor farmers market with great results but I did have to tone down the tomatoes. I was shooting under soft light, under canvas awnings, and some of the results were spectacular; commercial grade I would say. Regarding audio: I have been recording interviews with an AKG lav and have gotten excellent sound without buzz or warbling (helps that this is a new mike and a new cable).

By the way, was shooting on the Spark setting.
 
Thanks everyone, those are exactly the things I was in doubt about. There's one other thing about the buzz during captions problem that still has me a bit worried. I normally watch our local channel over cable and quite a few of the commercials have that horrible buzz when captions display. I was recently watching the same channel over the air on a portable however and noticed a distinct absence of that buzz in any commercials. I later did a real-time side by side test and confirmed that the commercials that did buzz, only did so over cable, not over the air. I'm pretty sure that most viewers in our area watch over cable so I want to be sure I'm not overlooking anything. I'm wondering if this is also related to oversaturating the reds or a technical issue beyond mine or the camera's control. Has anyone else ever dealt with this? Our local channel has been of no help and actually seemed a bit confused. Thanks again everyone for taking the time to reply. I greatly appreciate it.
 
You can definitely notice when cable companies switch from national programming/commercials to cable commercials- the volume changes as does the video, including things like buzzing titles, sometimes the video's hotter...
Why, I'm not sure, my tech knowledge is insufficient on that... C2V, Cranky?

Contact your local cable provider for details....
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