The Pro's Choice: EX1 & 3

FrankC said:
As I understand it, there is no such thing as HDV 1080p (progressive scan)... only 720p.
Click to expand...
Not to sound like an ass, but why would not you go and read the wiki article, the link to which I have posted like three times already? Here it is again: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDV#HDV_1080p

FrankC said:
The tape-based HDV is at its technological limit and probably can't be improved much more.
Click to expand...
They can speed it up, with corresponding loss in recording time. Roughly, 40% increase in tape speed would bring HDV to 35 Mbit/s, this is current XDCAM EX rate. This would lower recording time to about 40 minutes, the same as Digital8, not bad. With 80 min tapes this would yield the same one hour of recording. But I doubt they will do any of that, tape is winding down (sorry for the pun). Also, Sony would not want to hurt its XDCAM EX sales.
 
Thank you Barry... We know we can always depend on you. Now somebody has to correct the Wikipedia listing !!!
( Dang...that means my older Canon HV-30 is already obsolete!)
 
FrankC said:
Thank you Barry... We know we can always depend on you. Now somebody has to correct the Wikipedia listing !!!
( Dang...that means my older Canon HV-30 is already obsolete!)
Click to expand...
It cannot shoot AND record native 24p or 30p, but it can record native 24p and 30p in deck mode, and it can play these tapes back. It is all in the wiki article.
 
male_man said:
I ask this because that show when watched in hd, is the sharpest I ever saw in any format.
Click to expand...

do you have discovery hd theater? i haven't seen this show in a bit but "insectia" is the sharpest hd broadcast i have ever seen. i've seen dancing with the stars. insectia much sharper.
 
cheezweezl said:
do you have discovery hd theater? i haven't seen this show in a bit but "insectia" is the sharpest hd broadcast i have ever seen. i've seen dancing with the stars. insectia much sharper.
Click to expand...

I don't have that, but I can't see how anything can be sharper than that show on my pana plazma. I find myself just admiring the picture, looks kinda like 3d. I will however, try to check out insectia on discovery hd.
 
I have to say that "Planet Earth" is the best looking HD series I have ever laid eyes on. They probably don't use any EX cameras, but since you were naming nice looking HD shows...
 
Chadfish said:
I have to say that "Planet Earth" is the best looking HD series I have ever laid eyes on. They probably don't use any EX cameras, but since you were naming nice looking HD shows...
Click to expand...
Planet Earth is also DVCPRO-HD, they use VariCams.

Kind of calls into question the whole 720p vs. 1080i thing, doesn't it? :D You never can tell with just numbers. You've got to just look at the actual footage.
 
They used:

"We shot a lot of footage on the Sony HDW-750, especially where we were controlling the light, such as in the cave," he said.

A Sony HDC-950 was used for much of the aerial gimbal shooting, along with a Canon HJ40 400x lens. The Panasonic Varicam, which Cordey sometimes used to give some sequences a film look, also got a workout at other sites.

The entire series--spanning nearly 2,000 shoot days--was captured in 720p, 1080i and 1080p--as well as a few sequences on HD-friendly 35mm film. Discovery HD will air the series in 1080i. Dolby 5.1 Surround
 
Barry_Green said:
Probably VariCams or HPX2000s. ABC is a 720p network and the show is shot 720p.
http://www.postmagazine.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&tier=4&id=D2BDD2BF0891486F82C4CD18D88D5192

Out in the field, they use Sony Z1 HDV cams.
Click to expand...

Very strange workflow. The interviews are shot with handheld panas at 720p, the field work shot at with Sony's at 1080i and the live studio is Sony studio cam 900's at 1080i since it is CBS. That is why it is so sharp. SONY studio cams.....
The STUDIO cams at NBC and CBS are SONY, the news cams are the "standard" throwaway 300 panas.
 
Last edited:
Barry, it's shot at CBS studios. CBS only has SONY 1080i cameras in the studio. CBS and NBC only record in 1080i. Only the INTERVIEWS are shot in 720p.
Lots of standards conversion. Read the article.
 
Barry_Green said:
ChadFish said:
I have to say that "Planet Earth" is the best looking HD series I have ever laid eyes on. They probably don't use any EX cameras, but since you were naming nice looking HD shows...
Click to expand...
Planet Earth is also DVCPRO-HD, they use VariCams.

Kind of calls into question the whole 720p vs. 1080i thing, doesn't it? :D You never can tell with just numbers. You've got to just look at the actual footage.
Click to expand...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcinternet/2008/11/bbc_hd_picture_quality_and_dol.html

Although 720 is HD for transmission, the international standards say it's not for programme exchange. Most of the HD programmes we make are 1080p25 (recorded, post produced and delivered 1080psf25) so are at the highest possible quality. Other programmes are 1080i25 so we have them in the archive at a standard that the rest of the world accepts as HD. ... The vast majority of HD programmes are produced using the 1080p25 format and I assume this will continue until cinema moves from 24p to a higher frame rate.
...
The Varicam has an "exemption" from the rule as it is still the only camera able to shoot NHU programmes in the way a simple Super16 film camera does. ... The list of HD NHU programmes shot on the Varicam is now very large and is still growing. It would be safe to assume just about every wildlife programme shown on the channel has used the Varicam for some if not most of the HD shooting. We will continue to use the Varicam for some time as there is no viable 1080 alternative yet. ... We clearly state the this camera will not be allowed as soon as a 1080 version is available.
Click to expand...
 
DadinWestchester said:
Barry, it's shot at CBS studios. CBS only has SONY 1080i cameras in the studio. CBS and NBC only record in 1080i. Only the INTERVIEWS are shot in 720p.
Lots of standards conversion. Read the article.
Click to expand...
It's shot at CBS Studio City, which is pretty much an open production facility where lots of shows for lots of different networks get shot. American Idol, Deal or No Deal, So You Think You Can Dance, all sorts of shows. It's not a CBS "sony-only" facility.

The only reference I can google related to what kind of cameras they have on hand were Hitachis, and that was from 1999.
 
Barry, They're Sony. You dont go switching standards when you design a facility it's one or the other. You record in one standard and convert. CBS and NBC have always used Sony as studio cameras.
 
Last edited:
And yet -- how do you know? You're declaring it as a definite fact, and I'm asking why you say it. It could be Ikegami, it could be Hitachi, it could be Sony, it could be Panasonic, it could be Thomson, it could be any combination. And each studio might be configured independently.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top