Whattabout Beta?

J

Josicleverson

Member
Hi...

I'm directing some commercials here in Brazil...
And the standart format is BETA...

I'm saving some money to buy my DVX...
But never had a chance to try it.

So...
I'd like to ask if you people really think the Beta (D35) is a lot better than DVX images (really hope NOT!!!)...
 
Re: Whattabout Beta?

Betacams were made for professional use. They use 4:2:2 compression (rather than 4:1:1 like all MiniDV).

On paper, a Betacam is higher quality than the DVX - but when shooting in 24P modes, the look is so different that they can't really be compared.

Shooting 60i however will almost guaranteed look better on a Betacam.
 
Re: Whattabout Beta?

you know, Comparing images from Betacams and true DVCAMs like the DSR 300, I kinda prefer the DVCAMs, althought that is only personal. I know that Betas are uncompressed, if still analog...
 
Re: Whattabout Beta?

Actually, Betacam doesn't use 4:anything:anything.  It's an analog format, and 4:2:2 or 4:1:1 refers to digital sampling.  If you were to try to compare BetaSP to DV, turning Beta's luminance and chrominance frequencies into digital equivalents, you'd find that it's somewhere around 3:1:1, which is better than 4:1:1 but not as good as Digital Betacam's 4:2:2.

And Betacam, being analog, has no compression whatsoever.

The two formats are really very comparable, BetaSP and DV.  They're both component recording formats, and deliver approximately the same image quality.  What you'll usually find is that the Betacam cameras, like the BVW series, have *much* superior camera heads on them than the little DV cameras, with big 2/3" chips and expensive glass, so you can get a much higher-quality image going to the recording deck.

However, if you're talking about a bottom-feeder camera like the UVW100, I'd say the DVX would probably kick the UVW squarely in the crotch.

Comparing a 2/3" DV camera like the DSR570 against a 2/3" camera like the BVW-D400, it's pretty much a tossup.  And in that case, I'd take the DVCAM camera every time, for its cheaper tape, longer tape life, digital recording and newer technology.

But as Mike said, if you're comparing 24P DVX vs. 60i Betacam, they're two extremely different looks, not even in the same league, so rather than decide based on which picture is "better", you just have to decide "do I want the 24P look, or the 60i look?"
 
Re: Whattabout Beta?

[quote author=Barry_Green link=board=Links;num=1094675788;start=0#3 date=09/08/04 at 14:09:03]Actually, Betacam doesn't use 4:anything:anything.  It's an analog format, and 4:2:2 or 4:1:1 refers to digital sampling.  If you were to try to compare BetaSP to DV, turning Beta's luminance and chrominance frequencies into digital equivalents, you'd find that it's somewhere around 3:1:1, which is better than 4:1:1 but not as good as Digital Betacam's 4:2:2.[/quote]

D'oh!

Sorry for misleading - I shoulda known Barry was much better for answering this stuff than I was :-/
 
Re: Whattabout Beta?

Like I have posted in the past, I hooked up my DVX100 to my station's Live News Truck and then called the Engineers back at the station to check the picture quality and they said everything looked good. I put up my color bars and they checked out good too. Little did they know I had my DVX100 hooked up to the truck and not my $40,000 BetaSX camera!
 
Re: Whattabout Beta?

Thanks for the clarification Barry, it's certainly more tunned to my gut feeling...
 
Re: Whattabout Beta?

the beta digital is motion j-pag compresion between 1-1.2 and 1-2
the 790 is still the best non hd camera -for interlise video
 
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