which mode to use to record

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donnyb

Member
I probably don't need to repeat that I am a newbie, as most will probably find out by reading my first question. I have been using an HMC70 which only records in 1080/60i. When I edit in PremPro CS5 and move to Encore, it transcodes into 720 to burn to DVD. Now that I have (or will have shortly) a 150, which mode would be best to record to? Can I assume it would be one of the 720 modes? Would this give better quality since it's not converting from 1080 to 720?

BTW, we are using the 150 to record church services, and maybe some day it will also be used to record weddings. Also, our typical recording is about 90 minutes and is about 5GB. Since just upgrading to CS5, I can import video as one file, but cannot save to HD without it being 2 MTS files. Is there a conversion software that can splice the two files into one, in order to copy the finished MTS video into one file on the HD?
 
You probably want to record at 720/60p which will convert into 480/60i (dvd) nicely. You can also shoot 1080/30 but its not going to give you any more noticable detail when converting to DVD.

As far as your HD file on the computer best way is to export another version which would be in a high rez HD codec. It also matters what format your hard drive is, FAT32 cant handle more then a 4GB file regardless.
 
You mean export using PrPro into something like AVI? If I do that, the file size goes from about 5GB to 16GB or so. I have tried a few other formats, but at a significant loss in quality.

My HD is NTFS. In fact, the computer is an i7 920 running at 3.9 GHz and has 6GB of memory.
 
Actually your conversion from 1080 to DVD goes to 480 (unless you're burning to blu ray) and not 720. Id always recommend recording at the highest level. Once recorded you can always go down, but never up.

But, you've been recording to 60i. Is it a similar "live look" that you want when you get the 150? If so then 720/60p will suit that purpose. Give you the same look without any interlacing rubbish. Though as its for a DVD audience, and assuming that you dont record in a very dark environment where any tiny bit of extra light counts, you may want to consider 1080/30P.
 
I want the best quality, so don't want to record in a format that gives poor quality. Since I don't have the 150 yet, I downloaded the manual and there is something that is confusing about the formats. There are four quality settings - from best to worst: PH, HA, HG, & HE.
They can all shoot 1080/60i, but they all have different maximum shoot times. The HE has the longest shoot time, which you would expect, but what is different between them? So, if I want the best quality and decide to shoot in 1080/60i, which one would I choose? (knowing that I will be ultimately burning to DVD and not BluRay).
 
I am saving to Flash for a website, but that's a small file size and low quality. After I do that, I am only burning to DVD.
 
I agree with Noel...always shoot at the highest quality...as you can always go down, just not up.

I've never shot anything but PH Mode for this very reason. If you want a "live" video look, shoot 720 60p. If you looking for something a little more filmic, I'd shoot 1080 30p.
 
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