VS11+ captures only into MPEG2 format

[chris_huggett]

I see there's only one capture plug in with 11+, from earlier posts. Does this mean I will only be able to create MPEG 2 files when capturing HDV from a Sony HDV Camera ? I had some trouble editing MPEG2 before, in VS10, and was advised on these boards to capture my (non HD) video using DV format to ease editing, chapter creation and so on. Might it be better to capture my HD files using Nero or WinDV into DV format - or is DV be definition not high definition, i.e. would I lose quality that way ?

[Ken Berry]

First, despite having only one capture component, VS11/11.5 can certainly capture in various other formats. Now you don't say exactly which Sony camera you have, but I am guessing it is probably one of the HC series. As far as I am aware, such a camera uses a mini DV tape and can film in HDV and standard definition DV formats.

DV format, as you guessed, is by definition not high definition. But you can certainly capture it in standard definition format using VS11. I think you have to set your camera for standard definition download for that.

HDV format, a little confusingly for beginners, films to DV cassettes, but in fact is a form of high definition mpeg-2. So when you capture in HDV format using VS11, you are actually getting high def mpeg-2 and need to set your project properties etc accordingly. I am uncertain on this point, but I think it also uses Upper Field First, rather than the Lower Field First used by standard definition DV. However, someone with one of the Sony cameras will need to confirm this.

Capturing in DV format using either WinDV or Nero (or any other DV-capable program) will by definition only give you standard definition. Also by definition, it will be of lesser quality than HDV captures. WinDV cannot capture HDV anyway, though Nero can. Standard DV captures with those programs (or VS11), while of lesser quality than HDV, will still be of excellent quality. It's just that it is not high definition!

[DVDDoug]

The data on your camera is probably already in MPEG format (very common for HD cameras). It's generally best to "capture" the data as-is instead of trying to convert it on-the-fly. (i.e. When you captured from your SD MiniDV camera, the DV data was simply re-packaged to AVI/DV.)

I had some trouble editing MPEG2 before, in VS10, and was advised on these boards to capture my (non HD) video using DV format to ease editing...

I don't know if there are fewer problems with HD MPEG. Fewer problems seem to be showing-up on the forums, but that may be because there are fewer HD users. (I don't have HD yet.)