HD

[Rich2Putt]

Now that most NLE systems can capture, edit & burn in HD, what's the point for most of us?

If you own a HD camera, I know you can watch the raw footage from a HD TV. My question is, what good is HD is we don't own HD burners or Blue-Ray players.

The cost of one HD blank disk is $15-$25. We centainly are unable to burn HD content on a regular 4.7 DVD disk or play on a regular DVD player.

Those of you who have a HD camcorder, how do you view your material on DVD?

Thanks,
Rich

[rguthrie]

Rich2Putt,

Well, I haven't taken the dive into HD yet, but I'd assume that if you don't have an HD/BR burner or player then you'd just burn your movies to DVD. What's the point? Well, the quality will still be very, very good, and you're friends and family can enjoy great home movies made by you!

My miniDV camera video looks great on TV because it's shot at 520 scan lines (NTSC), whereas my old VHS-C camera, being based on the VHS standard shot at somewhere between 230-320 scan lines, will never look as good. The old saying, "Garbage in, garbage out" applies to video editing too. My old VHS-C tapes aren't ever going to look as good as my miniDV, which aren't going to look as good as you're HD. The biggest advantage you have over me right now, even if you're "just" making standard DVD format movies is that you can shoot in true widescreen which should look great on LCD/Plasma sets.

So have some fun, edit away, and share with the world your creative talents! And when most everyone makes the jump to Blu-Ray (which there is speculation about that even, as some folks think that HD delivery will swings towards the internet, via digital services like AT&T's U-Verse or XBox Live!) then you'll already be ahead of the game. Either way, you've got a great camera system.

Ron G.

[Ken Berry]

Apart from the suggestion to burn standard definition DVDs from high def material, one of the options I am considering -- though have yet to put into practice -- will be to capture and edit in high def HDV/mpeg-2 format which I think I can then send back to the mini DV cassette in my Canon HV20. This then connects via HDMI to my LCD high def TV. In other words, use the camera in place of a VCR but with high def quality until such time as I can afford a Blue-Ray burner and the price of Blue-Ray discs drop.

I don't know, but would have thought a similar workflow might apply to AVCHD cameras where you should be able to transfer edited material back to the SD card in the camera. If the camera also has a HDMI jack, then you could connect it in the same way as above to your high def TV and display your edited AVCHD that way...

[spudgun]

Actually, this is a GREAT topic of interest to me. I too, am about to acquire either the HV20 or 30, although I currently do NOT have any HD equipment; ie: only have a SDTV and DVD player. ( Here in the Uk I am also on the PAL system).

Now, I would LOVE to find a workflow procedure for Videostudio that explains the best methods of either:

a/ Capturing and editing in HD then burning to DS DVD (what boxes to tick and configure!!!)

or

b/ Copying back to the HV Camera in HD edited form. (Presumably this would still look BETTER when played on an SDTV than footage shot on an SD Camera?

Advice, comments and pointers greatly appreciated and welcomed.

[Rich2Putt]

Apart from the suggestion to burn standard definition DVDs from high def material, one of the options I am considering -- though have yet to put into practice -- will be to capture and edit in high def HDV/mpeg-2 format which I think I can then send back to the mini DV cassette in my Canon HV20. This then connects via HDMI to my LCD high def TV. In other words, use the camera in place of a VCR but with high def quality until such time as I can afford a Blue-Ray burner and the price of Blue-Ray discs drop.

I don't know, but would have thought a similar workflow might apply to AVCHD cameras where you should be able to transfer edited material back to the SD card in the camera. If the camera also has a HDMI jack, then you could connect it in the same way as above to your high def TV and display your edited AVCHD that way...

Yes, with my standard camcorder, I too can transfer edited video from VS back into the mini tape. This can not only become cumbersome, but you are adding more usage hours to your camcorder.

I¡¦ll be using someone else¡¦s HD for a wedding at the end of this month & my first experience in HD. I will not be doing the editing (I freelance for a local wedding videographer).

With newer & better HD camcorders coming out every 6 months, I¡¦d rather wait until HD disks & players come down in price now that we have one dvd format to deal with.

[dhmark]

I have been totally pleased with the capability of making about 22 minute videos burned onto standard DVD media that play in the original HD clarity on Toshiba HD DVD players (now discontinued format).
It's been very easy to do. I now have fairly permanent storage of my tapes. I have heard that the DVD files can be converted back into mpeg when and if conversion to some other media (ie reasonably priced blu-ray) becomes available.
I was content on making very good quality standard DVD's, storing my tapes, until the Toshiba HD DVD players got really cheap, and I decided to try making HD DVD's on standard media. It is very cool and convenient to drop these discs in and watch a quick home movie.
dhmark

[Rich2Putt]

I have been totally pleased with the capability of making about 22 minute videos burned onto standard DVD media that play in the original HD clarity on Toshiba HD DVD players (now discontinued format).
dhmark

The current digital dvd's created in VS has a very good pq on my 52" LCD. I don't think HD content played on a regular dvd will make that much of a difference in pq. Again I have no HD content to compare it to.

To appreciate true HD you need all the components in place. In my situation, the time is not right for a HD camcorder.

[dhmark]

I didn't make it clear, these regular DVD's play true HD content, just like looking at the raw footage out of the camera (lossless, no reencoding except for transitions, subtitles,etc), only because they only hold 4.7 gb, that's why you only get 22 minutes. They won't play on a regular DVD player, only Toshiba HD DVD player. The difference between these and regular DVDs is significant. The picture is definitely better, but a HUGE difference is when you insert pan-and-scan still images into your movies, they look absolutely amazing. My vacation video and still images look like public television hi-def broadcasts (when I don't shake).