HDV editing

[Frank Burch]

Are people actually still using SD camcorders? It seems crazy to me. I have a cupboard full of my amateur DVD's, but with my HDV camcorder the quality is so much better I no longer like to watch my old recordings. HDV is "old-fashioned" some say. But it is still the best to my mind.

I've been browsing the forum looking for an HDV tutorial. Steve's fantastic tutorials on SD were a great help to everyone. Also Trevor's and Jones's. But that's all a bit outdated. DVD information is surely also outdated - whoever makes DVD's now? Maybe I'm blundering and making a fool of myself, but the forum seems to be cluttered up with outdated information. I have not been able to find a simple tutorial on HDV editing.

[erdna]

Strange... I find that there are tons of information about HD (HDV and AVCHD) editing. Of course for the very basics you need to read the users guide which comes with your NLE system, or view the numerous links which you find in this forum.

[Frank Burch]

Strange... I find that there are tons of information about HD (HDV and AVCHD) editing. Of course for the very basics you need to read the users guide which comes with your NLE system, or view the numerous links which you find in this forum.

Thanks Erdna for the reply, but a link would be a help. Yes there lots of entries on finer points of HDV editing, but not a straight out tutorial like Trevor's on SD.

[mitchell65]

whoever makes DVD's now

I would hazard a guess and say that 9 out of 10 members of this board do and if you look at the sales of blank DVD an awful lot of other people do. How do you share your videos with others?

[Frank Burch]

whoever makes DVD's now

I would hazard a guess and say that 9 out of 10 members of this board do and if you look at the sales of blank DVD an awful lot of other people do. How do you share your videos with others?

Quite right John, I guess it's the usual way to share, but I feel it's a shame to downconvert to SD. Surely DVD's will not be around much longer.And, after all, there are other ways of sharing: Putting your video on the web, putting it on a memory stick and sending that instead of a DVD (a bit expensive though!), or what about BluRay? But I haven't faced up to the problem myself as yet. Maybe using the web would be the best solution?

[Ron P.]

For a lot of people, taking the leap to HD is not an easy task, and not financially feasible. I'm one of those, as I still have a very old CRT Television. For me to upgrade to HD, I would need to purchase;

• HD TV (and I've been looking at some) $500 +
• HD DVD or Blu-Ray player ($200 +)
• HD satellite reciever ($200)
• HD Camcorder ($1,000)
• HD/Blu-Ray burner ($200)

So I would need a minimum of $2,100 to do so. I'm guessing I'm not the only one that is currently viewing that as a pile of cash..

We didn't notice that the place was getting so cluttered up. We try to keep things picked up so when guests come to visit they don't stumble over things. I'll try to find some time, and get my broom, dustpan, and furniture polish out, to polish up the place...

[Frank Burch]

Yes Ron I was in the same position a year ago before I took a deep breath and took the plunge.
Canon HV 20
Sony Bravia KDL 40 W
Panasonic DVD Player with twin HD tuners DMR XW 300

That did make a hole in my bank account, but I certainly do not regret it. I would suggest you start with an HDV camcorder. You can maybe pick up my model on ebay for cheap, because it no longer exists, replaced by the HV 30 which is exactly the same! I also got it cheap.

[mitchell65]

I'll try to find some time, and get my broom, dustpan, and furniture polish out, to polish up the place...

When you've finished there you can pop round to my place. We are looking for a good "Maid" (Or a bad one will do!)

[Black Lab]

I agree with John and Ron. Although I did take the plunge and buy a HDV cam, and although I do have a HD TV, there are many, many people that don't. Why should I distribute my work on BluRay, when 90% of my clients don't have a BluRay player? Also, not everyone has a high-speed Internet connection, so there goes that idea. But just about everyone still has a DVD player of some sort, whether it be stand-alone, on their pc, a gaming system, etc. and, until the prices of BluRay players and media become more reasonable, DVDs will be here for some time to come.

For personal use, HD is fine. But on a broader spectrum, I'm sticking with SD DVDs for now.

[mitchell65]

That did make a hole in my bank account, but I certainly do not regret it. I would suggest you start with an HDV camcorder. You can maybe pick up my model on ebay for cheap, because it no longer exists, replaced by the HV 30 which is exactly the same! I also got it cheap.

I live in one of the most beautiful areas of the UK but it is one of the less affluent areas. A few of my contacts have invested in HD TV's but that's because a local retailer had a huge sale and there really was some bargains to be had. I think the retailer needed to turn some of its stock into cash rather quickly! Very few people locally have a BluRay Player and the only way to pick up HD TV is by satellite and the package for that is beyond the average means. Many people still use VHS players. When working used ones are advertised in our local newspaper they sell very quickly. So I think DVD's will be with us for some time here. The next step presumably will be non-moving media such as SD cards when the capacity gets up to 25GB. That will mean more kit to buy.
I can remember when they said radio would die as soon as TV was available to all but its' still going as strong as ever. Although, here, we still can't get digital other than via the internet.

[skier-hughes]

I live in rural staffordshire, UK, but being very close to the midlands, I have a very densely populated cliental area.
Some of my clients include exclusive private schools whose pupils come from highly paid local football stars etc.
Far more money than I have and yet I am still asked to produce hundreds of SD dvds rather than BluRay for their Xmas and summer productions.

Beta max production only ceased a couple of years ago, so dvd life will be years yet

[Frank Burch]

I guess I'd better shut up otherwise you guys will be asking me for a loan. I'm starting to feel like a millionaire. Not everyone has high-speed internet? Well even in our little village here in the Provence I suppose there are some people who haven't got it, but not many. We pay 15 Euros per month for unlimited high-speed internet. Those who haven't got it just don't want it. But OK I agree, DVD is still the best solution and with a DVD player with upconverting the DVD's look much better.

[mitchell65]

I guess I'd better shut up otherwise you guys will be asking me for a loan.

Seriously thogh, going back to your original post. Are you are looking for a tutorial on editing HDV?

[Frank Burch]

Yes John, be glad if you can give me a link.

[mitchell65]

Yes John, be glad if you can give me a link.

Hi Frank
Almost an impossible task really. Video editing is such a huge subject that I doubt any one publication has been produced that covers all aspects. I think most of us have adopted the same kind of approach and that is read the software manual the decide what the final use is for your project and launch yourself into it. Start with a small project and gradually increase the various options that are available. The tutorials on this frum are as good as you will find anywhere IMHO and whether you are editing for HD or SD the principal is basically the same. A good overall pan before you start will help get things in the right order. Speaking for myself i go for the trial and error approach. Very time consuming but a sure way to learn effectively, I think. If you get stuck there is always all the "wise men" on this Forum who I have found are always willing to help. Plus searching a problem very often provides the answer. But perhaps the two things you need most are the time and patience you need for this most complex and interesting of subjects
Good luck