Just in case anyone's CPU has been idling too much with DV Video, get ready for HDV, which will push the frame size from the old 720x480 to 1920x1080 pixels.
Sony recently announced what I consider to be the first pragmatic, user-friendly high def camcorder (HDR-HC1). It is small enough for me to tote around while traveling and almost cheap enough for me to buy it. There is a review here: http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/So ... order-.htm
IMHO, this means that Video Studio will have to support the 1920x1080 Mpeg2 format PDQ! - the next release - version 10.
How will we burn HD video on DVDs? I really doubt that the entertainment industry will have finished squabling over piracy and standards any time soon and HD DVD burners and media are going to be a long way off and very expensive when they get here. So I'm planning to put my HD DVD images on hard drives (in HD video recorders), which can handle the higher bitrate (25MBps) that HD requires and use them to display on the HDTV.
This is going to finally get us out of the 720x480 resolution straightjacket...
John
High Definition Video
Moderator: Ken Berry
I don't think the next release of VideoStudio would require HD support -- considering Ulead's flagship editor MediaStudio Pro 8 (currently in a public beta preview release) offers extensive HDV functionality.
The HDV transport stream is 1440x1080i (still considered HD because it is higher than 720 x 480/576), at the same bitrate as dv25 -- 25mbps -- so it can be transferred via firewire just as nicely as dv25 can
Editing the HDV/mpeg2 TS/PS is the challenge on lesser equipped machines (MSP8 solves the problem by using Proxy files that are easier to work with during the editing stage, and final renders are performed from the original HDV video).
The HDV transport stream is 1440x1080i (still considered HD because it is higher than 720 x 480/576), at the same bitrate as dv25 -- 25mbps -- so it can be transferred via firewire just as nicely as dv25 can
Editing the HDV/mpeg2 TS/PS is the challenge on lesser equipped machines (MSP8 solves the problem by using Proxy files that are easier to work with during the editing stage, and final renders are performed from the original HDV video).
George
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THoff
I'm with George on this, Videostudio is the sub-$100 consumer video editing suite for people who have MiniDV camcorders (if that). HDV will be the realm of prosumers and professionals for a number of years, because there is no way to deliver this content to anyone besides broadcasting it, or having an HDV camcorder to play back the video. When HD-DVD and Blu-Ray become prevalent, there might come a time when HDV will find its way into Videostudio, but that's still a bit off.
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jchunter
George, Torsten,
I would have agreed with you until the Sony HC1 announcement made it clear that the product cost of shooting HD is much lower and simpler than anyone could have imagined and thus, the transition to HD will be much faster then anyone thought possible. One CMOS chip is now able to do what it required 3 CCD chips to do. CMOS manufacturing cost is lower and complex functions can be integrated right on the image sensor chip. There will be HD camcorders available under $1000 sooner than anyone imagines.
This transition will make it clear that HD is the norm – not an elite technology for the “rich and famous.”
IMHO, if Ulead wants to hang on to its share of the video editing market, it must transition the HD technology that it has developed in its high priced Media Studio to Video Studio, ASAP.
John
I would have agreed with you until the Sony HC1 announcement made it clear that the product cost of shooting HD is much lower and simpler than anyone could have imagined and thus, the transition to HD will be much faster then anyone thought possible. One CMOS chip is now able to do what it required 3 CCD chips to do. CMOS manufacturing cost is lower and complex functions can be integrated right on the image sensor chip. There will be HD camcorders available under $1000 sooner than anyone imagines.
This transition will make it clear that HD is the norm – not an elite technology for the “rich and famous.”
IMHO, if Ulead wants to hang on to its share of the video editing market, it must transition the HD technology that it has developed in its high priced Media Studio to Video Studio, ASAP.
John
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THoff
The problem is not shooting the video, or even editing it, but delivering / sharing it.
Single-layer Blu-Ray disks are about $30 apiece, and HD-DVD blanks aren't available at all. And until drives that can read these formats are commonplace in your relative's homes, what's the point of being on the bleeding edge of technology? You can spend $2000 on a HDV camcorder now, or half that for something better in a couple of years.
TV stations will probably adopt HDV quickly, but not using this particular Sony camcorder -- at least they can (and are required to) deliver HD content. The rest of us will wait until after the novelty has worn off.
Single-layer Blu-Ray disks are about $30 apiece, and HD-DVD blanks aren't available at all. And until drives that can read these formats are commonplace in your relative's homes, what's the point of being on the bleeding edge of technology? You can spend $2000 on a HDV camcorder now, or half that for something better in a couple of years.
TV stations will probably adopt HDV quickly, but not using this particular Sony camcorder -- at least they can (and are required to) deliver HD content. The rest of us will wait until after the novelty has worn off.
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jchunter
Torsten,
I agree that HD DVDs are so delayed that their market may be still-born.
However, that is not going to stop HD because hard disk drives are a well established technology that can easily handle the real-time requirements for HD bitrate. BTW, these are getting cheaper every day. They are quite portable: I have carried a battery powered hard drive (for digital photos) on hikes and shipped it on airplanes for several years now.
For example, I can see myself loading 3 - 4 HD family movies onto a portable HD recorder when I visit my family across the country - to show on their HDTV sets. This will not take up much more space in my luggage than 3-4 DVD cases.
High speed internet permits easy download of commercial HD movies to be stored on hard disk until you get tired of them, at which point they could be archived to tape or chucked.
John
I agree that HD DVDs are so delayed that their market may be still-born.
However, that is not going to stop HD because hard disk drives are a well established technology that can easily handle the real-time requirements for HD bitrate. BTW, these are getting cheaper every day. They are quite portable: I have carried a battery powered hard drive (for digital photos) on hikes and shipped it on airplanes for several years now.
For example, I can see myself loading 3 - 4 HD family movies onto a portable HD recorder when I visit my family across the country - to show on their HDTV sets. This will not take up much more space in my luggage than 3-4 DVD cases.
High speed internet permits easy download of commercial HD movies to be stored on hard disk until you get tired of them, at which point they could be archived to tape or chucked.
John
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maddrummer3301
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I guess the only method to store the HD video for now is writing back to the HD camcorder.
720x480p is one of the HD specs. I think there will be life in SD and progressive recordings at 720x480 for a good time.
Some write-ups are saying about 2008 before we see who wins the storage solution.
In the meantime my money for anything new is going into GAS!!!!
I'm truly burning my money.
MD
720x480p is one of the HD specs. I think there will be life in SD and progressive recordings at 720x480 for a good time.
Some write-ups are saying about 2008 before we see who wins the storage solution.
In the meantime my money for anything new is going into GAS!!!!
I'm truly burning my money.
MD
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jchunter
MD,
Yes, you can write the edited HD video to a DV tape.
Or, the edited Mpeg2 HD file can be copied to your HD DVD recorder, where you can view it on the HDTV. (Maybe the ISO file would be better because that would contain the play-time menus.)
John
BTW, I thought you lived in Germany, where gas has always been expensive...
Yes, you can write the edited HD video to a DV tape.
Or, the edited Mpeg2 HD file can be copied to your HD DVD recorder, where you can view it on the HDTV. (Maybe the ISO file would be better because that would contain the play-time menus.)
John
BTW, I thought you lived in Germany, where gas has always been expensive...
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Rich2Putt
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Good luck to anyone going into HD this early in the game.
1) A HD TV is necessary to view true HDV via HDV camcorder hook-up
2) No HDV players yet available
3) Recorders too expensive at this time if you can find one
3) Disk are expensive if you can find them
By the time players/recoreds are in the main stream (pricing $100-$200) HDV Cameras will be inder $1000.
With all that said, I'm figuring another 5yrs before it's added to my wish list.
1) A HD TV is necessary to view true HDV via HDV camcorder hook-up
2) No HDV players yet available
3) Recorders too expensive at this time if you can find one
3) Disk are expensive if you can find them
By the time players/recoreds are in the main stream (pricing $100-$200) HDV Cameras will be inder $1000.
With all that said, I'm figuring another 5yrs before it's added to my wish list.
iMac AIO (late 2012)
Windows 7 (bootcamp)
VS Pro X3
8gb RAM
1 - 1TB HD
1 - 120 SSD
1 - 2TB External HD
Panasonic DVC-30
Windows 7 (bootcamp)
VS Pro X3
8gb RAM
1 - 1TB HD
1 - 120 SSD
1 - 2TB External HD
Panasonic DVC-30
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jchunter
I think that this is the way we will be processing HD video:
Step 1 HD Capturing will be simple because the camcorder will have already encoded the HD video to its DV tape as an Mpeg2 transport stream. The computer will see this as not much more difficult that capturing digital 720x480 (AVI) today - just a simple file transfer with no computational CPU loading. Note: the computer will see HD capture as less work than 720x480 video capture direct to Mpeg2 is today.
Step2 Edit Phase: Playback will be a significant challenge because of the sheer volume of bits in an HD frame. However, I think that simple algorithms, such as throwing out every other video line and tossing a large percentage of pixels in a video line, could speed up the display without dropping whole frames.
Step 3 Create Video File Phase: This phase will be significantly faster than the AVI to Mpeg2 conversion that many of us endure today. This is because transcoding will not be necessary. The Video File format will the same as the Edit format. This HD mpeg2 Video File could be loaded on an external, portable hard disk drive (e.g., on an HD Recorder) and shown, without chapter menus, directly on an HDTV through the Recorder’s component video interface. It could also be downloaded to a HD camcorder tape, and displayed on the HDTV through the camera’s component video interface.
Step 4 The Burning Phase will not be necessary in many cases. But it would be just an ISO file creation with play-time menus because I think HD DVD media and burners will not be affordable for many, many years. We will, instead, just create the HD ISO file and display it using the HD Recorder. Note: It might be preferable to modify Video Studio to be able to add chapters and play-time menus on the timeline prior to making the Project Video File.
John
Step 1 HD Capturing will be simple because the camcorder will have already encoded the HD video to its DV tape as an Mpeg2 transport stream. The computer will see this as not much more difficult that capturing digital 720x480 (AVI) today - just a simple file transfer with no computational CPU loading. Note: the computer will see HD capture as less work than 720x480 video capture direct to Mpeg2 is today.
Step2 Edit Phase: Playback will be a significant challenge because of the sheer volume of bits in an HD frame. However, I think that simple algorithms, such as throwing out every other video line and tossing a large percentage of pixels in a video line, could speed up the display without dropping whole frames.
Step 3 Create Video File Phase: This phase will be significantly faster than the AVI to Mpeg2 conversion that many of us endure today. This is because transcoding will not be necessary. The Video File format will the same as the Edit format. This HD mpeg2 Video File could be loaded on an external, portable hard disk drive (e.g., on an HD Recorder) and shown, without chapter menus, directly on an HDTV through the Recorder’s component video interface. It could also be downloaded to a HD camcorder tape, and displayed on the HDTV through the camera’s component video interface.
Step 4 The Burning Phase will not be necessary in many cases. But it would be just an ISO file creation with play-time menus because I think HD DVD media and burners will not be affordable for many, many years. We will, instead, just create the HD ISO file and display it using the HD Recorder. Note: It might be preferable to modify Video Studio to be able to add chapters and play-time menus on the timeline prior to making the Project Video File.
John
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THoff
Because MPEG2 uses differential inter-frame encoding, you cannot discard information -- you have to process all of it.jchunter wrote:Step2 Edit Phase: Playback will be a significant challenge because of the sheer volume of bits in an HD frame. However, I think that simple algorithms, such as throwing out every other video line and tossing a large percentage of pixels in a video line, could speed up the display without dropping whole frames.
This encoding method also makes MPEG2 a poor choice for editing. If you have a sequence of one I frame (an independent frame that encodes a full frame), followed by a series of P frames (partial frames that encode the differences from the previous frame), then making edits to any of the frames following the I frame invalidates all P frames up to the next I frame. It's a ripple effect -- a change to any I or P frame invalidates the P frames following it.
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jchunter
Torsten,
You may have to process it all but you don't have to display it all.
As I said, HD playback will be a challenge. But not a show-stopper.
Inter-frame dependencies have not caused me any problems when editing 720x480 8Mbps mpeg2 with a 3 GHz CPU (which I have been doing for the last two years). I just reviewed a half a dozen mpeg2 video clips is various projects to see how busy the CPU was during playback. The average was 8 - 15% busy with peaks no higher than 28%. Thus, I don't see this as a terrible barrier. I suspect that Ulead software developers have already implemented some new HD playback algorithms in Media Studio.
John
You may have to process it all but you don't have to display it all.
As I said, HD playback will be a challenge. But not a show-stopper.
Inter-frame dependencies have not caused me any problems when editing 720x480 8Mbps mpeg2 with a 3 GHz CPU (which I have been doing for the last two years). I just reviewed a half a dozen mpeg2 video clips is various projects to see how busy the CPU was during playback. The average was 8 - 15% busy with peaks no higher than 28%. Thus, I don't see this as a terrible barrier. I suspect that Ulead software developers have already implemented some new HD playback algorithms in Media Studio.
John
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THoff
Mediastudio 8 uses proxies to edit HD content, which are SD resolution (default 720x480 for NTSC) representations of the HD content. It creates (renders) the proxy for you, and you edit your project using it. Then when you want to create the final output, it applies the same edits to the HD version of the content.
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jchunter
Now that's a bizarre approach to performance management!! So, the edits that a person does are recorded in a "script", which is then later applied to the HD file... The advantage being that the final conversion does not have to happen in real time...
And if the script fails when applied to the HD file, the user is left wondering when and why it failed and how to correct it... Hummm. Seems like you could spend a lot of time polishing a long project only to see it fail after you think it is finished.
All in all, I think I would rather take my chances with a stuttering playback while editing the actual HD clips. At least I would know what has worked and what has not worked.
John
And if the script fails when applied to the HD file, the user is left wondering when and why it failed and how to correct it... Hummm. Seems like you could spend a lot of time polishing a long project only to see it fail after you think it is finished.
All in all, I think I would rather take my chances with a stuttering playback while editing the actual HD clips. At least I would know what has worked and what has not worked.
John
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jchunter
Here
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/So ... Review.htm
is a link to Robin Liss' June 29, 2005 review of the Sony HDR-HC1, which includes all his optical measurements and test results of this camcorder.
I want one!
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/So ... Review.htm
is a link to Robin Liss' June 29, 2005 review of the Sony HDR-HC1, which includes all his optical measurements and test results of this camcorder.
I want one!