What are the current issues with using HDV?

[Morgan Peline]

Hi,

 

I know that this has probably been asked already but I can't seem to find the answers in the previous forums.

 

These new Sony HDV cameras come up a lot in discussions at the moment especially when I'm putting myself forward for DP jobs on short films. I have a notion that there are issues with using these cameras but I don't understand what these problems/issues are exactly.

 

- In the back of my mind I have acquired some idea that you can't yet use HDV properly because of a lack of compatible post-production machines currently available...or something to that effect.

 

- And also that you need a HD monitor to watch your footage back properly as opposed to downconverted DVCam. Does this mean that you have to transfer HDV to digiBeta or some other more common format before you can 'see' the quality of HDV?

 

So my question is: Can you or can't you effectively shoot a short film in HDV mode yet? Or do we have to wait for some new machines to be designed first?

 

Could someone please simply explain these issues for me?

 

Any help is much appreciated - thank you very much!

[Kyuss]

Hi,

 

I know that this has probably been asked already but I can't seem to find the answers in the previous forums.

 

These new Sony HDV cameras come up a lot in discussions at the moment  especially when I'm putting myself forward for DP jobs on short films. I have a notion that there are issues with using these cameras but I don't understand what these problems/issues are exactly.

 

- In the back of my mind I have acquired some idea that you can't yet use HDV properly because of  a lack of compatible post-production machines currently available...or something to that effect.

 

- And also that you need a HD monitor to watch your footage back properly as opposed to downconverted DVCam. Does this mean that you have to transfer HDV to digiBeta or some other more common format before you can 'see' the quality of HDV?     

 

So my question is: Can you or can't you effectively shoot a short film in HDV mode yet? Or do we have to wait for some new machines to be designed first?

 

Could someone please simply explain these issues for me?

 

Any help is much appreciated - thank you very much!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

sorry to quote the whole message but... whatever.

 

I have used the HDR-FX1 for some months now and the major issues that i experience are:

HDV is extremely resource intensive to process. Equivalent to processing DVD video on a PIII 500 or thereabouts. Many hours to process only a couple of minutes of footage.

Additionally, most TVs dont support HD resolutions, and almost no LCD monitors support it natively either (although some do support it in a down-converted to 1280*1024 res sense - cant remember the geek-term for that)

 

So yes, you are right that there are some limitations on it ie. most people have to buy an HD receiver which can down convert to normal DVD/TV resolutions for viewing at the moment.

 

Also, there is too little in the way of removable HDVideo media. Blu-ray is kind of available if you are Japanese, HD-DVD also (maybe - i havn't looked at this for a while) but basically it is difficult to do anything for removable media apart from down convert to DVD and store your original on data-dvds (spanned across multiple dvds) until such a time as HD is more commonplace...

 

Kyuss