Ned Cordery returns to NAB once again and brings us the latest info...

This year two clear themes emerged at NAB (the National Association of Broadcasters) annual event. High Definition Video and tapeless recording; these are not new but they are maturing systems that the high end film maker/news gatherer can use. How relevant are they to the non-commercial film maker? Well, not very relevant at broadcast equipment prices but look for the trickle-down effect and also look at the trickle-up effect as many high end professional cameras now sport fold out LCD viewing panels.

Outlined below is the first of the cross-overs from the high end world to our world of lo/no budget film making.

The HDV Format

Just as we were getting really comfortable with the DV format along comes a new one, HDV (High Definition Video), with a standard agreed between the major manufacturers; Sony, Canon, Sharp and JVC.

This new standard is for cameras and VCRs for high definition recording and play back at 1080i (interlaced) 1440 x 1080 pixels and 720p (progressive scan) 1280 x 720 pixels with an aspect ratio 16:9. Interestingly the equipment is based on the DV format and uses the same tape, tape speed, track pitch and tape drives which will simplify things for the manufacturers but not for us, the users, as we will have to buy all new equipment to enjoy this new format. Firewire is the method of interfacing with the computer and other outboard devices.

The video recording CoDec is MPEG2 the audio is recorded at 48 kHz/16 bit by MPEG1 Audio Layer encoding. This means that for most of us with DV specific editing systems the new format cannot be edited with our existing programs. However, the edit program suppliers are offering plug-ins or developments to handle HDV. There is an existing edit program that handles direct input from and output to the JVC camera, this is EVE2 by MainConcept AG (www.mainconcept.com) a basic program aimed at the entry level consumer but with quite interesting capabilities and at $69 (Euros 69) it will get the new HDV entrant up and running quickly. MainConcept also offer a plug-in for Adobe Premiere Pro that adds HDV capability for $249, this handles both NTSC and PAL.

JVC have had cameras available for over a year, the GR-HD1 for the consumer, a single chip camera which sells at around $4,000 and a professional version the JY-HD10U which has XLR sound inputs. At the recent NAB show they also featured a review version of a full size camera with 3 2/3 inch chips for ENG and EFP. There was also a prototype deck on show. The JVC cameras record in the 720p HD format and also record in the regular DV format, so to some extent they are backwards compatible.

Sony showed their prototype HDV camera, it looks very much like the VX 2100/PD 170 and also an HDV deck; both support the 1080i version of HDV so meet our first incompatibility as the JVC HDV and Sony HDV outputs will be different. The Sony system will also record in DVCAM as a well as HDV 1080i.

What comes next?

I don't usually play the prediction game but here goes, the Canon XL1s was still the main event at the Canon Video booth, but in my opinion look out next year for the Canon XL2 HDV. The Canon XL is the only "system" camera in the DV world and has earned a reputation as an acquisition tool for indie film productions, offer this world a high definition camera based on the XL design with its interchangeable lens, viewfinder and expandability and they will be very happy. The Panasonic AG-DVX 100A has been making heavy inroads into this market with its 24p feature and image management controls, look for Canon to fight back!

So what does all this mean? Well, we know from experience that the better the quality of the original picture the better the quality of the copies, remember how good feature films look on VHS? HDV will deliver a higher quality image and so we can expect the copies on whatever medium to look better than we achieve with Standard Definition video.

Is it time to change? Not yet in this writer's opinion while the manufacturers expand the offerings and the prices come down; don't be surprised if the manufacturers put their own spin on the basic standard just as they did with DV and spawned DVCAM and DVCPro. HDV will also be compatible with HDTV which is slowly gaining ground here in the USA but is all ready popular in Japan and has been the driving force for this new format.

Following this link for an excellent review of the current state of HDV.

- Ned Cordery    May 2004

(Originaly published in Movie Makers the newsletter of AMPS www.ampsvideo.com)

Page updated on 14 February 2008

Authors' views are not necessarily those of The Institute of Amateur Cinematographers

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