Help Please! Should i shoot in HD mini Dv or the regular Mini Dv?

uyiabraham
Member

I will be shooting my very first music video for a client and i will be
using a Sony HD 1000u that shoots both in Hd and Sd format. My questions
are:

1. FOR BETTER VIDEO QUALITY, SHOULD I SHOT THE VIDEO WITH AN HD MINI DV
TAPE AND DOWN CONVERT IN THE CAMERA TO REGULAR DV MODE SO THAT IT CAN PLAY
BACK ON REGULAR DVDs?

2. or SINCE THE FINAL DVDs will be played on regular DVD players; Does it
matter in terms of picture quality if it was recorded in HD 1080i mode and
down converted in the Camera to DV mode?

3. Or since the final playback and editing will be for regular DVD
players, i should shoot with regular Mini Dv tapes and not HD mini Dv?

Posted 9 months ago # Login to Send PM
BruceMol
Member

and 4. Can the computer handle the HDV signal! (especially multi-timelines)

Persoanlly I'd stick toÂ premium tapes, I've had a lot of drop outs with plain DV tapes (but only when recording in HDV). I'd also record in HDVÂ to get some wiggle roomÂ when things aren'tÂ framed something right.Â Â I haven't noticed any quality difference when I shoot SD or HDV and render to SD.

So if you stick with SD you can probably get away with regular tapes, it's easy on the computer, it looks fine on DVD.

Posted 9 months ago # Login to Send PM
composite1
Moderator

U,

Do you have software capable of editing HDV? And as Bruce asked, 'Does your computer meet the requirements to handle HD?'

If yes, then your options tape wise shooting in HD are to use HDV tape or Professional Grade Mini-DV tape. HDV tape has better image resolution, but is more expensive (av. $8 on B&H Photo-Video.) You can however, shoot good looking HDV on Pro Grade MiniDV which is less expensive in some cases by more than half the price of HDV tape. My experience since 2003 has been exceptional with Panasonic Pro MiniDV. On B&H, prices range from $3.65 to $10 depending on the tape length and how much 'metal' is in the tape. I've used the $3.65 tapes for years in Sony, Canon and JVC professional DV cameras for years without a dropout caused by tape (dirty heads and moisture are separate issues.) The imagery has always been excellent. HDV tape is better, but if your budget is tapping you on the shoulder... do what you gotta' do.

If your answer was no, then you shoot DV but still consider using the tape stock I mentioned. Either way, you'll get good results long as you light the scene well, expose and compose properly.

Go forth and make movies my friend.

Posted 9 months ago # Login to Send PM
robgrauert
Member

Â If his computer can handle DV, wouldn't it be able to handle HDV? HDV is recorded at 25mbps, which is the same as DV. Personally, I wouldn't even bother recording HDV to tape. You record 12-bit audio instead of 16bit so there is more room for the HDV data.Â

Robert J. Grauert, Jr
http://www.robgrauert.com

Posted 9 months ago # Login to Send PM
Coreece
Member

I would shoot in HD using the best tape possible. You can then down convert the footage to SD in realtime during the capture process.

Essentially, the whole process will be identical if you were to have shot in SD, however the quality will be slightly better if the original source is HD.

When you're ready, you can use the original HD footage to test the limits of your current computer....

also, the client may want to upgrade to HD later....nice option to have.

Good luck

Posted 9 months ago # Login to Send PM
Coreece
Member

Here is an illustration that I was able to dig up:

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/691/workflowig1.jpg

Posted 9 months ago # Login to Send PM