New GL2. I read an article somewhere as I was researching camcorders that the IRE should be set at 7.5 for the best compatibility viewing the videos taken regarding black saturation. Reading the GL2 manual the best I can figure out is this setting is the "Setup level" in the Custom preset submenu.

There are no numerical values for this adjustment only a scale bar.

Can anyone tell me if the default value (center of the scale bar) is the desired 7.5 IRE, or am I totally confused?

Thanks everyone for the help on my endless dumb questions.

We actually have a current thread (http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=19160) on this general subject.

Personally, I recommend leaving the GL2's Setup Level alone unless you have a compelling reason to change it, such as a specific broadcaster's requirement. I believe that the default setting is at 0 IRE.

I have been following this thread but it did not answer my specific question which is why I posted this one. Apparently the IRE standard for NTSC is 7.5 and for PALS it is 0. The bulk of the discussion in the other thread is referring to PALS.

I am also the medical director for a very high level and technical Gait And Motion Analysis Laboratory in my hospital. We have broadcast quality video in this facility. My PhD engineer who runs the technical portion of the laboratory tells me that if the IRE is not set to 7.5 the black levels will be off on playback and post production and wanted clarification of the IRE setting in the GL2. To be honest I haven't the foggiest what IRE is! The staff of this laboratory will be helping with the editing and post production of my ski videos.

Aha, well it looks like you do have a specific reason for changing it.

I do not know what numeric IRE value each click-stop adjustment corresponds to, nor have I ever seen it documented. I suggest getting together with the engineer to pre-test some footage from the GL2. He should have the gear (vectorscope, etc.) to test your footage and help guide you to a setting that works best for his arrangement.

I still bet that no change from default will be required on the GL2. Its footage is frequently used for broadcast and I'd bet at the default setup level.

Thanks,

Good advice, all the digital and analog video inputs do run through a vectorscope I believe.

I also suspect the default is the correct level.