Why shoot DV while you can downconvert HDV?
 

I did the mistake of shooting a short documentary with XHA1s set to DV, cause now I needed an HDV version of this short documentary but.. Alas! too late :(

So the question is, why Canon integrated DV shooting mode inside this HDV camcorders since you can easily down-convert HDV to DV using the camcorder's menu options?

A second one; I read somewhere in the forums (can't remember where exactly) that XHA1s always records interlaced HDV signal inside the tape even if you set it up to record DV!? is it true? if so, there will be a way to get HDV from DV :)

thanx

The DV mode allows for full backwards compatability. For example, you can hire out a Pro HDV camcorder for a day, shoot in DV mode, then capture the tape it later on using your old DV tape deck.

It's not an issue for those of us who shoot and capture from the same camera, but for those with tens of thousands of dollars tied up in gear (Universities, production houses) it is important that everything is backwards compatible. Sure, you can buy new HDV tape decks, but do you have enough spare cash to buy 10 new XH-A1s' and 10 new HDV decks as well?

Thanx John,
you got the answer for the first part of the proble (why shooting DV).

is there a way to "recover" the DV tapes into HDV?

I think I read that somewhere here as well a while back and was about to reply, but thought... "why bother" :-\

Anyway... they're quite mistaken and no... you shot DV and stuck with it. Sorry

now got the full picure!

thanx guys.. I think, to correct this mistake I did, I need to read more about upsampling DV to HDV or downsampling HDV to DV cause I'll need it for sure :)

Depending on what you cut with... BorisFX has a filter in their Continuum Complete plugin called Uprez that does this fairly well. They also have it in their BCC Units line where you can buy certain filters on a single basis.

Continuum Complete: Video Filters and Transitions Plugin
Uprez filter for Adobe After Effects, Adobe Premiere Pro, Apple Final Cut Pro, Apple Motion, and Apple Final Cut Express

good luck