Is 4:3 Dead?
 

With cameras like the Sony PDX10 and Panasonic MX5000 both offering full resolution 16:9, why would anyone bother with a straight 4:3 camcorder anymore.

I reckon anyone buying an old 4:3 format restricted camera is going to see a massive drop in secondhand value once these newer cams take hold of the market.

I will NEVER be buying a 4:3 camera again.

Jim Nicholls

I think it will take a while yet Jim. That's only 2 of a hundred different camcorders on the market. It's like 16:9 tvs. They've been around for a while but only 30% of consumers have them. 4:3 may be on a downslide but it's a long way down.

On 4:3

Who/what is your market? What do they use/need? Be sure you support it. If the 16:9 allows you to support your market better, then great. But spend more only if it stands a good chance or returning more. If you clients are not likely to want 16:9 in the next few years, it may be prudent to let others do the debugging for you while you wait for prices to drop and more choices in the market.

The vast majority of home TV are 4:3 today. Joe and Jane Sixpack use/support for 16:9 (or what ever) is still a bit in the future.

Thanks Adrian and Don,

I must admit my post was somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but nevertheless acurately reflects where -I- am at the moment. I work in an industry support location and we shoot 4:3 and 16:9 all the time.

You are of course right. For some users 16:9 is not an issue yet. But for people like me, I believe 4:3 really is dead.

Jim

Commercially, at least in Britain, 4:3 is absolutely dead. Anything produced now will basically not be accepted unless it 16:9. I'd recommend most people who will be trying to sell their stuff to record 16:9 to be sure that it won't fall through because of this, but it might be best checking out what they want in your area.

that's it, I wanna move to Britain! 16:9 and PAL yeah!!!

I wonder if Optex is hiring, hmmmmmmmm...

We won't see full adoption of 16:9 for quite some time here in the states - the stores are going to have to "sell what they've got first" - and that means a lot of 4:3 TV's.

Anybody clued in to when the networks have to be HD-compatible with their broadcasting here in the states? I haven't followed up on that lately.

- don

In years to come 4:3 will probably remain a consumer format. Until HDTV and 16:9 CCDs are more common 4:3 will be around.

One of things I do know about these cams is if their image arrays support true 16:9 or not.

Hello Don:

I believe I heard that stations don't have to broadcast the HD signal until 2006. I'm not sure if this is incorrect/old info. What I do know is that there is a long window between stations having to be HD compliant and the actual HD "only" broadcasting. I think stations have to be compliant by the end of this year.

Anyone please correct me if I'm wrong

Regards,

Kyle "Doc" Mitchell

One if the issues stations wrestle with is is whether to send out one high bandwidth HD signal, or several channels of SDTV, which provides more advertisind paths and can appeal to more different people through different programming.

One of the other issues they wrestle with is the associated cost of upgrading. The cost of upgrading an entire broadcast facility seems astronomical to stations in smaller markets, cable stations etc. The costs seem astronomical to statons in larger markets too. However, their profit structures are better able to absorb the associated costs.

Jeff

Is 4:3 dead?

Well is b/w dead? Can you still buy them how many years after color?