hdv to sd
 

i would like to buy an sony hd camera like fx-1 or hc-1 ...can i convert my hd footage to sd so people without hd footage can at least view what vid i have taken then eventually when everyone gets hd i can continue to have a camera that supports hd

I know on at least the FX-1 that you can record HDV and output SD over the analog outputs and convert on-the-fly from HDV tape to DV over the firewire outputs. Read up on the cameras as this has all been discussed.

I have the Z1, but think it's mostly the same with a few small differences.

Yes, you can record in HDV mode, then on playback you turn on "i.Link Conv" in the menu and the camera sends regular DV over firewire. There is a similar option (which can be set independently of the firewire conversion) to convert the component video output to standard definition. Or you can plug into the s-video or composite output connectors which always send an analog standard definition signal. (funny - right now I'm babysitting my Z1 as I capture downconverted HDV with FCP 5 :-)

The Z1 has a couple additional options for all this. First, you can choose to downconvert HDV to 480p (or 576p if shot at 50i) video via the component output - this only works for the analog component output though, not firewire. The FX1 can't do this - it can only downconvert to 480i.

The other option on the Z1 lets you choose either anamorphic 16:9 downconversion or cropped 4:3 via firewire. The FX1 can only downconvert to anamorphic 16:9 I believe.

Aside from that, you could capture HDV from the camera and use software to downconvert in post. Depending on your software, this might give even better results. But of course you would be into a lot of rendering and would also eat up twice as much disk space for both the original and downconverted footage.

Downconverting HDV to 480p results in real progressive video? So, then I could use something like Pinnacle's USB video converter device or a capable video card to capture that 480p signal? Would this be better than any de-interlacing done in post? Now, I'm somewhat intrigued from what I understand of it. Now if only that could be done as 720p....

This has intrigued me too, but I think you'll need a relatively expensive analog capture box or card to make use of it. Remember, it's only available via component video (and only with the Z1, not the FX1). I tried capturing 480p with the ADC Pyro, but no dice: http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showpost....29&postcount=9

However, when I view the 480p signal on my 17" Sony widescreen LCD (1280x768) it looks great - almost as good as 1080i. Would be interested to hear if anyone has tried capturing 480p60 or 576p50 from a Z1...

If you want to convert HDV from one of the Sonys to 480p, you'd get your best results doing that in post. If you'd like, I can show you a method to generate 480/60p from the HDV that should be downright gorgeous (I haven't actually tried it yet with 1080/60i source, but I'd be pretty shocked if it didn't work great).

Thanks, but personally I don't think it would be worth it unless I could capture directly from the camera in a format that doesn't require rendering. If I need "gorgeous" I'll just work with HDV :-) Otherwise, using the in-camera downconversion to 480i looks pretty good to me; or at least better than regular DV from my other Sony cameras.

this sounds intresting guys. i think i will be getting the hc1 for now and experiamenting. seems like it will make a great secondary cam to whatever primary i decide to get and what ever i have to do with footage to get it on sd tv's for people without hd won't be an issue. i just put a killer machine together for hd editing. 3.46 ghz dual core p4 w 4 gigs 533mhz and 500 megs storage. ready for some hd with vegas. so shoot out the best formulas you have seen so far. i think this hc1 is good bang for buck...best buy has um for 1400 now...wow it was like 2000 in december and jan