I am going to Africa to shoot my own travel video. I dont know where it is going to go. I hope maybe a cable channel. The question is what format SD or HDV and what size should it be? 16:9 framed for 4:3 ? I dont see this going to film so I am not thinking of 24p. Any ideas would be appreciated

Walter,

It really depends on what the cable channel requires. I would go HDV (which is only 16:9) if I am not sure to "future-proof" the docu.

Cheers

WeeHan

HDV.

HDV is only 16:9. HDV camcorders can convert to regular DV and the DV can, if needed, be letterboxed for viewing on a 4:3 display.

16:9 just looks so much better especially for subject matter such as the plains of Africa (I have hours of such footage from a trip there a couple of years ago).

I'd definitely shoot 16:9 - it's sharper, and down scales beautifully to SD if need be - and so far all of my work is finalized as SD too. Also, you can get a clean 4:3 image out of 16:9 image if you ever need to. HDV is the future, and holds up very nicely.

More and more SD television is being broadcast as 16:9 (letterboxed). Look at primetime television nowadays. More and more cable channels are broadcasting in HD also.

I really don't see a downside to shooting 16:9 HD. You can crop 16:9 HD to make a full screen 4:3 SD version, if needed, and it will still look sharp (you can't do the opposite).

I wouldn't rule out 24p, just because you don't intend it to go to film. Plenty of television material is shot in 24p (and will be, for the foreseeable future). 24p also usually looks a heck of a lot better than 60i on an LCD (or other native progressive) television, which is becoming more and more common in living rooms across the country.