Uncompressed XL H1 footage via HD-SDI to DVCPROHD VTR?
 

Hey guys,

I've been looking for the best option for an indie film. I own an HVX200 but I know that the XL H1 has the best rez for any camera under $10,000.

So my question is this. Can I run HD-SDI out from the XL H1 to a Panasonic VTR deck and record the feed as DVCPROHD? That way, I can import the footage and edit on my Final Cut system.

Reason for the trouble? I dislike the HDV format but want to utilize the XL H1's resolution.

Is this a viable option? I don't have much experience using VTR's. Thanks!


Andrew

Indeed you can, in fact this is exactly how Canon USA recorded their "Watchmaker" 24F demo that's been circulating at their trade shows and dealer trainings. Just be aware that the SDI output from the H1 carries video and sync data only... no time code or audio. You can get time code from the H1's TC output instead. Audio is best sourced from an external sound system separate from the camera.

Camera to HDCAM deck
 

I was wondering if someone has tried this yet... how does the 24f translate...

Sending a crew down to Cancun for some second unit stuff... some of the tech guys at Laser Pacific said that the camera goes perfectly into an HDcam deck...

Just wanted to see if someone else has done this...

Thanks

It goes perfectly into any VTR that has an SDI input. That includes HDCAM, DigiBeta, whatever.

Thanks for the reply Chris! That's some very exciting news. I'd love to give it a shot when my film gets off the ground. Awesome!

Question
 

Is it possible to run and record to a mini DV casette in camera while capturing via SDI output?

Absolutely. I just did a greenscreen shoot where I recorded the HD-SDI into my Decklink card and simultaneously recorded HDV to tape. I primarily used the tape to record the audio. I then re-sync'd them in FCP.

Robert,

Did you try keying the SDI (I'm presuming DV100 acquisition?) AND the HDV originated footage and compare the two? It would be interesting to read your take on that.

Actually captured full raster PhotoJPEG. I haven't tried keying the HDV material. But keying the P-JPG stuff is going very very well. But because it's a project for Disney I'm forbidden from sharing any of the footage or frames.

Is any of that Disney footage of the Haunted Mansion? I always loved that place!

Unfortunately no. It's for a new consumer product.

I was lucky enough, however, to shoot a project for Disney inside Disneyland back in December (a dual XL2 shoot). That was a thrill for me personally.

http://disney.go.com/inside/yearbook/

-

Glad to hear that's working well. You finally got the full raster capture. Cool...what did you change?

Speaking of Disney...

I have to share something from me 'ol film school daze. I did this for a doc filmmaking class almost 9 years ago. It's called "Disney on Ice".

http://www.threeringfilms.net/Three%...0On%20Ice.html

Encoded from the only surviving VHS copy, shot in an afternoon with a crappy 1 chip tiny Sony DV camera in "widescreen" mode, with some Super8 film too. I didn't know how to "unsqueeze" the DV at the time, and I was just beginning to use the old crappy Adobe Premiere 4.2 (mac version) with a Miro capture card. Crashes, sync problems, but it was better than the school's old D-Vision NLE systems.

Manually set the frame size to 1920x1080, square pixels, codec=PhotoJPEG, Quality = 75%.

Dude. That was some funny *** ****! I love Mickey doing the "loco" sign. LOL! Brilliant!

Thanks man. I can't take much credit other than shooting and editing it. My friend Joe Reafsnyder and I came up with the idea quickly and shot the thing a few days before our project was due.

Credit where credit's due: my friend Tony just ad-libbed everything. Funny guy.