Uncompressed HD and Canon XLH1

[Patrick Byers]

What options are available for shooting HD—not HDV on mini DV tapes?

I have a client who wants uncompressed, true HD, so mini DV tapes are out.

Is there a cheaper solution than the KONA II card and a Wafian HR-1?

I edit in FCP Studio on a G5 Power PC Dual 2.5 GHz and Apple XServe RAID.

[Kevin Martorana]

you could rent a Panasonic 1400 DVCPRO HD deck.

Use the HD-SDI output...and TC outputs...go directly into the deck.

Roll both HDV (for a cheap backup) and DVCPRO HD at the same time.

Then in post...use the firewire to FCP and ingest the full 100 megabit quality HD.

When done...re-rent the deck for a final HD output.

[Patrick Byers]

Thanks, Kevin.
I was under the impression that I couldn't use firewire for HD.
Someone else suggested that I do the following:
1. Shoot in 24p (preferred)
2. Imports the HDV to FCP
3. If you have the latest version of FCP, covert using Apple ProRes 422
4. If you have an older version use Apple Intermediate Codec (AIC)
5. Deliver the program as either a Quick Time Movie (ProRes422 or AIC file)
Does this make sense to you?

[Chris Hurd]

Originally Posted by Patrick Byers

I have a client who wants uncompressed, true HD...

Originally Posted by Kevin Martorana

you could rent a Panasonic 1400 DVCPRO HD deck.

Sorry but that's not uncompressed. DVCPRO HD is not uncompressed... in fact, there's no such thing as a common HD format that is NOT compressed. Even the very top of the line HDCAM SR format which records to a $300 tape is still compressed.

For Patrick, I would have to ask why does the client feel they need "uncompressed" HD. I'll bet you dinner at Guero's Taco Bar on South Congress that you could shoot HDV straight to tape, then deliver that video in some other format and the client will never know the difference.

So-called "true" HD is nothing more than a marketing term. HDV is real HD, and it's put together the same way as HDCAM, the most commonly accepted (and compressed) HD format in the business. The vast majority of folks who resist HDV have never actually seen what it's capable of delivering.

Originally Posted by Patrick Byers

I was under the impression that I couldn't use firewire for HD.

Sure you can. The most common HD formats (HDV, DVCPRO HD, XDCAM HD) are all supported by FireWire.

HD-SDI output will provide a raw, uncompressed signal, but whatever VTR it's plugged into at the other end will apply whatever compression is native to that particular format, be it DVCPRO HD, HDCAM or whatever.

[Patrick Byers]

Originally Posted by Patrick Byers

Thanks, Kevin.
I was under the impression that I couldn't use firewire for HD.
Someone else suggested that I do the following:
1. Shoot in 24p (preferred)
2. Imports the HDV to FCP
3. If you have the latest version of FCP, covert using Apple ProRes 422
4. If you have an older version use Apple Intermediate Codec (AIC)
5. Deliver the program as either a Quick Time Movie (ProRes422 or AIC file)
Does this make sense to you?

So, Chris, this 5-step "solution" which was suggested by the client's "Board of Advisors in Waco" seems to bear out what you're saying. But do you think this would produce any better result than just shooting 30F onto mini DVs with my favorite presets and capturing with the HDV easy setup, as I usually do?

[Chris Hurd]

Hard for me to say as I don't use Final Cut, but many others here do, so I'll defer to them.

24F vs. 30F will produce different motion signatures, and that's purely a choice of aesthetics.

[Patrick Byers]

Anyone else out there who shoots HD using the SDI? Are there any economical solutions to bypass the mini DV tape compression without investing $20,000+for an HD recorder or renting one?

[Chris Hurd]

Not really... $17K is about the entry level (for the Wafian HR-1 recorder, which is 10-bit 4:2:2, see http://www.wafian.com/Pricing.htm). The bottom line here really is, how come HDV won't suffice for your purposes. You had stated that your client wants "uncompressed, true HD" but as I pointed out in my reply above, *all* HD formats are indeed compressed, so it sounds like your client has a bit of a learning curve to catch up on. HDV will most likely suit their purposes just fine (remember it's not about numbers, compression or other tech specs; instead, it's all about the image). Theirs nothing wrong with HDV. Hope this helps,

[Patrick Byers]

They've been getting their material on a P2 card with the HVX200, which I believe applies a DVCPro codec as well.

I submitted mine using the workflow recommended by the client's tech gurus:
Shot 24p. Imported to FCP. Converted using Apple ProRes 422. Exported a QuickTime self-contained movie directly from my timeline and burned the file to a DVD.

I'm waiting for their feedback.

Chris, I hope you win our bet and I'll gladly buy lunch at Guero's Taco Bar.

I'll let you know what they say.

Thanks.

[Will Griffith]

Originally Posted by Patrick Byers

Is there a cheaper solution than the KONA II card and a Wafian HR-1?

If you are using the setup for a studio or one location purpose then there sure is. Just stick a Decklink HD in your PowerMac and connect a few SATA raids to it(such as sonnett 500p, etc.).
Use the Xserve Raid as project storage since it really is not as well suited for uncompressed HD capture.

If you want a cheaper and (somewhat)mobile solution like a Wafian then then new IO HD + MacBook Pro and some storage would work. It is not "Uncompressed", but it is full raster ProRes codec which is much... MUCH better than HDV in my experience, especially for effects shots.

[Michael Galvan]

Yes, pure uncompressed is very very nice indeed, but is overkill for most scenerios. I've shot a good deal of uncompressed footage and have put it side by side with HDV material besides from a slight color saturation difference as well as a slight resolution difference, they look pretty close to the standard eye. In ohter words, I bet you can shoot HDV and then transcode to another codec and deliver on another format and no one will know the difference.

I have been exploring mobile uncompressed-based capture solutions, and the AJA Io-HD seems to be the way to go at the moment.

[Will Griffith]

Originally Posted by Michael Galvan

In ohter words, I bet you can shoot HDV and then transcode to another codec and deliver on another format and no one will know the difference.

In a lot of cases yes, especially if you are going to output/present in SD.
However if you are doing anything to the image except a cuts only edit,
then you will begin to see blocking, etc. Also...check the edges of chroma
keyed objects. There is quite a bit of difference.

[Michael Galvan]

Well, I would definitely suggest editing it in something like ProRes or edit natively and then do your cc and final render out to ProRes or UC.

I would recommend using the Nattress Chroma Sharpening filters before your cc ... they smooth and sharpen chroma artifacting of HDV chroma subsampling.

[Patrick Byers]

Galvin,
What does "cc" stand for?

[Gary McClurg]

Originally Posted by Patrick Byers

Galvin,
What does "cc" stand for?

Color correction...

So changing the subject... if I get back down to Texas to see a friend are these tacos any good...

Moving to Missouri from California I find that most Mexican places are not Mexican places even if they're better they're just a better made Taco Bell...