Record in HD or SD for DVD?

[LeVan Moxley]

I need to video a performance and then put it to DVD. I will be using a JVC GY-HM750U camera going onto the SD cards in AVI for SD or MP4 for HD. Since it's going to DVD, should I record in SD or should I record in HD. When I render it will convert to 720 by 480 for the DVD. I was just wondering about advantages and disadvantages and which would be the best way to do this.

Thanks

[Chris Harding]

I do weddings and definitely shoot in HD!! When you make your DVD simply render the 1080 timeline down to SD Just remember if you shoot interlaced then you need to deinterlace in your NLE first ...nowdays it's best to make a Progressive DVD anyway so you just render your 1080 timeline to 720x480 ... that way, if required you still have the footage at 1080 so you might even offer an "HD copy" on DVD

[LeVan Moxley]

Thanks for the reply. I was planning on shooting at 720p if I shoot in HD. This camera will shoot either standard or HD. I wasn't sure since it's final settings will be for DVD.

[Chris Harding]

Hi LeVan

720 will also work fine .. I actually often shoot in UHD which is even better but you need a fairly robust computer to handle the 3840x 2160 format but it does allow a bit of cropping without losing quality !

Despite what people say an HD timeline will look better in SD than one filmed and rendered just in SD!

Let us know how it goes??

[Donald McPherson]

I use adobe premiere with hd on sd timeline gives you the option to pan or zoom when editing. Then burn with encore onto DVD.

[Steven Digges]

Good advise guys. The exception would be event time length. Six months ago I shot a four day medical conference. Every one hour presentation was authored to DVD. I put my cameras in SD mpg mode for the first time because four days of HD data would have been a killer to deal with. And there was no chance of needing bluray. Three cameras plus a PowerPoint record. I switch a program feed live so I do not have to cut all of that in post but it is still a lot of data to deal with.

Kind Regards,

Steve

[Robert Lane]

Hey Levan,

This question is actually one that got asked dozens of times prior to the YouTube explosion, when handheld HD cameras like the HVX200 were just coming into their own.

In fact if you do a search, I posted a handful of different articles about this exact scenario and why shooting AND editing in HD prior to the final down-convert to MPEG2 files for DVD is the best option.

The thing to remember is that even when you shoot in SD you still have to throw away information when you create DVD-compliant files. So if you start off with more than SD resolution (and color) then you actually retain MORE of that original information during the MPEG2 conversion process.

In fact with exception to the unbelievably expensive DVD authoring software that only the major studios use, DVD Studio Pro is still unmatched in desktop editing packages with regard to the depth of control you have over the entire authoring process. Adobe Encore pales in comparison to the full power of DVDSP, so if you're Mac based I'd highly suggest getting a copy of the old "Final Cut Studio" version 7 and learn DVDSP.

Take a look at the archives here in DVinfo and you'll see tons of tips from me about the best methods for making your DVD-compliant files, best setups for shooting and of course how to properly handle audio for DVD authoring.

Best!