Boyd, Downcoverting links? at DVinfo.net

Jake Latendresse · July 13th, 2006, 07:20 PM

many of the questions i have seem to be redundant relative to the capacity of this site...

...instead of asking another question pertaining to downcoverting HD to SD...can you post some links that might enlighten me on this process?

specifically relavant to downconversion from camera to camera...ie, Z1 to PD170 via firewire.

thanks a bunch!
Jake

Boyd Ostroff · July 13th, 2006, 08:45 PM

Hi Jake; welcome to DVinfo! Not sure what you have in mind when you say Z1 to PD-170 via firewire. Do you want to run a firewire cable to from the Z1 to the PD-170? In order for that to work, you would have to set the Z1 to downconvert in one of its 3 modes (SQUEEZE, LETTERBOX or EDGE CROP). Squeeze gives you anamorphic 16:9 DV. Yes, you could do that and record on the PD-170 at the same time as you record HDV on the Z1. Is that what you want to do? If so, it's really as simple as setting two menu items. But you could also accomplish the same thing by simply recording HDV on the Z1, then setting one of those downconversion options and capturing as DV on your computer.

Jake Latendresse · July 13th, 2006, 11:36 PM

well, i was told that i could record in HD on my Z1, then playback thru Firewire, record on my PD170, resulting in high quality SD footage??????? my producers are not editing HDV yet...

...is this true? does it even make sense? is there a better way?

I need to be able to ultimately send my producers SD footage for editing...but i want to utilize my Z1's capabilities to increase the quality of my work!

...what about it?

Graham Hickling · July 14th, 2006, 07:13 AM

Quote: ...is this true? does it even make sense?

1) Yes. 2) Only if what you want is unedited SD footage on a miniDV tape. Otherwise, send it to your computer's firewire port instead and skip the PD170.

Boyd Ostroff · July 14th, 2006, 07:24 AM

Graham is right, and I said the same thing above. The downconverted Z1 footage does look better (a little better, not vastly better IMO) than recording in SD mode. But you don't need the second camera to accomplish this. You just record in HDV, then capture as DV when you connect the Z1 to your computer. There are menu options which allow you to do this.

Jake Latendresse · July 14th, 2006, 07:55 AM

great! thanks...

July 13th, 2006, 07:20 PM	#1
Jake Latendresse Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Platte River, NE Posts: 86	Boyd, Downcoverting links? many of the questions i have seem to be redundant relative to the capacity of this site... ...instead of asking another question pertaining to downcoverting HD to SD...can you post some links that might enlighten me on this process? specifically relavant to downconversion from camera to camera...ie, Z1 to PD170 via firewire. thanks a bunch! Jake

July 13th, 2006, 11:36 PM	#3
Jake Latendresse Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Platte River, NE Posts: 86	well, i was told that i could record in HD on my Z1, then playback thru Firewire, record on my PD170, resulting in high quality SD footage??????? my producers are not editing HDV yet... ...is this true? does it even make sense? is there a better way? I need to be able to ultimately send my producers SD footage for editing...but i want to utilize my Z1's capabilities to increase the quality of my work! ...what about it? Last edited by Jake Latendresse; July 14th, 2006 at 06:21 AM.

July 13th, 2006, 08:45 PM	#2
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,787	Hi Jake; welcome to DVinfo! Not sure what you have in mind when you say Z1 to PD-170 via firewire. Do you want to run a firewire cable to from the Z1 to the PD-170? In order for that to work, you would have to set the Z1 to downconvert in one of its 3 modes (SQUEEZE, LETTERBOX or EDGE CROP). Squeeze gives you anamorphic 16:9 DV. Yes, you could do that and record on the PD-170 at the same time as you record HDV on the Z1. Is that what you want to do? If so, it's really as simple as setting two menu items. But you could also accomplish the same thing by simply recording HDV on the Z1, then setting one of those downconversion options and capturing as DV on your computer.

July 14th, 2006, 07:13 AM	#4
Graham Hickling Trustee Join Date: May 2004 Location: Knoxville, Tennessee Posts: 1,669	Quote: ...is this true? does it even make sense? 1) Yes. 2) Only if what you want is unedited SD footage on a miniDV tape. Otherwise, send it to your computer's firewire port instead and skip the PD170.

July 14th, 2006, 07:24 AM	#5
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,787	Graham is right, and I said the same thing above. The downconverted Z1 footage does look better (a little better, not vastly better IMO) than recording in SD mode. But you don't need the second camera to accomplish this. You just record in HDV, then capture as DV when you connect the Z1 to your computer. There are menu options which allow you to do this.

July 14th, 2006, 07:55 AM	#6
Jake Latendresse Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Platte River, NE Posts: 86	great! thanks...