MiniDV tape in HDV mode?
 

hey guys. is it true that you can use MiniDV in HDV mode in the Z1 and get HD quality on playback??

If you are talking about using regular MiniDV tapes in the camera for HDV, then yes it is true. You do not need special tapes, they are just used to record 1's 0's, that's it.

Mike

Wow i never knew that. what sthe point in paying twic as much for a HD tape then?? is their any difference?? also if i record in HD mode will i be able to burn it on to DVD?

They have to make money too you know. The more expensive tapes are supposed to be made with more stingent qualitly control, etc, but it is basically the same tape inside. And, you can't put HD on a DVD unless you get one of the very new very expensive HD DVD burners. But the price will come down soon I think.

Mike

but can i not burn it to DVD and get normal DVD quality?

Yes you can. Footage shot in HD on that camera then downrezzed to SD is beautiful. You will love it. Then you can still save your HD footage and later make a DVD of it.

Mike

great! Mike one last question if i may. when i digitize into Final cut 5 will it remain HD?

I have no idea about what Final Cut or your system can handle. With most systems you need special software to capture HD. Like I said though, just downrez to SD out of the camera, and edit it that way.

Mike

..the latest version of Final Cut ( and Final Cut Express ) is HD ready. Just import your footage and you're away. Even Apple's iMovie is HD ready. Works a treat.

I've only had my Z1 for a couple of weeks and I just love it.

Hd-dvd
 

if you have the latest version of dvd studio pro you can burn HD-DVD on a standard DVD and play it back on the toshiba player. it is only 4.7 gb worth, but it works.

How do you "downrez" it on the camera?

There r differences. I sued Panasonic Pro DV tapes and I get some "black lines" sometimes. I have not got that with the Sony HDV tapes.

Having just been burned by this ability to use any tape..... yes, there is a difference. The tape may be technically the same but the quality control is much higher on the HD marketed version. That point is driven home by the numbers of drop outs you get. While a drop out in miniDV mode isn't "too" bad, that same drop out in HDV is a major hit because of the way the info is recorded on the tape.

If what you're shooting is important, use the better tape. You can't easily make up for HDV drop outs in the edit room.

t

I was a die-hard on exclusively using the expensive HDV tapes until recently. I more or less was forced to start using regular MinDV tapes in my FX1 due to simple economics and convenience. I was going through 5-6 tapes per week, and I simply couldn't afford to pay 2 to 3 times the price for the expensive tapes. Furthermore, when you run out and are in a pinch, you have to order them in advance as they are not sold in stores anywhere, at least nowhere I have seen. Nonetheless, I really didn't want to make the switch. But one day earlier this winter, I ran out of the HDV tapes and had no choice but either use a regular MiniDV tape or miss the shots. It worked just fine. That was all it took.

I have recorded some 50 or so regular MiniDV tapes on the FX1 without a single dropout or problem. I have come to trust them completely, and to me it now makes no practical and economic sense to pay the very high difference for the HDV tapes. I'm using the Sony premiums (around $2.00 each when bought in bulk), the same tapes I've always used in the VX2100 and TRV900.

I use a tape once, capture the needed material, then file the tape away in storage. I faithfully and meticulously (some may say obsessively) index and back up the m2ts on multiple hard drives, and have never had to go back to a tape for any reason. This and the fact that I never re-use a tape make the standard MiniDV tapes the best solution.

I don't have the camera, but if it is like others, and I think it is, you can output SD when capturing via firewire.

Mike

Ahh, let's compare scortch marks - was yours in audio or video? I've had one definite drop-out in HDV on the orange Sony Premium DV tapes, but plenty of audio "Max Headroom" audio stutters. Is this how you got burned too?

HDV Tapes
 

Hi Dan.

I've just finished shooting a documentary in Thailand.
When I first gor here 4 months ago I brought some HD tapes from Australia and tought I could get more of them here when I runned out.
That's not exactly what happened and I was then forced to use normal Sony DV tapes. After a few days (and tapes) of underwater footage on the remote Phi Phi Island I got back to my laptop for and was terribly surprised with a few dropped frames on very important shots! I had to do magic on the editing in order to take these frames out.
After a lot of search I ended up finding these "Premium" tapes (which are around 7 USD each here) and they are working just fine. I have recorded almost 10 of them and no dropped frames so far.
What I'm also doing with these tapes (I don't know if that helps but that's an old practice from the VHS times) is fast forwarding and then rewinding them before start recording. I think that might help "smoothing" the tape out and avoid the dropped frames...
What do you guys say?

Cheers!

Pedro

Pedro:

Is it possible the moist or humid conditions might add to dropout potential ?

Here in relatively dry central California, I have used the cheaper tapes without a lot of problem.

Hi Chris.

Yes, that's a good point.
It's extremelly humid here!
Do you think the "forwarding/rewinding" technique would do any help?

Cheers.

PP

I have never really had to consider it. I certainly wouldn't want to do it in my FX1 causing more wear and tear on the tape transport. I have a cheap old Sharp MiniDv that I use as a deck for SD, so if I was going to do that, I would use one of those cameras. In old days, I remember we used to pre-stripe DV tape by actually recording over it once to preserve an unbroken time code, but that seems to have fallen out of favor.

Hi there

Must admit I'm with Dan on this one... after two and a half years shooting on both FX1 and Z1, I've used Sony Premiums for 90% of my shoots...and had ver very few drop out's. It has never made a difference to what I shot or ruined a take.
At the mo I shoot in HDV .. downrez to SD and output to DVD and WMV for the net.
In France bulk buying gets me a Premium tape for under 3 Euros... and HDV tape costs 15 euros... five times the price...

Well I'll take the risk... I shoot 30 or 40 tapes a year.. and for so few errors it is not worth around 500 euros that the extra safety would cost me...

I dare say if I was billing an important client I'd probably use HDV tapes and on pass the cost, but for our inhouse stuff Premiums are fine.

Regards
Gareth