HD Video Sizes - A bit confused

[Architects of Tomorrow]

Aloha

I have been editing in HD for some time. I was going on the 1920 x 1080 and the 1280 x 720 resolutions as a standard. I just realized that I am actually capturing in 1440 x 1080 - Apple Intermediate Codec. I did some more research and saw that 1440 x 1080 is a par 1.33 format. The capture size could be limitations of the camera from what I read, (SONY HDR HC5 CAMERA) but after checking the settings on FCP i see that 1080I 60 captures at 1440x1080 (SONY HDR HC5 CAMERA) Could someone explain this 1440 x 1080 size and how it relates to 1920 x 1080 etc?
Do I need to upgrade to the latest version of FCP to get 1920x1080? - or is all hd edited at 1440 x 1080 not 1920x1020? or is the 1440x1080 a letterboxed version of 1920x1080?
Using FCP ver 5.0.4 - Feeling stupid at the moment - :(

[Bokonon]

As I understand it, HDV captures in an interlaced format, and the HD interlaced (and I think broadcast) format is 1080i - which has a resolution of 1440 x 1080 - but has a different pixel aspect ratio - 1.33:1 - as opposed to 'true HD' (1920 x 1080) which has a pixel aspect ratio of 1:1.

[sleepytom]

full resolution 1080i HD is 1920x1080 - HDV and some other HD acquisition formats are 1440x1080 with rectangular pixels to maintain the 16:9 frame aspect.

you don't need to do anything - you editing at the full resolution that your camera captures at.

[Architects of Tomorrow]

full resolution 1080i HD is 1920x1080 - HDV and some other HD acquisition formats are 1440x1080 with rectangular pixels to maintain the 16:9 frame aspect.

you don't need to do anything - you editing at the full resolution that your camera captures at.

Ok - what if I use a sony PMW-EX1 camera? I am considering purchasing one - That captures at full 1920 x 1080 - any thoughts on that? Would FCP recognize the full setting? - Perhaps using the dvcam setting - not in front of system at the moment.

Thanks for your help
Sean

[vjpixylight]

Sean, You can still capture at full 1920x1080/30 out of the HDMI port on your SONY HDR HC5(but need the Black Magic Intensity (http://www.blackmagic-design.com/products/intensity/) installed in a desktop to do so). It also has to be captured from a live camera, as if you record to tape thru your HC5 then try to output the video thru HDMI you won't get 1920x1080.(not very practical as you need a desktop computer on your video shoot connected to the HC5)
As far as I know all HDV camera recording to tape will only record at 1440x1080, and if you want to get 1920x1080, you would need to shoot with a Panasonic AG-HVX200K, HDC-SD5, HDC-SX5,as well as the Sony
Ex1 which is also full raster 1920x1080. From there, the prices for full 1920x1080 cams go way up..
Cams like the JVC GZ-HD7 are 1080i alright, but they have to interpolate to get the complete 1920x1080 dimensions.

[sleepytom]

hdmi capture is irrelevant...

FCP + the ex1 - yes it works well - you need the latest fcp update - use the xdcam presets that are designed for the ex1...

people are very very confused about all this crap - many people think that 1920x1080 is inherently better than 1440x1080 - this is not true as so their are so many other factors at work (eg how good is the lens on your camera? how physically big are the sensors? has the operator made the correct settings?)

needless to say their are plenty of very good cameras which have 1440x1080 sensors which create much better pictures than a cheapo camera with a 1920x1080 sensor.

[Liquidmetro]

Just like a 6 megapixel DSLR will take capture a 3008x2000 resolution image at much better quality than an 8 megapixel compact. The sensors are bigger, better and the lens is superior.

[Architects of Tomorrow]

hdmi capture is irrelevant...

FCP + the ex1 - yes it works well - you need the latest fcp update - use the xdcam presets that are designed for the ex1...

people are very very confused about all this crap - many people think that 1920x1080 is inherently better than 1440x1080 - this is not true as so their are so many other factors at work (eg how good is the lens on your camera? how physically big are the sensors? has the operator made the correct settings?)

needless to say their are plenty of very good cameras which have 1440x1080 sensors which create much better pictures than a cheapo camera with a 1920x1080 sensor.


Hey Sleepy Thanks for the clarification on this. I did some research last night and saw that they will be supporting fcp with the update you mentioned. I made the decision to shoot all my future content on HD - and then downscale them later for vj's clips. I hope to purchase the Ex-1 in the next few months if all goes to plan. I see you are looking the same cam - Let me know what you think of it if you beat me to the purchase.

Thanks
Sean

[sleepytom]

if your a PD150 owner (or other legacy sony camera) and have lots of batteries and stuff then maybe consider the Z7 - sony's new HDV camera with removable lenses (1/3 inch bayonet mount same as the JVC proHD lenses). It is about the same size as the z1 but shoots HDV onto both tape and compactflash cards. It is not as good as the EX1 but is a bit cheaper and has the advantage that it can shoot onto tape which might be of interest if your not quite ready for a tapeless workflow. However if you don't already have a significant investment in batteries and stuff then i'd go for an EX1 anyday as it is noticeably better quality

[synoptics]

Having just demo'd the EX and new HDV solid state workflow at broadcast/video forum last week for Sony I can happily agree with everything Tom said.

There's a plugin which is currently in beta they let me use which lets FCP talk straight to the DR60 and compact flash recorders for the new HDV cameras, which converts the M2T files and transfers everything to your scratch disc aswell, should be available from sonybiz.net late feb according to Miyamoto San (SP?) from sony japan.

Solid state is the future...

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/faintuk/Futurama.gif