• Blogs
• Forums
• Tradeshows
• Partners
• White Papers
• Podcast Show Notes
• Events

 

Beyond HDV: The New MPEG-2 Cameras, Part 2

Feb 26, 2007 5:58 PM, By Steve Mullen

In the last issue of HDV@Work, I examined the JVC HD Everio camcorder, which is technically not an HDV camcorder but does record to hard disk in a very HDV-like mode. In this edition, I discuss some of the editing issues associated with the HD Everio, focusing specifically on high-def DVD archiving and playback, and we'll take a quick look at Sony's AVCHD-based offerings.

The HD Everio camcorder connects to the optional JVC Everio Share Station CU-VD40 (MSRP of $399.95). Connected via a USB 2.0 cable, it is controlled directly through the camcorder. The SHARE STATION will burn red-laser HD data discs to archive HD video clip files. It writes to DVD-R/RW discs. HD files can be played back in a CU-VD40, which has its own HDMI output port.

The CU-VD40’s support of HD on red-laser discs, rather than Blu-ray, may be surprising to many. In the January installment, I mentioned that I had exported HD video from Avid Liquid and then burned it to a high-definition DVD. I had hoped to have space in this month's newsletter to describe how I am burning 720p/1080i (with stereo and 5.1 surround AC-3 audio) to red-laser discs using 25Mbps VBR MPEG-2. These discs play perfectly on my Toshiba HD-A2 HD DVD player. Although the software cost is only about $100, the process is really too detailed to cover in a newsletter. Therefore, as soon as I finish my Sony HVR-V1 and HDR-FX7 Handbook e-book in February, I will publish, in March, A Guide to Low Cost HD DVD Production e-book.

You may be wondering why I didn’t choose to work with Blu-ray. To see why, let’s look at the current state of Blu-ray technology. There are two user-burnable BD discs: BD-R and BD-RE. (The current Sony and Pioneer Blu-ray burners do not yet play either type of disc.) There are two formats for burning your own video to BD-R/RE: BDAV (which does not support menus) and HDAV (which supports both script-based menus and BD-Java menus). While very inexpensive software supports BDAV, only far more expensive software supports HDAV.

Unfortunately, if you author using one of the expensive packages—Sonic's Avid DVD and Scenarist NT ($40,000)—you need to understand which BD players can play HDAV. When the Samsung BD-P1000 first shipped, it supported HDAV, but not BDAV. Then a firmware update removed HDAV support, but did add BDAV support. Obviously, the Sony BDP-S1 and Pioneer BDP-HD1 support neither BDAV nor HDAV playback, and neither does the PS3. The Sony BWU-100A (internal IDE optical drive) with the CyberLink software also will not play HDAV on BD-R/RE discs although it can burn BD-R/RE discs. Currently, only the Panasonic DMP-BD10 supports HDAV.

JVC has not yet given a marketing name to its version of MPEG-2. By using generic MPEG-2, JVC is free to implement any data rates it chooses. According to JVC, iMovie HD (and likely FCE) will rescale 1920 to 1440 during transcoding to Apple Intermediate Codec, while FCP will capture 1920x1080 but require rendering before preview. Those NLEs that have from day one implemented full MPEG-2 support should automatically support the GZ-HD7.

The same cannot be said about Full HD camcorders that will use a new codec: AVCHD. Not only will NLEs need to be enhanced, editors will need to accept decoding times 3X slower than HDV. Slow decoding will limit realtime, multi-stream native AVCHD editing. Editors will also need to live with encoding times that are 8X longer than for MPEG-2.

The AVCHD specification has three Region 60 sub-versions.

Currently, five AVCHD “consumer” camcorders have been released, all of them 1080i/480i units. Sony has three models: the HDR-UX1 records to 8cm DVD discs at 12Mbps; the HDR-UX7 records to 8cm DVD discs at 12Mbps; and the HDR-SR1 records to a 30GB hard disk at 15Mbps. Panasonic offers two models: the HDC-SD1, which records to 4GB SD cards at 13Mbps, and the HDC-DX1, which records to 8cm DVD discs at 13Mbps. (Note that while these red-laser HD recordings cannot be played on SD DVD players, they can be played on the PlayStation 3.)

Although some claim AVCHD is 200 percent more efficient than HDV, the primitive first-generation encoders appear only slightly more efficient. The move to 24Mbps, with a significantly enhanced encoder, might enable the support of Full HD with quality equal, or perhaps better, than HDV.

I expect Sony to use its 1920x1080 3ClearVid system in a True HD AVCHD camcorder. At this point, nothing is known about the media such a camcorder would use – likely both hard disk and red-laser DVDs.

Whenever I learn more about the JVC GZ-HD7 or another Full HD AVCHD camcorder, you can be sure you’ll get the details in this Newsletter. The JVC GZ-HD7 and CU-VD40 ship in April, so look for a review in May or June. The March newsletter will be devoted to a review of the Sony HVR-V1U HDV camcorder.

---

Steve Mullen owns Digital Video Consulting that offers eBooks on HD production. Currently, DVC (www.mindspring.com/~d-v-c) offers two eBooks: the Sony HDV Handbook and the JVC ProHD Handbook. In February, DVC will offer a new title: the Sony HVR-V1 and HDR-FX7 Handbook. Then in March, DVC will offer A Guide to Low Cost HD DVD Production.

Continue the discussion on “Crosstalk” the Millimeter Forum.
© 2010 Penton Media, Inc.