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MillimeterReviewing Sony HVR-V1U HDV Camcorder: Part 3
Apr 9, 2007 1:42 PM
In this edition of HDV@Work, I complete my review of the Sony HVR-V1U camcorder. In the first part, I examined the Sony HVR-V1U's 3ClearVid CMOS imaging system, the way the camcorder achieves 24p, and its optical system. In Part Two, I explored its image settings and shooting controls. In this edition, I look into the V1's audio capabilities, its I/O, and some of its special features. I conclude with an in-depth summary of my findings from the entire review.
Audio Capabilities
To meet the needs of the professional market, the HVR-V1 has dual XLR inputs with phantom power, plus a complete set of mic/line controls. The menu settings enable you to individually “trim” input level from -16dB to 0dB. This feature allows you to match, for example, any mic to the V1. Unfortunately, the V1 has no 1/8in. stereo mic jack to connect wireless mics and mixers that use this type of connection.
Special Features
The V1 has a feature called TC Link, which enables you to synchronize timecodes between cameras using IEEE 1394. Because all camcorders can be set with identical timecode prior to shooting, multiple-camera shoots produce tapes that carry identical timecode.
For news shooters, Sony’s HyperGain capability adds +36dB gain that can save a breaking story.
The V1’s slo-mo feature switches to scanning of a reduced area of the CMOS sensors at 240fps. The capture buffer is then recorded to HDV or DV/DVCAM. While the recorded motion was good, the 6 seconds or 12 seconds of 512x320 video was very soft.
The V1 also features Sony’s Shot Transition capability. One obvious use for this function is to define two settings—for example, color and B&W. The camera can transition between these settings, using Linear, a Soft Stop, or a Soft transition.
The V1 can capture photos onto a Sony Memory Stick Duo. There are two quality levels (Fine and Standard) and four resolutions: 1440x810 (HDV and 16:9 DV/DVCAM), 1080x810, 640x480, and 640x360.
You can create, modify, and save up to six Video Profiles. The HVR-V1 also has six User buttons. Image Profiles can be assigned to these buttons, as can certain camera functions, but camera modes such as a specific frame rate cannot be assigned. Image and User Profiles can be saved to the camcorder, or to a Memory Stick.
The V1 has the ability to downconvert HDV to SD, but the options are different for analog output and for FireWire/IEEE 1394/i.LINK. Only anamorphic (squeezed) DV25 is available via IEEE 1394. You can select squeeze, letterbox, or center-cut for analog output via component, composite (bundled cable), or S-Video (optional cable). HDMI is always 16:9 at either 1080i60 or at 480i60 if your monitor isn’t HD.
Input/Output
Camcorder ports include AV out (composite/S-Video plus stereo audio), analog component out, HDMI out, headphone out, plus i.LINK, USB, and LANC ports. When the camera is operating the Electronic Image Processor generates uncompressed 1440x1080i60 with a 4:2:2 color space. Digital 8-bit, 4:2:2 data are output via the HDMI port, while 4:2:2 analog is output via component. You can, therefore, record 4:2:2 live HD video from the camera without MPEG-2 compression. If connected to a 720p-only device via HDMI, the camcorder will playback HD1 (except 720p24) tapes. Two-channel digital audio is output from the HDMI port.
The V1’s IEEE 1394/i.LINK port can be connected to Sony’s HVR-DR60 hard disk recorder (60GB) to record an HDV/DVCAM/DV stream. Sony’s HVR-DR60 records 1080i HDV or a DV stream. The 1.8in. internal HDD's capacity of 60GB translates into 270 minutes (4.5 hours) for both HDV and DV recordings. The 1080i HDV stream is recorded as .M2T files, while DVCAM or DV is recorded as DV-AVI (type1) or RAW DV files.
