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NAB 2006: Sony, HDV editing

May 22, 2006 11:42 AM, Steve Mullen

At NAB 2006 last month, Sony showed its two new XDCAM HD camcorders, the PDW-F330 ($16,800) and PDW-F350 ($25,800). The camcorders use three 1/2in., 1.5Mpixel CCDs. Both offer true 24p recording in SD or HD, interval recording, and slow shutter. The PDW-F350 enables variable frame rate recording at a range of frame rates from 4fps to 60fps in one-frame increments.

The disc-based XDCAM HD products offer the flexibility of recording 1080i video using long-GOP MPEG-2 at three data rates: 25Mbps (constant bit rate), plus 35Mbps and 18Mbps with VBR (variable bit rate) encoding. They also shoot standard-def DVCAM. One little noticed specification change from XDCAM to XDCAM HD: the use of dual read/write heads that increase the maximum data rate to 144Mbps, which you may recognize as approximately the data rate of HDCAM.

The new camcorders have several neat features. The Expand function takes a long clip and divides it into 12 equal-time intervals, each of which gets its own thumbnail. Freeze Mix enables a shooter to switch seamlessly between prerecorded material and live footage by showing these images on the camera's LCD screen or viewfinder. This function also helps you adjust the camera's framing for the next shot.

All XDCAM HD camcorders and decks can downconvert HD material to SD that can be output via SD composite and IEEE 1394. Unfortunately, 25Mbps MPEG-2 cannot be output via the camcorders’ IEEE 1394 port as HDV.

The new PDW-F70 ($15,990) and PDW-F30 ($9,500 in June) decks enable high-speed data transfer between compatible nonlinear devices. Both decks upconvert XDCAM SD (DVCAM) for 1080i output. The PDW-F70 and PDW-F30 also support an upconversion capability that allows material recorded in the DVCAM format to be converted to HD and output via HD-SDI or as an HD analog component signal.

Another capability of the decks is upconversion recording via the optional PDBK-104 board. This allows signals from the SD-SDI or SD composite analog inputs to be recorded in MPEG HD. (Warning, the input and output of S-Video is not supported.) The optional PDBK-103 board provides HD analog component and RGB input.

Both VTRs also offer the capability to input and output a 25Mbps HDV stream for interfacing with HDV products or an HDV-based nonlinear editor via the IEEE 1394 port. This capability requires the optional PDBK-102 board. This should be a standard function of the decks because only one of the PDBK-102, PDBK-103, or PDBK-104 boards can be installed.

While XDCAM media at $30 per 23.3GB disc is about twice as expensive as Sony’s HDV miniDV tape, it is certainly quite reasonable for an hour of professional, random-access, self-archiving HD media.

Meanwhile, on the HDV camera front, Sony made no announcement of an HVR-Z1 replacement that would feature 1440x1080 rather than 960x1080 CCDs. However, I would not be surprised to see an announcement at IBC 2006. The single CMOS-based HVR-A1 remains in Sony’s product lineup. My concern about the A1 is that it is almost too tiny and light for shooting steady widescreen HD without a tripod. It also has a well-documented problem with bright red shifting toward magenta.

These HDV camcorders need NLE support for 24p. While Apple promises support for 24p ASAP, Avid said the 5.4 release of Xpress Pro will not have 24p support. Avid’s Liquid 7.1 ($499) does, however, offer native 24p HDV capture and export, plus frame-accurate editing of 720p and 1080i native HDV. The NLE's “Smart GOP MPEG IBP” codec supports a realtime effects engine that provides multiple streams of HDV in realtime. It also supports video monitoring on either the VGA monitor or downconverted to an SD monitor in realtime using the optional breakout box.

Avid Liquid supports the Avid Open Timeline so you can mix DV, MPEG I-frame, MPEG IBP, uncompressed SD, Windows Media, DivX, MPEG-4, and HDV in the same timeline. And my favorite features: you can create and customize menus and navigation; preview and modify the DVD from the timeline; add a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround mix; and then export a finished DVD directly from a timeline.

By the end of June Canopus will ship another NLE that fully supports 24p and 24F (from the Canon H1). Edius Pro offers multiformat support — realtime mixed SD/HD editing in the timeline. Version 4.0 ($699) will offer new features, such as support for multicam (up to eight cameras) and nested sequence editing. The new version also has improved trimming tools and parameter-based keyframe support for color correction. Version 4.0 supports Windows Media and includes Edius Speed Encoder for HDV for fast output of HDV video.

For those working with Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0, CineForm’s Aspect HD currently supports 24p, 24F, plus Sony’s CineFrame 24.

Clearly long-GOP MPEG-2 shooting and post are finally coming together. By the fall, almost all the hardware and software will be in place to enable for HDV projects a normal, rather than exotic, production/postproduction path.

© 2008 Penton Media, Inc.