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HMC150 Video Outputs
I’m considering getting an HMC150 and had a question about the composite output. I assume it will be a 16 x 9 image. I have a standard definition Panasonic DVR that has composite inputs. If I’m recording an event and input the HMC150 composite signal into the DVR, will it record the 16 x 9 image into a squeezed 4 x 3 image that I could unsqueeze in my NLE? I would record to the DVR as a back-up to the camera’s memory cards.
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9 Replies
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Depends on the DVR but why bother? SDHC cards are dirt cheap and allow you to record for hours on end using the full HD 16:9 signal right in the camera. And they are virtually bullet-proof. I can understand your concerns about having a backup, but take it from me using a DVR as some sort of secondary recording capability is the wrong path.
Noah
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We have used a DVR as a backup for years and it’s perfect for our needs. From time to time I videotape events where there is no editing needed and having a DVR as a backup has proven to be the right path for us. We have one client who has three 2.5 hour events with no intermissions in one day. As long as we’re taping in SD, we have a simple, bullet-proof back-up that can handle up to ten hours of back-up storage at a time. Perhaps someone else on this forum has tried what I’m asking about. My DVR is a simple, SD DVR with composite and S inputs.
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Sure it will work fine. My suggestion was that it’s totally unneeded.
Noah
Check out my book: RED: The Ultimate Guide to Using the Revolutionary Camera!. Unlock the secrets of the 24p, HD and Final Cut Studio.
Now featuring the Sony EX1 Guidebook, Panasonic HVX200, and Panasonic DVX100.
https://www.callboxlive.com -
I’ve been in the business for 27 years and have never considered taping an important event without some kind of back-up. I’m sure that recording to SDHC cards is more reliable than tape, but unless it’s 100% guaranteed, we’re using some kind of back-up. I know a Panasonic engineer that I don’t like to contact unless I absolutely have to… I’ll report back what he says.
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Here’s the answer… in either camera or playback mode you can output to the composite and component jacks a downconverted 4:3 signal that can be either side cropped, letterboxed or squeezed.
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Hi Douglas,
The typical way of backing up born digital media is to treat it like data. Just copy the entire card to an external hard disk and you have a 1st gen High Def backup of your video. FCP will treat this folder structure as if it were the camera in a “log & transfer” operation. iMovie will treat the backup as a “camera archive” and Premiere will just take the MTS files natively.
I completely understand the DVR solution for any SD footage. For flash based HD footage the DVR solution loses an extreme amount of video information when downrezzed and it happens at realtime (although copying data isn’t as fast as you would think.)
I would look into something like the Western Digital “My Book – studio edition.” I bring up this model because I just picked one up for a client for $290 Canadian. The version I bought is 2TB and can be configured in a mirrored RAID so you can have two copies of all of your backups. That way if one hard drive goes bad you won’t lose all of your video backups. The hard drives are user serviceable (you can change them yourself.) Many such RAIDs have to be sent to the company for a hard disk replacement. They gouge you severely on this service.
anyway, just food for thought.
gerry -
Gerry,
We already have a digital in-house back-up system in place similar to what you described. The back-up referred to in this thread is a back-up that takes place in the field while an event is being recorded. It would probably be more accurate to call this dual recording. For our particular needs, the client wants SD DVDs. So having the SD DVR record an anamorphic wide screen SD image out of the 150 will work for us in the unlikely event that we would need to use it. Even though the quality won’t be as good, it will be more than acceptable for our client’s project… and as they say… it would be better than nothing. The DVR is simple to operate and is pretty much bullet-proof. Now if we ever tape important events that will end up on BRD or broadcast HD, we would need some kind of dual digital recording in the field.
After reading some of the horror stories about HMC150 card problems, I can’t imagine any professional recording a live event without some kind of dual recording. I know my clients would not accept “a bad SDHC card” as an excuse. Having said that, I suspect a lot of the SDHC card problems are caused by operator error, not reformtatting and people using cheap cards.
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Ah, *forehead slap*
In terms of dual recording and SD delivery the DVR makes perfect sense. I would experiment with recording in “squeezed” mode to preserve the max video data and try to change the aspect ratio flag afterward.
What format does the DVR record to?
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It’s a consumer DVR and the owners manual doesn’t say which format but I’m guessing it’s mpg2. It has several bitrate options and I always use the highest. The quality is pretty good considering it’s SD. A friend of mine makes a good living taping conferences and uses a pair of DVRs to tape long seminars. The DVRs have built-in DVD burners so when he’s finished, he makes his DVD master right from the DVR. He then takes that DVD and uses it as a master in a DVD burning tower so attendees can purchase and receive copies shortly after each seminar. For these kinds of applications where a quick turnaround takes priority over HD quality, it’s an efficient and reliable system. The DVRs can hold 18+ hours of video in the highest quality.
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