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International Spec and Standards
Good day all,
I was hoping that I could get pointed in the right direction in finding any good resources for International Specs and Standards. I have a job that is coming up that will be done domestically in the US, but I will also have to deliver international versions to Europe and possibly Japan.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Cheers,
John
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16 Replies
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HD or SD?
Europe (and I’m pretty sure Japan too) are PAL. For SD you just produce your master in NTSC (unless you are starting off with PAL source material) and send to a post house for a PAL transfer.
With HD it could be any HD format out there. You would need to ask the client for specs.
Joey -
[Joey Burnham] “Europe (and I’m pretty sure Japan too) are PAL.”
Umm, No on Japan. Japan is NTSC just with a 0 pedestal instead of the 7.5 IRE used in the US. I believe (but have NOT DONE THIS MYSELF) that you can simply re-set the pedestal on your NLE to make an NTSC-J program.
Most of Europe is PAL, but some countries are SECAM and scattered around the globe are some countries where the variant of PAL-M is standard.
Google “Global Video Formats” for a complete list of what’s what and where’s where.
I also agree that for broadcast-quality work you will get the best results using a facility with hardware-based standards conversion. Last time I checked the boxes which do this sell in the $25k range.
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[Nick Griffin] “Most of Europe is PAL, but some countries are SECAM”
My understanding was that France and USSR were Secam but are now PAL but transmit in PAL and Secam; but their studio’s are definitely PAL (if not HD)
Baz
What would I do without the ‘UNDO’ button!!!!
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Hi John,
I will be the only one to answer you in my typical insulting way.
What kind of question is this? If you rely on the responses of the other esteemed posters, you will go broke. In Europe, in Japan, EVERYWHERE – there are a MILLION types of tape formats, and data formats – both HD, and SD. And in every market, (certainly here in the US), every TV station has different delivery specs. You just can’t say “well Japan wants NTSC-J standard def on Digi Beta”. Who the hell can make a statment like this. You need to find out the SPECIFIC DELIVERY SPECS. Do you think that you can deliver to NBC, ABC, CBS and Discovery Channel all the same tape format ? They will throw it back into your face. THEY TELL YOU what they want, and it’s your job to CALL THEM and find out what they want.Bob Zelin
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Point well taken, hence the posting here for those people that have had to deliver to ABC, NBC, Fox, TLC, Discovery, etc and the people that may have to deal with these companies in the future. Yes, they can take anything from the mini dv, dv-cam, dvc-pro, dvc-pro hd, through HD Cam (I could keep going if you like), but depending on what day it is, or what their tech center has deemed acceptable for that week or month, it can and will change. Hell, I still pull shots off of 3/4″ tape from time to time and some clients still want a VHS tape for viewing.
Yes, I have the PBS specs, I have the Discovery/TLC specs and I have the Nat Geo specs. Why, because I am not an idiot, I am a professional. Hmm, but I do like to here what else maybe going on around the country and the world, so that I can be better prepared.
Ah, then we enter the compression schemes for making files to deliver via the web, dvd, etc. It is enough to drive a person crazy, but if I don’t ask the question to others, who will give me some sort of direction. The client?
My post was to discover what some of us out there have encountered and maybe learn something from each other.
So yes, I was the hellion that has made this statement. And guess what, small minds live in their small worlds. I’d like to broaden my horizon and my world, and to get an answer, you must ask the question. No one gave you the authority to judge if the question was relevant or not. So, if you can’t be part of the solution, then don’t answer the question. I’ve encountered enough insulting people in my life, and I don’t need another one. For if it wasn’t for the other people that wanted to help some of us along, I wouldn’t be 22 years in this business.
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[Bob Zelin] “in my typical insulting way.”
[John Grote, Jr.] “So, if you can’t be part of the solution, then don’t answer the question.”
Now, now, boys. Calm down and go back to your corners. While Bob may be confrontational in nature he probably carries around more technical knowledge in his hard head than almost anyone else on the COW. The points he makes are correct, just stated like someone who has some other reason to be pissed off. A lot of us are under pressure these days from clients who want to pay in 120 days and vendors who still expect their money net 30. Maybe that’s contributing to everyone’s level of stress.
So, John, I don’t think anything is to gain by dis-inviting a viable point of view and Bob, try a cup or two of the de-caf.
(Gee… and I’m not even one of the hosts in this pasture. I’m used to tyring to break up fist fights over in the Business & Marketing forum.)
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Good day Nick,
So what where his points? Please explain them to me? I must be quite obtuse to understand what solution Bob was providing.
I’ve encountered a few, not many, engineers that may have the worlds knowledge in their heads, that have been insulting, but to be insulting does no good to any of us, especially the user/operator who has to deliver to these places. I’m not asked to fix the equipment, so I won’t ask the engineer to edit. I know a few engineers that are highly intelligent and will take the time to explain things to me and other people in a way that is neither rude or demeaning. So, if he makes such great points, why doesn’t he enlighten us with his great wisdom and not his arrogance.
Have respect for the people who know nothing, and also have respect for the people that may have a clue.
J. Grote, Jr.
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People stop bickering. And John, don’t take the forums so personally. It’s just that this question gets asked ALL the time and nobody here can really answer it. You actually answered it yourself:
[John Grote, Jr.] “but if I don’t ask the question to others, who will give me some sort of direction. The client?”
YES! As you already know there are zillions of formats out there these days. You already know the most common ones from the specs you have. Each client is different, THEY will tell you what they want. We can’t unfortunately.
The most common right now?
Digibeta
Beta SP
HDCamSR
HDCam
D5
Digital Files(Frame rate and Frame Size determined by client)
-Joey
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Ah, but other people, including yourself, have responded in kind, without being arrogant. So, is it hard for someone to say, this is what I am doing with this particular (insert client here) and this is what they have been using.
I just don’t appreciate someone responding to me or anyone here this way and I don’t care what excuse is made by someone else about the economy, they had a bad day, or someone didn’t give them a hug. I’m a big boy, but I do expect a level of courtesy.
My point now, is not so much my question, but Bob’s response to my question. Should I or anyone else, stop posting, because Bob or for that matter anyone else thinks my question is stupid?
J. Grote, Jr.
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Post away! The cow is just like the real world though. You can’t expect everyone to be “nice”.
Joey
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