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4K might become a reality quicker than we think
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from what I’ve understood you can record in cam 4k at 8 bit 4:2:0 and perhaps you can record hdmi out 4:2:2 at 4K. A lot of people already have equipment for external hdmi recording. The GH4 as far as I know doesn’t take p2 cards but brand new SD cards
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I think a lot of people will whet their appetite for a fairly painless introduction to 4k with the recently announced Sony FDR-AX100 which is a compact handheld style camcorder with an anticipated under $2K price tag. I’m certainly tempted to buy one as a B camera to accompany my C300 out on shoots.
It comes with ND Filters as well as manual controls for white balance, gain and shutter speed and unlike other 4K options at this price point comes with a servo controlled zoom range 29mm-348mm.
[John Davidson] “We did our first source 4k RED RAW multi camera project on FCPX last month – delivery was 1080i HDCam. I really thought it was going to be a pain the the butt to work with all the footage but we edited in proxy and it was surprisingly painless. We even did coloring in X. The flexibility of working a 1080i project with 4k footage, allowing for crops and zooms without resolution loss was pretty awesome. It was edited on a 2011 iMac.”
As John points out the ability to crop and zoom and maintain resolution could be very useful. I am able to get away with a 15 to 20% zoom / crop movement with the shots I get from the C300 this is useful for putting a touch of movement on locked off shots.
But as to 4k delivery . . . . . . . . . .
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[Mark Dobson] “But as to 4k delivery . . . . . . . . . .”
Yep. Looking back it was about 3 to 4 years from when we first started working with HD to when we actually started delivering HD. The thing that HD brought – and was accelerated by the lack of HDCam tapes thanks to the tsunami damaging the Sony plant – was nets getting super comfy with digital delivery. That digital delivery ability will be super useful with H265 and 4k. SD to HD was painful because it was a analogue to digital transition. HD to 4k is a much easier because it’s all still digital.
John Davidson | President / Creative Director | Magic Feather Inc.
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Certainly I’m already seeing it used in production fairly regularly. As far as consumer TV’s, I don’t know.
The first time I saw HD was at NAB in 1986. And it still a given everywhere in the market.Tim
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[John Heagy] “Hang out at a 1080 vs 4k demo at NAB and see what people do. They ask “Is that 4K?” and then they walk up to it to see the difference. It’s not even close to SD vs HD… that was impossible to miss.”
The worse thing you can do is go to a Fry’s where they have the 4K demo display smack dab in the middle of all their newest 1080p panels. It’s really hard to spot the difference, except all the 4K demo material is at 30p and not 24, so the motion cadence difference between the two gives a slight clarity edge, which is b.s. since 1080 works the same way.
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[TImothy Auld] “Certainly I’m already seeing it used in production fairly regularly.”
You are, but what is going to editorial? All of my work with Red Epic X has editorial requesting ProRes 4:2:2 HQ 1080 and no REDCODE Raw.
I think you’re going to see a lot of people invest in 4K cameras and give away the farm because they won’t be able to squeeze any more money out of the budget to make a 4K workflow and mastering worthwhile.
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[John Davidson] “That digital delivery ability will be super useful with H265 and 4k. SD to HD was painful because it was a analogue to digital transition. HD to 4k is a much easier because it’s all still digital.”
Just to tweak this slightly, analogue to digital and SD to HD were two separate things that occurred at the same time. SD broadcasts still exist today but consumer electronics makers intentionally coincided their push to HD products, and phasing out of SD products, along the same time frame. Of course having both things going on at the same time certainly amplified the difficulty of the process.
I agree that HD to 4k will be less confusing (people are already comfortable with the aspect ratio, frame rates, etc.,) and it will be easier because 4k content will come via streaming/downloads while broadcast will stay HD. If broadcast wanted to switch to HD then it would basically be the analog to digital switch again. The ATSC is working on new broadcast standards that included UHD but they won’t be compatible with current standards which means new transmission gear for broadcasters and new TVs for consumers. Considering the cost of switching and the declining revenue in broadcast TV I’m sure not many broadcasters are eager to switch again.
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Quite true. I worked on something shot entirely with Epic last year and it hit theater screens at 1080p, as do most movies these days.
Tim
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We used to acquire images on film and then jam it into an SD delivery method.
Acquisition resolution usually exceeds the delivery resolution…
4K gives us a better image to work with so I welcome it-we can always down-convert it for transmission. Just recently we would shoot on HD and deliver a SD master for broadcast on SD stations.
Lets just skip 4K and go straight to 8K!
Film Editor, Avid Media Composer Editor, Adobe Premiere CC Editor, FCP 7 Editor.
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I assume that most motion pictures are now shot in 4K resolution since there seems to be a transition from film to digital. Regardless of the digital format to me film has a certain personality to it. Digital seems cold, distant and too sterile for me. Something about the scratches, dirt and dust on film that gives it a personality. Plus the color and grain adds something to it. I guess I am just old fashioned but analog seems to have a certain warmth to it.
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