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Anyone else confused or dissapointed with new HVX200?
We bought one to replace our aging D30 betaSP camcorder. Since in our market and most others, TV spots must be distributed on BetaSP. We are either shooting DVCPRO50 480i or one of the HiDef 1080 or 720 formats and using FCP5 with a Decklink SP card to output to BetaSP. The results are disapointing. The picture is less pleasing than the D30. I don’t mean this as a slam on the HVX, I am searching to find the correct method to produce a great result. Would a Kona2 card or a Decklink HDpro card produce a better betaSP result? The camera makes a really nice HiDef picture on the FCP Cinema screen so I know it is capable.
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26 Replies
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Which format are you actually cutting and outputting with?
Noah
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There are a lot of subjectives in your post. Pleasing picture? I have never found an image from a D30 pleasing. I find the sony stuff, very video looking and the color matrixs’ to be quite “cartoony” I have always felt that the stock SONY look is quite “video”
You can get this look with the Panasonic camera. I would put the D30 and teh HVX into the A and B of your monitor and tweak the HVX to look like the D30. Start with a scene mode that is 29.97 and then tweak the settings of the HVX to match your D30 Look. I would also recomend checking where you have your setup etc,.
It’s a tough post to answer because of it’s subjective nature but you can make the HVX look as good (or bad in my opnion) as the D30.
David
Peace and Love 🙂
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So you are trying to output HD through an SD blackmagic card, correct? I believe the blackmagic sd cards do not use hardware downconversion, they use software downconversion which will cause the fuzziness. A Kona 2 DOES in fact use hardware downconversion with great results. I have not seen footage from an HVX, but I have used Varicam footage extensively in the native DVCPROHD codec and you would be happy with how the downconversion looked. The dv50 stuff, however, should look just fine with your decklink SP.
Welcome to the world of HD, it’s a lot to learn and this forum should help you.
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If I shoot DVCPRO50 480i and edit with a DVCPRO 480i sequence I get pretty much what the camera captures. But, if I shoot in 720p or 1080i and edit with a 720p or 1080i sequence I get a nice picture on the Preview Cinema screen of course but the necessity of rendering to a Blacmagic codec to output to BetaSP really destroys the picture. I’m wondering if the Decklink HD card with hardware downconversion produces a much better betaSP recording.
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I am not judging the camera output on a monitor. Unquestionalbly the HVX produces a beautiful 1080i or 720p picture out of the camera on the monitor. But I am trying to learn how to deliver the quality to the final product which has to be betaSP for broadcast.
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I have had the same problem with Varicam footage. Are you telling me if I buy a Kona2 card I can get a high quality betaSP recording from DVCPROHD 720p ?
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Okay, it sounds like you are having final cut setup issues. You don’t need to render to a blackmagic codec to output dv50 (unless blackmagic does not support dv50, but it should). You should go with blackmagic’s dv50 easy set up, import your footage, create a new sequence (that is a very important step) and view. You must must must must must view your footage out through an external NTSC monitor, not an lcd or equivalent. HD footage looks pretty good on an lcd, but not sd footage. The digital cinema preview is just that, a preview and you should not use it to judge what your picture looks like on a tv.
As far as decklink HDs hardware converter, I’m not sure. You can go look at the blackmagic forum and ask how downcoverts look. last time I checked blackmagic did not support 720p24 downconverts to SD, If this is important to you, I’d check that out.
I have and use a Kona 2 and it works tremendously. It’s a little more pricey than a decklink, but it’s well worth the money and the tech support is awesome from the guys & gals in the aja shop.
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Yes, most definitely. The only thing is that the Kona 2 is a mostly digital card. It has analog component outputs and that’s it. You’ll need to get an audio d/a converter for the audio. Perhaps you’d be more interested in a Kona LH. The LH sports SD, HD, analog and digital. The biggest difference between the Kona 2 and Kona LH, besides the analog connectivity is that the Kona 2 also has upconversion while the Kona LH does not. The Kona LH has the same hardware downconversion as the Kona 2. Decisions, decisions.
Jeremy
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I have the DVCPRO50 configured correctly and it looks like DVCPRO50 480i.
Thanks for your recomendation of the Kona2. -
Thanks again, I think I am getting closer to understanding my needs.
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