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DVCProHD not accepted by network . . .
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I read that document from the Discovery Channel. They hold the HVX-200 to the same ‘restrictions’ as the HDV format. I wonder why that is? HDV is 4:1:1 and MPEG 2 compressed and only 25 megabits. They do except DVCpro 100 but only 15% shot from this camera.
That’s a little odd. I wonder if it is because of the smaller CCD’s
-Lars
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That’s a good observation. I’ve seen some weird things from My HVX when shooting DVCPro HD that I attrubute to the chips (Jan: I still love the camera, so don’t have a conniption. 🙂 ). I used a Sony PDX-10 with three 1Mpx native widescreen chips that was only DV but looked killer.
Also, I wonder what happens to the image once it hits the satellites for distribution, and then once the cable providers squish it down to whatever bandwidth they want. Comcast hits it pretty hard sometimes. Maybe Discovery just wants to sart with as much info as possible to get the cleanest image. After all, the cable companies can screw up the signal, but it would be Discovery who got the blame.
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HarryD
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Hi Lars,
The rationale is based on the CCD size and not the recording. Their mandate is strictly based on what is coming off of the chip set. Frankly if wisely used and intercut with the VariCam, it would be had to tell which was what. By that I mean use it for the close-ups and mid shots, and no wide shots.
Best,
Jan
PS. HDV is not 4:1:1 but rather 4:2:0.
Jan Crittenden Livingston
Product Manager, DVCPRO, DVCPRO50, AG-DVX100
Panasonic Broadcast & TV Systems -
I am intermixing Varicam and P2 footage all the time…a good 50% of the show is P2 and you would be hard pressed to tell the difference.
Shane
Littlefrog Post
http://www.lfhd.net -
Well, Shane, I saw your name in the creds on one of the Discovery shows, and as I recall it was good (sorry, can’t recall which one). So here we have it firsthand.
And jan’s comments are very reasonable; at least that makes sense to me. However, i was told at some point that it had something to do with the sat feeds. maybe that’s no longer true.
thx,
HarryD
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The Discovery Channel show that I worked on that used Varicam was SCIENCE OF THE BIBLE….wait, that was NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC. 9 Episodes of that. All the other UNSOLVED HISTORY. All those were digibeta and DV.
I am talking about the History Channel. I am still working on a show that will air in October.
Shane
Littlefrog Post
http://www.lfhd.net -
Harry,
It is all about the 1/3″ imager, I have the document and have talked with the engineers. Shane’s experience with the History Channel show is right on the money, you cannot tell, if you have the right shot for the camera. I mean if you are trying to do the wide scenic and passi it off as a Varicam shot, that will not work.
It has nothing to do with the Recording, or Satellite Feeds, it is strictly a means of imposing a quality standard that is easy to understand. They don’t want a full show that is only made of close-ups. ;-)They want shows that tell stories.
Best,
Jan
Jan Crittenden Livingston
Product Manager, DVCPRO, DVCPRO50, AG-DVX100
Panasonic Broadcast & TV Systems -
That is intresting to know. I don’t think any of my work will be seen on that channel anytime soon 🙂
-Lars
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I saw a Discovery HD episode on the Grand Canyon I think. Cameras were flying through the canyons and people exploring caves. I have shot in 1080i with my HVX and played it back on the same TV but it didn’t even compair to the footage that I was watching on the grand canyon.
Is the Main differance only the CCD’s since it is the same codec that the camera catures to?
-Lars
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Yeah, i know that about the 1/3″ chips. I’m just saying that someone I know (whom you probably also know, here in B-more) told me awhile back the thing about the feeds. maybe they were BS’ing him, I’m just repeating what i was told and of course now seem to be adding fuel to more mythology. sorry about that, thanks for setting the record straight. And as we all know, technology marches on.
But back on the chips – what is the pixel density of the varicam? same as HVX? Denser? I know varicam is bigger, which has other advantages than resolution (such as sensitivity and DOF).
Talking about quality, I’m sitting here looking at DVCPRO 50 footage shot about an hour ago on my beloved HVX, ingested from P2, edited with FCP5, chroma keyed using dvmatte Pro, and displayed on my cheap HDTV. Lots of high-contrast angles there, but not one jagged edge in sight. Keyed hair is good, skin tone is excellent, and it’s just a beautiful image. And even though things like the Varicam are definitely better, those of us paying attention find it truly amazing that we can afford equipment this good. If Discovery wants to bitch about this kind of image, IMO they have damned little to do.
On another front, we can’t tell stories with closeups? I won’t even breach this subject now, but we’ll have a discussion about it the next time i see you at a show. 🙂
thx mucho,
h
HarryD
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