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HD to mpeg2 for web video or SD all the way?
Hey everyone,
I have a few questions I would like to run by you. I’m working with a guy in a different state who is recording some interviews against a green screen for my company. Now he is recording in HD and then sending us the files on a DVD (mpeg2 file) to be ripped and then after keying and compositing, used on the web. I’m not a fan of this because starting with such a compressed video is bound to result in poor video, but we don’t have the appropriate deck or equipment to use the original tapes, HD MiniDv. I thought these would work fine off a regular MiniDV camcoder but he is saying different. Is he telling me the truth?
Also,if we can’t use his original HD tapes, would it be better for me to ask him to use SD tapes for the green screen interviews and send me those?
Is video shot in HD, then compressed to mpeg2 and ripped using Mpeg streamclip better or worse that raw standard definition?I feel that SD is always better than any previously compressed video even if it’s originally shot in HD.
Thanks for you time and help
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8 Replies
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So is it better to use the mpeg2 files ripped with MPEG Streamclip or ask him to use SD and send me the tape so I can capture it uncompressed?
Is it better to have HDV footage compressed to mpeg2 or uncompressed SD footage?
Can i use a SD MiniDV camcoder to capture from a HDV Tape?
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You cannot use a MiniDV camcorder with HDV tapes. The tapes look the same but what goes on them is different.
Like I said in my previous post, HDV uses MPEG-2 compression. It records onto the tape in what’s called ‘Long GOP MPEG-2’
MiniDV SD and HDV at 1080 are both compressed to 25Mbit/s, HDV at 720p is 18Mbit/s. There is no such thing as uncompressed SD DV.
Uncompressed SD video such as ‘D1’ is 270Mbit/s and world of difference from MiniDV or HDV.
To figure out the best workflow, what application do you use for editing (Premiere, Final Cut pro, Vegas etc) and what does the chap supplying you with the footage use?
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I using Premiere Pro 2.0.
I’m not sure about the other fellow.Thanks for all the info, it’s been very helpful.
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Premiere Pro 2.0 works with HDV natively, as such you ‘should’ be able to import the HDV.mpeg files directly if they were supplied to on a disc for example.
Not that I’ve ever tried it!
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I’ll give it a shot and let you know how it works out.
Thanks a lot Daniel
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Yes, using the source file will definitley offer the best quality.
Better yet, use somehing like AVISynth with MPEG-2 plugins that support postprocessing, which will clean up some of the MPEG-2 artifacts as well.
My compression blog: https://on10.net/blogs/benwagg/
My compression class at Stanford: https://digitalmediaacademy.org/courses/video-compression-training.html
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Why not just cough up the bucks to rent an HDV deck and output the footage into your system? We’re talking about $250, and the quality will be superb!
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