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Worth the effort? 8 bit AVCHD 1080p 4:2:0 versus 1080i 10 bit uncompressed 4:2:2
Hello,
I did post this on the Color and Motion forum but also seems highly relevant for this forum as well…
I am i homing in on a final MacBook Pro versus Mac Pro decision to enable both real-time capture (argues for portable) and final cut – color – motion work flow.
i have a new sony HXR 5NU that provides me with 25 Mbps 1080p AVCHD 8 bit 4:2:0 from the camera or 10 bit uncompressed 1080i 4:2:2 via SDI or HDMI. The latter would involve a MacBook (not lugging a 45 pound Mac Pro around on the set) and an external MOTU HD Express HDMI or or a Matrox O2 LE.
The key question is if the extra information is significant in terms of final look, constructing quality masks, etc. I believe the answer is yes as it relates to simply comparing 8 bit 4:2:0 versus 10 bit uncompressed 4:2:2. Seems the answer is murkier with the trade-off of 1080i (the uncompressed signal) versus 1080p from AVCHD.
I do not know the internal workings of the camera, it is possible that it is 1080i off of the sensor electronics and a pull down is happening with the avchd encoder which means that it is not really a trade-off.
Any opinions?
Otherwise I just focus on getting the best out of my camcorder’s avchd output using a waveform monitor and go for a Mac Pro in Post.
Any thoughts on this?
Wayne
PortlandWorth the effort? 8 bit AVCHD 1080p 4:2:0 versus 1080i 10 bit uncompressed 4:2:2
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1 Reply
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[Wayne Williams] “i have a new sony HXR 5NU that provides me with 25 Mbps 1080p AVCHD 8 bit 4:2:0 from the camera or 10 bit uncompressed 1080i 4:2:2 via SDI or HDMI. The latter would involve a MacBook (not lugging a 45 pound Mac Pro around on the set) and an external MOTU HD Express HDMI or or a Matrox O2 LE. “
THis is incorrect. You cannot capture UNCOMPRESSED on a laptop. Sorry. You have to connect the MOTU HDX SDI and the MXO2 via the Express34 slot. That means that the only slots available for capture scratch drives are Firewire 8oo. And you can’t capture uncompressed HD to FW800 drives. The Motu V4HD connects via firewire, but does NOT capture uncompressed….it captures as DVCPRO HD. The best you are going to get is ProRes on a laptop, but that isn’t supported by either company, as it isn’t stable. I have been able to get 10 min of ProRes 1080i29.97 before it stopped. Matrox does support 720p 23.98 capture via the MXO2.
The only way you are going to get uncompressed or 1080 ProRes is with a Tower. Sorry.
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
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