Hdvtraining.com

The audio format of HDV is MPEG 1 Audio layer II. It has a bitrate of 384 Kbps, and can be very good. However, it’s not suitable for heavy editing, so audio like video, is best sent to the intermediary. (and is automatically done so by the intermediary tools) Keep in mind that while this format is not quite up to CD standards, it is quite good. DV camcorders record audio in PCM format, so it’s the same as a .wav file. The HDV audio spec is similar to very high bitrate MP3 audio.

If you need high quality audio in a PCM format, we suggest you use a DAT or other uncompressed source that can do a true 16 bit/24 bit recording at 48k/96khz sample rate. Remember, when you use the Cineform intermediary audio is converted to a 48K/16 bit format, so you’ll not need to worry about the audio quality in editing.

A Transport/ts stream is the multiplexed packeted data that makes up the MPEG file. It is a muxed/blend of audio and video. It has a fixed length for structure. Demultiplexing is achieved by unique packet IDs (PIDs).

No. You need to purchase this separately. Cineform recently announced a special price of $149.00 on Connect HD for Sony Vegas, and they have special pricing for Adobe Premiere users too. A company called Lumiere makes an intermediary for FCP users.

The Cineform Connect HD codec takes the 15 Long GOP and converts it to a proprietary 2 GOP, into a temporal wavelet format. This makes it scalable and a lot more efficient so that the NLE and CPU can process the information easier/more quickly. Read more at the Cineform technology page.

An intermediary codec is like a translator, or “in-between” codec, that assists the editing software. Connect HD (for Sony Vegas) Aspect HD (for Adobe Premiere) and Lumiere (for Final Cut Pro) are all intermediary codecs. You capture in either native MPEG from the HDV camera, and the video is converted to the intermediary either in real time after capture, or during capture. This assists in the editing process, as native MPEG transport streams are very heavy on the processor, and may be difficult to edit. Further, you don’t want to be editing the raw MPEG transport stream because you’ll endure a potentially significant loss of quality without the intermediary.

When you render to print to tape, if you wish to print to your HDV camera, the intermediary will re-convert the intermediate stream to the MPEG format once again, providing you with a great image.

If you have a processor of at least 2.6 Ghz or faster, you’ll be plenty fast to edit HDV, particularly if you use an intermediary codec.

Absolutely not. If you have a computer that can edit DV, you have a computer that can edit HDV. HDV in 1080i format is the same bitrate (25Mbps) as DV is. However, depending on the system, you may experience choking on the system, depending on whether you’re editing Transport Streams or with an intermediary codec such as the Cineform Connect HD codec.

The JVC cameras are 720p. This means they have 720 lines of horizontal resolution, displayed/shot in progressive frames. The Sony cameras have 1080 lines of horizontal resolution, shot in interlaced frames. The resolution of the JVC camera is 1440 x 720p, and the resolution of the Sony cameras is 1440 x 1080i. (when viewed at aspect ratio, the Sony actually displays 1920 x 1080i. A 1440 anamorphic image yields a 1920 display)

With HDV now being a ground-breaking format, here are some frequently asked questions about HDV, editing, shooting, and more.

.:What is the difference between the Sony and JVC HDV cameras? .:Do I need a new computer to edit HDV?

.:How fast does the processor need to be to edit HDV?

.:What is an intermediary codec?

.:Why don’t I want to edit the transport streams?

.:What does the intermediary codec do to the transport stream?

.:Does the intermediary codec come free with my camera or NLE?

.:What is a transport stream? (A ts file?)

.:Is the Audio format of HDV any good?

.:How do I capture HDV?

.:I heard that HDV has .5 second dropouts. Is this true?

.:Do I need a new monitor to preview HDV files?

.:How does the camera connect to my computer?

.:Isn’t HDV just too huge a data rate/stream to edit with?

.:How do I deliver HDV files to a broadcaster or client?

.:I’m confused by HDV and it’s colorspace. I’m told it’s different than SD. Is this true?

.:Can Vegas/Final Cut Pro/Premiere/AVID control my HDV camcorder?

.:In Vegas, my HDV images look squeezed. Why?

.:In Vegas, I’m not getting 29.97 or 25 fps playback with Cineform intermediary files. Why?

.:Is HDV interlaced the same way as DV? Is it upper or lower field first?

.:I heard that HDV has bad motion artifacts. What’s the scoop?

.:Can I edit HDV in real time?

.:Does the intermediary codec come free with my camera or NLE?

.:What is “Super-HAD?” Sony makes a big deal about it in their advertising.

The resolution of a TV image directly affects how sharp it looks. Higher resolutions provide more detail. An SD (standard definition) NTSC television frame (such as the one you watch every night) is made up of 525 horizontal lines broken up into two fields. The first field is made up of the odd lines and the second field is made up of the even lines. This is what we call interlaced video.