HDV in Practice

HDV in Practice
Imagine you're a wedding videographer. You've decided to go with HDV and have a 1080i HDV camcorder and a Canopus HDV editing system. You shoot your video and edit just as if it were standard definition DV. The only difference for you is that when you were shooting, you probably spent more time looking at details, because HDV shows everything. Now you have to figure out how to prepare the video for distribution to the wedding guests.

The first decision is easy. You've got to make a DVD. That's because standard definition video isn't going to disappear overnight, and it's what most people will be expecting, anyway. Don't think that just because you're delivering a standard definition DVD, you're throwing away all the benefits of shooting in HDV. The chances are that your DVD will look better than the ones you used to make from footage sourced in DV. That's because Canopus can convert directly from HDV to DVD format, and because the additional visual information in HDV footage actually helps the DVD type MPEG compressor make a better picture. So, standard definition customers will benefit from your choice to use HDV.

You'll also want to produce high definition versions. Don't forget that people often look at wedding videos five, ten or more years after they were made. So you need to make a version that's going to be viewable for the foreseeable future. That's difficult because we don't know what's going to happen in the future.

So what you can do for the time being is:

Make a Windows Media file for viewing on computers and – probably – future high definition video players, and
Store the material as HDV video on tape – or store the files themselves on removable storage media.

Remember that Canopus will be able to deal with virtually any new HD distribution formats – so you're always going to be able to convert your material at a later date.
Now let's suppose that you're a corporate videomaker. Again, for the time being, you're probably going to have to produce DVDs from your HDV material. Your clients will appreciate the different “look” to your material. They'll also like the way your graphics and charts look clearer because all graphics processing is done by Canopus in high definition resolution – even if you're only working with standard definition. And if you have to incorporate archive footage, or use material in standard definition, Canopus will let you mix multiple formats on the timeline, in realtime; upscaling video to HD if necessary.

If your work is to be shown in the company's atrium, they've probably got an MPEG-2 HD server, which will want an MPEG-2 transport stream. This is something you can easily output with Canopus. They might even want a version for their Web site. You've already got the tools to do this, and the quality will still look better than the DV-sourced equivalent.

However...
You don't have to start working with HDV right now. Standard Definition is going to be with us for a long time yet. But HDV editing systems are here, now, and so are the cameras. So, when you upgrade your editing system, buy one that can do HDV. A Canopus editing system will work superbly with your old footage, and will be ready for you when you want to make High Definition masterpieces that will still look fantastic a decade from now and beyond.

> Not Yet Ready for HDV?

The term 'HDV' and the HDV logo are trademarks of Sony Corporation and the Victor Company of Japan.