Digital
video: Background and purchasing decisions
This page was written by Christopher
Spry and last updated on
05 March 2007. It discusses the options
I considered in 2001 before selecting the digital video camera, computer hardware and software that
I now use to make digital video films. I have updated sections on background
information.
Please let
me know about errors or omissions.
I am an amateur photographer and
videographer. I began to take silver halide photographs in 1957 and analogue video
in 1995. In 1999, I
became interested in making digital video movies and still pictures.
I
wanted to be able to edit digital video on a personal computer, then store and output
digital video film to either television,
printed medium, CD-ROM or web servers. While searching for suitable information,
I came across many useful web pages of information and advice on these complex
and rapidly-moving topics. If you have similar interests, you
may find some of the information and links useful. Note that my brief survey has
not included non-PC computing hardware platforms, such as Apple and SGI
computers, which are covered extensively on other sites. The camera equipment,
PC computer hardware and editing software that I finally put together in January
2001 and updated later, are listed below. See
also my second video page on 'Digital video:
Editing'.
Index:
A few years ago, video camera only recorded in
analogue video formats. Now, analogue formats are being replaced by digital
video formats. Digital video is usually recorded into 'avi', MJPEG', QuickTime
and other types of digital video format, so that it can be stored on computers,
sent over the Internet or viewed directly on computer monitors or TV sets.
Another major benefit of digital video is that it can be edited on computers and
copied repeatedly without loss of picture or sound quality. However, until digital television and digital computer
monitors become more generally available, analogue devices (usually a standard
TV with or without a VCR) will generally still be used to view
digital video. But this creates problems, as there are several different
analogue TV video formats, including NTSC and PAL,
to be considered. In addition, TVs and computer monitors differ in the way
that they present video (gamma values), so digital
video that looks right on one type of display, may appear wrong on another.
Hopefully, the day will come when all images
are recorded, edited, stored and played back in standard digital formats and
when all display
devices use a common digital display standard. Until then, there are selections and
compromises to be made because of differences in current video and graphic 'formats'.
Currently, camera equipment,
computer capture devices and
software are available to
(a) make digital video (DV) movies or clips,
using near-broadcast quality DV or HDV camcorders ('camcorder' is another name
for 'video camera' and 'palmcorder' refers to the most compact cameras).
(b) transfer the videos to PCs using DV capture cards and
(c) edit video with non-linear editing software (NLE) so that the video can be
(1) output to disk,
tape or CD-ROM with no loss of sound or video quality from the original
recording (2) copied to VHS video tapes for viewing with VCRs and standard TV
sets.
- DV cameras record video
and compress it 5:1 to ' DV'
in either the PAL or the NTSC format, not both (see below).
- There are two common digital
video formats, which were originally designed to be used by consumers,
called 'DV' and 'Digital8' and two other formats for professional
work, which are called 'DVCAM' and 'DVCPRO'. Subsequently,
professionals have found 'DV' useful, in addition to their own two formats. 'DV'
is the format most commonly used by the general public and it is the one focused
on in this review. Note that 'digital video' and 'DV' may not be synonymous.
- A video standard called
HDV was announced in
September 2003, for viewing on the new high definition TV (HDTV) sets
and with professional projectors. There are two forms, interlaced (i)
and progressive (p). Sony has selected the HDV 1080i
format for consumer, semi-professional and 'prosumer' cameras. The
higher-quality HDV 720p standard is selected when video needs to be
transferred later to film for professional work. HDCAM is a yet another
format with a wider range of recording options than HDV and it is designed for
professional use. Nigel Cooper has written a useful 'HDV
Professional Product FAQ', summarizing this field. Note that HDV video can
only be edited using expensive software and top quality computers, so it
remains outside the mainstream non-professional field at present. I have not
discussed it further in this guide.
- TVs and VCRs. 'Standard' analogue TVs and VCRs most
commonly use either the PAL or NTSC video formats. Some TVs and VCRs are 'Multi System'
and have worldwide capability because they are designed to receive signals in more than
one standard. Most of these can show NTSC, PAL and other popular transmission formats but
their features vary by brand and model and they may not be able to record in the
'opposite' format.
There are two principal analogue
transmission video formats in use around the world today:
- National Television Standards Commission (NTSC):
This is the transmission standard used in the United States. American televisions are
designed to receive signals broadcast in NTSC.
- Phased Alternate Line I (PAL I):
This is the transmission standard used in the United Kingdom. British televisions are
designed to receive signals broadcast in PAL I.
'DV'
can be shown directly on digital television or digital video screens. 'DV' has to be
converted into analogue streams for showing on analogue televisions, when it may
be in either (a) the 'NTSC' standard, when it is given a timebase'
of 29.97 frames per second, 'resolution' of 720 x 480 and 'sampling' of 4:1:1 or
(b) the 'PAL' standard, when it is given a 'timebase'
of 25 frames per second, 'resolution' of 720 x 576 and 'sampling' of 4:2:0.
Fortunately, consumers need not be concerned about these technical details,
unless they stray into the world of professional digital videography.
In addition to
differences in the format of the video that they receive, TV screens and computer displays
also have different gamma values. This is the relationship between numerical pixel value
and the amount of light displayed. Video cameras usually have no way to compensate for
this difference, to allow the user to select for one or the other. The only way to do this
is to set a 'gamma correction' or to alter the 'brighten/contrast' in the computer's video
editing software. Of course, if you do this and then send the image back to your camera as
a title screen etc., it will now look too bright on a TV screen and vice versa.
You can try to adjust the computer monitor to match the TV appearance, which helps
somewhat. This issue is discussed
in the Beale FAQ. An
ideal option, if the output will go finally to TV, is to use a 'true broadcast
specification' monitor, rather than a standard computer display, for viewing and editing
the video before it is stored for playback. High quality video is also checked
with 'Vector scope' and 'Waveform' monitors. These have a setting with 'colour
bars' to define the standard output and enable edited to be saved in an optical
form.
Converting PAL and
NTSC VCRs are available that produce a 'true' conversion of one format to
another and the converted signal can be saved to tape. Some cheaper VCRs can output
NTSC tapes to a TV in PAL format, but this can not be captured as PAL video
because they only create a 525 line\60Hz picture with a PAL type colour subcarrier.
Also, note that if you convert from PAL to NTSC the video can ' stutter' due to the extra frames per second.
Converting video from NTSC to PAL requires either stretching the frames and the reducing picture quality or
adding black bars to the top and bottom of the picture. For these reasons, it is desirable to record to the format they will be output.
Software and hardware can be purchased to convert between PAL and NTSC. Canopus
sell hardware
to do this. Keene in the
UK, sell hardware to convert between the two standards. Often is it best to
have the conversion done professionally for small numbers of tapes.
Here are some links with background
information on digital video:
Categories
DV cameras can be grouped into three
categories:
- Professional-level £6,500 and up) for
news crews and production studios
- Semi-professional models (£2,000 to £6,500)
suitable for small television stations or large corporations that shoot a lot of video.
These include most HDV cameras (see above).
- Entry-level models (from
below £500 to £2,000) for
business and home users (consumers and 'prosumers').
Traditional analogue camcorders cost between
£300 and £1,000.
Comparisons
There are reviews of current models
at ZDNET, 'SimplyDV.com',
'dvspot',
'DCResource' and 'Camcorderinfo'.
I am sure there are many others - search for these in
Google.
Older models: David Ruether has
reviewed (updated 2003) Sony mini-DV cameras, including the Sony
PD-150, PC-1, TRV-9, TRV-900, VX-1000 and VX-2000; Panasonic AG-EZ30U; and Canon GL-1 and XL-1 -
with a Sony UVW-100 Beta SP with Canon YH1 8x6.7 lens used as a reference.
Comments about the Sony PC-7 and the Panasonic AG-EZ1U are also included there.
Selected cameras
Necessary features are IEEE-1394
for DV input and output and desirable features are three 'charge-coupled device' (CCD) chips
and optical stabilization.
Note: I have not updated this section since 2002. I plan to do so when I
buy my next video camera, perhaps in 2006. However, one camera that I will
consider is the
Sony HDR-HC1E high-definition camera costing under £1,500. Its 'big
brother', the
Sony HDR-FX1 costs £3,000, so is too expensive for most amateurs.
-
Canon XL-1 with interchangeable lenses.
Charlie Diaz's
advice and information
on it. Although this is a camera for professional productions, It does not provide 'true'
16 x 9 screen format film.
-
Canon
GL-1/XM-1
This is a
newer model (July 1999) with analogue-in and professional Fluorite x 20 zoom lens. The
suggested list price is US$2,699. In the USA this camera is called the
'GL-1' and in Europe it is called the 'XM-1'. 'See the
GL1-411
web site for more information.
- Sony
DCR-VX2000 is widely
regarded as
the
'best' compact DV camera for professionals, costing about £2,500 or
US$2,600. It was released in 2000 and superseded the Sony DCR-VX1000 which
was first released in 1995. A pre-sales
assessment
is available and it was reviewed in 'Computer Video' July 2000. There
is
a comparison
of the VX1000 with the Canon XL-1. It is
used by the BBC, among others. The DSR 300 is more expensive. If you need the 16 x 9
format, the VX2000 is also the best unit at this price although the more expensive DSR 500
and DXC D30 WS are able to provide it. Buy the
Sony VX2000
Mini DV camcorder online.
- Sony
DCR-HC1000 has replaced the
DCR-TRV900.
Comments and information by John
Beale. (He
prefers it to the more recently released Sony
DCR-TRV950).
Survey of
users.
This
appears to be one of the best of the current (December 2002) digital camcorders for
non-professionals,
costing
about £1,200 on discount or US$2,000. Note that although both the NTSC and PAL versions
of the TRV900 have analog video input and output, in Europe, versions prior
to about July 2000 of the TRV900E had
IEEE-1394 and A/V input
disabled. Check this before buying or enable the deficient cameras with a
widget.
No TRV900 model, as sold, has direct analog->IEEE-1394 'pass-through', although
(like most MiniDV cameras) it does go directly in the opposite direction, IEEE-1394
to analog. There is a firmware hack to enable direct pass through
for analog input, so you do not have to record to MiniDV tape first to get analog video into
a computer attached by a IEEE-1394
connection. You can buy the Sony
DCR-TRV900 Mini DV camcorder
online.
- Sony DCR-TRV17 is
reviewed
and well received at ZDNet in September 2001 as a camera for beginners. It
has a list price of US$1,100.
- Sony DCR-TRV80 is
reviewed
and well received at ZDNet in August 2003 as a camera for technical
connoisseurs. It
has a list price of US$1,500.
- Sony
DCR-PC100. This digital video
camera is also designed to take stills at 1,152 x 854 pixels. It provides up
to 520 lines of resolution and has 'Memory Stick' removable still picture
storage. It is small: about the size of a Walkman personal stereo and only
weighs 1 pound, 3 oz.
- Panasonic
NV-EX3B. Tiny, 400g DV
camcorder with IEEE-1394 and progressive mode for still pictures.
- Panasonic
NV-MX300E.
Various Video magazines have rated this camera above the Sony TRV-900 and just below the Sony
DCR2000, but others disagree.
-
Canon
ZR10. Small home movie camera costing only US$750 and with excellent
quality images.
- Hitachi have a camcorder model
DZ-MV550E that records onto DVD rather than tape.
Enabling DV camcorders in Europe with
'DV-in' disabled
The EU requires DV camcorders to be
sold with 'DV in' disabled unless they are also classed and pay additional tax
as 'videoplayers'. Several web sites have methods to activate 'DV in',
when it has been disabled on models sold in Europe, see DV 2000
and search
Google.
Cleaning video camera heads and
moving parts
Do not clean the camera's head,
unless you regularly see video 'drop outs' in video made with the camera. First,
try using a (dry) head cleaning tape sold by the camera manufacturer for this
purpose. If this does not solve the problem, do not attempt to clean it manually
yourself. Never touch the recording head with any cleaning device, unless you
have been trained how to use it. Instead, take the camera for cleaning by a
skilled professional video technician, who will not use 'cleaning buds', 'q-tips'
or any material other than chamois leather or lintless swabs, which are sold
specifically for 'head' cleaning, and highly purified specialist cleaning
fluids. Most samples of cleaning fluid sold to the general public will damage a
video camera by leaving a film that will fuse to the recording surface. Stroking
the head across its surface can ruin it. Movement must be along the direction of
the tape. You have been warned!
- It is generally best to use more expensive tape, if several are available
from a manufacturer.
- Tapes that were made some years ago may have problems, so only buy
recently manufactured tapes.
- Some MiniDV tapes have embedded chips that allow data to be recorded about
when they were used. This is only useful when a tape is taken out of the
camera and reinserted later. They are much more expensive than standard
tapes and not generally recommended.
- When analogue tapes were used, it is often recommended that new tapes should have one continuous clip of
blank video and sound recorded on them from the beginning to the end of the
tape, to provide a continuous 'datestamp' and 'timecode' for recordings,
which are later made in discontinuous sections. This 'formats' the tape so
that it can be read end-to-end by NLE software. The process is called
'blacking' or 'striping' the tape. This is not recommended for digital tapes
for many reasons, including timing issues, and wear on the tape and camcorder.
- Do not record useful video on the first
or last 10 - 30 seconds of the tape, to make it easier to use NLE software to
find the start of the first clip and avoid artefacts at the start and end.
Rarely, recording to the end of a tape can physically damage the tape or
camcorder.
- MiniDV tapes can be played, in
some camcorders, in a standard play (SP) mode of 60 minutes or in a
long-play (LP) mode of 90 minutes. LP mode should only be used when the tape
will only be played back in the device that created the video in LP format.
Other devices may not be able to read the recordings made in LP mode. Do not
record in LP-mode over a tape that has previously been used in LP mode, as
this can produce video that cannot be edited with NLE software. For these
reasons, LP mode is best avoided, if possible.
- Follow the advice in the pack,
on how to store and use digital tapes. They need to be run through a deck or
camera once a year, to expose the magnetic surface to air to prevent
degradation and should be stored on their side, not flat.
- Video tapes have a limited
lifespan. 'Conservation
OnLine' at Stanford University has links to information on video
preservation issues and resources.
See Supercircuits
(USA)
amongst others.
Most video cameras can not yet
match the picture quality of dedicated still cameras. Still images made with
video cameras seldom contains more than about 0.4 million pixels. whereas
mainstream consumer still cameras contain 4-5 million pixels. For example, the Sony
DCR-TRV900
gives good quality still pictures up to the resolution of the camera, which is 720 x 480
(345,600 pixels) for NTSC and 720 x 576 (414,720 pixels) for PAL, but these are
of limited use. You can record
stills directly to a compact flash (CF) card, floppy disk or a Sony memory stick.
Stills of this (low) quality can also be taken from video using many non-linear
editing programs, such as DVStorm. I have a separate digital still camera and
use these good-quality photos when I edit my edited videos.
Many people who make good-quality
videos believe that 'sound' is as important (or possible more so) than 'vision'.
For this reason, microphones should be chosen with care. Fortunately, many of
the better video cameras have excellent microphones built-in.
simplyDV have an
overview of sound
in videos. There is a review of microphones at
Audio-technica.
For amateurs, the Sennheiser
MKE-300
short-shotgun microphone is an effective and inexpensive microphone to use in
the hot-shoe. It can be bought from
Keene with a matching 'Rycote windgag' for £169. When wrapped closely
in air conditioner
filter foam, this microphone can also be made resistant to wind-noise.
For 'serious' audio, put the
microphone close to the sound source. This requires a wired microphone and
cable, or a wireless microphone. Most videographers have several microphones for different situations and an even larger assortment of cables and adapters.
Jay Rose has advice about professional audio
for broadcast and multimedia.
Audio is often monitored, as it is
recorded, using headphones attached to the camera, most of which have headphone
connection sockets.
Use a neutral filter in front of
a lens, to protect it. Outdoors, use a polarizing filter to lower the sky
values and 'sharpen' them. The filter has to be rotated to find the best
setting. 35-mm still photography filters also fit onto many video
cameras, but may not be designed to work correctly with digital camcorders. Tiffen filters are
often recommended
and their 'Soft/FX' and 'Warm Soft/FX' filters are particularly good for portrait work.
The Hahnel 'Zoom Opto 35' 6 volt
on-camera lighting system is recommended
and costs about £100. For independent digital cinema, industrial work, or training videos,
more lights will generally be required. Lighting at
Lowel is reasonably priced.
Professional lighting equipment is available from Dedolight, Mole-Richardson, and Arrilights.
10. DV capture cards
and devices with editing (NLE) software
Some computers have IEEE-1394
connections built in and a range of video (NLE) editing software can be bought
separately to work with them. The IEEE-1394 specification is called 'Firewire'
by Apple and 'i-Lnk' by Sony, which can be confusing, as they are identical.
Computers that do not have Firewire connection sockets built-in, will require a
video capture card (also called an 'IEEE-1394 input and output (I.O.)
card'), to provide a way to send the video
from a camcorder through a connecting cable to the computer. Digital video capture cards should have one or more IEEE-1394
connections, so that video and sound on the camera can be sent to the computer
(and usually back again) without loss. DV
capture cards can also have analogue connections for s-Video and sound, but
these are only needed for analogue video cameras. Some
video capture cards have a 'breakout box' (set of connectors) which can simplify cable
connections. Some of the more recent cards have their connectors routed from the
back of the capture card, through the computer to a panel set into the front of
the computer. This makes it easier to attach the camera and reduces
'cable-clutter'.
Many DV capture cards are bundled with editing software that has been
configured to work with them. Purchasing decisions should be based on both the
quality and cost of the card, and their bundled NLE editing software. The cards listed
below all have software included for capturing video from a camera, editing it
and sending the resulting video to a VCR or camera.
There are reviews of
IEEE-1394 input and output (I.O.) cards by
Videoguys with a
comparison matrix.. There are also some
IEEE-1394 PCMCIA cards
for notebook computers. Manufacturers of the most popular retail DV capture
cards are ADS,
Avid,
Canopus, DataVideo,
Matrox and
Pinnacle. The best known manufacturers
of graphics cards, NVIDIA and ATI, do not sell graphics cards with Firewire
connection sockets.
Currently (December 2005) I
use:
- Canopus 'DVStorm2 Pro', which is
now replaced by the 'ACEDVio'
video capture card.
- Canopus
EDIUS
Pro
v 3. NLE software and
Imaginate
v 2 still graphic editing software for video.
These cards are useful if you want
to buy a card and software separately. The IEEE-1394 ('i-Link' or 'Firewire')
connections are used to transfer video and audio streams between a video camera
and a computer. They also enable camcorder control signals. Normally, they are
not bundled with DV editing software. There are many of these, see for example:
Many people who
have analogue tapes and want to convert them to
digital formats. There are several ways to do this. Most modern DV camcorders
can convert to and from analogue formats and there are many modern VCRs that do the same, but
are probably not worth buying to do just conversion work. Hardware designed to do this
includes Canopus 'ADVC
hardware' and bidirectional 'Digital to
Analogue Converters' (DACs) from Keene. SwiftDVD.com in Atlanta, Georgia, USA provide a service to convert home videos and VHS/VHS-C including Mini DV, Digital8, 8mm Hi8 (Super8),and VHS/VHS-C (including VHS, S-VHS, VHS-C and
DVHS) to DVD.
Uncompressed source digital video takes up
large amounts of storage space. There are many ways to 'compress' video, to take up less
space but still provide adequate quality for playback. The word 'codec' (short for 'compress-decompress')
is used for hardware or software that compresses or uncompresses graphic files.
- 'AVI' is the standard video compression
format. It is less compressed than 'MPEG' (see below), but easier to edit.
- There
are two standards for AVI files: Type-1 AVI and Type-2 AVI. John McGowan has an AVI
Overview resource. All IEEE-1394 cards transfer unchanged 'AVI' video
data streams between a video camera and a computer. The software on the
computer determines which type of file it stores. AVI type-2 is the
preferred format. Canopus cards, StudioDV, Vegas Video, DVIO, AVI_IO, and Main Actor can all capture to type-2
AVI files. Ulead MSP6, VS4, MGI VW3 all capture to AVI type-1, only.
- You can convert between type 1 and type 2 with
Ulead's 'Media Studio Pro
and the free
DV Type Convertor tool.
- With DV video, audio and video are intermixed on a frame basis. If you capture (that is transfer the DV video over the
IEEE-1394 bus to your PC), the software can extract the audio out of the DV stream and store it as an
additional audio stream. Type1 based software does not do this, but leaves the DV
data stream intact at the cost of incompatibility with older video for Windows based software,
such as Adobe Premiere and others. You can use AVI_IO for your captures,
but make sure to carefully read the information under 'DV Video', which will create DV Type-2
AVI files. These AVI files can then be imported into Premiere. If you do not have a 'DV Video' for Windows compliant codec installed on your
system, one is available from
Mainconcept,
which can download as a trial version, before purchase.
- There is a description
of the maximal size of AVI files in different operating systems. There is no
size limit for *.avi files that are 'OpenDML' v 1.02 compliant on NTFS formatted
file systems, used by Windows 2000 Professional. In other systems the limit may be 4-GB or even 2-GB. Some NLE
software can deal with these limitations by 'seamless' use of separate
files.
- 'MPEG-I' and 'MPEG-2'
video compression codecs are often used to distribute videos on CD-ROMs. MPEG is
used by the Pinnacle DC1000 card with Premiere software. MPEG-1
provides relatively low quality and high compressed files giving about
1-MB/minute for approximate VHS quality. MPEG-2 provides sVHS quality that
is about twice as good, suitable for TV viewing. There are several products that
convert digital video input to the MPEG format by Heuris,
Ligos, Darvisions.
MPEG-4
is the latest of these compression codecs (there was no
MPEG-3 codec).
- 'Motion-JPEG' (M-JPEG) will give higher
quality and low compression for quality that is better than VHS. Many
video capture cards provide this format.
- The 'ATI' codec, available in the
All-in-Wonder, AiW Pro, TV Wonder, TV Tuner etc. cards, is a software compression scheme
that provides compressed video of quality somewhere between MPEG and M-JPEG.
Digital video (DV) runs at
3.6-MB/s. This means that (a) you need a hard disk that can support
this rate of disk writing and (b) one minute of DV occupies 216-MB (3.6 *
60). Nine minutes of DV occupies about 2-GB and one hour about 13-GB.
Programs to edit DV often require over twice this space for temporary and
other files, so a rule-of-thumb is to provide 1-GB of disk space for each
minute of DV that you propose to work with on your computer. If you have
very large projects, a video disk array will be needed.
Many digital
video capture cards are also sold with NLE software. Some come with
additional hardware, such as a breakout box to make cable connections easier
and so on. This makes it difficult to compare one product with another. There
is a list of NLE software at
GlobalProducer.com.
For home and semi-professional use
For professional use
16. Computer
video graphics cards that support two monitors
'Premiere' is easiest to use as
video editing software, in a computer that has a video card which supports two
monitors. There are several cards that support two monitors and work well with
DVStorm. They are made by ATI,
NVIDIA and
Matrox. Matrox has released a
DualHead2Go
box for enabling notebook computers to use two monitors.
17. Preview
monitors, 'vector scope' and 'waveform' analysis
Videographers should check
the quality of their video before they save it to the final format:
- 1. By 'eye', using a TV set or LCD video monitor
adjacent to the editing suite.
- 2. With NLE software, such as in 'DV Rex' and
'DV Storm' that analyze the 'Vector scope' and Waveform' properties of
the video ('Vector scope' and Waveform' analyses are described at VideoUniversity.com).
- 3. On a 13"colour-calibrated professional picture monitor, that
has a 'Blue Check' setting to provide a calibrated set of colours bars.
- 4. Using specialist equipment to analyze video signals.
These are available from Tektronix
but are expensive and are seldom used by amateur videographers.
- The principal recorders are made by
JVC (the
HR-DVS3.
MiniDV/Super VHS Hi-Fi Stereo domestic VCR costs abut £700),
Panasonic, and
Sony.
UK
USA
- Abrupt Edge.
Books, videos and links covering all aspects of production.
- B &
H - Photo, Video, Pro Audio.
- Camera
World of Oregon - Photo & Video.
- Camsling mini DV support
- Desktop
Video at the MiningCo by David Simpson. General Desktop Video, including DV.
- DVD Direct - Mail order retailer.
- DV &
Firewire Central with a DV-L List
server
- Electronic
Mailbox
- HHB
Communications Professional sound equipment.
- Mindlogic.
- Omega
Multimedia - DV mail-order source
- Onecall -
Audio Video Consumer Electronics
- PacificCable.com
sell cables for digital video equipment
- Promax -
reseller of Sony, Canon, Apple, Panasonic, Adobe, Adaptec, & other DV HW & SW
-
Rycote - sell microphone
windshields
- Safe Harbor
Computers
-
Steadicam camera support
devices & other video equipment.
- Supercircuits
video surveillance and micro-camera systems.
- TapeOnline
Retail blank videotapes, audiotapes, data backup tapes, labels, cases etc.
- Videoguys
Retail video editing hardware/software and video accessories but not TVs,
VCRs or camcorders. They have a 'Best
of 2004' page with useful comments on current video options.
Check current US prices at
CNET Shopper and Pricewatch.
- 'Basic Betacam Camerawork'
ISBN 0-240-51360-6, $24.95 at Amazon,
recently out of stock.
- 'Picture Composition For Film
& Television' ISBN 0-240-51421-1, $44.95 at Amazon.
- 'Producing Great Sound for Digital Video'
by Jay Rose, 375 Pages with audio CD, published by Miller Freeman Books, ISBN 0-87930-597-5,
US$31.96 at Amazon.
- 'The Five C's Of
Cinematography', ISBN 1-879505-41-X, $23.96 at Amazon.
- 'Video Production Handbook', 2nd
Edition, ISBN 0-2405-1321-5, $29.56 at Amazon.
-
'DV Doctor' news, comment, reviews of
current video hardware & software, UK prices and suppliers with
HEXUS.community
discussion forum.
- 'Digital Video for Dummies' 2nd Edition,
available at Amazon.
- 'DV Live'
- 'EditorsNet'
electronic magazine on editing.
- 'Modern
Recording Techniques'
by David Miles Huber & Robert E. Runstein. Recording sound
- 'The
Filmmaker's Handbook'. Steven Ascher and Edward Pincus. Paperback. 30
September 2000. Plexus Publishing; ISBN: 0859652939.
- 'The
Low Budget Video Bible'. Cliff Roth. Paperback. 2nd revised edition edition.
31 December 1995. Desktop Video Systems. ISBN: 0963521616. £18.39 at Amazon.uk.
- 'Sound
& Vision' formerly 'Stereo Review'
- 'Videography'.
For the 'Club Vid' section of back issues use 'TRANSPORT'.
- 'Videomaker' magazine.
- 'What
Digital Camcorder' magazine.
-
CSST
computer animation creation and rendering services.
- John
Burder Films.
- SwiftDVD.com in Atlanta, Georgia, USA provide a service to convert home videos and VHS/VHS-C including Mini DV, Digital8, 8mm Hi8 (Super8),and VHS/VHS-C (including VHS, S-VHS, VHS-C and DVHS) to DVD
-
TallboyMedia Video Solutions,
Corporate video makers in South West London.
- Camera: Sony DCR-TRV900E
MiniDV three-CCD
camcorder with DV and analogue input/out and six MiniDV tapes. I
bought it in January 2001 from ASK
Electronics, London, for £1,494.20 including VAT, the cheapest price for this PAL system
that I could find in the UK. I also bought a set of Sony's lens protection
and polarizing filters. I bought the camera because of it was widely recognition
then as one of the best, if not the best, 'prosumer' video cameras with a large
user base and support. Newer models are available now.
- Personal computer:
Armari T875HT
Workstation.
- Operating system: Windows
XP Service pack 2.
- Non-linear editing hardware
and software: I first bought Canopus 'DVStorm', with 'StormBay' breakout
box (replaced by the 'ACEDVio'
capture card), which fits into a 5 ¼ " drive bay, with NLE editing software 'StormEdit'
(including the components 'Storm Video', 'Storm Navi' and 'Storm Audio'),
'Premiere' v 5.1, which I upgraded at no extra cost to version 6.0 a few
months later, 'SoftXplode', Boris 'Graffiti Ltd,' 'SpruceUp' trial edition,
Sonic Foundry 'ACID Style', and Canopus 'Web Video Wizard'. I bought 'DVStorm'
in January 2001 from 'Online GB Ltd.', who are now called 'MultiMedia
Direct', London for £1,285 without VAT. Later, I updated it to v 2. My
decision was based on Canopus good reputation for support and the high quality
of the 'DV Rex M1' card and 'Rex Edit' software, on which 'DVStorm' is closely
based. Now (December 2005) I use Canopus
EDIUS
Pro
v 3.5 NLE software, which works with Canopus hardware and with
Imaginate v 2, which enables graphics files to be manipulated for use in
video.
- Camera tripod, £45 including
VAT. Essential for any photographer. I would like a better quality one, now
that I have such a good quality camera.
- Microphone: Sennheiser
MKE-300
short-shotgun microphone, bought from
Keene with a matching 'Rycote windgag', £169.
- Networked video storage:
Buffalo 1-TB 'TeraStation'.
- Bidirectional Analog/Digital
Video Conversion unit
ADVC300.
- Video cassette recorder: JVC HR-DVS2
video cassette recorder, which enables me to view on a television screen both
my older analogue sVHS/C and VHS tapes and my current digital MiniDV tapes.
It will also transfer video accurately between these two types of tape. (In
March 2003, the JVC
HR-DVS3EK replaced
the DVS2 and can be connected to a computer to edit video.)
Go to the next page: 'Digital video:
Editing'
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page'
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'useful
links' page
© Christopher Spry mailto:cspry@cspry.co.uk.