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HDTV World > Understanding HDTV > CNET's quick guide to HD camcorders

HDTV World: Everything you need to know about HDTV

CNET's quick guide to HD camcorders

Lori Grunin
By Lori Grunin
(September 13, 2006)

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HD recording formats: 720p and 1080i


Example products Sony Handycam HDR-FX1
Sony Handycam HDR-FX1

Canon XL H1
Canon XL H1

Sony Handycam HDR-HC3
Sony Handycam HDR-HC3

Canon XH G1
Canon XH G1
 Sony Handycam HDR-UX1
Sony Handycam HDR-UX1

Sony Handycam HDR-SR1
Sony Handycam HDR-SR1

 Panasonic AG-HVX200
Panasonic AG-HVX200
Recording format HDV
Note: The HDV format specification supports both 720p and 1080i recording, but camcorders can generally record only one or the other--usually 1080i.		 Sony/Panasonic AVCHD Panasonic DVCPro HD (a.k.a. DVCPro 100)
Supported media types Tape Flash, DVD, hard disk Tape, Flash (Panasonic P2), external hard drive
Format details MPEG-2 inter- and intraframe compressed to fit on a standard MiniDV tape and use the same bit rate.
Max bit rate: 25Mbps
Capture resolution: 1,440x1,080/1,280x720
Encoding resolution: 1,920x1,080/1,280x720
Color sampling: 4:2:0
Variable frame rate: no		 An HD version of the MPEG-4 Advanced Visual Codec--not to be confused with MPEG HD--which uses the H.264 compression scheme.
Max bit rate: 24Mbps
Capture resolution: 1,920x1,080/1,280x720
Encoding resolution: 1,920x1,080/1,280x720
Color sampling: 4:2:0
Variable frame rate: yes		 MPEG-2 inter- and intraframe compressed to fit on a standard DVCPro tape and stream at the same bit rate.
Max bit rate: 100Mbps
Capture resolution: 1,920x1,080/1,280x720
Encoding resolution: 1,280x1,080/960x720
Color sampling: 4:2:2
Variable frame rate: yes
Hardware issues Same limitations as all tape formats: must be converted to files for editing or connected directly to TV. As yet undetermined; however, DVD-based models will likely be incompatible with older players. None
Video-editing issues Can be slow and tedious to work with because of time required to download to computer. As yet undetermined. However, MPEG-4 wasn't really designed for capturing editable video, so we anticipate some difficulties. As you might imagine, the video files produced can be huge and therefore cumbersome to capture and edit.

Next: See need to know 


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Four myths about HD camcorders | HD recording formats: 720p or 1080i | HD recording formats: 720p and 1080i | Need to know | CNET recommends
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