On The Insider: Jessica Alba Looks Hot at the ALMAs

Search:
Go!


advertisementMobility made easy with HP notebooks
Today on CNET
Reviews
News
Downloads
Tips & Tricks
CNET TV
Compare Prices
Blogs
Cell phones| Desktops| Digital cameras| Laptops| MP3 players| TVs| All Categories

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)

Browse all HD camcorder topics
TalkBackTALKBACK

Do you care about shooting HD video?
Post your
comment here 

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 


See other HD camcorder issues:
Four myths about HD camcorders | HD recording formats: 720p or 1080i | HD recording formats: 720p and 1080i | Need to know | CNET recommends
More HDTV World:
 CNET newsletters:
 
CNET's quick guide to TV power consumption
Thought you were done paying for your HDTV? Think again. Read more




Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version
Send feedbackSend feedback
E-mail to a friendE-mail to a friend
Featured HDTV videos:
advertisement
Resources from our sponsors

aka

Samsung's award winning ToC™ LCD TV
The Samsung LN52A650 LCD is latest CNET editors' choice award winner.


aka

Comcast has the most HD
Comcast has the most HD. More than satellite. More than anyone.


aka

The all-new Infiniti FX
Defining the performance crossover. Redefining Luxury.




See all HDTV World:




More resources from CNET.com:



Additional coverage from around the Web:




TalkBack
No discussions exist yet. Click here to be the first to post a comment on this article

Article discussion:

Post a comment

Help Center|Newsletters|Corrections|What's New|
Search:
Go!

Popular topics: Apple | Antivirus | Cell Phones | Dell | Digital Camera | Firefox 3 | Games | iPhone | iPod | iTunes | Laptops | Norton | PS3 | Verizon | Wii | Xbox 360
CNET.com
About CNET|Today on CNET|Reviews|News|Compare prices|Tips & Tricks|Downloads|CNET TV
Popular on CBS sites: Fantasy Football | Miley Cyrus | MLB | Wii | GPS | Recipes | Mock Draft
About CNET Networks | Jobs | Advertise


© 2008 CNET Networks, Inc., a CBS Company. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use