Hi-def or not hi-def? Please advise

by fiercemd Nov 2, 2007 12:07AM PDT

I have been struggling for the past few weeks over whether to purchase a high definition vs. standard definition camcorder. I am purchasing this camcorder mostly for home movies of my son. I have a high-definition television at home. I have narrowed it down to the sony DCR-HC96 for standard defintion vs. the canon HV 20 for hi defintion.

I recognize that this is certainly an "apples vs. oranges comparison". I am drawn to the Canon because a) it has fantastic reviews and the latest technology b) it is more "future proof" than the sony c) I would hate to regret not having the maximum quality home movies in twenty years d) I am concerned that standard def home video would look crappy on my television.

Mitigating this, however, are several considerations-- a) I could save about $250 by going with the sony and it is at my initial price point b) the high definition video uses substantion resources in terms of processing power, hard drive space, etc. c) there is a good chance that much of my viewing of video would be on a computer screen and not on a hi-def TV.

I have been back and forther on this issue to the point where I pulled the trigger on the Sony last night and cancelled it. Please advise.

Discussion is locked

- Collapse -

If you have the money and resources,

by whizkid454 Nov 2, 2007 7:00AM PDT

go for the High Definition camcorder. The reasons you listed would have definitely convinced me to buy the better one. Why skimp on quality? The Canon HV20 is a very nice camcorder. Have a look at the camcorder who won four awards HERE.

- Collapse -

Go with the high def camera.

by Kiddpeat Nov 2, 2007 9:47AM PDT

You will never be able to shoot this stuff again. Shoot it now. Remember that you can shoot high def, and capture/render/etc. in std def. That means you don't have to upgrade computer, etc., but you can come back later to get the high def version. The best of both worlds.

- Collapse -

"Capture/render" standard def on import to computer?

by fiercemd Nov 2, 2007 10:45PM PDT

Kiddpeat--

Is there an easy way to not import all from the camera to the computer in standard def? To be frank, I am leaning towards the Sony as I have an older laptop, and to fully utilize the Canon would require some upgrades. I'm a Mac user and plan to use iMovie

- Collapse -

All of the high def cameras I have seen can both record and

by Kiddpeat Nov 2, 2007 10:56PM PDT

playback in std def. You can shoot in high def, and play it back in std def. The camera will perform the down sample. I do not know if the HV20 has this ability, so you need to verify that aspect. My assumption is that it does have the ability.

I cannot comment on Macs, iMovie, or their capabilities.

- Collapse -

need a little more info on your Mac and

by boya84 Nov 3, 2007 12:12AM PDT

iMovie version.

All Macs of the last few years came with FireWire ports. My son's 5 year old G4 tower has one. So does his 4 year old G4 PowerBook. iMovie 5 was the first version capable of doing HiDef presuming your process can handle it. Whether you PowerBook can handle hidef means we need to understand what processor you have... also, an external hard drive is likely required - standard def takes up about 13 gig per hour and 3x-4x more hard drive space for hi definition video. Like Kiddpeat said, import as standard def - rather than doing the hard work on the 'puter, the camera decodes on it's way out of the FireWire connection.

Download the User manual
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&tabact=DownloadDetailTabAct&fcategoryid=369&modelid=14869
Refer to page 42... DV output - DV locked...

- Collapse -

Mac f/u

by fiercemd Nov 3, 2007 3:26AM PDT

I have a G4 1.25 gHz powerbook with 2 gb RAM and iMovie O6. I reviewed the canon manual (p.76, actually) and it looks like the camera can output HD recordings as SD if the software does not handle HD. iMovie 06 does not seem to allow you to specify the mode of importing, although perhaps it can be tweaked when the camera is attached. I am concerned that manipulating hi def clips on my computer would be sloooow. At some point I plan to upgrade but I am starting to feel like the HV20 is overkill for my needs.

- Collapse -

When you launch a new iMovie project,

by boya84 Nov 3, 2007 9:00AM PDT

the "Save File as" naming dialog box opens... At the bottom of that screen, there is a dropdown that wants you to choose the format. A camcorder does not need to be attached.

The selections on my iMac G5 flatpanel (and my son's iMac CoreDuo) include DV, DV Widescreen, HDV 1080i, HDV 720p, MPEG4, iSight.

You will need your OSX install discs to do a custom install to add the "Apple Intermediate CODEC" to your system if you move forward with hidef video. If the "Apple Intermediate CODEC" is not installed, you may not see the hidef selections in that drop down. You should see at least the DV, DV Widescreen selections.

Honestly, I don't remember what the minimum requirements are - though I agree, hidef video on a G4 processor could be painful anytime you render something. Importing the video will be slow. I seem to recall first doing this on a 733 MHz G4 tower - because it was REALLY slow (lots of leaving it running overnight for DVD burning). Once the clips are in, if you ONLY do cuts, it won't be bad at all. But any rendering - fades, wipes, special effects, titles, credits, etc... will take a bit of time. Rendering to burn a DVD (standard definition) will also take some time.

In case you have never been here http://discussions.apple.com/index.jspa take a look - lots of good stuff and helpful people.

Hi-def or not hi-def? Please advise

CNET Forums

Other Forums

Forum Info