Sony HDR-HC7 HDV Camcorder

[murk]

Be proactive. Phone Varizoom Monday to voice your request for a photo button on their remotes. Perhaps there is one. I know Sony makes a remote with photo button on their inexpensive tripods.

I contacted them via email. It cannot control this function. I think I will go with Sony's cheap remote and find a way to attach it to my monopod and tripod. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00008ZGSO/ref=ord_cart_shr/105-2520294-5134027?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance It only offers zoom control, a record button and a photo button. If Varizoom ever puts out a new model, I'll upgrade.

 

[tamlovesmac]

Very simplistic question...

I found this forum as I was desperately googling to find any information about mac/Sony HDR-HC7 compatibility. I'm primarily using a MacBook Pro w/intel processor. I also have a mac mini, also with the intel processor. I'm simply a mom with five kids...in various activities to include soccer, gymnastics, scouts, etc. We have a great movie room set-up and I want a High-def camcorder that I can use to view family movies in our home theater. I understand that I can simply take video and hook the camera directly up to my tv...but it's the editing issue that I'm still not clear on. I think this forum is way over my head, but I'm hoping someone will have pity on me and give me some advice and point me in the right direction. If I don't want to lay out an excessive amount of money for additional hardware/software in order to edit footage from the HDR-HC7, should I even bother with that camera?, or is there something that is more mac friendly..also HD (though I love the surround sound potential and recording to hard drive that the HDR-HC7 offers.) Ideally, I would be able to utilize imovie, and maybe lay out a little bit for something to allow me to get the footage onto the computer (such as the blackmagic intensity. Then I'm still fuzzy on the necessary memory in order to get the video onto the computer in order to edit...am I looking at acquiring more memory? Feel free to e-mail directly if you'd rather save this forum for the pros...I won't take offense Thanks so much! Tam

 

[Multimedia]

You Just Need iMovie, Large HD, FireWire Cable, Dell 2407WFP & 2GB of RAM Tam

I found this forum as I was desperately googling to find any information about mac/Sony HDR-HC7 compatibility. I'm primarily using a MacBook Pro w/intel processor. I also have a mac mini, also with the intel processor. I'm simply a mom with five kids...in various activities to include soccer, gymnastics, scouts, etc. We have a great movie room set-up and I want a High-def camcorder that I can use to view family movies in our home theater.

I understand that I can simply take video and hook the camera directly up to my tv...but it's the editing issue that I'm still not clear on. I think this forum is way over my head, but I'm hoping someone will have pity on me and give me some advice and point me in the right direction. If I don't want to lay out an excessive amount of money for additional hardware/software in order to edit footage from the HDR-HC7, should I even bother with that camera?, or is there something that is more mac friendly..also HD (though I love the surround sound potential and recording to hard drive that the HDR-HC7 offers.)

Ideally, I would be able to utilize imovie, and maybe lay out a little bit for something to allow me to get the footage onto the computer (such as the blackmagic intensity. Then I'm still fuzzy on the necessary memory in order to get the video onto the computer in order to edit...am I looking at acquiring more memory?

You're definitely a HC7 candidate. Forget the rest. What make and model HDTV do you have? iMovie will work just fine. Blackmagic Intensity is for Mac Pros only. Overkill for you. You simply connect your HC7 to your MacBook or Mac mini's FireWire conector with a FW cable and then capture in iMovie. Your MacBook is preferable as it is more powerful than any mini. iMovie is HDV friendly already. You are recording at a rate of 13GB per 1 hour miniDV tape.

HC7 is best because you won't be able to get those images of all your kids again and be glad you got the best camera you could at the time. HD based camcorders use a worse compression scheme called AVCHD that isnt even supported on the Mac yet. But even when it is, it will still yield inferior pictures. Plus you wind up with the problem of how to archive everything you shoot instead of recording your archive on miniDV tape in the first place.

More RAM is better so raise the MacBook to two 1GB sticks for a total of 2GB. Buy a large FireWire HD for all your videos and editing. You can make one buying a large HD at Fry's on sale (400GB $100) and a FW Case ($40 Acomdata). You live in a Fry's Market? Where are you? The HC7 has a HDMI output so you can play stuff directly from the camcorder onto your HDTV really super well. You need to buy a 4 pin to 6 pin FireWire Cable too for moving your footage from the tape to your hard drive.

Your best screen setup is to add a 24" Dell 2407WFP On Sale Now for $674 (this a link to the sale page) that you can drive from your MacBook. OR if the screen you have attached to your Mac mini has two inputs - one VGA & one DVI, just hook the MacBook up to the vacant input and press the input button to switch over. But If you don't have a 1920 x 1200 monitor yet, get the Dell and you can run both computers on the Dell as explained above. Any smaller screen will prevent you from working with your files natively. You also may connect the HC7 to the Dell via the component out of the HC7. None of the above can be done on an Apple Cinema Display due to lack of inputs. But you want more screen space than the little 13" screen on your MacBook. I would use the DVI to VGA adapter that came with the mini to hook it to the Dell's VGA input and buy a mini DVI to DVI adaptor for your MacBook. The Dell comes with both DVI and VGA cables included.

Can you swing all that? If you must, you can get by without the Dell. But it will make your editing work much more pleasant plus you can see your footage in its native size that way. 1920 x 1080.

Feel free to share all your questions here so all can share in the knowledge.

 

[Multimedia]

Fry's Has HC5/7s In Stock Now. I Played With HC5 They Have On Display

Fry's is keeping all their HC7s back in the cage for sale @ $1399. But they did put a HC5 out for playing with. The 10x optical zoom is pretty darned long. And the auto focus is pretty fast. Couldn't find manual focus control on the HC5. That little dial that's on the left side of the barrel on the HC7 is not there on the HC5 so there might not be any manual focus on it. Felt good. Very small.

On-Screen Menu very responsive.

No Lanyard is possilbe. Bummer.

Viewfinder does extend way back enough to cover the big battery but does not tilt up. Bummer.

Only had a very short time with it. Nothing to make me change my mind that I think the HC7 is the Camera of the Year from a top consumer bottom prosumer point of view. Gotta run.

 

[tamlovesmac]

Plus you wind up with the problem of how to archive everything you shoot instead of recording your archive on miniDV tape in the first place.

As I read this info. from you I realized I was speaking about a different Sony model...oops. My husband and I went to Best Buy and checked out the HDR-SR1. As far as I can tell at first glance, the primary difference between the two is the HC7 records onto miniDV tape..which is an advantage since, as you mentioned, it creates an immediate archive. However, the SR1 records in surround sound. I'm not necessarily sold on having the hard-drive, but I do want the surround sound capability. HHHMMMM..any experience or info. on the HDR-SR1? What would you recommend?

More RAM is better so raise the MacBook to two 1GB sticks for a total of 2GB. Buy a large FireWire HD for all your videos and editing. You can make one buying a large HD at Fry's on sale (400GB $100) and a FW Case ($40 Acomdata).

Sorry, you kinda lost me there...I need to purchase 2GB more of memory, a FireWire HD "cord", as well as a FW case..can you explain the function of the FW case?

You live in a Fry's Market? Where are you?

I am in the Dallas area, and we have a Fry's about 20 minutes away.

The HC7 has a HDMI output so you can play stuff directly from the camcorder onto your HDTV really super well. You need to buy a 4 pin to 6 pin FireWire Cable too for moving your footage from the tape to your hard drive.

So this cable is different then the FireWire HD you mention in the previous paragraph?

Your best screen setup is to add a 24" Dell 2407WFP On Sale Now for $674 (this a link to the sale page) that you can drive from your MacBook. OR if the screen you have attached to your Mac mini has two inputs - one VGA & one DVI, just hook the MacBook up to the vacant input and press the input button to switch over. But If you don't have a 1920 x 1200 monitor yet, get the Dell and you can run both computers on the Dell as explained above. Any smaller screen will prevent you from working with your files natively. You also may connect the HC7 to the Dell via the component out of the HC7. None of the above can be done on an Apple Cinema Display due to lack of inputs. But you want more screen space than the little 13" screen on your MacBook. I would use the DVI to VGA adapter that came with the mini to hook it to the Dell's VGA input and buy a mini DVI to DVI adaptor for your MacBook. The Dell comes with both DVI and VGA cables included.

Well, there is no way I'll convince my husband to get the dell monitor He is already threatening the next computer will be a PC...he is not a complete Mac convert..yet. We do have a four year old Dell with a 15" flat screen monitor. I'll have to check it to see about the input/output capability you mention. When you said that a "smaller screen will prevent you from working with your files natively." what kind of limitations will I have if I do chose to work solely on my macbook pro? When I speak of editing...at this point I'm thinking of cutting down an entire soccer game to a few select scenes..not creating an independent film

Oh, and we are viewing our HD stuff on a 63" samsung plasma flat screen...do you need any other details?

I really appreciate your prompt reply and helpful information!

 

[kepardue]

The few samples I've seen show red/green/blue pixels in the "blue" sky and rainbow edges on shadows of trees on asphault. So I have not been impressed thus far. But I bought a 4GB memory stick pro duo for my yet to get but still on order with ProVantage HC7 so I will be giving it a go and report back here with samples as soon as I can. Others here who have the camera might posts some pics please?

I'd be interested to hear about yours or anyone's experiences with the HC7-as-replacement for a digital still camera, particularly one of the age (Olympus C4000) that I have. I think that's the last feather in the cap for me to get one of these babies, that's what'll help me justify the spending on it.

You mentioned that you were getting a Memory Stick Pro Duo... what is the difference between Memory Stick Pro, and Memory Stick Pro Duo? Is one better than the other? My printer has a card reader in it, and says that it takes the Memory Stick Pro, but only takes the Pro Duo with an adapter. Would it be possible to put a 2GB Memory Stick Pro in there, instead of the duo?

 

[Multimedia]

MS Pro Duo Is Shorter Than Pro and The Only One That Fits In The HC7 Memory Slot.

I'd be interested to hear about yours or anyone's experiences with the HC7-as-replacement for a digital still camera, particularly one of the age (Olympus C4000) that I have. I think that's the last feather in the cap for me to get one of these babies, that's what'll help me justify the spending on it.

You mentioned that you were getting a Memory Stick Pro Duo... what is the difference between Memory Stick Pro, and Memory Stick Pro Duo? Is one better than the other? My printer has a card reader in it, and says that it takes the Memory Stick Pro, but only takes the Pro Duo with an adapter. Would it be possible to put a 2GB Memory Stick Pro in there, instead of the duo?

Pro Duo is the shorter one that fits in the HC7. Pro is too long. My SanDisk 4GB Pro Duo for $60 after $20 rebate at Fry's included the adapter. Did you download the HC7 manual and study that yet?

 

[Multimedia]

HDR-SR1 Would Be A Poor Choice Compared To HDR-HC7

As I read this info. from you I realized I was speaking about a different Sony model...oops. My husband and I went to Best Buy and checked out the HDR-SR1. As far as I can tell at first glance, the primary difference between the two is the HC7 records onto miniDV tape..which is an advantage since, as you mentioned, it creates an immediate archive. However, the SR1 records in surround sound. I'm not necessarily sold on having the hard-drive, but I do want the surround sound capability. HHHMMMM..any experience or info. on the HDR-SR1? What would you recommend?

Forgetaboutit. AVCHD compression blows and no way to easily archive what you shoot on a long lasting medium like HDV tape. You would be UNABLE to edit anything you shoot from a SR1.

Sorry, you kinda lost me there...I need to purchase 2GB more of memory, a FireWire HD "cord", as well as a FW case..can you explain the function of the FW case?

For optimum performance your MacBook should be 2GB ram. FW cord is how you move video from your camera's tape playing onto your HD for editing. It cost $4.99 at Fry's. Watch Fry's Friday Insert in the Dallas Times for $100 400GB PATA HDs and $40 Acomdata FW/USB2 cases. You put the drive in the case and that is what you save your camera's HDV files to. They use 13GB an hour. So they eat HDs for breakfast. I just bought four 500GB USB2 HDs at Fry;s for $130 each in the cases- Acomdata & Iomega. I'm saying if you only need one make it your self so it's FireWire too.

I am in the Dallas area, and we have a Fry's about 20 minutes away.

Perfect.

So this cable is different then the FireWire HD you mention in the previous paragraph?

No it's one cable. The HD case includes all the cables for the HD to computer hook up

Well, there is no way I'll convince my husband to get the dell monitor He is already threatening the next computer will be a PC...he is not a complete Mac convert..yet. We do have a four year old Dell with a 15" flat screen monitor. I'll have to check it to see about the input/output capability you mention. When you said that a "smaller screen will prevent you from working with your files natively." what kind of limitations will I have if I do chose to work solely on my macbook pro? When I speak of editing...at this point I'm thinking of cutting down an entire soccer game to a few select scenes..not creating an independent film

The old Dell monitor is probably only VGA in. That'll do. Better than nothing. OK. Well then what is your mini hooked up to? Does it have two inputs? It's hard to edit on a 13" screen. But it can be done. Does your husband understand that he can run Windows on a Mac? And that Macs cost LESS than comparable PCs? He is out of touch with changing times.

Oh, and we are viewing our HD stuff on a 63" samsung plasma flat screen...do you need any other details?

The Dell 24" Dell 2407WFP screen to create your original work on is not expensive. It's on sale now for only $674?

Perfect. That means you have HDMI IN so you will be able to view your masterpieces on a superior display from edits you make on your MacBook and record back to the HC7 so you can playback from the HC7 out the HDMI port to your display. Will look fantastic. You could even play from the MacBook out the miniDVI to DVI adaptor followed by a DVI to HDMI cable into the back of your Samsung. But you'd also need to connect an analog or digital audio cable to the Samsung to complete that setup.

 

[kepardue]

Pro Duo is the shorter one that fits in the HC7. Pro is too long. My SanDisk 4GB Pro Duo for $60 after $20 rebate at Fry's included the adapter. Did you download the HC7 manual and study that yet?

Browsing through the manual now. Very interesting and it's answered several non-related questions about the camcorder. One more question (obviously proclaiming my novice-ness here), what does the wide conversion lens accomplish?

 

[Multimedia]

Wide Lens Lets You Shoot Twice AS Wide Of The Direction Your Camera Is Pointed At

Browsing through the manual now. Very interesting and it's answered several non-related questions about the camcorder. One more question (obviously proclaiming my novice-ness here), what does the wide conversion lens accomplish?

Let's you shoot a picture that shows twice as much width of the direction the camera is pointed. You use it for establishing shots and it also lets you get much closer to people so your sound from camera mic can be better.

 

[murk]

For me the dual record mode with 4.6 megapixel stills is the selling point. Well, that plus I wanting to move to High Def. Sure, I wish the dual record photo pixel count was higher, but it's the best yet and has crossed a threshold that has made me buy. How many times have you been making a video of a kids party and wished you could have also gotten a decent still at the same time? As I said earlier, I have no illusions that it will replace my Canon 20D. I may rarely use the higher quality still only mode since I would probably use the Canon when I just want to shoot photos. If dual record enables me to grab a few good photos while still getting the video, I will be happy.

 

[tamlovesmac]

The Dell 24" Dell 2407WFP screen to create your original work on is not expensive. It's on sale now for only $674?

Did I mention we have FIVE kids...believe me, if we lay out all we need for the camera and the components to allow even the most basic editing on the mac, an additional monitor is not in the cards...and the Dell screen I mentioned is what we have hooked up to the mac mini right now. Later today I'll check what input/output the Dell 15" flat screen monitor has.

Does your husband understand that he can run Windows on a Mac? And that Macs cost LESS than comparable PCs? He is out of touch with changing times.

To be fair, my husband appreciates most of what the mac has to offer, his primary concern is accessing work e-mail from Outlook Express from our home mac...I'm sure it's a very simple solution I have not yet stumbled upon...and we do have parallels on the macbook pro with windows installed..I just never personally have need for it.

Perfect. That means you have HDMI IN so you will be able to view your masterpieces on a superior display from edits you make on your MacBook and record back to the HC7 so you can playback from the HC7 out the HDMI port to your display. Will look fantastic. You could even play from the MacBook out the miniDVI to DVI adaptor followed by a DVI to HDMI cable into the back of your Samsung. But you'd also need to connect an analog or digital audio cable to the Samsung to complete that setup.

Okay, so what I'm doing is transferring data from the camcorder to the macbook pro, editing what I need, then transferring BACK to the camcorder in order to hook up the tv to view...is it possible to burn edited footage onto a DVD for easier access, to give to family, etc.? What are the advantages of hooking up the camcorder to the Samsung versus from the MacBook? If I do so, without the digital audio cable hook up, will I only be able to view the footage, without the sound?

Thanks again for your patience with my very basic questions

 

[kryptticAZ]

"Why would you want to buy lenses from a company that doesn't specialize in engineering and manufacturing lenses ONLY?"

In Sony's defense, the Raynox wideangle lense (which I just purchased) is a bit cheaply made. The entire casing and adapter rings are made of plastic vs. the metal body of the Sony. I'm keeping the Raynox for the 0.5X vs. 0.7x, but I'm a little dissapointed at the materials.

 

[Multimedia]

Need Your Samsung Model Number Tam

Okay, so what I'm doing is transferring data from the camcorder to the macbook pro, editing what I need, then transferring BACK to the camcorder in order to hook up the tv to view...is it possible to burn edited footage onto a DVD for easier access, to give to family, etc.? What are the advantages of hooking up the camcorder to the Samsung versus from the MacBook? If I do so, without the digital audio cable hook up, will I only be able to view the footage, without the sound?

I'm gonna need a model number of your Samsung so I can study the manual, talk to their world class technical support and get back to you on the sound quesiton. Off the top of my head I'd GUESS you have one (of 2) HDMI connection that is associated with an analog (2 RCA Red-White) and perhaps optical digital audio IN connection that can come from your little 1/8" stereo analog/optical digital OUT of the MacBook. The video will come from a male DVI to male HDMI cable attached to your miniDVI to DVI output adapter on the MacBook (buy from Apple or at Fry's if they have them). From the camera you'll want to plug into your pure HDMI (2nd HDMI IN that receives both video & the audio from the camera) with a male HDMI to male HDMI cable.

WARNING: Do NOT buy these cables from a store other than Fry's. Online is even less expensive than Fry's sells them for. But Radio Shack, Circuit City etc are selling these cables at predatory prices to unknowledgeable customers at anywhere from 3 to 5 times what you can buy them online for. I recommend you buy them from HomeAvCables.com out of 2877 LBJ Freeway, Dallas Texas (this is a link to them). Their local phone number for you is 972.241.9750. Lucky you can just order on the phone and pickup to avoid shipping charges.

Toll Free for everyone else is 877.532.2253.

Advantage of playing from MacBook is you don't have to record your edited footage back to your HC7 first to view the HDV Edit from camcorder. You can easily make DVDs with iDVD and Toast. But until you get your next Mac with a Blu-ray burner-player those will be in Widescreen SD not HD. Good news is the SD DVDs you make will be super HQ since the master is HDV. SD DVDs from HD masters look niceably sharper than those made from SD footage.

 

[tamlovesmac]

I'm gonna need a model number of your Samsung so I can study the manual, talk to their world class technical support and get back to you on the sound quesiton. Off the top of my head I'd GUESS you have one (of 2) HDMI connection that is associated with an analog (2 RCA Red-White) and perhaps optical digital audio IN connection that can come from your little 1/8" stereo analog/optical digital OUT of the MacBook. The video will come from a male DVI to male HDMI cable attached to your miniDVI to DVI output adapter on the MacBook (buy from Apple or at Fry's if they have them). From the camera you'll want to plug into your pure HDMI (2nd HDMI IN that receives both video & the audio from the camera) with a male HDMI to male HDMI cable.

Here are the model numbers for what I believe are the necessary components to make this whole thing work...the flat screen computer monitor is a Hitachi #CS555, the tv is a Samsung Model #HP-R6372. In case this is relevant, the Receiver is a Denon, Model # AVR-2106. All the media components were purchased at http://www.bestbuy.com/site//olspage.jsp?id=pcmcat96200050037&type=category

Thanks again for all your help, Multimedia, you are my new hero

 

[Multimedia]

I Need A Photo Of The Back Of The Hitachi Monitor

Here are the model numbers for what I believe are the necessary components to make this whole thing work...the flat screen computer monitor is a Hitachi #CS555, the tv is a Samsung Model #HP-R6372. In case this is relevant, the Receiver is a Denon, Model # AVR-2106. All the media components were purchased at http://www.bestbuy.com/site//olspage.jsp?id=pcmcat96200050037&type=category

Sorry. CS555 is also the number of black Canon Ink. I can't find the manual/schematic for your monitor on the web. Please take a digital picture of the rear ports and post it here. You know how to do that?

Good news is all of the above post instructions will work. Bad news is your HDTV is not native 1920 x 1080. It's really only a HighER Definition TV 1366x768 not a HighEST Definition TV 1920x1080. Although it is very BIG, it's not very DENSE. Your MacBook is 1280x800 - 32 more horizontal lines than your Samsung. You might want to think about selling it and replacing it with a true 1920x1080i/p T Series (2007) Samsung this summer. I understand money is an issue. I am just telling you the facts. By not paying close attention to the specifications of that Series R (2005) 63" Plasma Samsung, you really only bought a screen that cannot reproduce the full NBC, CBS, PBS 1920x1080i image that is coming into the house. Samsung is shooting for 1080P on the fly upconversion with 6ms refresh in their 2007 T series line of LCDs due late Spring - Summer.

Your HC7 is capable of recording and displaying the full 1080i set of lines up there. Your set will throw out 360 of those lines and display 720 of them. It will also throw out 640 horizontal pixels and display 1280 of them. It does interpolate up to that higher spec though. So you won't be able to see all of what you are doing until you replace your HP-R6372 with a true 1920x1080i/p set. You don't need to do this. I am just letting you know that you should be aware of the limitations of your resolution challenged set.

Post #144: The HC7 likely resolves 540 horizontal lines*, so 360 are not getting lost. 640 vertical lines are not being thrown out either in terms of detail (the arithmetic is 1440 minus 1280 anyhow, not 1920 minus 1280). It's at least a wash, and that's being kind to the HC7. No detail is lost lost because the camera does not resolve anywhere near 1000 lines vertically**.

Going to a 1080p TV won't show the detail of what the HC7 shoots any better than a 720p LCD, Plasma, LCOS or DLP. Getting a 1080i CRT would.

But as Multimedia said, a 1080p set would be great for high definition cable, satellite or broadcast, as well as blue-laser optical disc playback (HD DVD or Blu-ray). And while editing on an at least 1920 x 1080 or 1200 display, you could see the comb line artifacts clearly.

*if it's nearly as good as the Sony Z1U, which resolves 550 TV lines . . . and, of course, it isn't.

**The Sony HDW-F900/3 CineAlta resolves 1000 lines horizontally and vertically. The Sony Z1U resolves 700+ lines vertically. The HC7 obviously is not playing in this league.

I stand corrected. Thanks Rod Rod.

On page 28 of your manual you see one of the ways to connect your MacBook to your set I explained above. There are several other ways. I use the VGA input, the one labeled PC IN because it keeps the valuable HDMI input free for a DVD player or other peripherals like your HC7. This connection is explained on page 88 of your manual. Nowadays there are TWO HDMI ports back there in addition to the VGA input. Alternately, you can attach the audio from your MacBook directly to the front of your DENON V AUX INPUT either optical fiber or analog 1/8" to tosslink or RCA cable respectfully. But from the camcorder you're gonna want to use the HDMI to HDMI mentioned above which will send both video and audio to the set.

BONUS: You can also use the Samsung as a second monitor for your MacBook when it's not being used as a TV when editing your videos. I have my 40" 1920x1080 LN-S4095 coming out of my Quad G5 as monitor #4. So make sure you buy a long enough VGA cable so you can sit back in your living room chair or sofa while you edit on the big screen. That should be fun. But imagine how much more fun it will be when you get a 1920x1080 63" screen instead. You'll have that much more screen real estate to work with when coming out of your MacBook.

 

[BiikeMike]

Multimedia, you are my hero!

 

[Multimedia]

We Just Reached 7,001 Views • This Is Post #143

When I started this thread less than a month ago on February 10, I never imagined it would become so wildly popular as it has. Thanks to everyone for keeping it interesting and informative. Congratulations to all who post or lurk here.

There's a lot more to discuss. We're just getting started.

 

[Rod Rod]

Your HC7 is capable of recording and displaying the full 1080i set of lines up there. Your set will throw out 360 of those lines and display 720 of them. It will also throw out 640 horizontal pixels and display 1280 of them. It does interpolate up to that higher spec though.

The HC7 likely resolves 540 horizontal lines*, so 360 are not getting lost. 640 vertical lines are not being thrown out either in terms of detail (the arithmetic is 1440 minus 1280 anyhow, not 1920 minus 1280). It's at least a wash, and that's being kind to the HC7. No detail is lost lost because the camera does not resolve anywhere near 1000 lines vertically**.

Going to a 1080p TV won't show the detail of what the HC7 shoots any better than a 720p LCD, Plasma, LCOS or DLP. Getting a 1080i CRT would.

But as Multimedia said, a 1080p set would be great for high definition cable, satellite or broadcast, as well as blue-laser optical disc playback (HD DVD or Blu-ray). And while editing on an at least 1920 x 1080 or 1200 display, you could see the comb line artifacts clearly.

*if it's nearly as good as the Sony Z1U, which resolves 550 TV lines . . . and, of course, it isn't.

**The Sony HDW-F900/3 CineAlta resolves 1000 lines horizontally and vertically. The Sony Z1U resolves 700+ lines vertically. The HC7 obviously is not playing in this league.

 

[Multimedia]

Why Does Sony Brag 1080i On The HC7 When It's Closer To 540i? Huge Disparity!

*. . . the Sony Z1U, which resolves 550 TV lines . . .

**The Sony HDW-F900/3 CineAlta resolves 1000 lines horizontally and vertically. The Sony Z1U resolves 700+ lines vertically. The HC7 obviously is not playing in this league.

Thanks. So which res does the Z1U resolve at? 550 or 700+?

How can Sony get away with claiming 1080i on the HC7 specs and marketing features list if it really only resolves at little more than half that resolution?

What about the newer Sony V1U's resolve?

 

[Rod Rod]

Thanks. So which res does the Z1U resolve at? 550 or 700+?

How can Sony get away with claiming 1080i on the HC7 specs and marketing features list if it really only resolves at little more than half that resolution?

What about the newer Sony V1U's resolve?

The resolution tests on the link cited show the Z1U having 550 horizontal TV lines / picture height and 700+ vertical TV lines. The parenthetical 540 lines shown for vertical is for the frame-type mode (cineframe).

Sony can say it's 1080i because that's the pixel count (1440x540, upsampled on playback to 1920x540, 60 times per second). But the number of pixels is not indicative of actual resolution. Resolution is determined by visible picture detail.

I don't know how the V1U measures up.

 

[Multimedia]

1440x540, upsampled on playback to 1920x540, 60 times per second - You Mean 1080?

The resolution tests on the link cited show the Z1U having 550 horizontal TV lines / picture height and 700+ vertical TV lines. The parenthetical 540 lines shown for vertical is for the frame-type mode (cineframe).

Sony can say it's 1080i because that's the pixel count (1440x540, upsampled on playback to 1920x540, 60 times per second). But the number of pixels is not indicative of actual resolution. Resolution is determined by visible picture detail.

Did you mean 1920 wide x1080 playback height?

 

[Rod Rod]

Did you mean 1920 wide x1080 playback height?

I meant 1920 x 540, 60 times. At 60 interlaced fields per second, with two fields per frame, the 1920 x 1080 frame is two distinct time samples, each at 1920 x 540.

Searching the web for examples, I found this discussion about resolution charts on Wikipedia, which has a good graphic representation of how interlacing can lead to detail loss.

This article describes how interlacing provides for greater spatial resolution at a given bandwidth. But as the test results linked in my previous post show, the number of lines displayed doesn't denote the number of lines of discernible detail.

The article I linked earlier explains how aliasing happens and what it means. (cmd-F and type "alias" to jump to that part).

 

[Multimedia]

So Does This Explanation Make 720P Higher Resolution Than 1080i?

I meant 1920 x 540, 60 times. At 60 interlaced fields per second, with two fields per frame, the 1920 x 1080 frame is two distinct time samples, each at 1920 x 540.

So is this why some would argue that 720P is higher res than 1080i? What about the upcoming sets that will auto upscale to 1080P from the incoming 1080i signal? Won't those be the best highest resolution yet?

Why do I perceive 1080i as higher resolution than 720p? When I watch FOX 720p NFL football it looks noticeably lower res than CBS 1080i NFL football to me. Am I imagining that? I don't think so.

 

[LethalWolfe]

So is this why some would argue that 720P is higher res than 1080i?

I don't think I've heard anyone say it's higher rez, but they can be close when there is movement happening on screen. If you recorded something w/very little movement (a wide shot of a mountain range for example) interlacing is less of an issue. But for stuff like sports w/lots of movement progressive can provide cleaner images (especially for slo-mo shots).

What about the upcoming sets that will auto upscale to 1080P from the incoming 1080i signal? Won't those be the best highest resolution yet?

But there's only so much "magic" engineers can work to scale a lower res image into a higher res image. You also have to take into account TV size and viewing distance. You have to be sitting close enough to a big enough TV to tell the difference. People like bigger numbers, and marketing people like that people like bigger numbers, but I think a lot of what we're talking about is really only "better on paper." I think if you look at the average HDTV in the average house being watched by the average consumer they can't tell the difference between 720p and 1080i (let alone 1080p) and are content watching SD DVDs or SD TV programing (most likely 4:3 distorted to fill the 16:9 frame) on their HDTV set.

Why do I perceive 1080i as higher resolution than 720p? When I watch FOX 720p NFL football it looks noticeably lower res than CBS 1080i NFL football to me. Am I imagining that? I don't think so.

It could have something to do w/how the signal is being manipulated before it gets to your house. I have regular digital cable and the NFL games I watch on FOX always look better than the ones on CBS.


Lethal