Are you Ready to Make the Switch to HDV?

Early adopters run some risk, as anybody with a Commodore Amiga in their basement will probably tell you, but they also come away with some significant advantages. With more cameras on the market, and a host of editing programs to choose from, HDV isn't going anywhere in the near future. But the question is when to take that step; still largely missing from the HDV loop is a playback solution. While people wait for HD-DVD or Blu-ray to make some decisive victory, people hesitate over buying HDV cams or upgrading their computers. We'll take a look at some of the risks and some of the benefits of being the first person on your block to be shooting in HDV.

Let's first take a look at several groups of people who may benefit from making the switch to HDV.

Are you the person on your block that had the first automatic garage door opener? The first VHS camcorder? The first microwave oven? If you enjoy the sheer uniqueness of new technology, you're probably don't need much of an excuse.

For a long time the Holy Grail of some DV users was to find a way to make their digital video look like film. Some video cameras offer a 24-frame progressive scan mode for easier transfer to film, but many people want that "film look" all the while realizing that their product will never be projected in a theater, but rather will debut "direct to video." For this constituency is Sony's CineFrame30 (CF30) which doubles one HD interlaced field and discards the second. This simulates a film look by effectively slowing the frame rate (in fact, it's very similar to the "slow shutter" mode on some SD cameras, but since it's HD, the quality is much more superior).

24p
Some HDV camcorders support 24p mode for transfer to actual film.

16:9 mode
Most HDV camcorders offer true 16:9 panoramic mode.

International Compatibility
Some HDV camcorders can shoot in NTSC as well as PAL.

People who produce wedding, corporate or documentary videos or stock footage may want to take advantage of the increased resolution and clarity of HDV as the industry moves over to this new format.

There are some considerations you need to make about HDV before you make the switch.

Apart from the obvious issue of clarity and contrast, all indicators point to HDV becoming a popular and well-supported standard in the months ahead. There are a large number of camera models, editing software and 16:9 televisions to choose from. The benefits of being able to offer HDV to your clients will depend on who they are and what they do.

There are some downsides to HDV as well -- since it's lossy, highly compressed video, it degrades, if even ever so slightly, when you edit it. The bit rate is constant, so if you're shooting fast motion with lots of scene and color changes, there is a good chance you will introduce artifacting to your image. You need a very powerful computer to edit it and renting an HDV editing facility may be difficult. The CCD chips are also typically a stop or a stop and a half slower than the high-end DV cams. Plus, you can't just pop the result into an ordinary DVD player and watch it.