Clean Copies, One Generation to the Next (page 2)
No Garbage In!
The better the original, the slower the generation loss, so here are four strategies for creating primo-quality camera tapes:
- Use a premium format. DV, Hi8 and S-VHS tapes deliver higher resolution and cleaner colors than regular VHS and 8mm formats.
- Select a three-chip camera. Three imaging CCDs are better than one, both for resolution and for clean color separation.
- Use high-quality tape, meaning a regular grade from a major manufacturer. However, it's very difficult to see any significant quality improvement from the more expensive tape grades, so save your money and stick with the regular grade.
- Provide ample lighting, to record well-saturated colors and avoid the grain added by a low-light camcorder setting (this setting is usually called "gain" or "gain up"). At the other extreme, use a faster shutter speed and/or a gray neutral density filter in ultra bright snow or beach locations. This will keep colors from "blooming" and smearing.
With the quality of your source tapes optimized, look next at the edit master you'll assemble from t…
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