Re: [videoblogging] your thoughts on tapes vs HD?
At first blush, was thinking that Xacti HD cameras that record to SD memory cards would prove an interesting solution. Mailing you the SD cards shouldn't be too much of a problem. Very small. Perhaps TOO small? Problem with all of this - regardless of what camera you choose - will be getting good sound, so placement of any camera near the speaker (either the person or the sound reinforcement speaker) will be essential. The quality of the Xacti HD camera we used at VlogEurope 07 was pretty darned good. Xacti files are .mp4; 10 MB for 30 seconds of raw footage @ 640 x 480 on the non-HD model I personally worked with. Darned if I can recall the model. Imagine the settings may be changed to another aspect ratio, esp. in the HD model. Sounds like an interesting project for you :) Let us know what you decide to do. Jan On Dec 9, 2007 11:47 PM, Deirdre Straughan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Here's the sitch: > > I am trying to get every office I deal with at Sun (6 - 10 sites worldwide) > to have a videocamera they can use to capture presentations etc. which can > then be edited and re-used for sharing knowledge, training, etc. Usually the > raw footage will be sent to me for editing, posting, and making into DVDs. > That last point is important: I need good enough quality somewhere that a > DVD is going to look reasonable (especially considering that filming will > usually take place in less than optimum conditions); highly compressed MPG > may not be good enough. > > One problem we've already run into is how to ship around large amounts of > raw footage: these talks run 45 minutes up to 3 hours, and an hour of raw DV > AVI = about 12 GB. Even Sun doesn't have the bandwidth for that to be a fast > transfer, and I certainly don't have it at home. > > My gut feeling is that the best solution is MiniDV - tapes are easier to > mail around than hard disks. But I'm willing to be told otherwise. I don't > know the state of the art in HD-based camcorders these days - what do they > compress into? How big are the resulting files (per minute)? > > Any thoughts/advice/pointers will be welcome! > > > -- > best regards, > Deirdré Straughan > > living & travelling in Italy > (and other Countries Beginning with I) > www.beginningwithi.com > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > -- The Faux Press - better than real http://feeds.feedburner.com/diaryofafauxjournalist - RSS http://fauxpress.blogspot.com http://wburg.tv aim=janofsound air=862.571.5334 skype=janmclaughlin
Re: [videoblogging] your thoughts on tapes vs HD?
Could someone send or (better) let me download a small sample of Xacti MP4 video so I can see whether I can work with it with my current software? On Dec 10, 2007 1:43 PM, Jan McLaughlin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > At first blush, was thinking that Xacti HD cameras that record to SD > memory cards would prove an interesting solution. > > Mailing you the SD cards shouldn't be too much of a problem. Very > small. Perhaps TOO small? > > Problem with all of this - regardless of what camera you choose - will > be getting good sound, so placement of any camera near the speaker > (either the person or the sound reinforcement speaker) will be > essential. > > The quality of the Xacti HD camera we used at VlogEurope 07 was pretty > darned good. > > Xacti files are .mp4; 10 MB for 30 seconds of raw footage @ 640 x 480 > on the non-HD model I personally worked with. Darned if I can recall > the model. Imagine the settings may be changed to another aspect > ratio, esp. in the HD model. > > Sounds like an interesting project for you :) Let us know what you decide > to do. > > Jan > > > On Dec 9, 2007 11:47 PM, Deirdre Straughan <[EMAIL > PROTECTED]> > wrote: > > Here's the sitch: > > > > I am trying to get every office I deal with at Sun (6 - 10 sites > worldwide) > > to have a videocamera they can use to capture presentations etc. which > can > > then be edited and re-used for sharing knowledge, training, etc. Usually > the > > raw footage will be sent to me for editing, posting, and making into > DVDs. > > That last point is important: I need good enough quality somewhere that > a > > DVD is going to look reasonable (especially considering that filming > will > > usually take place in less than optimum conditions); highly compressed > MPG > > may not be good enough. > > > > One problem we've already run into is how to ship around large amounts > of > > raw footage: these talks run 45 minutes up to 3 hours, and an hour of > raw DV > > AVI = about 12 GB. Even Sun doesn't have the bandwidth for that to be a > fast > > transfer, and I certainly don't have it at home. > > > > My gut feeling is that the best solution is MiniDV - tapes are easier to > > mail around than hard disks. But I'm willing to be told otherwise. I > don't > > know the state of the art in HD-based camcorders these days - what do > they > > compress into? How big are the resulting files (per minute)? > > > > Any thoughts/advice/pointers will be welcome! > > > > > > -- > > best regards, > > Deirdré Straughan > > > > living & travelling in Italy > > (and other Countries Beginning with I) > > www.beginningwithi.com > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > > > > -- > The Faux Press - better than real > http://feeds.feedburner.com/diaryofafauxjournalist - RSS > http://fauxpress.blogspot.com > http://wburg.tv > aim=janofsound > air=862.571.5334 > skype=janmclaughlin > > -- best regards, Deirdré Straughan living & travelling in Italy (and other Countries Beginning with I) www.beginningwithi.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: [videoblogging] your thoughts on tapes vs HD?
Do the Xactis also fall into the category of "does not perform well in low light"? "cause our lighting situations tend to pretty much suck... (people want the room lights low so they can see the presentation slides better - http://blogs.sun.com/storage/en_US/entry/what_we_re_watching_brian is fairly typical. On Dec 10, 2007 7:18 PM, Deirdre Straughan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Thanks! Looks as if I can edit it. > > > On Dec 10, 2007 6:47 PM, Raymond M. Kristiansen < > [EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > Hey Deirdre, > > > > I don't have the HD Xacti camera, but here is footage from the CA-65 > > model (http://www.letsgodigital.org/en/14708/sanyo_xacti_dmx_ca65/ ): > > http://dltq.org/media2/xactirawfordeirdre.MP4 > > > > It is straight from the camera. > > > > best, > > Raymond > > > > > > > > On Dec 10, 2007 2:05 PM, Deirdre Straughan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > wrote: > > > > > Could someone send or (better) let me download a small sample of > > > Xacti MP4 > > > video so I can see whether I can work with it with my current > > > software? > > > > > > > > > On Dec 10, 2007 1:43 PM, Jan McLaughlin <[EMAIL > > > PROTECTED]> > > > wrote: > > > > > > > At first blush, was thinking that Xacti HD cameras that record to SD > > > > memory cards would prove an interesting solution. > > > > > > > > Mailing you the SD cards shouldn't be too much of a problem. Very > > > > small. Perhaps TOO small? > > > > > > > > Problem with all of this - regardless of what camera you choose - > > > will > > > > be getting good sound, so placement of any camera near the speaker > > > > (either the person or the sound reinforcement speaker) will be > > > > essential. > > > > > > > > The quality of the Xacti HD camera we used at VlogEurope 07 was > > > pretty > > > > darned good. > > > > > > > > Xacti files are .mp4; 10 MB for 30 seconds of raw footage @ 640 x > > > 480 > > > > on the non-HD model I personally worked with. Darned if I can recall > > > > the model. Imagine the settings may be changed to another aspect > > > > ratio, esp. in the HD model. > > > > > > > > Sounds like an interesting project for you :) Let us know what you > > > decide > > > > to do. > > > > > > > > Jan > > > > > > > > > > > > On Dec 9, 2007 11:47 PM, Deirdre Straughan < > > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] < > > > deirdre.straughan%40gmail.com>> > > > > > > > wrote: > > > > > Here's the sitch: > > > > > > > > > > I am trying to get every office I deal with at Sun (6 - 10 sites > > > > worldwide) > > > > > to have a videocamera they can use to capture presentations etc. > > > which > > > > can > > > > > then be edited and re-used for sharing knowledge, training, etc. > > > Usually > > > > the > > > > > raw footage will be sent to me for editing, posting, and making > > > into > > > > DVDs. > > > > > That last point is important: I need good enough quality somewhere > > > that > > > > a > > > > > DVD is going to look reasonable (especially considering that > > > filming > > > > will > > > > > usually take place in less than optimum conditions); highly > > > compressed > > > > MPG > > > > > may not be good enough. > > > > > > > > > > One problem we've already run into is how to ship around large > > > amounts > > > > of > > > > > raw footage: these talks run 45 minutes up to 3 hours, and an hour > > > of > > > > raw DV > > > > > AVI = about 12 GB. Even Sun doesn't have the bandwidth for that to > > > be a > > > > fast > > > > > transfer, and I certainly don't have it at home. > > > > > > > > > > My gut feeling is that the best solution is MiniDV - tapes are > > > easier to > > > > > mail around than hard disks. But I'm willing to be told otherwise. > > > I > > > > don't > > > > > know the state of the art in HD-based camcorders these days - what > > > do > > > > they > > > > > compress into? How big are the resulting files (per minute)? > > > > > > > > > > Any thoughts/advice/pointers will be welcome! > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > > > > best regards, > > > > > Deirdré Straughan > > > > > > > > > > living & travelling in Italy > > > > > (and other Countries Beginning with I) > > > > > www.beginningwithi.com > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > > > The Faux Press - better than real > > > > http://feeds.feedburner.com/diaryofafauxjournalist - RSS > > > > http://fauxpress.blogspot.com > > > > http://wburg.tv > > > > aim=janofsound > > > > air=862.571.5334 > > > > skype=janmclaughlin > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > > best regards, > > > Deirdré Straughan > > > > > > living & travelling in Italy > > > (and other Countries Beginning with I) > > > www.beginningwithi.com > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > best regards, > Deirdré Straughan > > living & travelling in Italy > (and other Countries Beginning with I) > www.beg
Re: [videoblogging] your thoughts on tapes vs HD?
here is a music video that supposedly was shot solely with the xacti hd1000: http://www.sanyohd1000.com/ here are some hd700 samples that someone posted up: http://gallery.mac.com/crosby007#gallery This is someone else who posted a few low-light samples from HD1000: http://www.stevesforums.com/forums/view_topic.php?id=580745&forum_id=27 I have some of my own footage using hd700 that i could send to you if needed. sull On Dec 10, 2007 8:05 AM, Deirdre Straughan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > > > Could someone send or (better) let me download a small sample of Xacti MP4 > video so I can see whether I can work with it with my current software? > > > On Dec 10, 2007 1:43 PM, Jan McLaughlin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > At first blush, was thinking that Xacti HD cameras that record to SD > > memory cards would prove an interesting solution. > > > > Mailing you the SD cards shouldn't be too much of a problem. Very > > small. Perhaps TOO small? > > > > Problem with all of this - regardless of what camera you choose - will > > be getting good sound, so placement of any camera near the speaker > > (either the person or the sound reinforcement speaker) will be > > essential. > > > > The quality of the Xacti HD camera we used at VlogEurope 07 was pretty > > darned good. > > > > Xacti files are .mp4; 10 MB for 30 seconds of raw footage @ 640 x 480 > > on the non-HD model I personally worked with. Darned if I can recall > > the model. Imagine the settings may be changed to another aspect > > ratio, esp. in the HD model. > > > > Sounds like an interesting project for you :) Let us know what you decide > > to do. > > > > Jan > > > > > > On Dec 9, 2007 11:47 PM, Deirdre Straughan > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > > wrote: > > > Here's the sitch: > > > > > > I am trying to get every office I deal with at Sun (6 - 10 sites > > worldwide) > > > to have a videocamera they can use to capture presentations etc. which > > can > > > then be edited and re-used for sharing knowledge, training, etc. > Usually > > the > > > raw footage will be sent to me for editing, posting, and making into > > DVDs. > > > That last point is important: I need good enough quality somewhere that > > a > > > DVD is going to look reasonable (especially considering that filming > > will > > > usually take place in less than optimum conditions); highly compressed > > MPG > > > may not be good enough. > > > > > > One problem we've already run into is how to ship around large amounts > > of > > > raw footage: these talks run 45 minutes up to 3 hours, and an hour of > > raw DV > > > AVI = about 12 GB. Even Sun doesn't have the bandwidth for that to be a > > fast > > > transfer, and I certainly don't have it at home. > > > > > > My gut feeling is that the best solution is MiniDV - tapes are easier > to > > > mail around than hard disks. But I'm willing to be told otherwise. I > > don't > > > know the state of the art in HD-based camcorders these days - what do > > they > > > compress into? How big are the resulting files (per minute)? > > > > > > Any thoughts/advice/pointers will be welcome! > > > > > > > > > -- > > > best regards, > > > Deirdré Straughan > > > > > > living & travelling in Italy > > > (and other Countries Beginning with I) > > > www.beginningwithi.com > > > > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > The Faux Press - better than real > > http://feeds.feedburner.com/diaryofafauxjournalist - RSS > > http://fauxpress.blogspot.com > > http://wburg.tv > > aim=janofsound > > air=862.571.5334 > > skype=janmclaughlin > > > > > > -- > > best regards, > Deirdré Straughan > > living & travelling in Italy > (and other Countries Beginning with I) > www.beginningwithi.com > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > >
Re: [videoblogging] your thoughts on tapes vs HD?
The xacti cameras vary in their ability to shoot in low-light but generally speaking they are not ideal for this. You can get good results by changing white balance and iso but it sounds like you need something that can more consistently handle low-light well so a larger quality lens should be considered. The hd1000 does have a larger lens, so if you want to consider the xacti family, that might be the best choice. or one of the models that provides lens adapter. sull On Dec 10, 2007 9:10 AM, Deirdre Straughan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Do the Xactis also fall into the category of "does not perform well in low > light"? "cause our lighting situations tend to pretty much suck... (people > want the room lights low so they can see the presentation slides better - > http://blogs.sun.com/storage/en_US/entry/what_we_re_watching_brian is > fairly > typical.
Re: [videoblogging] your thoughts on tapes vs HD?
I'm always very biased towards tapes ... Less compression than flash/DVD camcorders, easier to archive footage than hard disks, cheaper media than DVD camcorders, easy to trade footage, fewer strange file formats to confound your editing software. A tape camcorder can be converted to a hard disk camcorder using a 3rd party addon (hard disk or software+laptop), which cuts out the capture process everyone hates in tape-based workflow. I recently shot four hours of footage at a Jonathan Coulton concert to send to Yahoo News on miniDV. FedEx was the best way to get it from GA to CA. Never underestimate the bandwidth of a stationwagon full of tapes :) -- Brian Richardson - http://whatthecast.com - http://siliconchef.com - http://dragoncontv.com - http://www.3chip.com
Re: [videoblogging] your thoughts on tapes vs HD?
My instinct is to agree with you, but in a spirit of correct spending of the company budget, I'm looking at the alternatives. Raymond, the footage you sent that you said is "at the highest possible quality setting", how many minutes per GB can you record at that setting? The reviews also talk about battery life with the Xactis being only about an hour. Is it possible to run them off wall current while recording? An hour will not be long enough for most of what we're doing, and having to fiddle with batteries during a talk would be a definite turnoff. On Dec 10, 2007 9:26 PM, Brian Richardson - WhatTheCast? < [EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I'm always very biased towards tapes ... Less compression than flash/DVD > > camcorders, easier to archive footage than hard disks, cheaper media > than DVD camcorders, easy to trade footage, fewer strange file formats > to confound your editing software. > > A tape camcorder can be converted to a hard disk camcorder using a 3rd > party addon (hard disk or software+laptop), which cuts out the capture > process everyone hates in tape-based workflow. > > I recently shot four hours of footage at a Jonathan Coulton concert to > send to Yahoo News on miniDV. FedEx was the best way to get it from GA > to CA. Never underestimate the bandwidth of a stationwagon full of tapes > :) > -- > Brian Richardson > - http://whatthecast.com > - http://siliconchef.com > - http://dragoncontv.com > - http://www.3chip.com > > -- best regards, Deirdré Straughan living & travelling in Italy (and other Countries Beginning with I) www.beginningwithi.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
RE: [videoblogging] your thoughts on tapes vs HD?
*sent from handheld Kfir Pravda -Original Message- From: "Deirdre Straughan" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: videoblogging@yahoogroups.com Sent: 11-Dec-07 4:34 Subject: Re: [videoblogging] your thoughts on tapes vs HD? My instinct is to agree with you, but in a spirit of correct spending of the company budget, I'm looking at the alternatives. Raymond, the footage you sent that you said is "at the highest possible quality setting", how many minutes per GB can you record at that setting? The reviews also talk about battery life with the Xactis being only about an hour. Is it possible to run them off wall current while recording? An hour will not be long enough for most of what we're doing, and having to fiddle with batteries during a talk would be a definite turnoff. On Dec 10, 2007 9:26 PM, Brian Richardson - WhatTheCast? < [EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I'm always very biased towards tapes ... Less compression than flash/DVD > > camcorders, easier to archive footage than hard disks, cheaper media > than DVD camcorders, easy to trade footage, fewer strange file formats > to confound your editing software. > > A tape camcorder can be converted to a hard disk camcorder using a 3rd > party addon (hard disk or software+laptop), which cuts out the capture > process everyone hates in tape-based workflow. > > I recently shot four hours of footage at a Jonathan Coulton concert to > send to Yahoo News on miniDV. FedEx was the best way to get it from GA > to CA. Never underestimate the bandwidth of a stationwagon full of tapes > :) > -- > Brian Richardson > - http://whatthecast.com > - http://siliconchef.com > - http://dragoncontv.com > - http://www.3chip.com > > -- best regards, Deirdré Straughan living & travelling in Italy (and other Countries Beginning with I) www.beginningwithi.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
