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____________

Frank's thoughts on HDV (High Definition Video)
HDV - High Definition Video.
Written by: Frank O'Neill, Independent Consultant, New York, NY.

Original Article: http://www.humanvalues.net/hdv/

Date: Ongoing

CONTENTS:

Revision History
Introduction
Try Before You Buy
Background Materials
Official Reference
JVC HDV Products
Sony HDR-FX1
Sony Qualia 002
Sony HDR-FX1E
Sony HVR-Z1U and HVR-M10U
Sony HVR-Z1J and HVR-M10J
Sony HVR-Z1E and HVR-M10E
Sony HVR-Z1P and HVR-M10P
Sony HVR-Z1N and HVR-M10N
Sony HVR-Z1C and HVR-M10C
Points to Consider (HVR-Z1 and HVR-M10)
Sony HVR-A1U
Sony HVR-A1E
Sony HVR-A1J
Sony HVR-A1N and HVR-A1P
Sony HVR-A1C
Sony HDR-HC1
Sony HDR-HC1E
Sony HDR-HC3
Sony HDR-HC3E
Sony Overseas (JE) Models
Sony HVR-M15 Series
Sony HVR-M25 Series
Sony HDC-X310, HFU-X310, and HFBK-TS1
Sony PDW-F70 and PDBK-102
Sony HDW-D1800/HDW-1800 and HKDW-105
Sony HDR-FX7
Sony HDR-FX7E
Sony HVR-V1 Series and HVR-DR60
Sony HVR-1500
Canon XL H1
Canon XH G1
Canon XH A1
Canon HV10
Editing HDV
Where to Buy
Comments on transcoding from DV25 to MPEG-2 for DVD-Video
Contact, trademark, and validation information


REVISION HISTORY

DATE: May 12, 2004. [Web page originally posted.]
REVISED: July 6, 2004. [Added Official Reference section.]
REVISED: August 29, 2004. [Enhanced the Background Materials section.]
REVISED: September 7, 2004. [Added Sony HDR-FX1 section.]
REVISED: October 10, 2004. [Added link to Sony HDR-FX1 review.]
REVISED: November 14, 2004. [Added Sony HVR-Z1U and HVR-M10U section.]
REVISED: November 18, 2004. [Added Sony HVR-Z1J and HVR-M10J section.]
REVISED: December 1, 2004. [Added Sony HVR-Z1E and HVR-M10E section.]
REVISED: January 26, 2005. [Minor content changes, and updated page to comply with HTML 4.01 Transitional (loose) and CSS 2.1 standards. (Yes, this page is hand-coded.)]
REVISED: January 29, 2005. [Added some additional links.]
REVISED: February 5, 2005. [Minor content changes.]
REVISED: February 26, 2005. [Added some additional links and pricing information.]
REVISED: March 12, 2005. [Added additional links to sample HDV video clips and product reviews.]
REVISED: March 16, 2005. [Added Where to Buy section.]
REVISED: March 27, 2005. [Added Sony HVR-Z1P and HVR-M10P section.]
REVISED: April 5, 2005. [Added Sony HVR-Z1N and HVR-M10N section.]
REVISED: April 7, 2005. [Added Sony HVR-Z1C and HVR-M10C section.]
REVISED: May 18, 2005. [Added Sony HVR-A1U and Sony HVR-A1E sections.]
REVISED: May 21, 2005. [Added Sony HDR-HC1 and Sony HDR-HC1E sections.]
REVISED: June 9, 2005. [Added Editing HDV section.]
REVISED: June 18, 2005. [Added Sony HVR-A1J section.]
REVISED: June 20, 2005. [Added Sony HVR-A1N and HVR-A1P section.]
REVISED: July 11, 2005. [Added Sony Qualia 002 section.]
REVISED: July 17, 2005. [Added Sony Overseas (JE) Models section.]
REVISED: August 16, 2005. [Added some additional links.]
REVISED: August 27, 2005. [Added Sony HVR-A1C section.]
REVISED: September 9, 2005. [Added some additional links and a comment area (bulletin board).]
REVISED: September 15, 2005. [Added Canon XL H1 section.]
REVISED: October 2, 2005. [Expanded the JVC HDV Products and Editing HDV sections.]
REVISED: October 23, 2005. [Added some additional links.]
REVISED: December 6, 2005. [Added some additional links.]
REVISED: December 22, 2005. [Added some additional links.]
REVISED: February 22, 2006. [Added Sony HDR-HC3 and Sony HDR-HC3E sections.]
REVISED: March 29, 2006. [Added some additional links.]
REVISED: April 13, 2006. [Added Sony HVR-M15 Series and Sony HVR-M25 Series sections.]
REVISED: April 19, 2006. [Added Sony PDW-F70 and PDBK-102 section.]
REVISED: May 5, 2006. [Added JVC GY-HD200U, GY-HD250U, and SA-HD50U information.]
REVISED: July 13, 2006. [Added JVC GY-HD110U, JVC GY-HD110E, JVC GY-HD111E, Sony HDR-HC3K(JE), and Sony HDR-HC3EK(JE) information.]
REVISED: July 27, 2006. [Added Canon XH G1 and Canon XH A1 sections.]
REVISED: August 3, 2006. [Added Canon HV10 section.]
REVISED: August 20, 2006. [Added Panasonic/Sony AVCHD information.]
REVISED: August 26, 2006. [Added Sony HDW-D1800/HDW-1800 and HKDW-105 section.]
REVISED: August 31, 2006. [Added Panasonic AVC-Intra (H.264 Compliant) information.]
REVISED: September 7, 2006. [Added Sony HDR-FX7 and Sony HDR-FX7E sections and Sony HDR-SR1(JE), Sony HDR-SR1E(JE), Sony HDR-UX1(JE), and Sony HDR-UX1E(JE) information.]
REVISED: September 9, 2006. [Added Sony HVR-V1 Series and HVR-DR60 section.]
REVISED: September 18, 2006. [Added Sony HVR-1500 section.]
REVISED: September 23, 2006. [Added some additional links.]

Notes:

  1. All links on this Web page open in a new browser window.

  2. All URLs referenced were correct and working when originally posted. If you should spot a technical inaccuracy or encounter a broken link on this Web page, please kindly use the contact information at the bottom of the page to notify the author via e-mail so that an adjustment can be made.

  3. If you are the owner of a site (or a file) to which this page links and you would prefer not to be linked, notify me and the link will be promptly removed.

  4. This Web page contains numerous links to Adobe Acrobat PDF (Portable Document Format) files. Some of these .pdf files reside on the server which hosts this Web page while others reside on third-party servers. In both cases, it is strongly suggested, especially for Windows users, as an alternative to clicking on the .pdf file links, to instead download and save a copy of the .pdf file to your local HDD (hard disk drive) for leisurely offline viewing/printing, rather than attempting to display the file directly within your browser window using the Acrobat browser plug-in or ActiveX control. This can be accomplished simply by performing a right-click (Windows and Linux) or Control-click or click-and-hold (Macintosh) operation on the link and in the small pop-up context menu window which appears choose the "Save Target As..." or "Save Link As...", etc. item. This will bring up a file save dialog wherein you can specify the filename and location on your local hard disk where you want to save a copy of the .pdf file. After the download has completed, you can manually open the .pdf file from within your installed copy of the Adobe Reader program.

  5. Given the not inconsiderable size of this Web page, it's suggested that if you're seeking information on a specific subject, you use your browser's "Find" feature, usually located on its 'Edit' menu but also usually accessible (in most browsers) via a Ctrl-F keyboard sequence. You may want to repeat this procedure multiple times so as to locate all "hits" on the page.

  6. Although all prices were correct when originally posted, this Web page should not be relied upon as a source of accurate pricing information. Both list prices and actual retail selling prices of the products mentioned herein are subject to change without notice. Always check with your reseller for current and up-to-date pricing and availability information.

  7. If you should see a graphic here that you would like to use on your own Web site or blog, please feel free to save a copy of the image file to your local system and then upload it from there to your own server, rather than linking directly to the copy on this Web site. I promise not to draw images off of your server (steal your bandwidth) if you promise not to draw images off of mine (steal my bandwidth).

  8. The author has no association of any kind, past or present, with any of the hardware/software companies mentioned herein except as an end-user of some of their products. As a result, except for certain personal preferences, the information presented here is unbiased in nature. For example, almost without exception, I consider all camcorders, regardless of brand, price, or form factor, that have unbalanced 2-pin audio inputs to be consumer-grade products. If a given camcorder has 3-pin balanced XLR audio inputs, then I would consider it to be at least a prosumer product and possibly a professional-grade product, depending upon its other features.

  9. Although, without exception, all vistors from all over the world are welcome here, I would like to extend a special greeting to those from Kongeriget Danmark (Denmark). and Koninkrijk Nederlanden (Nederland, The Netherlands aka Holland). and Konungariket Sverige (Sweden)..

New! Leave a comment the easy way. As an alternative to e-mail, you're encouraged to use the bulletin board to leave a comment about this Web page. Your suggestions are welcomed. Thank you!

Visit the comment area!
 DiscusWare bulletin board.

Top of page.


INTRODUCTION

The HDV (High Definition Video) format writes widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio 720p (1280 pixels wide by 720 pixels high progressive scan) 19.7 Mbps (mega bits per second) 8-bit 4:2:0 MPEG-2 (Moving Picture Experts Group-2) TS (Transport Stream) data to 6 mm wide MiniDV tape, less than the 25 Mbps data rate of the ordinary consumer DV (Digital Video) format or, alternatively, anamorphically squeezed 4:3 aspect ratio 1080i (1440 x 1080 interlaced 2 fields per frame) data at a 25 Mbps data rate in an MPEG-2 PES (Packetized Elementary Stream). Tape speed (approximately 18.812 millimeters per second) and track width are identical to that used in standard DV recording, although with the exception of the JVC BR-HD50U and BR-HD50E VCRs, and the recently introduced Sony HVR-M15 and HVR-M25 series VCRs, existing HDV products support only the use of the smaller Mini cassette shells. Use of the larger Standard size cassettes is not implemented in any other currently available HDV products and thereby limits maximum record/play time. No currently available HDV camcorder supports use of Standard-sized cassettes.

Note that the MPEG-2 data on a DVD-Video disc, whether burned on a computer-attached DVD writer or a standalone DVD recorder in a home/office environment or commercially replicated in a factory/plant, is an MPEG-2 Program Stream, not a Transport Stream or a Packetized Elementary Stream, and that HDV MPEG-2 video is always CBR (Constant Bit Rate), never VBR (Variable Bit Rate). In contrast, the MPEG-2 data on a DVD-Video disc is almost always VBR-encoded. Note also that although 1080i HDV data is written to tape in an MPEG-2 Packetized Elementary Stream format, all HDV data, whether 720p or 1080i, is in MPEG-2 Transport Stream format when transmitted over an IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 1394a (aka Apple FireWire 400 / Sony i.LINK) connection.

Important: Those who are considering use of an HDV-format camcorder or HDV-format VCR need to be aware that the 720p and 1080i flavors of HDV are quite separate and distinct from each other. At the present time, JVC is the sole manufacturer of 720p HDV equipment. Also, all HDV products manufactured by JVC are 720p. Conversely, Sony and Canon are the only manufacturers of 1080i HDV equipment. Additionally, all HDV products produced by Sony and Canon are 1080i.

The 720p HDV format is sometimes referred to as HDV1 (or HD1) and the 1080i HDV format is sometimes referred to as HDV2 (or HD2). The logos shown below are often used to distinguish between the two different flavors of the HDV format.

High Definition Video - 720 Progressive logo.            High Definition Video - 1080 Interlaced logo.

The HDV 1080i format, because it uses non-square pixels, appears as a 1920 pixel wide by 1080 line high widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio image when displayed on a 1080i-capable television display device. This is a display aspect ratio of 1.7778:1 (16 divided by 9 equals 1.7778). Content acquired in the HDV 720p format, because it uses square pixels, will be shown with a display aspect ratio of 1:1 (1 to 1).

There are 45 blanked (unseen or non-visible) scan lines when material in the 1080i format is displayed on an 1125-line HDTV system. Lines 1 thru 20 inclusive, 561 thru 583 inclusive, and 1124 and 1125 are non-active, and field 1 contains 563 lines while field 2 contains 562 lines. There are 30 blanked (unseen or non-visible) scan lines when material in the 720p format is displayed on a 750-line HDTV system. Lines 1 thru 25 inclusive and 746 thru 750 inclusive are non-active.

The JVC 720p HDV camcorders listed on this Web page employ a 74.25 MHz (mega Hertz or millions of cycles per second) luminance sampling frequency, while the Sony and Canon 1080i HDV camcorders listed on this Web page utilize a lower 55.6875 MHz luminance sampling rate. This contrasts with the various DV25 formats (DV, DVCAM, and DVCPRO), all of which use a much lower 13.5 MHz luminance sampling rate.

Both JVC 720p and Sony/Canon 1080i HDV camcorders use a type of MPEG-2 "profile at level" video compression known as MP@H-14 (Main Profile at High-14 Level).

With the exception of the GY-HD200U and the GY-HD250U in 60p mode, the JVC camcorders listed on this Web page use a GOP (Group Of Pictures) size of 6 frames, whereas the Canon and Sony products use a GOP of 12 (in 50i mode) or 15 (in 60i mode). These long GOPs allow for more efficient (that is, a greater degree of) MPEG video compression, and thus enable the use of 25 Mbps MiniDV cassettes for data storage and an ordinary IEEE 1394a connection for data transfer from HDV device to computer, although they do present certain challenges in a computer-based editing environment.

DV video uses intraframe compression, so the data stored for each frame is complete: for editing/playback purposes, the compressed data for any given, individual frame provides all of the information needed by the decoder to completely reconstruct that particular frame; no reliance is made or need be made upon the information stored for any previous or subsequent frame or frames. This is not the case in the long-GOP interframe MPEG-2 compression scheme used in the HDV format. Here, only I frames are complete frames, containing all of the information needed to decode the frame for editing or display purposes. Decoding of other frames in a sequence (GOP) requires an examination of one or more previous and/or subsequent frames (B frames and P frames), thus making editing of such streams a much more compute-intensive process than is the case with intraframe DV compression.

With the exception of the GY-HD200U and GY-HD250U in 60p mode, the GOP structure (sequence of frame types) used in the JVC 720p HDV format is IBBPBB. The GOP sequence used by the Canon and Sony 1080i HDV products is IBBPBBPBBPBBPBB when operating in the 60i mode, and IBBPBBPBBPBB when operating in the 50i mode.

Another difference between DV video and HDV video is that DV operates in the familiar ITU-R BT.601 (formerly CCIR 601) color space, whereas HDV operates in the ITU-R BT.709-5 color space. Most extant consumer-level NLE (non-linear editing) systems are designed to operate in the ITU-R BT.601 color space. A properly-written HDV editor will operate in ITU-R BT.709-5 color space. Black level is always 0 IRE (Institute of Radio Engineers) in HD, and hence HDV. This is in contrast to the 7.5 IRE level used in all U.S. NTSC video (0 IRE in the Japanese flavor of NTSC).

JVC 720p HDV camcorders use square pixels and therefore have a pixel aspect ratio of 1:1 (1 to 1), while Sony (and Canon) 1080i HDV camcorders use non-square pixels and have a pixel aspect ratio of 1.3333:1 (1440 multiplied by 1.3333 equals 1920). For comparison, DV, which also uses non-square pixels, has a pixel aspect ratio of 0.8889:1 (640 divided by 720 equals 0.8889, usually written as simply 0.9) in NTSC and 1.0667:1 (768 divided by 720 equals 1.0667) in PAL.

While NTSC DV video is lossy compressed, after 4:1:1 chroma decimation, at an approximate 5:1 (5 to 1) ratio, 59.94 field per second 4:2:0 1080i HDV video is lossy compressed at approximately 22.4:1 (22.4 to 1). Also, all DV video compression is strictly spatial (spacial) in nature while all HDV video compression is both spatial and temporal in nature, and the temporal compression is even greater in 1080i HDV video than in 720p HDV video due to the use of a longer (one-half second) GOP length (duration) in the 1080i HDV format.

Many MPEG-2 compression experts consider long-GOP MPEG-2 compression to be up to approximately five times more efficient than NTSC DV compression, for equivalent visual quality. If one accepts this 5:1 efficiency claim, then it can be said that 720p HDV, despite its larger 1280 by 720 frame size and lower data rate of 19.7 Mbps compared to NTSC DV at 720 by 480 and 25 Mbps, is more lightly compressed (less compressed) than NTSC DV. Conversely, if one accepts the MPEG-2 long-GOP 5:1 compression efficiency claim, then it can be said that 1080i HDV, with a stored frame size of 1440 by 1080 at 25 Mbps, is more heavily compressed than NTSC DV. It is for this reason that 1080i HDV is sometimes referred to as "looking as good as it does despite being compressed to within an inch of its life".

Standard HDV audio is 16-bit / 48 kHz 2-channel stereo in lossy compressed 384 kbps (kilo bits per second) MPEG-1 Layer II format (.mp2). This contrasts with uncompressed PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) DV Audio at 12/32 (non-linear), 16/44.1 (linear), or 16/48 (linear). HDV audio, compared to 16/48 LPCM (Linear Pulse Code Modulation) audio, is compressed at a ratio of exactly 4:1 (4 to 1). Note that the 384 kbps figure quoted above is the total audio payload data rate. The actual audio data rate, in its 4:1 lossy compressed form, is 192 kbps per channel. Given the rule of thumb of 6 dB of dynamic range per bit of word length (also variously called resolution, sample size, word size, or quantization), the 16-bit word length used in HDV audio offers 96 dB of dynamic range and the 48 kHz sampling rate (Fs) used in HDV audio, as per Nyquist-Shannon, offers an AF (audio frequency) upper limit response of 24 kHz. Both of these figures are theoretical maximums, of course, and will be less in actual practice.

Two exceptions to the HDV audio standard described above currently exist: 1) The JVC GY-HD100, along with recording standard HDV audio, is able to simultaneously record the Channel 1 audio signal in 16/48 DV PCM mode and 2) the Canon XL H1, as an alternative to recording standard HDV audio, is capable of recording four channels of 16/48 MPEG-2 Layer II audio at a 96 kbps per channel data rate.

Transmission of DV data over an IEEE 1394a link is governed by IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) 61883-2 protocol and uses a 480-byte packet size. In contrast, transmission of HDV data over an IEEE 1394a link is governed by IEC 61883-4 protocol and uses a 188-byte packet size. An IEEE 1394a link operates in isochronous S100 mode (98.304 Mbps) when transferring either DV data or HDV data.

On Microsoft Windows operating systems, when DV data is transferred over an IEEE 1394a link and saved to a hard disk drive as an .avi* (audio video interleaved) file, there's header information at the start of the .avi file which contains a FourCC (4-character code) identifying the codec (coder-decoder or compressor/decompressor) that was used to encode the video data contained within the file. In the case of DV data, this four-character code is set to 'dvsd', meaning Digital Video Standard Definition. The precise format of this data is officially defined in Part 2 of a document entitled Specification of Consumer-use Digital VCRs, also known as the "Blue Book". Ironically, Part 3 of the "Blue Book" defines a high definition version of DV to which Microsoft has assigned a FourCC of 'dvhd', meaning Digital Video High Definition. High definition DV, however, has never been commercially implemented in the form of available products. Instead, the four companies which comprise the HDV Format Co-Promoters group have developed the HDV format.

* A Microsoft Windows .avi file is just like a Microsoft Windows .wav (wave) file or an Apple QuickTime .mov (movie) file in that it's just a container or wrapper file format. The actual audio and/or video datastream(s) contained within the .avi, .mov, or .wav file can be encoded with any number of available codecs. Many users (mistakenly) believe, for example, that a .wav file can only contain uncompressed linear PCM data. This is quite untrue, as the Windows ACM (Audio Compression Manager) facility allows the audio data within a .wav file to be encoded with any ACM-compatible codec which happens to be installed on the system where the encoding is taking place. Similarly, the video data contained within an .avi file can be encoded with any VfW VCM (Video for Windows - Video Compression Manager) codec or DirectShow (part of DirectX) filter that's installed on the encoding system.

720p HDV data can be transferred to a JVC D-VHS (Digital - Video Home System) format VCR (video cassette recorder), such as the SR-VD400US, using an ordinary IEEE 1394a connection.

It's also possible to burn HDV MPEG-2 Transport Stream files to DVD-ROM-formatted discs and play them back in the networkable JVC model SRDVD-100U ProHD DVD Player, co-developed by JVC Professional Products Company and I-O Data Device, Inc., manufactured and supported by I-O Data, and exclusively distributed by JVC. The SRDVD-100U, which also supports DivX, XviD, and WMV9 video as well as PCM, AAC, MP3, Ogg Vorbis, WMA, and WMAPro audio and plays regular Redbook audio CDs and DVD-Video discs, became available in September 2005 at a U.S. MSRP of $399.

MacroSystem Digital Video AG of Wetter, Germany offers the HDV Recorder, a standalone product with an internally-mounted removable hard disk drive (250 GB drive supplied), that can record and play both 720p and 1080i HDV datastreams. The HDV Recorder has two FireWire ports, DVI and VGA video outputs, a S/PDIF coaxial digital audio output, analog audio output, an RS-232 control port, and a 1080i to 1080p deinterlacing function. Additional information on this product can be found at the following URL.

MacroSystem-HDV Recorder (German language)
http://www.hdv-recorder.de/

In the U.S., the HDV Recorder is offered by MacroSystem US of Boulder, Colorado and carries a U.S. MSRP of $1999. More information on the U.S. version of the HDV Recorder can be found at the following URL.

MacroSystem HDV Recorder (U.S. version)
http://www.hdvrecorder.us/

A review by John Jackman of the U.S. version of the MacroSystem HDV Recorder was published in the September 2006 issue of DV magazine. The review is available online on the magazine's Web site at the following URL.

Note: Creation of a login account may be necessary in order to access this content.

DV magazine, September 2006, Volume 14, Number 9
MacroSystem US HDV Recorder, product review by John Jackman, Contributing Editor
http://www.dv.com/reviews/reviews_item.jhtml?articleId=192203127

Both JVC's 720p and Canon's/Sony's 1080i flavors of HDV can be considered HDTV. For display purposes, suitable interconnections include consumer HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) and professional HD-SDI (High Definition - Serial Digital Interface). In the world of analog VGA (Video Graphics Array) connections, high resolution 16:10 aspect ratio computer displays can support either or both flavors of HDV depending upon the resolutions supported by the computer's video card and the attached display device. DVI (Digital Visual Interface) connections are sometimes only suitable for handling JVC's 720p HDV format, however, because the 1920 horizontal pixels of Canon's/Sony's 1080i flavor of HDV exceed the maximum 1600 pixels per scan line permitted by many single-TMDS (Transition Minimized Differential Signaling) DVI implementations, so it's important to check the manufacturer's specifications and not make assumptions whenever it's necessary to output 1080i signals over a DVI link.

Future connection technologies such as DisplayPort, being promoted by VESA (Video Electronics Standards Association), provide for much higher data transfer rates than existing standards and may become commonplace some day. Another possible future interface is UDI, which is backed by an industry consortium called the UDI SIG (Unified Display Interface Special Interest Group), composed of both PC (personal computer) makers and CE (consumer electronics) firms. The UDI SIG has developed a replacement for the age-old VGA interface that is highly compatible with both DVI and HDMI, incorporates HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection), and will allow UDI-enabled personal computers including notebooks, desktops, and workstations, to connect just as easily to digital DVI-equipped computer display devices as to HDMI-equipped television display devices and will support the display of high definition video content. UDI will utilize the PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) Express (PCIe) bus in order to maintain the very high data transfer rates required by HDTV.

Sample still images in JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) format depicting the difference in frame size between NTSC, PAL, JVC's 720p flavor of HDV, and Sony's/Canon's 1080i flavor of HDV, are available at the following Web page.

HDVxDV Sample Images
http://www.dvdxdv.com/hdvxdv.example.htm

For delivery of HD (high definition) video content in 720p and 1080p formats today, and although neither burnable Blu-ray Discs (BD) nor burnable High-Density Digital Versatile Discs (HD DVD), and players to play them, are widely used here in the U.S. yet, two solutions do exist. One is to use Microsoft's free Windows Media Technologies software to produce WMV HD DVD-ROM (Windows Media Video High Definition Digital Versatile Disc - Read Only Memory) discs and the other is to use the DVD Producer HD product from Sonic Solutions. Note that the authoring of such content requires use of a personal computer running Microsoft's Windows XP Professional SP (Service Pack) 2 operating system and that the playback of such content requires use of a personal computer running either Windows XP Professional or Windows XP Media Center Edition. Additional information on the creation of WMV HD DVD-ROM discs is available via the following two links.

Authoring Guide for Windows Media High Definition Video DVDs
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/content_provider/wmvhddvd/

Sonic Solutions DVD Producer HD (product information)
http://www.sonic.com/products/Professional/Producer/ProducerHD/

Sonic Solutions also has in development two professional-level products for authoring high definition video content on HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc media, Scenarist 4 and CineVision, which will be released when the standards for these new media are finalized.

Sonic Solutions Scenarist 4 (product information)
http://www.sonic.com/products/Professional/Scenarist/

Sonic Solutions CineVision (product information)
http://www.sonic.com/products/Professional/CineVision/

Speaking of Microsoft's Windows Media Video, it should be noted that the VC-1 codec has been adopted as SMPTE standard 421M-2006. This was announced in a SMPTE press release dated April 3, 2006 that can be found at the following URL.

SMPTE Releases VC-1 Standard
http://www.smpte.org/news/press_releases/003_06.cfm

SMPTE offers VC-1 Test Materials on DVD under license, including sample bitstreams and the Reference Decoder, for U.S. $400. A downloadable PDF order form can be found on the SMPTE Store Test Materials Web page at the following URL.

SMPTE Store Test Materials
http://www.smpte.org/smpte_store/test_materials/

MPEG LA, LLC controls the licensing of VC-1 encoders/decoders and VC-1 encoded content and has assembled a patent portfolio (pool) encompassing all patent holders having claims to the VC-1 codec technology. More information on this subject, including a schedule of royalty fees (see the press release dated August 17, 2006 for details), can be found at the following URL.

VC-1 Licensing
http://www.mpegla.com/pid/vc1/

To support the offline creation of content in the VC-1 format, Microsoft offers the Windows Media Encoder Studio Edition (Beta) program. This application supports 10-bit uncompressed input files, segment-based (scene-by-scene) re-encoding, the use of ISAN and Ad-ID metadata, and includes a graphical bitstream analyzer capability that can verify the quality of any selected clip. More information on Windows Media Encoder Studio Edition (Beta) can be found at the following URL.

Windows Media Encoder Studio Edition Beta
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/forpros/encoderse/default.aspx

Inlet Technologies of Raleigh, North Carolina offers the Fathom hardware-based VC-1 encoding solution which includes a 64-bit 66 MHz PCI-X board and application software that encodes in realtime from both file (AVI, MPEG-2, and QuickTime) and live or recorded HD-SDI sources. Additional information on the Fathom product, which costs about U.S. $45,000, runs under Windows XP SP2, and is also available in a turnkey configuration using an AMD Opteron based Hewlett Packard xw9300 workstation, can be found at the following URL.

Inlet Technologies Fathom (product information)
http://www.inlethd.com/products/fathom.html

In addition to the options just listed, Telestream, Inc. makes a Mac OS X product called Flip4Mac WMV Studio Pro which supports export of Windows Media Video High Definition (WMVHD) files from Apple QuickTime-based applications including Final Cut Pro HD.

Also, users of Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) can use Apple's DVD Studio Pro 4 and QuickTime 7 to author high definition content encoded in the MPEG-4 Part 10 AVC H.264 format and play it back from DVD-Video disc or HDD (hard disk drive) on their Mac with DVD Player 4.6 Update.

Additional information on the BD, DVD, and HD DVD formats can be found on the Web sites of their respective industry trade organizations, as follows.

Blu-ray Disc Association (BD)
http://www.blu-raydisc.com/

DVD Forum (DVD)
http://www.dvdforum.com/ or http://www.dvdforum.org/

HD DVD Promotion Group (HD DVD)
http://www.hddvdprg.com/

Additionally, in an effort to help spread adoption of the HD DVD format at the consumer level, the North American HD DVD Promotional Group, Inc. maintains an informational Web site at the following location. According to a press release on the site, the non-profit trade organization and its member companies expect to spend U.S. $150 million into 2007 promoting the format.

HD DVD - The Look and Sound of Perfect
http://www.thelookandsoundofperfect.com/

Some useful information from Microsoft on authoring in HD DVD format, including a tools download, can be found at the following URL.

Getting Started with HD DVD
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/forpros/hddvd/default.aspx

The DVD Format/Logo Licensing Corporation licenses the HD DVD format to those who wish to manufacture HD DVD products and use the HD DVD logo. More information on this topic can be found on their Web site in Japan at the following URL.

DVD Format/Logo Licensing Corporation
http://www.dvdfllc.co.jp/

For those who are still mystified about the old-style standard definition DVD format, I recommend a thorough read of Jim Taylor's fine DVD Demystified FAQ Web page—which is not only larger than this Web page, but even has a lot more links than this one! Grin.

DVD FAQ
http://www.dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html

For an excellent overview of most all aspects of the BD format, I highly recommend Hugh Bennett's 10-part series entitled "The Authoritative Blu-ray Disc (BD) FAQ", posted to the EMediaLive Web site beginning at the following URL.

EMediaLive.com: The Authoritative Blu-ray Disc (BD) FAQ, by Hugh Bennett
http://www.emedialive.com/Articles/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=11392

Mr. Bennett has also written a similar 10-part series on the HD DVD optical disc format. It's available on the EMediaLive Web site beginning at the following URL.

EMediaLive.com: The Authoritative HD DVD FAQ, by Hugh Bennett
http://www.emedialive.com/Articles/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=11629

The AACS (Advanced Access Content System), to be used on both BD and HD DVD discs, will include ACP (Analog Content Protection) technology from Macrovision Corporation, thus closing the so-called "analog hole". Use of this system is controlled by the AACS LA, found at the following URL.

Advanced Access Content System Licensing Administrator (AACS LA)
http://www.aacsla.com/

In an effort to promote the development of authored content for use on high definition media, Sonic Solutions has joined with a number of the world's leading DVD-Video authoring houses to form the High Definition Authoring Alliance (HDAA). A press release, dated July 12, 2005, announcing the formation of this new group and including an initial list of members, can be found on the following page on the Sonic Solutions Web site.

Sonic Forges High Definition Authoring Alliance (HDAA)
World's Leading Media Creation Companies Join Forces with Sonic to Jump Start HD Title Development for HD DVD and Blu-Ray Disc Formats
http://www.sonic.com/about/press/news/2005/07/hdaa.aspx

Although it will be dated in a few month's time, here's a link to a five-page article by Melissa J. Perenson, taken from the July 2006 issue of PC World magazine and posted to the Web on May 30, 2006, describing currently available and soon-to-be-available BD and HD DVD products, complete with a BD versus HD DVD comparison chart.

PCWorld.com - DVD Goes High-Def, by Melissa J. Perenson
High-definition DVD products are here, but consumers still face a thorny dilemma as two incompatible formats battle for their dollars.
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,125769,pg,1,00.asp

And here's a link to a follow-up article, dated June 20, 2006, also by Ms. Perenson, containing all of the latest BD and HD DVD news.

PCWorld.com - Burning Questions - Blu-ray vs. HD DVD: Which Has the Early Edge?
The next-generation disc formats are here--and so are hints of where the format war is going.
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,126112,tk,nl_dnxnws,00.asp

So-called "early adopters" may wish to invest in the Sony BWU-100A Internal Blu-ray Disc (BD) Rewritable Drive (U.S. $749.90, available August 2006), which is an internally-mounted half-height 5-1/4-inch optical drive installable in any Windows 2000/XP desktop or workstation computer having an unused drive bay and a free IDE (ATA/ATAPI) interface. The drive is bundled with CyberLink BD Solution from CyberLink Corporation, which can be used to burn native HDV 1080i footage for playback on home BD players and BD computer drives compatible with the BD-AV format such as the Sony BDP-S1 Blu-ray Disc Player (U.S. $999.95, available October 2006).

The Plextor Corporation PX-B900A internal IDE/ATAPI Blu-ray Disc drive (U.S. MSRP $999.99, available October 2006) will be packaged with a software bundle that includes a program called BD DiscRecorder that supports direct recording (burning) of a live HDV datastream to BD in realtime, as well as a save-to-hard-disk (capture) function for editing purposes.

Ulead Systems offers a software product called DVD MovieFactory 5 Plus (U.S. $79.99) which includes a feature known as "Blu-ray Direct-to-Disc" that supports direct recording (burning) of a live HDV datastream to BD in realtime.

Online Media Technologies Ltd. of London, England, offers the free AVS Disc Creator program, that supports burning of both single-layer 25 GB and dual-layer 50 GB BD-R (recordable) and BD-RE (rewritable) Blu-ray Discs. Additional information on AVS Disc Creator, including a download link, can be found at the following URL.

AVS Disc Creator (product information and download)
http://www.avsmedia.com/DiscCreator/

Those who wish to become involved with BD authoring on a professional level will be interested in Sony Blu-Print, announced by Sony Media Software on August 1, 2006. This $50,000 per license Windows-only product, which was developed by Sony Pictures Entertainment, is described as "a complete and cost-effective software solution for use in authoring DVD's in the new Blu-ray format". A press release announcing this product can be found at the following URL.

Sony Media Software Unveils Blu-Print for Advanced Blu-Ray Disc Authoring (press release dated August 1, 2006)
Application Provides Streamlined Development for New High-capacity DVD Format
http://www.sonymediasoftware.com/news/ShowRelease.asp?ReleaseID=634

For the truly adventurous, and for those with time on their hands, here's a link to a bulletin board post by Joseph Clark containing a detailed step-by-step procedure for Windows users describing how to burn high definition MPEG-2 Transport Stream files in .ts, .tp, or .m2t formats to ordinary burnable DVD discs that will play back in a standard HD DVD player such as the Toshiba HD-A1 (U.S. $499.99) or HD-XA1 (U.S. $799.99).

HD-DVD Authoring to DVD -/+ Media - AVS Forum
The AVS Guide to HD DVD Authoring: HD DVD Creation Guide
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7936017&&#post7936017

Update, September 2006: Toshiba has announced second generation replacements for their first generation HD DVD players mentioned above. The HD-A1 and HD-XA1 will be superceded by the HD-A2 (U.S. $499.99, October 2006) and HD-XA2 (U.S. $999.99, December 2006), respectively. The HD-XA2 produces 1080p output signals and implements the latest HDMI Version 1.3 specification. A press release announcing these two new models can be found at the following URL. This announcement was timed to coincide with the CEDIA (Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association) Expo held September 13 thru 17, 2006 in Denver, Colorado.

Toshiba | News: Toshiba Announces Introduction Of Second Generation HD DVD Players (press release dated September 14, 2006)
Continuing to lead the evolution in high definition DVD, Toshiba introduces new HD DVD models and adds new features including 1080p output capability
http://www.tacp.toshiba.com/news/newsarticle.asp?newsid=131

Additional information about the HD DVD format, including available commercially-produced titles, can be found on the Toshiba HD DVD Web site (Flash required).

Those who feel that neither the BD nor HD DVD formats offer sufficient space to hold their work, may wish to track developmental progress on the HVD (Holographic Versatile Disc) format.

HVD Alliance (Holographic Versatile Disc)
http://www.hvd-alliance.org/

Aside from BD and HD DVD, a third high definition optical disc format vying for attention is being promoted by New Medium Enterprises, Inc. (NME) of London, England. The format, which is red laser based and supports a large variety of video codecs including MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 (including H.264/AVC), DivX, XviD, and VC-1, is called HD VMD, or Versatile Multilayer Disc. VMD supports 1080i and 1080p playback at up to a 40 Mbps datarate using a 20 GB to 40 GB storage medium. Standalone (television-attached) HD VMD players would be able to play not only most all previous formats (CD, VCD, SVCD, DVD, etc.) but also the EVD (Enhanced Versatile Disc) format developed by a consortium of Chinese consumer electronics companies called Beijing E-World Technology Company, Limited. As a development stage company with limited funding, NME faces an uphill battle in developing and promoting VMD. Although unlikely to be adopted by the Hollywood motion picture industry, HD VMD may gain some traction within the PRC or by the Bollywood film industry. Additional information about the HD VMD format can be found on the NME Web site at the following URL.

New Medium Enterprises (Versatile Multilayer Disc)
http://www.nmeinc.com/

HDV hardware support in the form of camcorders and decks comes from Canon, JVC (Japanese Victor Company), Sharp, and Sony, although as of the latest revision to this document, Sharp had not yet introduced any HDV products to the marketplace.

In this author's opinion, HDV is much more of a prosumer/consumer-oriented format than a professional grade format, although it can certainly have applicability in some production situations—especially where cost is a major consideration. Personally, I'd probably feel better about the HDV format if instead of MPEG-2 video compression and MPEG-1 Layer II audio compression, the designers had chosen to use MPEG-4 video compression (which would have provided better-looking pictures at the same data rate) and MPEG-4 AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) audio compression, which would have provided higher quality sound at a much lower data rate.

Note that according to Dave Walton*, General Manager of Corporate Communications at JVC, both 24p video and LPCM audio are included in the HDV specification, although none of the Sony products mentioned on this page implement these capabilities.

* "The 24p mode and LPCM (Linear quantization PCM recording) record/playback capability have been part of [the] HDV format since it was established."

Reference:
JVC Clarifies ProHD Announcement, by Charlie White, Digital Media Net
http://www.creativemac.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=32220

With regard to post production technique, because it's MPEG-2, cuts-only editing at the GOP (group of pictures) level, with no re-compression of the data, is the best approach to take if a high visual quality level is to be maintained. Note also that since the audio is lossy compressed, care should be taken to avoid unnecessary transcoding operations.

Primarily, I see two major things to like about the HDV format.

  1. It's quite inexpensive, especially when compared to the cost of other HD formats.

  2. Because it's 4:2:0, it directly translates to DVD-Video, which is also 4:2:0, so chrominance (color) information is maintained. This is an ideal situation if the material will not be edited/enhanced/altered in any way. See the Comments on transcoding from DV25 to MPEG-2 for DVD-Video footnote at the end of this page for additional information on the topic of color space conversion.

Essentially, HDV is to HD as DV is to SD. Despite being a relatively low grade format when compared to other much more expensive HD acquisition options, in a few years HDV may possibly be as pervasive as DV is today. HDV is an HD format. JVC's 720p flavor of HDV conforms to the requirements of the SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers) 296M standard and Sony's (and Canon's) 1080i flavor of HDV conforms to SMPTE 274M.

For a good overview of just how HDV fits into the overall HD picture (no pun intended), see the report by David Tamés on the June 16, 2005 SMPTE New England Chapter's Second Annual HD Boot Camp meeting at the following URL.

High Definition From Near to Here
A report on the 2nd Annual SMPTE/NE High Definition (HD) Boot Camp discussing the latest technology in HD.
http://www.newenglandfilm.com/news/archives/05july/hd.htm

For a variety of tips on shooting HDV and handling HDV footage in post, see the article Hands-On HDV: Navigating production and post with HDV compiled by Bryant Frazer, Alison Johns, Beth Marchant, and Linda Romanello published on the Studio Daily Web site October 1, 2005.

Studio Monthly | Hands-On HDV
http://www.studiodaily.com/studiomonthly/5451.html

Top of page.


TRY BEFORE YOU BUY

A good approach to evaluating the suitability of an HDV format camcorder to any given shooting situation or project is to rent/hire one for a day or two and then carefully review the results in light of one's own perception of what constitutes minimum acceptable production values. Any such evaluation should include the entire post production workflow, from acquisition to process to final output, so that an informed judgment can be made. I also think that if it's expected that your project will involve any chroma key work, that this aspect of the production be tested as well.

Here in the U.S., typical daily rental rates in New York and Los Angeles are about $200 to $300 for the Sony HVR-Z1U camcorder and about $175 to $200 for the Sony HVR-M10U VCR. Rates, especially for camcorders, will vary considerably due to specific kit/package contents.

Although most all large and medium-sized U.S. cities are host to a number of video rental facilities, New York and Los Angeles tend to have the most since they are major centers of both film and television production. Two of the larger and more well-known operations are Abel Cine Tech, with locations in both NY and LA, and Birns and Sawyer, Inc. in Hollywood/North Hollywood.

Those who remain undecided as to whether to switch from shooting DV and migrating to HDV may want to read the following article from EventDV magazine which was posted to the Web on July 8, 2005.

EventDV magazine, August 2005, Volume 18, Number 8
"HDV--Is it for Me?" by Doug Graham, Contributing Editor
http://www.eventdv.net/Articles/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=10175

Independent filmmakers working on a tight budget, especially those planning a film-out, will be interested in the following article by John Jackman which appeared in the January 2006 issue of DV magazine.

Note: Creation of a login account may be necessary in order to access this content.

DV magazine, January 2006, Volume 14, Number 1
"HDV to Film: A Real-World Test", by John Jackman, Contributing Editor
http://www.dv.com/features/features_item.jhtml?
category=Archive&articleId=174900673

For some additional technical information on the video-to-film process, see the following FAQ on the Videotape Products, Inc. (VTP) Web site.

Film versus Video (Video to Film. Frequently Asked Questions)
http://www.myvtp.com/htm/vidfilm.htm

Top of page.


BACKGROUND MATERIALS

Two HDV references from DV magazine. Highly recommended reading.

Note: Creation of a login account may be necessary in order to access this content.

Pre-Roll column, October 2003, Volume 11, Number 10
"HDV and Me", by Jim Feeley, Editor In Chief
http://www.dv.com/features/features_item.jhtml?
LookupId=/xml/feature/2003/feeley1003

Technical Difficulties column, April 2004, Volume 12, Number 4
"Size Isn't Everything: Aspects of Image Quality", by Adam Wilt, Contributing Editor
http://www.dv.com/features/features_item.jhtml?
LookupId=/xml/feature/2004/wilt0404

Adam Wilt's current views on HDV, including a description of some of the challenges inherent in editing and distributing HDV content, can be found in his March 2005 article HDV: A Hands-On Test Drive on the DV.com Web site at the following URL. (At the end of the article, it's noted that Adam "...has had his FX1 2 weeks longer than Steve Jobs has had his.".)

"HDV: A Hands-On Test Drive", by Adam Wilt, Contributing Editor
http://www.dv.com/features/features_item.jhtml?articleId=159905634

An article from Broadcast Engineering magazine recounting use of the JVC JY-HD10U in the production of a television sitcom pilot. Production costs were reduced to $150,000 from an estimated $1,500,000 by use of a three-camera JY-HD10U shoot.

Broadcast Engineering, February 1, 2004
"HDV transforms sitcom budgets", by L. T. Martin, freelance writer
http://www.broadcastengineering.com/ar/broadcasting_hdv_transforms_sitcom/

Although now somewhat dated due to newer options having become available since originally written, here's an excellent article from Video Systems magazine describing the format and software considerations involved with computer-based editing of material produced by the JVC JY-HD10 camcorder.

Video Systems, September 1, 2003
"How to Edit HDV", by Steve Mullen, Ph.D., Owner, Digital Video Consulting, New York, NY
From capture to final output, the format of the JVC JY-HD10 poses some unique postproduction problems. Here are solutions.
http://digitalcontentproducer.com/mag/video_edit_hdv/

A more-recent Video Systems magazine article by Steve Mullen entitled "High-Resolution DV" covers the Sony HDR-FX1 and HVR-Z1U camcorders. He begins this article by stating that the Sony HDV camcorders "...might be the most elegant camcorders ever designed.".

Video Systems, March 1, 2005
"High-Resolution DV", by Steve Mullen
Sony's HVR-Z1 and HDR-FX1 1080i camcorders ease the transition from DV to HD.
http://digitalcontentproducer.com/mag/video_highresolution_dv/

Down in San Marcos, Texas, Chris Hurd and friends have "thrown together" a Web site, HDV Info Net, devoted to the HDV video format, complete with a bulletin board containing forums covering JVC HDV camcorders and HDV editing solutions.

HDV Info Net - The HDV Format Information Network
http://www.hdvinfo.net/

DV Info Net - High Definition HDV: The Next Wave (bulletin board)
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/forumdisplay.php?forumid=61

The Creative Cow HDV Format Forum, moderated by Steve Mullen and Derek Serra, is also a good place to go for some interesting discussions on the subject of HDV.

Creative Cow HDV Format Forum (bulletin board)
http://forums.creativecow.net/cgi-bin/new_view_posts.cgi?forumid=162

HDV is the primary topic discussed in the "HD for the Masses/HDV" forum on the 2-Pop Forums Web site.

2-Pop HD for the Masses/HDV forum (bulletin board)
http://www.2-popforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=194

HDV is also heavily discussed in the "High Definition Cameras & High Definition Camcorders" forum on the High Def Forum - Your High Definition Community & High Definition Resource bulletin board.

High Def Forum - High Definition Cameras & High Definition Camcorders (bulletin board)
http://www.highdefforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=3

More discussions on the subject can be found in the "HDV Forum" on the Video University Web site at the following URL.

Video University Forums: HDV (bulletin board)
http://videouniversity.com/forums/gforum.cgi?forum=19

The following link will return a list of links that del.icio.us blogosphere users consider to be noteworthy HDV-related Web-based resources.

del.icio.us HDV tags
http://del.icio.us/tag/HDV?setcount=100

Users in the U.K. will be interested in the DVdoctor HDV and HD forums.

HDV and DV - DVdoctor.community (bulletin board)
http://forums.dvdoctor.net/forumdisplay.php?f=35

Users in Australia will be interested in the "High Def Video" forum provided by the publishers of Australian Video Camera magazine.

Australian Video Camera High Def Video Forum (bulletin board)
http://www.videocamera.com.au/bbs/viewforum.php?f=6

Users in Argentina will want to visit the ClubPremiere HDV forum (bulletin board) at the following URL.

ClubPremiere :: Ver Foro - HDV (bulletin board)
http://clubpremiere.com.ar/foro/viewforum.php?f=23935

Anyone interested in shooting in the HDV format but producing their final output on ordinary DVD-Video discs would be well-advised to read the following article on EventDV.Net.

EventDV, posted November 19, 2004
"From HDV to DVD" by Stephen F. Nathans, Editor, EMedia and EventDV
http://www.eventdv.net/Articles/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=9057

Another good source for HDV-related information is Kerr Cook's Sony HDV Info bulletin board (not associated with Sony Corporation, but registered to Robin Liss of Camcorder Info).

Sony HDV Info (bulletin board)
http://www.sonyhdvinfo.com/

The good folks up at DV Shop in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, have assembled a page of useful HDV-related links at the following URL.

HDV Café Hi Def Video Resources
http://www.hdvcafe.com/

The DVGuys, Philip Hodgetts and Ron Margolis, entitled their live streaming Internet audio show of Thursday, March 3, 2005 "HDV Night". Guests were Jody Eldred, Craig Birkmaier, Mark Shepherd, and Mike Curtis—all of whom had some interesting comments to make about the HDV format. The DVGuys have since evolved into Digital Production BuZZ (now a Creative Planet Community, a division of United Entertainment Media, itself a part of CMP Entertainment Media, Inc.), but I've received permission to host a copy of the show on this site. It has a running time of approximately 66 minutes and is available as an AAC LC-encoded (Advanced Audio Coding - Low Complexity) downloadable .m4b* (MPEG-4 Bookmarkable) file via the following link.

* Windows users can play this file using the free Apple QuickTime Player program.

Note that to avoid the possibility of skipping, pausing, and buffering delay issues caused by the clip's high data rate, it's suggested that you use your browser's Save Link As... / Save Target As... / etc. function to download the file to your system for local playback rather than attempting to pseudo-stream it in realtime directly from this Web server.

DVGuys "HDV Night" show of March 3, 2005
dvg05_03_03.m4b [12,499,103 bytes] MPEG-4 AAC Bookmarkable file.

And speaking of Jody Eldred, here's a 3-minute Microsoft .wmv (Windows Media Video) clip of Jody discussing how he used a Sony HVR-Z1U camcorder to shoot some difficult footage for a portion of an episode of the CBS network television series JAG (Judge Advocate General). This footage was shot, edited, and encoded by Douglas Spotted Eagle of VASST (Video, Audio, Software, Support and Training), the training arm of Sundance Media Group, and appears here with their kind permission.

Note that to avoid the possibility of dropped frames and buffering delay issues caused by the clip's high data rate, it's suggested that you use your browser's Save Link As... / Save Target As... / etc. function to download the file to your system for local playback rather than attempting to pseudo-stream it in realtime directly from this Web server.

Interview with Jody Eldred by Douglas Spotted Eagle
Interview_with_Jody_Eldred.wmv [12,470,672 bytes] Microsoft Windows Media Video file.

DigitalSolutions A/S in Denmark have posted some HDV samples, taken with a Sony camcorder, in the form of an anamorphic (1440 x 1080) uncompressed .tif (TIFF or Tagged Image File Format) file and an .m2v (MPEG-2 Video) file. These two files are linked from the following Web page, although I've also provided direct links to these files below.

DigitalSolutions Denmark A/S (HDV Samples)
http://www.digitalsolutions.dk/hdv.htm

Direct Links:

Sådan ser en full frame HDV ud - Downloades som TIFF. (Hvidovre havn)
[TIFF - 4,682,172 bytes]
http://www.digitalsolutions.dk/billeder/HvidovreHavn.tif TIFF image file.

Download 5 sekunders Native HDV klip (Kræver HDV-Transport stream afspiller 15Mb)
[MPEG-2 Video - 14,909,846 bytes]
http://www.digitalsolutions.dk/Support/HDV/5secHDV.m2v MPEG-2 Video file.

In Germany, HD-Channel.com have posted over a dozen sample HDV clips, in Microsoft .wmv (Windows Media Video) HD (high definition) 1080p and 720p formats, from Sony HDR-FX1 and JVC JY-HD10 camcorders. These clips are available for download via links on the following Web page.

HD-Channel.com (HDV Samples)
http://www.hd-channel.com/535457979d0979003/index.html

In Vienna, Austria, Sanjin Jukic has posted several sample video clips from the JVC GR-PD1 and Sony HDR-FX1E camcorders. They're available via various links on his Web site at the following URL.

Sanjin Jukic Online (HDV Samples)
http://www.sanjinjukic.com/

Sony has prepared an informative, introduction/overview type of document on the HDV format. It's entitled Sony HDV Technology Handbook, includes a glossary of terms and an HDTV (High Definition Television) historical development timeline, and is available in the form of an Adobe Acrobat PDF file via the link given below. It's not only recommended reading for anyone new to the subjects of HDV and/or HDTV, but can also prove useful in situations where help is needed in convincing someone, such as a business partner or significant other, that an expenditure on HDV/HDTV equipment is an extraordinarily worthwhile, extremely desirable, and tremendously rewarding investment. Wink.

Sony HDV Technology Handbook
[Dated October 19, 2004 - English language - 30 pages - 841,148 bytes]
http://news.sel.sony.com/hdvcamcorder/hdv_technology_book.pdf Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format.

Sony has also published a consumer-level/sales-oriented booklet entitled The Ultimate Guide to HDTV and HD Audio that's available for download via the following link.

The Ultimate Guide to HDTV and HD Audio
[Dated August 9, 2005 - English language - 16 pages - 1,283,588 bytes]
http://www.learningcenter.sony.us/documents/article/
HomeAudioandVideo/theultimateguide.pdf
 Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format.

A Sony-written white paper on HDV can be downloaded via the link given below. [Side note: Page 6 of this Sony HDV White Paper, under the heading "Shooting HDV for SD distribution", states in part, "Shooting HDV original footage and editing in HD produces standard definition DVDs which are visually superior to those using DV content. Since the MPEG-2 compression used by HDV utilizes the same 4:2:0 color space as the DVD standard, the color sampling remains consistent throughout the production, editing, and encoding workflow. In comparison, content acquired in DV is sampled at 4:1:1, then re-sampled at 4:2:0 during the DVD encoding process, yielding a visually inferior 4:1:0 image on the DVD." Coincidentally, this is exactly the same argument that I make in the footnote entitled Comments on transcoding from DV25 to MPEG-2 for DVD-Video, located down at the bottom of this Web page — and no, I did not write this White Paper for Sony.]

Sony HDV White Paper
[Dated March 2, 2006 - English language - 15 pages - 700,340 bytes]
http://bssc.sel.sony.com/BroadcastandBusiness/
docs/whitepapers/hdv_whitepaper.pdf
 Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format.

Sony also offers HDV product information and sampler videos in Microsoft's WMV (Windows Media Video) 720p and 1080p formats. These .wmv files are downloadable via links found on the following Web page. Warning: these four files are fairly large, ranging in size from approximately 82.9 MB to approximately 355 MB.

Sony HDV Demos
http://bssc.sel.sony.com/BroadcastandBusiness/minisites/HDV/demos.shtml

Canopus has published an eight-section series of articles about the HDV format. It's available via the following link. Note that I do hold a certain disagreement over their statements about DVI and its (in)ability to support 1080i HD content.

About HDV | Canopus USA
http://www.canopusedu.com/abouthdv/

Doug Jensen, Nate Hill, and Chris Jensen have written and produced a 22-chapter, 90-minute HDV training video entitled HandsOnHDV: A Complete Guide to the HVR-Z1U and HDR-FX1. It's published by Vortex Media of East Greenwich, Rhode Island and JTV Productions of Orem, Utah and is available on DVD for U.S. $85 from the following Web site.

HandsOnHDV: Instructional Videos for Sony HDV Camcorders
http://www.handsonhdv.com/PRODUCT_Z1.html

Douglas Spotted Eagle and Mark Dileo have written a 130-page book (U.S. $24.99) about the HDV format entitled HDV: What You NEED to Know. More information about the book, including downloadable sample pages, can be found at the following URL.

HDV: What You NEED to Know
http://www.vasst.com/printproducts/hdv.htm

A review of "HDV: What You NEED to Know" by Doug Graham, a Contributing Editor at EventDV magazine, was published in the May 2005 issue of the magazine. The review was posted to the magazine's Web site on May 2, 2005 and can be found at the following URL.

EventDV magazine, May 2005, Volume 18, Number 5 - book review by Doug Graham
eventdv.net: HDV: What You NEED to Know by Douglas Spotted Eagle and Mark Dileo--Book Review by Doug Graham
http://www.eventdv.net/Articles/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=9873

Update: Douglas Spotted Eagle has produced a revised version of HDV: What You NEED to Know. Information about this expanded, 232-page Second Edition (U.S. $29.99), which includes a DVD containing sample HDV files, demo, trial, and other software, plus an IRE level test chart, can be found at the following URL.

HDV: What You NEED to Know, Second Edition
http://www.vasst.com/product.aspx?id=ed515883-935a-4037-aef0-0ad68139e940

Steve Mullen has written a 270-page e-book (U.S. $39.95) entitled Sony HVR-Z1 and HDR-FX1 Handbook: HDV Technology, Production, and Post-Production. Additional information can be found at the following URL.

Sony HVR-Z1 and HDR-FX1 Handbook
http://www.knowledge-download.com/SonyHDV/

Andrew Lock offers a book (U.S. $24.99) entitled How to Shoot, Edit & Distribute HDV. The book is available through the Edgewise Media Web site at the following URL.

How to Shoot, Edit & Distribute HDV
http://www.edgewise-media.com/howtosheddih.html

A review of Andrew Lock's "How to Shoot, Edit & Distribute HDV" by Stephen F. Nathans, Editor-in-chief of EventDV magazine, was published in the April 2006 issue of the magazine. The review was posted to the magazine's Web site on February 26, 2006 and can be found at the following URL.

EventDV magazine, April 2006, Volume 19, Number 4 - book review by Stephen F. Nathans
eventdv.net: Book Review: Andrew Lock's How to Shoot, Edit & Distribute HDV
http://www.eventdv.net/Articles/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=11087

In September 2005, the Muska & Lipman division of Thomson Course Technology PTR (Professional - Technical - Reference) published, as part of its Aspiring Filmmaker's Library, a 488-page book (list price $49.99) by Chad Fahs entitled HDV Filmmaking. The book is available direct from the publisher for $44.99 or from Amazon.com for $32.99.

HDV Filmmaking
http://www.courseptr.com/ptr_detail.cfm?group=film&isbn=1-59200-828-3

In September 2006, the Focal Press division of Elsevier B.V. published a 256-page book (list price $34.95) by Chuck Gloman and Mark J. Pescatore, Ph.D. entitled Working with HDV: Shoot, Edit, and Deliver Your High Definition Video. The book is available from Amazon.com for $23.07.

Working with HDV: Shoot, Edit, and Deliver Your High Definition Video
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/product/cws_home/709385

In Australia, two instructional DVDs entitled HandsOnHDV: How to Shoot Like a Pro with the Sony HDR-HC1 Camcorder and HandsOnHDV: A Complete Guide to the Sony HVR-Z1U and HDR-FX1 are available from ON2DVD via the