Re: Panasonic HVX200 vs. DVX100BP

I shoot with an HVX200... Typically I shoot in 1080i 16:9, and most of what I shoot is distributed in 16:9 via web app. in SD, down-converted from HD to SD when I export the finished product from my timeline. Recently I produced a live broadcast in 4:3 SD, which contained roll-ins which I had shot on my HVX200 in 1080i 16:9. I didn't want the roll-ins squeezed, so I had to choose between cropping, which I would have done in my timeline during/as part of the editing process, or letterboxing. I chose letterboxing. I edited the roll-ins in 1080i 16:9, exported them that way, then put them back into an 8-bit uncompressed SD 4:3 timeline, which gave the full width and height of what I shot, plus black above and below the picture (letterboxing). This then also conformed technically to what the control room was using for the broadcast.

On live broadcasts I did last year I shot roll-ins with a Canon XL-1S in good old fashioned 4:3 SD. Even though the final product both this year and last was in 4:3 SD, the stuff originally shot and edited in 1080i 16:9 looks a lot better than the 4:3 SD footage shot last year.

My point is that if you have the capability of shooting and editing in HD, do it, even if your final product is SD. "Monk" is shot 16:9 and cropped to 4:3. It's not an uncommon practice, and the footage you get will look a lot better than shooting in SD. Even if you crop and export the 1080i HD timeline as 480 4:3, it will look a whole lot better than actually shooting and editing in SD.

Dave Rosberg
Producer
Dish Network