Acquisition Formats

There are a number of manufacturers producing acquisition formats that claim the name High Definition, High Def or HD and include systems from low cost HDV to top end production formats such as HDCAM and DVCPRO 100. They all use recording methods which result in a higher resolution picture than Standard Definition, but some have significantly higher resolution than others and come with a correspondingly higher price tag. It is therefore important to understand that all High Definition video systems are not the same. Some may be acceptable for your production and others may not. Broadcasters also have different requirements and acceptance criteria when commissioning a High Definition production. See Broadcaster's Requirements.

Here's a list of commonly used High Definition recording formats. We are not attempting to rank these in terms of some being "better" than others. What gives you the "best" pictures for the money available is a very subjective issue. Whilst it's relatively easy to compare technical attributes from camera to camera and say that a bit rate of 440 Mbps gives much more information than say 100 Mbps, this simply isn't the whole story. If only it were that simple!

In the following list, we have chosen to include data on 4 parameters which we feel are important and to some degree allow you to see why some formats are suitable for some genres and others are not. These are colour subsampling , bit rate , recording medium , chip size

HDCAM SR

Top end format for aquisition, mastering and delivery

• Cameras: Sony F23, F35
• Used for: Feature Films, Drama, Commercials
• Daily rate: F23 package £ 900 per day

  Chroma Subsampling	Bit Rate	Recording Media	Chip Type
  4:4:4 or 4:2:2	880 or 440 Mbps	HDCAMSR tape	3 x 2/3 in 2.2 million pixels

HDCAM

Top end format for acquisition and delivery

• Cameras: HDW-F900R, HDW750, HDW790
• Used for: Drama, commercials, higher budget docs, natural history
• Daily rate: Packages from £ 375 - 700 per day

  Chroma Subsampling	Bit Rate	Recording Media	Chip Type
  4:2:2	440 Mbps	HDCAM tape	3 x 2/3 in CCD 2.2 million pixels

DVCPRO HD 100

High end format for acquisition

• Cameras: Panasonic Varicam, HDX900 , HPX500 , HPX3000
• Used for: Drama, commercials, higher budget docs, natural history (especially Varicam)
• Daily Rate: Packages from £ 350 - 550 per day

  Chroma Subsampling	Bit Rate	Recording Media	Chip Type
  4:2:2	100 Mbps	DVCPRO tape or P2 Memory Card	3 x 2/3 in CCD 1.1 million pixels

XDCAM HD

Acquisition format recording onto Optical Disc

• Cameras: PDW700, PDW355
• Used for: Medium to low budget docs, corporate. Limited use see Broadcaster's Requirements
• Daily rate:

  Chroma Subsampling	Bit Rate	Recording Media	Chip Type
  4:2:2 (PDW700)	50 Mbps	Optical Disc	3 x 2/3 in
  4:2:0 (PDW355)	35 Mbps	Optical Disc	3 x 1/2 in

HDV

Low budget acquisition format for smaller hand held cameras

• Cameras: HVRZ1E, HVRZ7
• Used for: Low budget docs, corporate, inserts into programmes when smaller camera is needed. Limited use see Broadcaster's Requirements
• Daily Rate: £ 70 - 100 per day

  Chroma Subsampling	Bit rate	Recording Media	Chip Type
  4:2:0	25 or 19.7 Mbps	HDV tape	1 or 3 x 1/3 in

Timecode note:

Be aware that some smaller HDV cameras do not run frame accurate timecode. This will probably lead to considerable difficulty when you come to the conform. Eyematching shots at the conform can turn what should have been a 1 day conform into 2 or 3 days and you should allow for this possibility in your budget and post production schedule.