Frank's thoughts on HDV (High Definition Video)
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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
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.]
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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.
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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.
 
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! 
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.
- It's quite inexpensive, especially when compared to the cost of other HD formats.
- 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
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
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] 
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] 
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 
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 
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. 
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 
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
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
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 following link
for AUS $99.95 and AUS $150.70, respectively,
including GST.
HandsOnHDV Training DVD's for SONY HDV Cameras- Australia
http://www.handsonhdv.com.au/
Steve Mullen, in the HDV@Work newsletter that he writes for Video Systems magazine,
has published two series of articles, one entitled "Much More about 720p24 HDV" and the other
entitled "Just What is 1080i?", both of which are highly recommended reading for anyone interested
in gaining a more in-depth understanding of and greater insight
into these two topics and related subjects than I've provided here. At the time of this writing,
the "Much More about 720p24 HDV" series is comprised of three articles and the "Just What is 1080i?"
series consists of five articles and I've provided links to all eight of these articles below.
HDV@Work: Much More about 720p24 HDV
HDV@Work: Just What is 1080i?
Videotape Products, Inc. (VTP)
of Burbank, California has published a useful HDV FAQ on its Web site at the following URL.
HDV Questions and Answers
http://www.myvtp.com/htm/hdvquest2.htm
Official announcement of the HDV format was | 