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[duggs]

I want to get a Hi Def Camcorder for our proposed California trip in August BUT...this confuses me.

Whether we record to memory cards or built in memory how do we view the footage thereafter.
Any built in memory will fill up eventualy so the footage needs to be transfered at some point.

I realise that we can view it straight from the camcorder to a HD TV BUT at somepoint I'd need to transfer it to a HD disk of some sort ideally. Not least it can't be good to keep having to use the camera as a player as well. I assume by transfering to a normal DVD the Hi Def element will be lost. Memory cards are cheap now a days but again we have to use the camera to view them.

Any views and advise would be usefull chaps.

[Mr Skrunts]

I have been looking into HG camcorders mysulf after I bought a 1920x1080 digi camera.

You can view through the screen that you flip out, or via cable to a TV, ur you download the video back to a laptop or computer and burn it back to DVD.

You wont lose the widescreen format it is recorded in but if on a standard 4:3 screen you will lose viseo at both sides, on a PC it will just resize to become viewable. (I think)

[Mr Skrunts]

Whats taking your fancy at the moment, I was after a canon unit but they are realesing new models at the moment and I am after something with at least 15x optical zoom for bird watching and nature use, but cant find anything much better than 15x at the moment.

[KW]

Whether we record to memory cards or built in memory how do we view the footage thereafter.

On the camera itself, through a TV using the HDMI or analogue output (whichever is available), or via your PC once you transfer the footage.

I assume by transfering to a normal DVD the Hi Def element will be lost.

That all depends on what the manufacturer calls "Hi Def", but if it's 1080i or above then yes, you will lose quality unless you transfer to Blu-ray.

Memory cards are cheap now a days but again we have to use the camera to view them.

Or you could put the memory card in your PC.

[duggs]

Yes !  Kinda the same problem here also.

I've taken a look at HD footage on Youtube and you have to say it looks a great deal better than SD.

I need "small" but am thinking of dual memory.
I saw footage of a 5x optical and it was pants.
Think you need at least 16x.
But if you burn HD footage to a standard DVD surely the result won't be HD when viewed back. Equally, I guess you'd need a blu ray player. I suppose using the poor old camcorder as a player is the only way to truely go for now.

[Mr Skrunts]

Not 100% on HD, thought it might have been the same stored on a hard drive.

Need to learn more, but as KW mentioned will be fine burnt onto Bluray.

So how does SDHC storage comepare to to hard drive, DVD and then of bourse Bluray for splayback.

[duggs]

Memory cards are cheap now a days but again we have to use the camera to view them.

"Or you could put the memory card in your PC."

Ok !  Now I'm confused.

So we have Hi-def footage on the memory card !
Are you saying that a memory card reader will read and view it as Hi-def. ?  Would we not need software ?

[tunnie]

Memory cards are cheap now a days but again we have to use the camera to view them.

"Or you could put the memory card in your PC."

Ok !  Now I'm confused.

So we have Hi-def footage on the memory card !
Are you saying that a memory card reader will read and view it as Hi-def. ?  Would we not need software ?

Of course, and no. Any player will do it. I prefer VLC

[Kevin Wood]

Bear in mind that 1080 Hi-Def onto a SDHC memory card at a decent level of quality will need a fast card. My DSLR does it (well, 1040 - near enough) and does it ever thrash the memory card.

No hope without a decent quality card. (can't remember what speed class my current one is).

I am very tempted to get on of the really cheap cameras that are around these days, though. I can think of all sorts of places to strap them.

(nose / wingtip of a glider, in the radiator grill of the Westfield when it works again, etc.) 

The nice thing is that they are getting cheap enough that if they get totally mullered you can bin the camera and rescue the footage off the card.

Kevin

[duggs]

OOOOOOOO !  Perhaps memory cards are the way to go then. Least that way, you'll always have a "as recorded" version, no matter how you choose to view it. Whether you transfer/copy it to your hard drive or not. I assume by proxy also, that if you transfer it to your PC then the PC will view it "as recorded" in HiDef also...Sorted ! It's just when you burn HiDef to ordinary 4.7GB DVD's that you'll loose quality, especially if you have to compress the video to fit it on to a 4.7 unless you use dual layers of course.  Nice !

[Mr Skrunts]

Get a bullit cam and strap it low down on the westfield and go do a nice twisty hillclinb run.  Would be some fantastic footage and again in the glider. 

[Kevin Wood]

Get a bullit cam and strap it low down on the westfield and go do a nice twisty hillclinb run.  Would be some fantastic footage and again in the glider. 

This is what I'm thinking. When I've repaired the former and remembered how to fly the latter.

Kevin

[KW]

So we have Hi-def footage on the memory card !
Are you saying that a memory card reader will read and view it as Hi-def. ?

The card reader simply reads the data "as is", it doesn't matter whether that data is an image, audio, video, or anything else.
Two things to consider with memory cards...

1. As Kevin said, read/write speeds can be an issue with HD so make sure you buy a fast card.

2. Memory cards (and that includes USB sticks) have a limited read/write cycle lifetime before they fail.

Would we not need software ?

You'll only need whatever codec has been used for compression installed on the PC in order to decompress the data in order to view it.
My preference is for K Lite Mega Codec pack, and I register all the codecs it installs to Windows Media Player.

[Chris_H]

The only sure answer to the OP is to look at the manual for the camera in question.

If the HD is recorded as a file then it doesn't matter what you transfer it to (DVD, HDD etc) it will still be HD unless you deliberately down-convert it.

If you watch it on a PC you will be limited by the display resolution whatever that is, and the player will hopefully do a good job of re-scaling it if it's too low-res.

HD is a minefield as you probably realise so best to ask the vendor if it will work with the kit you have available.  As an example, my daughter is looking to buy a Canon 500D on recommendation and tells me it does Hi Def.  Sure, it's 1920x1080 but 20 frames/second and has a mono microphone built into the case where it picks up zoom, focus and IS noise with NO provision for external mic i/p.  Seeing as how 5.1 audio is part of what HD is about, this example falls way short.  Also no indication given of duration you can get on an SD card.

[KW]

Seeing as how 5.1 audio is part of what HD is about, this example falls way short.

The audio has nowt to do with HD, all "HD" is a buzzword for is the video side.

Besides, if you wanted to record in true 5.1, you'd need 5 microphones positioned around your target - not really practical methinks.