Hitachi's Z-3000/CR-D10 *Pro* DVD-RAM Camcorder

[Jerry Jones]

Hitachi announces the new Z-3000/CR-D10 *pro* video camera will ship at the end of the month:

http://www.digitalproducer.com/2002/11_nov/news/11_11/hitachi1111.htm

More from Hitachi:

http://www.hdal.com/products/products.ihtml?step=3&pid=1066&parent=51

Jerry Jones

http://www.jonesgroup.net

[paulw]

Expensive .. But ideal for news organizations. Remove the DVD-RAM disk from the camcorder, place into your PCs DVD-Multi drive and copy the files to your edit program..

[Jerry Jones]

As a former TV anchor/reporter, I can confirm what you have just written, Paul.

Indeed!

Jerry Jones

http://www.jonesgroup.net

[Jerry Jones]

Here's more from Hitachi:

http://www.hdal.com/products/products.ihtml?step=3&pid=1066&parent=51

Jerry Jones

http://www.jonesgroup.net

[wkulecz]

Effective mpeg editing? I'll believe it when I see it.

--wally.

[Jerry Jones]

Wally,

MPEG is the native format used by the professional-level "Pinnacle Liquid Silver" editor.

It's already a reality.

I agree that improvements need to be made where prosumer level editors are concerned.

But professional-level MPEG editing is a reality.

Jerry Jones

http://www.jonesgroup.net

[Jerry Jones]

Here's the Pinnacle Liquid Silver MPEG-2 professional-level editor:

http://www.pinnaclesys.com/ProductPage.asp?Product_ID=492

Jerry Jones

http://www.jonesgroup.net

[Dr Mordrid]

Wally,

Jerrys right. The quality of MPEG-2 edit depends on the profile used.

The MPEG-2 profiles used in consumer gear are usually 4:2:0 main profile @ main level at relatively low bitrates. Pro gear typically uses 4:2:2 profiles with quite high bitrates.

The difference is definitely non-trivial.

Dr. Mordrid

[wkulecz]

What's the bit rate compared to the 25Mpbs for DV?

--wally.

[IM_Riktar]

What I would like to see is this type of media used in your basic consumer camcorder. And I am not talking about the "gimmick" model that was released earlier this year. I want MiniDV quality with DVD-RAM convenience. Now THAT would be exciting.

Me wants these options:

1. Selectable bit rates, (Tape lingo = sp, ep, etc.)
2. The ability to read both sides of a 9.4 DVD-RAM disc in the camcorder body. None of this, "Disc Full, stop and re-insert the other side for further recording." message.
3. 3 CCD's

Having the ability to keep my original footage on 100+ year media without having to do the transfer dance that I now do will really put some of the fun back into a hobby that is all too filled with mundane necessities that are required to keep my footage secure.

[wkulecz]

Problem is DV on DVD-RAM will only hold about 20 miutes on a 5" single-sided DVD-RAM disk.

You need something that'll give at least 3X compression over DV that maintains editablity.

Since DV is 25 Mbps mpeg2 at 8000 Kpbs might workout OK as a starting point. But as far as I can tell nothing at prosumer prices can edit mpeg very well.

Don't bet the farm on any digital media lasting 100 years without maintainence budgeted to move it as formats become obsolete!

--wally.

[IM_Riktar]

But as far as I can tell nothing at prosumer prices can edit mpeg very well.

What if the capture device (camcorder) could capture I frame only?

[Jerry Jones]

I think we're going to witness some extraordinary improvements even where prosumer editing of MPEG is concerned... within the next 6 months.

Jerry Jones

http://www.jonesgroup.net

[wkulecz]

I could live with simple step thru I-frames only with cuts and trims that don't rerender the output file and screw up audio sync.

Sounds simple, Lots of stuff promises it, none of it seems to work reliablely :-(

ADS Instant DVD hardware MPEG2 capture with bundled VideoStudio and/or downloadable MSP templates -- edits are tedious because of poor scrub performance (compared to DV) and often times for mysterious reasons the whole thing is rerendered with horrible quality loss and/or audio is out of sync on the export.

--wally.