Panasonic Camcorder Stand
What dose 4ECM (on my video camera's microphone) stand for?
I have a Panasonic GS-400 camcorder and the internal microphone printed: 4ECM Stereo Zoom. I know the term Stereo Zoom, but I can not understand what ECM is. Maybe it's an incorrect spelling of PCM. If yes, what are the 4 before that?
ECM probably stands for Electret Condenser Microphone, which is a kind of pickup element that requires a power source to function, but gives a good profit. The "4" stumps me, but can refer to the perceived zoom range, the mic's.
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High Definition: When?
High Definition When?
High definition will inevitably become a widespread
if not Universal TV format. But it is not yet clear when that will happen. So it is also not yet clear when high definition camcorders will be routinely required for acquisition of non-fiction programs. With that in mind, this e-zine aims to give a little background information for high definition technology and Sony High Definition camcorders currently available.
High Definition Workshops
Procam Television runs workshops on High Definition technology. These are performed by Paul Wheeler BSC, a very experienced film and digital cinematographer, who wrote the book, "High Definition 24p & Film", and is also a highly respected coach. If you are interested please write cal@procamtv.com for details.
High Definition Formats and Camcorders
Before venturing into the world of high definition, it should be said that our UK-based clients primarily use Digital Betacam and DV Cam camcorders and we find minimal demand for HD Cam. Our American clients are using HD Cam more frequently than our British clients but Beta-SP remains the format they most commonly request.
Two High Definition Formats
To begin with, the future of high definition television is unclear. There are two HD formats considered for transmission. One is 720p (720 horizontal lines or rows of pixels in the image) and the other is 1080i (1080 horizontal lines or rows of pixels in the image). "P" stands for progressive scan and "i" stands for interlaced scanning, but more on this later. Panasonic produces video cameras that generate 720 horizontal Lines and Sony manufactures the camcorders that generate 1080 horizontal lines. European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has suggested for discussion using 720p for public service broadcasters, but says it does not mean that they support 720p as the standard HD format for transmission. Trade magazines say BSkyB plans to send both 720p and 1080i in a service that will begin sometime in 2006, although I was recently told 1080i may be the only format they use for transmission.
Sony 1080-line system has a clear advantage over Panasonic's 720-line system. Each picture contains more than two million pixels (1920 vertical lines x 1080 horizontal lines), compared with 900,000 pixels (1280 vertical lines x 720 horizontal lines) in an image from a Panasonic high definition camcorder. This gives a better picture. The advantage of the 720-line system, it takes less transmission bandwidth to transmit.
Now the difference between "interlaced" and "progressive" scan. These terms refer to the way television images processed for transmission.
Interlaced Scan
Standard Definition TV signals processed by the television sets in an "interlaced scan" format. This means that the screen first scans the odd horizontal image lines, or rows of pixels, the sequence from top to bottom (1, 3, 5, etc.). It then returns to the top and scans the even numbered lines (2, 4, 6, etc.). To sum up the full picture from top to bottom is first made with half the information there and half of it missing. So the missing information is filled in PAL standard, each of these two processes takes 1/50th of a second, so the whole process takes 1/25th of a second.
Progressive Scan
"Progressive" scan differs from interlaced scan of the image displayed on a screen by scanning each line (or row of pixels) in a sequence instead of an alternate to have it done with interlaced scan. In other words, in progressive scan, the image lines scanned in numerical order (1,2,3) onto the screen from top to bottom, instead of in an alternate order (lines or rows 1,3,5, etc ... followed by lines or rows 2,4,6). By progressively scanning the image on a screen every 25th in another, rather than "interlacing" alternate lines every 50: e of a second, a smoother, more detailed, image can be produced on the screen is perfect for displaying fine detail and are also less susceptible to interlace flicker.
Sony range of camcorders offer both interlaced and progressive scan features in a number of settings.
Procam Television and High Definition Camcorders
As a facilities company, we move into the HD Cam market, but cautious. We have a Sony models but has not purchased any Panasonic products. It is only in response to what our customers have requested most. Below is a summary of each model and what it offers the lowest the highest price model.
Sony HVR-Z1P
This is a high definition camcorder, we recommend use immediately without exception. We bought 15 of them in February this year. It is an upgrade of the DSR-PD170P compact camcorder. The main reason for the strong recommendation is that the camera has a 16:9 chip so it shoots true wide screen images. It also delivers superior images.
Start http://www.procamtv.com/ to our website for more details.
Sony HDW-730S High Definition camcorder
The 730S is targeting mainstream television programming rather than film or high end television drama productions. It shoots through the interlaced function only and can be switched between 50i and 59.94i. Progressive scanning is not possible with the 730S. But if you do not need to use progressive scanning and recording for television, this camcorder produces excellent images and it gives you to record HD Cam on close to a standard definition budget.
Startup http://www.procamtv.com/ for more details.
Sony HDW-750p High Definition Camcorder
The HDW-750p offers a choice of shooting 25 frames per second in progressive scan mode (25P) to give your images a film appearance, or to shoot 50 fields per second interlaced (50i) to conform to PAL TV standards. The camcorder has a 2.2 million pixel FIT CCD, which is a step up from the IT-CCD in the 730S, and Advanced Digital Signal Processing (ADSP).
Go to http://www.procamtv.com/ for more details
Sony HDW-F900 Multi-format Cine Alta High Definition Camcorder
This is the top of Sony's high definition (1080 lines x 1920 pixels) camcorder range. The F900 allows you to shoot in any environment you wish. In progressive scan, it can shoot 23.98, 24, 25, 29.94 or 30 frames per second. In interlaced, it can shoot 50, 59.94 or 60 Hz. This means you can shoot for any standard anywhere in the world. If you shoot the film publishing that F900 is the only Sony camcorder that can shoot 24P (24 frames per second film standard).
Go to http://www.procamtv.com/ for more details.
Panasonic AJ-HDC27
Panasonic range includes AJ-HDC27 VariCam. This is a DVCPRO HD camcorder that offers variable frame rates, which can be adjusted from 4-fps to 60 fps in one frame at a time at the touch of a button. The question we have about Panasonic high definition camcorders are not going from 625 lines offered by current PAL standard definition cameras to 720 lines offered by Panasonic's high definition format really merit the investment required in acquisition and post production equipment? It is something to consider.
Startup http://www.panasonic.com/ for more details.
Hope to hear from you soon
If you have questions about High Definition Camcorders Please email or call me. And consider taking a workshop with Paul Wheeler. Also, if you have any comments to this e-zine, please let me know. We intend to send one out of every months for the purpose of packing it with useful information.
Until then, thanks for reading this and you can visit our website http://www.procamtv.com/
Cal Barton
www.procamtv.com
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