The Blog for Video 2.0

Canon today announced the US availability of their new HV20 High Definition camcorder. The HV20 joins the HV10 in Canon's consumer HDV lineup. The HV20 should deliver better low-light performance than it's predecessor but these claims have not yet been proven in real world tests.

The real gem in the HV20 for indie filmmakers is the inclusion of a true 24p mode. The camcorder will offer a Cinema mode, a one-touch, on/off setting that shifts colors to appear more like film. The setting corresponds to Custom Preset #8 (Cine V.) in the XH A1/G1 camcorders. The 24P frame rate and Cinema color mode are available independently or together. This will allow budget minded filmmakers to shoot on HDV and get even closer to the "film look".

The Canon HV20 has an MSRP of $1099 and will be available in mid-April 2007. This should be one hot little camcorder.

Labels: camcorder, Canon, digital video, equipment, filmmaking, hdv, high definition

At the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the big three (Sony, Canon, Panasonic) camcorder manufactures continued a big push away from MiniDV in their consumer camcorders. Direct-to-DVD models are now taking up most of the higher end options for consumers.

There has always been a question on how many point-and-shoot users will edit their footage. It is definitly the minority of camcorder users. Most people want to pick up the camera in auto mode, shoot some footage of the kids and then view the footage in the easiest way possible. This is why DVD-based models have gained in popularity. Most people don't care to edit down their footage into the best bits. They will scan through tons of bad video just to find those few good clips.

My issues with shift away from MiniDV are not about editing. The bigger issues, as I see it, are the elimination of a very good means of archiving and the loss in video quality. DVD-based models begin and end with MPEG2 video. MPEG2 is a delivery format that was never intended to be used for capture. It is much more highly compressed than DV, and therefore much of the information (video quality) is being lost due to compression.

The next issue is storage and archival. The footage created from DVD-based camcorders is very difficult to edit on a computer. Therefore, if the disk is damaged your video may be lost. While this could also happen to MiniDV tapes, DVDs are much more easy to scratch or become misplaced.

As we look toward the future, Sony and Panasonic are pushing AVCHD (Advanced Video Codec for High Definition) for consumer models. AVCHD is based on H.264 and MPEG4 and will probably yield excellent video quality for consumers. But these cameras used hard drives, DVDs or flash memory (SD) cards to capture and store your video. Again, a safe, inexpensive and effect way to archive our footage is missing.

What happens to users who shoot video onto an SD card and then forget to backup or move the footage to their computer? How do consumers keep gigabytes and gigabytes of hard drive space available for all their footage?

MiniDV tapes still provide the best storage method for consumers. The tapes take up very little physical space, are extremely affordable and the DV format provides excellent SD video quality for consumers (when a good midrange camera is used).

I am not sold on flash, hard drive or DVDs for video capture and storage. I worry about how many lost births, soccer games and birthday parites will result from consumers not having a good backup due to the lack of a physical tape. Time will tell. But, my next camcorder will probably be an HDV model, recording to good old fashioned MiniDV tapes.

Labels: avchd, camcorder, dvd, hdv, minidv

We are living in an exciting time. As the Web 2.0 bubble expands and the popularity and acceptance of user-driven ( which is just another word for independent, btw) content increases, we are finally seeing "new and improved" ways of consuming this content. Streaming is still the most popular method of watching internet distributed content. But, with the introduction of the slingmedia slingbox and the Apple tv, we are begining to see the completion of the distribution channel from content creation to internet distribution to delivery in the family room.

I don't think the importance of this can be underestimated. Think back to 5 years ago...how much online video was distributed? What were the levels of quality? It is easy to see how far we have come. A parallel can be made to the software industry. It is now very rare to run off to the store to purchase software. Yes, major packages such as an OS upgrade, Office suite or design/production software are still delivered on physical media. But most small to medium sized software packages are purchased and distributed online. This trend has moved to the music industry with iTunes, Rhapsody and Napster. This is a huge shift that will also sweep up the video industry.

The audience for watching video on a computer is small. I doubt that anyone over 45 is even willing to try watching more than a 3 minute clip on a computer screen. We are just too programmed in our ways. Long form programs belong on a TV. Another important factor is comfort. Most people want to sit, back, relax and enjoy the show...that is hard to do in an office or den setting. The final issue is that TV viewing-especially for movies-is considered to be a group activity. Many people like to watch movies with family and friends, this is impossible to do when all huddled around the computer.

So, we have new exciting options available. While geeks have been pumping online content to media center PCs or hacked Xboxes for years, we are now moving into the land of the rest of us. The new devices promise plug-and-play simplicity and a "look mom, no wires" approach to grabbing content off the net or from other networked computers.

The abiity to watch independent content in the family room is a huge win for content creators. Anyone can grab a DV camera and make a movie. We've seen this through the past five years in the explosion of no-budget filmmaking. The hardest part has always been getting your movie seen. Now with the internet as the distribution channel we've eliminated the need for getting a "real" distribution deal. And now, that we can get into the family room it's time to grab the popcorn!

Hungry for content? http://www.hungryflix.com

Labels: apple tv, indie film, online video, short films, slingbox, video, video distribution