Hi,

I'm a bit of a noob, so forgive me if this question or something similar has been asked already.

I recently purchased a Sony HDR-HC1E and have been my viewing some test footage on my Samsung LE32R74BD screen. I've been using the supplied sony component cable and have made sure the camera has been set to record at 1080i

On playback, the picture is incredibly grainy, and nowhere near the HD experience I've been so excited about .

Can anyone tell me where I'm going wrong and how to improve the picture?

Thanks in advance.

[laser]

Having auditioned the HC1E prior to buying mine on a range of plamas and LCD TV's, I found what you are describing to be fairly represensitive with low end and mid range LCD TV's. I nearly didn't buy the HC1E as I thought the picture quality wasn't that good.

Eventually, I did audition the HC1E through a plasma TV and the the difference was incredible. It was looking through a window onto the world.

When I finally bought the camcorder I got a demo in the Sony Centre on a £2500 Brivia LCD and that did look superb but it was a far more expensive LCD set and the only one that I saw, that lived up to what I was expecting in terms of PQ i.e no grain or pixelisation and life like images.

I have since bought a plasma TV because of this. I use the supplied cable and the PQ is fantastic. Absolutely no grain on well lit shots and no pixelisation at all.

Sony do make a higher quality cable but I think the problem you describe probably lies with the LCD TV. Can you check that the TV is not downscaling the image to standard resolution? Do you know anyone one else with a LCD or plasma TV, cehck the camcorder plays OK on their TV to ensure its not the camcorder which is at fault.

If you are recording at 1080i then the camcorder should be replaying at 1080i but make sure you have not set the option on the camcorder to downscale to DV resolution, which will could result in a grainy picture.

Hi Laser,

Many thanks for your response.

"option on the camcorder to downscale to DV resolution"? Would this setting be the i.Link Conversion option found in the Standad Set menu section?

[laser]

Yes, that's right.

I've left it switched on once and captured footage to the PC as DV rather high def.

The only other things I can think off is there is a Sharpness option on the HC1E, try moving this 1 notch at a time to the left or right, and see if it makes any difference to the graininess.

You could also try moving the Camera Colour option. I moved this 1 notch to the right and it made a notable difference. No only did I then have to colour footage in LIquid 7, which saved me hours of rendering time, the PQ looked better on the plasma and on the 32 inch CRT.

[senu]

Originally Posted by laser

Yes, that's right.

I've left it switched on once and captured footage to the PC as DV rather high def.

The only other things I can think off is there is a Sharpness option on the HC1E, try moving this 1 notch at a time to the left or right, and see if it makes any difference to the graininess.

You could also try moving the Camera Colour option. I moved this 1 notch to the right and it made a notable difference. No only did I then have to colour footage in LIquid 7, which saved me hours of rendering time, the PQ looked better on the plasma and on the 32 inch CRT.

Ian,
I have played both DV and HDV footage via the Sony supplied Component cable( as HDV) and even composite video ( as SD) to both a Phillips 32Pf 9830 Hd ready 32" and a ( little) less "sorted" Samsung SyncMaster 940MW 19" TV/ PC monitor hybrid and in all cases the PQ was very impressive
In all instances the HDV downconvert to DV was on.
I havent touched either the sharpness or colour option ( havent discovered them ....yet)

While no amount of adjustment can redeem a not so well implimented LCD. they do take a bit of tweaking to set up for optimal PQ ( certainly more than CRT or plasma)
Do you mean though that you did not need to colour correct in Liquid?

Hi,

I adjusted the settings for i.Link conversion, colour and sharpness to no avail. Stopped by a Sony Centre during my lunch break to discuss my problem. The guy behind the counter suggested using a HD-DV tape rather than the Mini DV I've been testing on.

Not entirely sure whether this make any difference or the guy was doing his salesman schtick, but I purchased one and plan to shoot some garden footage this evening (as my previous tests were all indoors).

Fingers crossed.

[redsox_mark]

The tape will make no difference. The only difference the tape would make would be if you were seeing dropouts - the higher quality HD tapes are supposed to be less prone to these. But the quality of the picture will be the same.

Mark

Mark,

Many thanks for your response, I suspected as much. I clearly purchased the tape out of desperation.

Can anyone suggest some settings that might need to be adjusted for outside filming (garden mainly, so lots of greens and that)

Thanks for all your help so far guys - much appreciated.

[redsox_mark]

While you might want to tweak the colour or white balance settings to get the most accurate colours (Laser's suggestion of boosting the camera colour a notch is a good one), you should not be getting "incredibly grainy" footage... unless the light is very poor.

[senu]

tsm,
Im probably stating the obviuos ( see my post above) but: have you tried "tweaking" the actual display: Your Samsung. It may benefit with some adjustment to show off the HD PQ
Even with dark( ish) scenes I still get watchble footage from the HC1. On well lit ones grain is non-existent.
Is there another TV display you could try it on?
Beyond that all the advice on getting a better PQ from the actual camera is good . Ive been a bit lazy using auto ( thankfully lighting conditions have been constant so far) but im aware of the various manual options

not being a fan of lcd ( got to look head on and colours not realy accurate )or plasma tvs(to heavy). if cheacking my hdr stuff in high def like to slap it through a video projector on 6ft screen. only time see any grain is stuff shot in low light

[senu]

Originally Posted by Grand Todger

not being a fan of lcd ( got to look head on and colours not realy accurate )or plasma tvs(to heavy). if cheacking my hdr stuff in high def like to slap it through a video projector on 6ft screen. only time see any grain is stuff shot in low light

Do you connect the HC1 ( or similar camcorder) direct to the projector via component leads?

[laser]

Originally Posted by senu

Do you mean though that you did not need to colour correct in Liquid?

Yes. Slip of the fingers.

[laser]

Originally Posted by tsm

Mark,

Many thanks for your response, I suspected as much. I clearly purchased the tape out of desperation.

Can anyone suggest some settings that might need to be adjusted for outside filming (garden mainly, so lots of greens and that)

Thanks for all your help so far guys - much appreciated.

Try taking the camcorder to the Sony Centre and connecting it to one of their LCD or plasma TV's. This will at least rule out the camcorder and prove it is Samsung LCD.

[Gordon Briggs]

.....just a thought, even with the HDV>DV convert "on" it doesn't affect the output via the componant output, this remains HDV assuming that you filmed in HDV. The downconvert only affects the i-link (firewire) output.

I have a Toshiba 37WLT66 HDTV and the PQ from my HC1 is fantastic.

Gordon.

PS. Mark is right about the tapes, I have tried both HD and SD, no difference

senu
yes use component output with leads supplied with camera, stuff at 1080i..results make skippy`s efforts look disapointing
todger

[senu]

Originally Posted by Grand Todger

senu
yes use component output with leads supplied with camera, stuff at 1080i..results make skippy`s efforts look disapointing
todger

Oh.. do you mean on an LCD or on your projector? ( skippys efforts)

senu

hdr camera via component leads provided straight on to projector which is dlp type

suggest those who have photoshop or similar make up colour block using these values
r 200
g 244
b 20

then view it on lcd monitor
then a crt monitor
there should be a noticeable colour difference

todger who feels knackered after a cup of tea