[MRadja]

Has anyone any opinion about this camcorder please? This is selling for 374£ and is supposedly HD. I like the convenience of recording straight to Sd card. The sample clip I downloaded from Steve's digicam does not look very good. Will I be better off with a 3ccd dvd camcorder?

Many thanks

[redsox_mark]

The HD1 is not in the same class as the other HD camcorders like the Sony HC3, the Canon HV10, or the new Sony SR1. Here is a review
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content...der-Review.htm

Compared to a 3ccd dvd camcorder? Well the only 3 ccd dvd camcorder I know of is the Panasonic D300. Which is better is hard to say; the D300 is one of the better SD DVD camcorders, the HD1 is the lowest quality camcorder which calls itself HD, but it is higher resolution.

[MRadja]

Thanks for that. My other but more expensive option is the Sony HDR SR1. I want the convenience of being able to transfer to PC straight and burning to a DVD. Having experienced HD on my 50" plasma and BBC HD, I am also keen on a HD camcorder.

[redsox_mark]

Sony HDR SR1 is clearly better. But what worries me is:

I want the convenience of being able to transfer to PC straight and burning to a DVD. Having experienced HD on my 50" plasma and BBC HD, I am also keen on a HD camcorder.

Today at least, HD camcorder and "transfer to PC straight and burning to a DVD" are mutually incompatible. Escpecially so with the SR1, as AVCHD is a new format. AVCHD can't be edited currently, and there are very limited HD DVD options. You can't author Blueray yet, you can author HD-DVD, but support and players are rare.

Eventually it may be easy, but it isn't today. It wouldn't be easy with the HD1 either.

[MRadja]

Thanks. I dont do much editing on my home videos. If i stick the clips on a normal DVD , would it play on my computer? Somewhere I read that DVD has a limit of 9MBPS whereas the sony records at 19? I already have a htpc which plays H264 through core AVC. If not, I can still store files on the hard disc till HDDVD recorders become available.

[redsox_mark]

We need to make a distinction between a DVD video, and a data DVD.

Today's DVD videos (e.g. a film you buy or rent) and ordinary DVD players require a very specific format: MPEG2 compression, maximum bitrate of 9.8 Mbps (video and audio combined). 720x576 resolution.

The SR1 video is MPEG4, with a max bitrate of 19 Mbps. 1440x1080 resolution. You can't make a DVD video with this. Future blueray players and maybe other players WILL be able to play this, but not today.

A Data DVD involves simply copying files onto a DVD - i.e. using the DVD as another filesystem. If your PC can play a file (with some player software) from the HDD, it should also be able to play it from a DVD (as long as the DVD drive is fast enough.. any modern DVD drive which can read at 4x or more will be fast enough).

The issue is currently even playing one of these AVCHD files from a PC is a challange.. you need a fast PC and the right software, see this thread from another forum
http://www.sonyhdvinfo.com/showthrea...3&page=1&pp=10

Playing the AVCHD files is more of a challange to your PC than standard def H264.

The support for this format will improve... but if you go for the SR1 now you need to be prepared to experiment and possibly need to upgrade your PC to be able to play the files.

[alpine101]

Here's some sample footage of the SD1A, (file is 270MB):
http://hd1a.com/2006/reichstag.MP4
It should play OK with players like VLC or PowerDVD 7. If required a utility called mp4cam2avi (http://sourceforge.net/projects/mp4cam2avi) will format it into an AVI container with MP3 soundtrack so it can be used on TV via most mediacentres.
As redsox_mark says, putting this into DVD format will drop the resolution down to ordinary DVD standards.
You won't of course get BBC HD quality with ANY of the consumer HD camcorders. The cameras the BBC contractors use are several orders of magnitude pricier!

[redsox_mark]

alpine101,

Thanks for the link. This played fine on my Pentium M 1.6 Ghz laptop with VLC. And is impressive.

But it's not the native AVCHD. It's 1280x720 progressive. Some software which will hande AVCHD (e.g. Tmpgenc) must have been used to do the conversion.

MRadja wanted to know if he could simply copy the native AVCHD files to his PC and play them directly - and specifically play them from a DVD. As I said earlier I don't see a problem with playing the file from a data DVD using VLC or similar (not DVD video), as long as the PC and the viewing software can handle it.. and it seems that is difficult.

I found some links to native AVCHD footage:
http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/do...09/ezhqp1.m2ts

I tried to play this with VLC and it freezes up and I get an error from the Visual C++ runtime library...

It seems Nero 7 is better at playing these, and you also need a beast of a machine.

MRadja - let us know if you can play these .m2ts files.

[MRadja]

The links dont work! However I can play another clip I found here-
http://esotic.com/media/Water.m2ts (this downloads a html file which I renamed to .m2ts) without any problems. I have a Pentium D820, 1GB memory, core AVC codec and mediaplayer classic.

[MRadja]

Tell a lie! The sound is missing from this clip. With VLC mediaplayer, I can hear sound, but the picture crashes soon after the start.

[redsox_mark]

Sorry - I fixed the link now.

I can't play the "water" link either.. but you've got a higher spec PC. If you can play these files then great - you can then watch AVCHD. And you should be able to burn a data DVD with these files and play those with VLC.

[redsox_mark]

Originally Posted by MRadja

Tell a lie! The sound is missing from this clip. With VLC mediaplayer, I can hear sound, but the picture crashes soon after the start.

Oh....

[MRadja]

Thanks for the link. Now downloaded the other clip. Plays smoothly, quite visible macroblocking, but still no sound. Audiofilters dont kick in when playing this clip, so some problem with the splitter.

[alpine101]

Originally Posted by MRadja

Thanks for the link. Now downloaded the other clip. Plays smoothly, quite visible macroblocking, but still no sound. Audiofilters dont kick in when playing this clip, so some problem with the splitter.

The raw soundtrack is AAC. If you run it through the freeware app I mentioned, it will become an Mp3 track.
Quicktime supports AAC and should play it OK as well. Any macroblocking is not visible on an LCD TV in my experience.
Edit: (I'm assuming you're talking about the clip I put the link for!)

[alpine101]

Originally Posted by redsox_mark

alpine101,

Thanks for the link. This played fine on my Pentium M 1.6 Ghz laptop with VLC. And is impressive.

But it's not the native AVCHD. It's 1280x720 progressive. Some software which will hande AVCHD (e.g. Tmpgenc) must have been used to do the conversion.

The thread started about the Sanyo HD1. This is a raw Sanyo HD1 clip, not an AVCD clip. No conversion was undertaken.

[redsox_mark]

Ahh.. sorry. The discussion had moved to the Sony SR1, and I read your post which said "Here's some sample footage of the SD1A" as SR1...

So in summary:

- the Sanyo HD1 footage is easy to edit and play. (And it looked pretty good... though it was in bright light. It is in less ideal conditions that it suffers).

- The Sony SR1 AVCHD currently is impossible to edit, and pretty difficult to play.

[MRadja]

Sorry, alpine101. I was talking about the SR1. But the clip you posted the link to plays perfectly well. The quality is much better than any SD camcorder and for the price I said before, is an absolute steal. I am ordering the Sanyo tomorrow!! Thanks for the advice.

alpine, that's great video quality from your hd1. Played fine using Quicktime or Nero Showtime. I also burned it to pal dvd & it played great on my standalone dvd player.

I notice the Sanyo HD1 seems to have been rapidly followed by HD1A and HD1E and I even saw mention of HD1EX ! Anyone got these ? Am I right in thinking Sanyo are bug-fixing in these later releases ? Maybe the criticisms (harsh I thought) in the camcorder review have been fixed ?

Neil

[MRadja]

HD1A is the new model. All the reviews I have read of the 1A say the bugs are still there. The difference is an LCD screen as opposed to the OLED and the ability to shoot widescreen stills. Looks like the 1e is bundled with memory, but otherwise the same as 1.
I have bought the HD1 as prices have dropped with arrival of the hd1a. Excellent quality off the box in good lighting, almost as good as broadcast quality sd. Next to useless shooting indoors in artificial light. DOES NOT allow change of exposure setting while shooting!

yes it's confusing. I found out e or ex may simply stand for european model (and maybe just hd1 euro model rather than 1a

[cj]

I bought A HD1A a couple of weeks ago and love it - it's a great little point and shoot camera (which is about my photography level). I got fed up dragging my old Fuji Finepix F602 around. I love the docking station/charger - permanently connected to both my PC (via USB) and my AV switcher (via component). It's a great little gadget, but obviously not aimed at "serious" photographers.

How about the quality cj ? Have you used hd video, or just still frames ? Any drawbacks for fast moving subjects using video ?

Where did you buy it and what price ?

Neil