tethered shooting, web streaming, and HD, camcorder recomendations?

[Tom Drinkwater]

I have a music duo, and we want to:

* Stream live video of a performance at the highest possible quality over the internet.

* Record performances in full HD quality for uploading to vimeo, and/or making a DVD for fans.

* record directly to the computer if possible, bypassing the storage media in the camcorder, which is just an unnecessary extra step in a studio situation.

the audio quality is NOT a concern, because we will record the audio separately and recombine in the computer.

Seems like firewire is the only way to go for the live streaming, but its increasingly rare on new camcorders, and I haven't seen it on an HD camcorder. Do I have to buy a miniDV camcorder for the live streaming and a separate HD camcorder for recording? seems inefficient.

can anyone advise on what camcorder might do what we want?

thanks!

[senu]

Originally Posted by Tom Drinkwater

I have a music duo, and we want to:

* Stream live video of a performance at the highest possible quality over the internet.

* Record performances in full HD quality for uploading to vimeo, and/or making a DVD for fans.

* record directly to the computer if possible, bypassing the storage media in the camcorder, which is just an unnecessary extra step in a studio situation.

the audio quality is NOT a concern, because we will record the audio separately and recombine in the computer.

Seems like firewire is the only way to go for the live streaming, but its increasingly rare on new camcorders, and I haven't seen it on an HD camcorder. Do I have to buy a miniDV camcorder for the live streaming and a separate HD camcorder for recording? seems inefficient.

can anyone advise on what camcorder might do what we want?

thanks!

HD for Hi def an HDD are easily confused..
One way would be to get a PC or laptop with HDMI "in" and stream from the Hi def HDMI camcorder .This is a theoretical possibility as Im not sure of "HDMI in " on a PC
Just to remind you : MiniDV does do Hi def ( as HDV though) . So it is not just limited to SD
Firewire is present in JVCs HDD camcorders HD 5 and HD 6 well worth a look

[Tom Drinkwater]

yes, to clarify, i want to shoot in hi definition 1080p or whatever the best one is.

there is no advantage to me in a HDD (hard disk drive) camcorder

a mini DV hi defintion camcorder with firewire would probably do the trick, i would hardly ever use it with tapes, just record to the computer, assuming the full hi def is available on the firewire in real time.

I'm not at all sure about the HDMI in to the pc (mac actually), most of the live streaming software expects DV on firewire. anything else is likely to be a headache.

[Tom Drinkwater]

I can't find any mention of firewire on the JVC HD5 are you sure?

[Tom Drinkwater]

is iLink the same as DV out is same as firewire?

[senu]

Originally Posted by Tom Drinkwater

is iLink the same as DV out is same as firewire?

Yes
I-link, firewire, IEEE1394 DV port are synonyms
I-link is a Sony proprietary name and Firewire is actually Apples name for the same thing

[senu]

A mini DV ( HDV) will do fine.
They seldom record "progressive" though so 1080i is what you would get

[Tom Drinkwater]

The JVC HD3 looks like a good deal at £420

whats the catch? whats the advantages of the HD5 or 6?

am i right in assuming that any camcorder with firewire will output its full video over the firewire cable to a computer without actually recording it? for webcam type use, or recording directly to the computer?

[Tom Drinkwater]

ah i see now 1080i vs 1080p

JVC HD3 is 1080i - HD5 is 1080p

i have no experience of the difference. seems like better motion capture is important for live music.

[senu]

The HD7 came first , great feature set but implementation and unusable OIS let it down. The HD3 followed with less fanfare
Im not familiar with the H D 5 or 6 beyond their feature set
The other thing was JVC continuing to use the mpeg2 1080i format rather than AVCHD which effectively made then a unique technology as all the other HDD and SD camcorders have been AVCHD and Mpeg2 tape
As for tethered recording. it is possible as long as the camcorder does not "switch off" to save power due to perceived recording inactivity. It is possible but not guaranteed in all camcorders

Originally Posted by Tom Drinkwater

ah i see now 1080i vs 1080p

JVC HD3 is 1080i - HD5 is 1080p

i have no experience of the difference. seems like better motion capture is important for live music.

Or maybe not..
Could be JVC simply following the 1080p "full HD" marketing trend..who knows?

[Tom Drinkwater]

so, have you used a HD3 and would you recommend it for my purposes?

are you aware of any competitors I should consider?

whats the difference between AVCHD and mpeg2 for my purposes? are there any compatibilty or other advantages to mpeg 2? less file format conversion for computer editing? or more ability to record directly on computer?

[senu]

Originally Posted by Tom Drinkwater

so, have you used a HD3 and would you recommend it for my purposes?

No I havent but cannot see why you cant use it

are you aware of any competitors I should consider?

Only the tape HDV models.. any will do TBH

whats the difference between AVCHD and mpeg2 for my purposes? are there any compatibilty or other advantages to mpeg 2? less file format conversion for computer editing? or more ability to record directly on computer?

The main advantage of AVCHD is file size and potential for better quality and not needing tape but no tethered shooting as firewire is not present
AVCHD needs better hardware and has reduced compatibility for software
I cant see mpeg2 as a disadvantage otherwise

[Tom Drinkwater]

ok, i'm getting a better picture here thanks!

2 more questions:

are you aware of a tape based HDV camcorder thats such good value that it beats the JVC HD3? I can't find one!

If we were to make a DVD to sell using this, would we wish we had got the 1080p version?

[Tom Drinkwater]

damn, corrections.

the JVC HD3 is 1080x1440i

the JVC HD5 is 1080x1920i recording with 1080x1920p output available on its hdmi output. presumably its interpolated.

for the price of a HD5 i could buy a panasonic SD9 for the Hi def recording, and a cheap mini DV cam as a webcam.

seems like a better option, especially as i dont need the hidef for a couple of months.

anyone got any more info?

[senu]

Originally Posted by Tom Drinkwater

are you aware of a tape based HDV camcorder thats such good value that it beats the JVC HD3? I can't find one!

What have you found?

If we were to make a DVD to sell using this, would we wish we had got the 1080p version?

Unlikely

Originally Posted by Tom Drinkwater

damn, corrections.
the JVC HD3 is 1080x1440i

That is the HDV output limitation used in even high end HDV models

the JVC HD5 is 1080x1920i recording with 1080x1920p output available on its hdmi output. presumably its interpolated.

No it probably records as 1920 x1080 but outputs to 1440 x1080; by using HDMI you are getting the native feed before it dosnscales to 1440 to output on the HDD

for the price of a HD5 i could buy a panasonic SD9 for the Hi def recording, and a cheap mini DV cam as a webcam.....seems like a better option, especially as i dont need the hidef for a couple of months.

Or you could buy an older Canon HV20
The cheap MiniDV cam may or may not be able to stream continuosly ( you would have to check) ,
But certainly your proposed plan seems sound in general