hornydragon said:
There is a lot more to making HD than broadcast. One part of the problem is hollywood want a protected pirate proof system that they can charge more money for, note not better quality. CRT cameras form Sony and JVC can do 1080i, CCD (digital) at the moment do 720p (post production suites all need to be upgraded for this and MPEG4).....
Dunno where you get the idea that modern 1080i cameras are "CRT" (i.e. tubed) based. Tubed cameras ceased to be used or manufactured in any real standard in the early 90s. The 1250 (1152 active) HDTV tests the Beeb did at Wimbledon quickly moved from tubed to CCD Philips cameras in the early 90s, and all the 1080 line cameras currently on sale are CCD based. (The cameras themselves can often operate in 1080/24-30p as well as 1080/50i and 1080/60i. They switch between interlaced and progressive at 1080lines using field/frame line-averaging clocking out techniques. They have 1080 progressive sensors and use offset line averaging to deliver the two interlaced fields in interlace mode)
Sure the original Japanese 1125 (1030-1080 active) HD system started off with tubed cameras, as did the European 1250 (1152 active) and US 1050 (960 active) formats - but this was in the 1970s through to the 80s.
By the 90s HDTV CCD cameras were available for 1080i stuff (which was a slight tweak to the 1125 Japanese standard)
There are even 4000+ line CCD cameras in use in the US and Europe that can switch between averaging different numbers of these lines to create a 1080 or 720 line "native" image - without the requirement for cross conversion. (Thomson/Philips LDK6000 mk II World cam if you want to google it) It uses DPMS - Dynamic Pixel Management System.
some outside broadcasts (BBC HD truck) are using 1080i camreas (easier to convert to 576i for broadcast)
AIUI the BBC run Sony standard def cameras in their OB trucks, and have gone for Sony HD cameras as they are really happy with the various camera control systems (and I expect there is a degree of compatibility with things like RCP/MSUs etc.). These are 1080i "in camera" (though can crossconvert to 720p for output if you spec that option). I don't think there is a compelling argument that 1080i is easier to downconvert to 576i than 720/50p. I think you'll find most HD down-converters will do both, and both 720p and 1080i native cameras usually also offer SD 576 or 480i outputs (for 50 and 60Hz respectively).
The Philips Worldcam can run in both standards, as well as SD, after all...
News 24 from BBC is where i think you will get the first simulcast of SD and HD from BBC (via Sat). Film shot on 35mm is another big issue as converting from 35mm to 720p and 1080i is different, then you have lucasfilm who have gone all HD digital at 720p i think.
Lucasfilm have been using 1080p - the Sony CineAlta system or similar (i.e. 1080/24p) AIUI - 720/60p is useless for feature "film" origination (no point in capturing at that rate only to ditch the extra 36 frames!), and 1280x720 is too soft for cinema blow-up (1920x1080 is apparently marginal)
I'd expect BBC Sport, BBC Documentaries, BBC Music and BBC Drama to be an early source of HD material - shows like Later with Jools, The Last Night of the Proms, Carols from Kings, Natural History stuff, the forthcoming Bleak House, The Grid (co produced with TNT), Rockface (co produced with Columbia Tristar I think) are already shot and edited in HD. If Sky are to shoot Premiership matches in HD - I would expect the Beeb to want to do Match of the Day in HD at some point soon as well, and things like the 2008 Olympics and the World Cup?
Whilst I wouldn't be surprised to see news studios being re-equipped for HD (or so that they can be easily upgraded for HD) when they are next being re-designed, I don't see the "field crews" and "live trucks" being upgraded that quickly -after all the bulk of news agency material is 4:3 SDTV (usually low quality compressed)
My guess is that a satellite channel - either a BBC HD (kind of a best of BBC One, Two, Three and Four channel) or an automatic BBCi flip out to HD would be a possibility?
UK wont get HD terrestrial until after analogue switch off 2010 so there is plenty of time..... but one big mess and the new kit is very expensive!!!! have a look at Sony HD camera systems as well as JVC and Panny and the new HD consumer units!!!
Sony and Thomson/Philips/Grassvalley (also Ikegami) are the best places for decent HD production kit. They both have good production ranges - from cameras through switchers to VTRs.
Panasonic, Hitachi and JVC have always been regarded as a joke in the broadcast camera industry - though Panasonic have had success with their D3/D5/HD D5 VTR format, and their DVCPro stuff (though DVCam from Sony is often thought to have the better camera front-ends in camcorder terms)
Panasonic have got the Winter Olympics in Turin contract I believe - though how many cameras they will actually be supplying - who knows... I suspect most facilities in use will be using pre-owned kit - like Sony HD cameras. (Turin is being covered heavily in HD AIUI)
JVC and Hitachi are seen as a bit "low rent". The BBC DID use the JVC D9 VTR format for Antiques Roadshow for a while (it offers decent quality at low cost) - but the JVC camcorders were appalling apparently, and stuck out in comparison to the Sony cameras used for the multicamera sequences (I could tell them apart easily at home).
It doesnt really matter what the EU lay down as a huge amount of the decisions have been taken out of their hands and scaling will occur probably several times along the path wouldn't it be nice if what the camera saw your TV displayed???
Yep - I suspect that a lot of channels broadcasting in 720/50p - if that is chosen - will be fed from 1080/50i or 1080/25p source material.