Hello everyone

I am adresseing several problems I have, and I hope that some of you can help me.

First of all, I have trouble finding out weather Sonys pro camcorders can deliver HD through the component out. Especially the HVR V1, A1 and Z1.
Also, is the component signal compressed to HDV or am I so fortunate that the cameras send a 1920 x 1080 analog uncompressed signal?

My problem is my budget. I can't afford cameras with HDSDI out, as I need 3 of them + one HD mixer and something to record on.

The mixer off course must have component IN, and so far, (if I am lucky) I'll have an analog HD signal to output from the mixer.

I hope to find a harddisk recording solution, but so far I have only found one cheap solution: Datavideo DN 400 with component IN.

I realize that full HD is much too comprehensive for my PC to edit, that's why my end product must be some sort of compressed HD format. HDV could be one solution, but is there other formats that perhaps is easiere for the PC to work with?
Maybe I can record directly to the PC?

I most apreciate all the help I can get. Thank you.

Hans

I'm not an expert on this, but the cams you listed do indeed put out HD via component. Don't know if it is compressed or not -- I suspect it is.

But the V1 has HDMI OUT, which if you output live before recording to tape, is before HDV compression. Can you consider a mixer with HDMI?

__________________
Adam
Proud owner of 8 Sony HDV cams. Checking into rehab next week.
"There are no experimental failures. There's only more data."

I would definetly concider a mixer with HDMI IN, if such a mixer exist.
Do you know about such a device?

No, sorry, know nothing at all about video mixers, was just speculating theoretically. As HDMI does not transmit data, it may be useless in this situation. A quick look at B&H shows only SDI inputs for HD stuff, I think. The mixers I saw with component or BNC connectors appeared to be SD only. I think.

Hopefully others will chime in here.

__________________
Adam
Proud owner of 8 Sony HDV cams. Checking into rehab next week.
"There are no experimental failures. There's only more data."

We have helped a few clients with this issue. They have opted for the Edirol V440HDhttp://www.dvcreators.net/products/mixersv440.html
Not exactly an inexpensive solution.
The Sony's will output component full resolution. The problem with analog though is that you have lost a generation and long cables do not help.
The only HDMI recorder switcher that I have seen is a Mac with the Blackmagic Intensity Pro card running the included On-air software. Check it out http://www.blackmagic-design.com/products/intensity/
If you do go this route, you'll want to look at the Gefen site for long HDMI runs.

__________________
Guy Cochran

DVcreators.net Training and Resources for DV creators - Producer - DV Gear Talk