Canon XL H1 Camcorder Reviewby David KenderPublished on Nov 7, 2006 10:00 AM 
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Compression (7.0)
The Canon XL H1 (Specs, Recent News, $7947.89) is capable of capturing compressed standard definition DV or HDV video to tape, or outputting uncompressed standard definition or high definition video via the HD/SD SDI port. When recording to standard DV tape, the data rate for both DV and HDV video is fixed at 25 Mbps despite their differing codecs (DV uses an intraframe scheme while HDV uses MPEG-2 encoding). Unlike most other prosumer HD camcorders, the XL H1 is also capable of outputting uncompressed HD video out of the box. Uncompressed DV video has a data rate of 210 Mbps while uncompressed 60i HD has a data rate of 932 Mbps or 410 GB/hour. Most pro-level editing software can handle uncompressed video, but data this big requires sizeable bus speeds and drive arrays.
Media (7.5)
The XL H1 uses standard 6.35mm DV tapes for recording DV and HDV video, and SD memory cards for capture of still images. Numerous high-throughput hard drive options are available for capture of uncompressed video, and can be purchased as either off-the-shelf drives or manually configured and striped. Another popular option for hard drive capture is a Firestore device, which attaches to the accessory bracket and connects via DV cable. Firestore is for DV/HDV only, and not a solution for uncompressed capture.
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| The included metal bracket attaches to the rear for accesories |
Editing (8.0)
Editing compressed SD or HDV video is a cinch with the help of a professional-grade NLE like Adobe Premiere, AVID Xpress Pro or Apple Final Cut Pro HD. HD has been around long enough that nearly all elements of post-production have caught up and should have little trouble handling the large data streams. HDV editing does require a slightly faster system than SD editing, but systems like Dell’s Precision line or Apple’s Macbook Pro mated with sufficient HDD capacity and RAM will suffice. Editing uncompressed HD video requires additional throughput and higher bus speeds not typically found in off-the-shelf systems.