JVC GY-HM100 First Impressions Camcorder Review

Compression & Media Summary
	Audio	(Page 4 of 12)	Manual Controls

Compression

The JVC GY-HM100 uses MPEG-2 Long GOP compression to capture HD footage, which has been around for a while and is very common. The camcorder offers a ton of recording formats, including the standard 60i, 30p, and 24p modes. The GY-HM100 also offers PAL options of 50i and 25p that are based on the 60 Hz recording standard used in European countries. Of the various recording formats on the camcorder, there are a number of bitrate options—35Mbps, 25Mbps, and 19Mbps. For each bitrate, a slightly different MPEG-2 codec is used for compression.

The GY-HM100 can capture video in two file formats: QuickTime's MOV or MP4. The MOV format is very useful if you're planning on bringing your footage into Final Cut Pro, as it is the native format of that particular editing software. This makes the files completely compatible with FCP, QuickTime, and other software designed by Apple. The MP4 structure is more common across all systems, so it may be more compatible if you're going to be editing on a PC or bringing the footage into Adobe Premier or AVID.

One drawback of the camcorder is the lack of any standard definition video settings. JVC went to great lengths to include a variety of formats, but it would have given the camcorder far more versatility to have an SD recording option.For a full list of compression options, consult the table below:

Media

The JVC GY-HM100 records to regular SDHC cards, just like you put in your consumer camcorder. It doesn't require any special (and expensive) SxS or P2 card systems, which will save you a lot of money. SDHC cards are quite cheap right now and they'll only continue to become cheaper. Any class 6 SDHC card will work with the camcorder.

The camcorder features 2 SDHC card slots

There are two card slots on the GY-HM100, both located near the base of the camcorder just below the LCD screen. Since SDHC cards don't offer the lengthiest record times (a 16GB card will give you 50 minutes of video at the highest quality), JVC has implemented an automatic transfer system between the two cards. Once one card fills up, the video will continue to roll onto the next card without any loss of data.

Below is a table showing approximate record times for different SDHC card sizes and record qualities:

Editing

If you're a Final Cut Pro user, the JVC GY-HM100 was designed with you in mind. The camcorder simply has the easiest workflow with Apple's FCP software. The HM109 (along with its sister model the HM700) are the only camcorders that have been licensed by apple to use the MOV wrapper. This means the files are designed to be 100% compatible with Final Cut Pro. Footage shot with the MOV extension can be dragged right off the SDHC card into Final Cut's timeline. There is no need to do any logging or transferring, all you need to do is drag and drop. The video files will also open and work seamlessly with Quicktime.

The GY-HM700 also has the ability to record using the MP4 extension, if that file system works better with your non-linear editing software. While, the camcorder is clearly an excellent pairing with Final Cut Pro, it is unclear how its performance with other editing software will be. Things definitely won't be quite as easy working with AVID or Adobe Premier, but the camcorder's two video file format options should make it compatible with almost anything.