Differance in 60 and 90 min

[b1tchm4gn3t]

I have my first public event I am taping for a small community pageant. It is said to last an hour, maybe a little longer. My question is, if I use LP mode (90 minutes) versus SP Mode (60 minutes), is there going to be that much differance in quality? I dont mind a little differance, but I would like to get a better formed oppinion by those here who have tried this. Also I would like to know the differance in 12 bit and 16 bit audio in the menu part of setting up the camera. And can anyone tell me why in the world did this camcorder come with a remote control?...lol

Im using a Samsung MiniDV camcorder Model # SCD80

[rkr1958]

No difference in digital video quality between SP & LP modes. However, the data is packed closer together in LP resulting in the possibility of a higher bit error rate and a higher probability that you may experience playback problems. These "higher" probabilities are not that much higher than for SP, especially is you're playing back the tape in the same camera that you used to record it.

Audio, don't know

[stantheman1976]

as long as you are using the same camera for playback the chances of any problems are small. as said before, LP mode just packs the data closer together on the tape, but the quality is the same.

[b1tchm4gn3t]

great news for me then as I am using the same cam for record and playback via firewire. Thank you for your replies!

[Cornucopia]

12bit audio is noticeably worse than 16bit audio, but often you'll find you can't select LP without selecting 12bit audio also. So your decision may be made for you.

Isn't there any "down time" or intermission? It only takes ~15 sec. to change tapes. I wayyy prefer SP and 16bit.

Scott

[Noahtuck]

No difference in digital video quality between SP & LP modes.

as said before, LP mode just packs the data closer together on the tape, but the quality is the same.

You guys are joking right ??

How do you figure if something is compressed more it will have the same quality as the same file with less compression regardless of the format or media

there might not be much of a diff. if the compression is a small diff. but to say they are the same

[lordsmurf]

The DV is the same quality. But the stability of the media is at question when you forego the error correction cushion and pack the data in tighter. If data loss occurs, it can appears in several ways, visual dropouts, etc.

[bugster]

No difference in digital video quality between SP & LP modes.

as said before, LP mode just packs the data closer together on the tape, but the quality is the same.

You guys are joking right ??

How do you figure if something is compressed more it will have the same quality as the same file with less compression regardless of the format or media

there might not be much of a diff. if the compression is a small diff. but to say they are the same

They are the same. No extra compression of the video data takes place. Just some of the error correction on the tape is lost and the bits are placed closer together on the tape. Thus allowing you to get more video on the same length of tape. The downside is that you run a (small) risk of errors on the tape on playback. As long as you use the same camera for recording and playback, use new decent quality tapes then the risk is so small as to be easy to ignore.

[turk690]

When recording LP in fact the ONLY audio mode available is 16bit, single stereo pair. Two pairs of stereo 12bit audio mode is available only in SP. One concern here over the time it takes to change tapes is it depends on whether the camcorder in question is top or bottom-loading, and on whether or not it's mounted on a tripod. Lastly, to still record on SP a program predicted to be an hour's length I'd take an 80-minute tape.

[b1tchm4gn3t]

I didnt know they made an 80 minute MiniDV tape, the only ones I see around here are 60/90. And its too late anyway as I am about to leave for the taping. Ill still try my luck with LP as the same cam is going to record and playback the video. Changing tapes during is not an option because it is mounted on a tripod and the cam is bottom loading and I do not want to miss anything because I am doing this and selling dvd's. Thank you all for your responses as I did get ALOT of insight here.

[takeshi]

How do you figure if something is compressed more it will have the same quality as the same file with less compression regardless of the format or media

there might not be much of a diff. if the compression is a small diff. but to say they are the same

Because it isn't compressed any more. Regardless of whether you use SP or LP you have the exact same encoded DV stream at 5:1 compression (defined by the DV spec). When you switch to LP the data is written in less physical space on the tape -- to put it bluntly -- allowing you to put more video on the same amount of tape. It is a type of compression if you loosely define compression. If you want to use that word, it's a losless form of "compression" as the exact same data is written to the tape. There is absolutely no difference and no impact on quality. If the quality did change it would be out of DV spec.

However, as has already been mentioned, it is thoertically more susceptible to dropouts. A dropout will definitely affect quality, but only if a dropout occurs. There are definitely people who use LP mode without any problems. That said, YMMV.

And can anyone tell me why in the world did this camcorder come with a remote control?...lol

I use my PD170's remote quite often. It's handy in certain situations for controlling the zoom (quite rare) or for stopping and starting recordings. It's really much more useful though for watching recordings while sitting on the couch.