Sanyo VPC-HD1000 recording modes - to DVD

[haggisv]

Hi!

I'd like to record some video of table tennis matches, and close details of some of the strokes.
I've pretty much decided to buy the Sanyo VPC-HD1000, mainly because of the 60fps mode and the good performance in lower light condition.

The recording modes that this camera supports are copied below. What I'd like to know is if one of these modes will make it easy to do 2 things:

1. Record the video, and have an easy way of tranferring it to standard DVD format so that it can be played back on a standard DVD player.

2. Generate slow-motion clips, which is where the higher frame rate should be very helpful and make the video much clearer.

The resolution is not so much of an issue for me, as long as it can do the 2 above.

Thanks a lot for any advice!

Formats:
Recording file formats Still: JPEG (DCF, Exif 2.2, DPOF standard) Video: MPEG4 AVC/H.264. Audio: 48kHz Sampling,16bit, 2ch, AAC (stereo)

Resolution (pixels) Video Full-HD 1920 x 1080 (60 fields/s 12Mbps) [HD-HR] 1280 x 720 (60fps, 12Mbps), [HD-SHQ] 1280 x 720 (30fps, 9Mbps), [TV-HR] 640 x 480 (60fps, 6Mbps ), [TV-SHQ] 640 x 480 (30fps, 3Mbps), [Web-SHQ] 320 x 240 (30fps)

Resolution (pixels) Still [4M-H] 2288 x 1712 (low-compression), [4M-S] 2288 x 1712 (standard-compression), [3.5M(16:9)] 2496 x 1408, [2M] 1600 x 1200, [0.9M(16:9)] 1280 x 720, [0.3M] 640 x 480.

[edDV]

I understand your need. It will be more compicated than you expect.

First, standard DVD does not support 60fps progressive so you goal would be using non-standard encoding and authoring. Although BluRay and HD DVD "support" making 60fps discs that will play on an HD player, the software to do this is advanced and not user friendly. There are non-standard players like the AVeL LinkPlayer that can play 60fps but the process needs design.

There are two recent threads concerning that camcorder. Best to catch up with those issues first. Note that my digital intermediate technique shown in the second thread works for turning 1080i into 1080p @59.94 rate. It will work equally well for original 720p/59.94 fps source material.

https://forum.videohelp.com/topic347204.html
https://forum.videohelp.com/topic345804.html

[haggisv]

Thanks a lot for the detailed reply!

Perhaps what I should do is record in 30fps for the video that I need to convert to DVD, and only use 60fps for video that I need the slow-motion for (which will only be used on a PC).

Are any of the 30fps modes of this camera suitable for conversion to DVD? I still need something to convert from MPEG4 to MPEG2 don't I?

Thanks a lot for your help!

[edDV]

Thanks a lot for the detailed reply!

Perhaps what I should do is record in 30fps for the video that I need to convert to DVD, and only use 60fps for video that I need the slow-motion for (which will only be used on a PC).

Are any of the 30fps modes of this camera suitable for conversion to DVD? I still need something to convert from MPEG4 to MPEG2 don't I?

Thanks a lot for your help!

Do you have editing or DVD authoring software now?

[haggisv]

Only some old software that came with my previous JVC camera...

[haggisv]

Any more thoughts on this? Cheers!

[Mariot]

I have previous version of Sanyo HD using MPEG2 and also MPEG4 Sanyo waterproof (but not HD). The image quality is a mixed bag. The MPEG4 AVC are quite amazing for low light or near dark and actually create very decent stills in any light. However in low light these Sanyos likes to hunt for focus, even if you don't move camera - so many out of focus scenes etc.. And there is some sort of weird motion stutter when you pan too fast on the video. Every Sanyo has this more or less (the MPEG2 are far worst, MPEG4 are better, but still present). Also the audio mic placement is too close to the focusing mechanism and you can hear it on the file when it focus :ckckckck ... ckckckc... Again the newer are better than older. The battery life is surprisingly good for its size, a day or two of normal shooting.

Now if your player doesn't directly play H264 MP4 files, creating DVD from MP4 files is a MAJOR pain. Encoding an hour of video with the supplied Premiere took a whole night and at the end half of the DVD had no audio for no apparent reason (premiere fault, the files do have audio).

Really you will try to find excuse why not to make the DVD from the MP4s. If a DVD is your priority get the HD2 that can create MPEG2 in DVD resolution, you can get it for $350 on ebay as I did.. You will have no encoding, just authoring DVD. And you can also shoot HD if you want and actually they can be played in most HD media centers like TVIX. But the HD2 is not as good in low light like the recent MP4s and has more visible motion stutter... so there is no silver bullet with these sanyos.

The real benefit of these Sanyo is the size, but it ends there. Everything else is simply downhill including the picture quality, the sound, the focus and the MP4->DVD is a royal pain and takes forever. So it is convenience camera, like one you would always keep in your pocket in case you see UFO...
Why not to get actually DV tape HD camera, they are not that much bigger now and the quality and editability is 10x better. Honestly!