Why I Like HD
This test clip, shot with a Canon HV20, shows one way to use HD source to produce SD (or smaller) content. The original HD provides so much information — pixel data! — to work with. Since my output is usually for web or occasionally small-run DVDs for friends, I can do glorified pan-and-scan completely after the fact.This is also handy because my cameraman is usually a tripod or a rock or something.
How Big Is HD?
I’m glad you asked! HD is this big:
The above diagram shows the sizes for different video formats relative to the 1920×1080 pixels of HDV.
But is HDV really 1920×1080? According to Canon’s web site the HV20 has “true 1920×1080 resolution.” Ok… but QuickTime player shows this:
So it’s a little bit hard to understand. “Reports vary,” as they say. I think that it’s stored on MiniDV tape at 1440. If the effective resolution is 1440×1080, meaning the pixels are 133% as wide as they are tall, then the usable areas for smaller formats would be as shown here:
Both diagrams show the smallest size you can grab where pixels aren’t expanded; digital editors do an excellent job of reducing images, but enlarging them introduces blurriness.
I made these diagrams to get a general idea of how much I might get away with when moving and zooming, but the real test is, and can only ever be, “Do you like how it looks?”
