I have read several articles on both the HVX200 and GY-HD100U and am trying to figure out which one is the best buy.
I understand that the GY-HD100U records at 19 Mbps at 4:2:0, whereas the HVX200 records at bitrates up to 100 Mbps and at an increased color sample of 4:2:2. This would lead me to believe that the HVX200 is by far the better buy.
However, the GY-HD100U employs MPEG long GOP compression while the HVX200 employs frame-bound compression -- and this is where things get insanely complicated.
On their website explaining the GY-HD100U, JVC claim that MPEG long GOP "is generally considered to be up to 5 times as efficient as conventional frame bound systems because the compression is applied to frame groups rather than single frames."
Furthermore, Sony claims that because MPEG long GOP "combines interframe and intraframe compression technology, it enables us to achieve a higher picture quality at lower bitrates than systems that use intraframe compression alone (like the HVX200)."
What's more, according to Wikipedia, "despite HD in its name, DVCPROHD downsamples native 720p/1080i signals to a lower resolution. 720p is downsampled from 1280x720 to 960x720, and 1080i is downsampled from 1920x1080 to 1280x1080 for 59.94i and 1440x1080 for 50i."
To add further injury to the HXV200, JVC claims that the "The GY-HD100U uses three newly developed CCDs each with a full HD native resolution of 1280 x 720 square pixels. By using a native resolution that matches the encoding, recording and display systems, up-scaling and down-scaling are eliminated, and the result is higher picture fidelity."
Would this be enough evidence to suggest that the GY-HD100U is a better camera than the HXV200?
Depends. The only real benefit of the HVX200 is that it uses DVCPRO HD recording and you can load the video from P2 cards faster than you can from tape... but you _have_ to load the video from the P2 cards into a computer because they only hold a few minutes of footage.
It's also worth noting that the HVX200 CCDs are only 960x540, which is barely larger than standard definition PAL, and they're reportedly noisy too.
quote:
1080i is downsampled from 1920x1080 to 1280x1080 for 59.94i and 1440x1080 for 50i
Note that 1080i HDV is 1440x1080 as well.
It really depends on exactly what you want, but if I had a choice between the two I'd take the HD100 just because it has full-size CCDs and records to tape rather than expensive memory cards. If the HVX200 recorded HD to tape or DVD it would be a more difficult choice.
Just because JVC has never really made a good camera, I'd go with Sony.
hahaha, I guess that doesn't help much. whatev
I own the JVC and before it the JVC GY-DV5000. I have shot 14 feature movies for the DTV market with the DV5000. I've now shot two on the HD100U. Despite airwalk's opinion, I have found the pro miniDV cameras made by JVC to be terrific, well made cameras. Even the stock Fujinon lens is amazing. But I always rent even better lenses - they make a HUGE difference.
My problem with the HVX200 is the fixed lens and the expense and time when using the P2 cards. I just finished shooting a feature with the HVX200 and found it to be a fine camera. But it's a $10,000 investment including enough cards - and for me, $10,000 is too much to spend for a fixed lens camera.
Having used both cameras I would recommend the JVC.
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The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)
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The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)
