Tex.

Yes...would be interesting.


Unregistered Guest.

You've opened up a can of worms with respect to 720p and 1080i and variable frame rates. (24, 30 and 60 fps). It's going to make life shooting behind the camera - to going to editing - to broadcast and definite challenge for engineers. Now throw the 3:2 pulldown into the equation and it becomes even more of a challenge.

The point of my discussion is that hi-def is in its early stages for the home consumer. Many are confused as to what to buy or which TV. The big players in the industry continue to duke it out as to which format is the "best".

It will be interesting for the rest of the broadcast industry. Reminds me of the betacam vs. vhs bandwagon.



UPDATE:

For those who are reading this our guest has brought up an interesting point. I will delve into it further.

720p and 1080i frame rates can be 24, 30 or 60. Higher frame rate doesn't mean more data information in the picture per say but a higher frame rate means that you can "freeze" an image at a given point with greater detail. Example: If you are shooting a car race and the race car zooms buy you in one second. The camera is stationary and isn't following the car.

At 24 FPS it the car would be captured over 24 frames. (24 frames of image over 1 second.)

And so on for 30 and 60. At 60 the same 1 second of motion is captured over 60 frames therefore the motion is "chopped up" into smaller timeslices. You'll be able to isolate the motion with greater detail.

Now this isn't a discussion of which format, 720p or 1080i, has greater detail in the image but one of frame frate for the moment.

The "oh crap" for broadcasters is which format to jump on and how to broadcast it. Here is where I must extend an apology to our guest as he/she pointed out very good information. The three most discussed frame rates for broadcast are 24, 30 and 60 FPS be it 720 or 1080 or even 480.

The real pain in the arse for broadcasters is conversion depending on which way they leap for equipment. DTV networks who are moving to broadcasting in HD (ABC, FOX, CBS, NBC) are tossing about a mixture of frame rates but not necessarily a mixture of formats. ABC and FOX look as though they are leaning towards 720 and an all progressive network. NBC is dabbling in 1080i.

Now here is where I went astray. Say if the superbowl is shot in hi-def with 1080 cameras at 60 FPS. If you had a TV and hooked it straight into the broadcast truck and the TV could display 60 FPS 1080i then you'd be watching a 60 FPS 1080i signal.

BUT...the variable is how that signal bounces around before it finally gets to you. It may not be a direct line. It may pass through up/down convertors at the source, cable or satellite provider or even the affiliate station. Your TV itself may do some sort of conversion too. The HD purists are going to have a field day with this and "videophiles" will debate till we fall over. Marketers will love this...in a way. Can you see the ads now? "The ONLY PURE 1080 HD set or the ONLY pure 720 TV".

The ability to display variable frame rates isn't glaringly obvious in specifications of an HD set. To be honest...I cannot actually say for certain if it is an issue to be concerned about. Will the HD set of choice automatically adapt itself to 24, 30 or 60 FPS in either of the 3 formats (480, 720 and 1080) depending on the signal its fed? Will you notice? Or is there some internal conversion inside the TV depending on brand, make and model?

The mind-splitting discussion goes much further than how to buy an HD set. Get deeper into it and there are many things out of the consumer's control or what they really should be concerned about at this moment. It's going to take years to settle down the formats and frame rates into some sort of "norm". It's also going to take LOTS of money on the broadcaster's side to re-tool. Remember there are 100s if not 1000s of TV stations, cable and satellite providers in North America and each is getting a signal from somewhere and re-broadcasting it. It depends on how that signal is treated from source to end consumer.

It can make your head spin.

Thanks to our guest for bringing new aspects to the discussion. I'll see if I can tap some of my sources higher up in the larger networks to get further into this plus if any manufacturers are willing to divulge their own conversion practices.

For now...an 16:9 HD-ready TV is a wise choice for your next upgrade.