User Manual

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Signals, Formats and Resolutions.
Always try and capture your footage using the best available video signal/format. For example, Y/C (S-Video) is
better than Firewire or composite as these add compression to the image and make it harder to separate the colour
channels. If you can use a component or an SDI signal then your result will be further enhanced.
If you are capturing for keying in a post-production environment, capture using the best possible resolution. The
better the resolution, the better you final results will be. If you capture using DV Firewire, then you may get DV
artifacts or Aliasing in your picture. This looks like a 'blocky' grain in the picture image and can be problematic when
trying to get a smooth edge on your key.
Composite
With composite video all the required signal components are encoded together (using a country specific codec) and
thus the signal can be distributed over a single coaxial cable.
DV Firewire
Video is sampled at 4:2:0 (PAL) 4:1:1 (NTSC) and is compressed using Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) which
results in a 5:1 reduction in both storage and the amount of data being processed and distributed (approx
25Mbits/sec). DV cameras and storage devices are interconnected using the IEEE 1394 interface (firewire).
Y/C
Sometimes referred to as a S-Video signal, Y/C carries Luminance (Y) and Chrominance (C) on two separate coaxial
cables.
Component
This is the highest quality analogue video signal as the individual elements are carried on three separate coaxial
cables.
SDI
The Y, R-Y and B-Y signals are sampled and digitized to produce a serial digital signal that can now be transmitted
over a single coaxial cable. Because the signal is digital there is no deterioration in quality and once in the digital
domain it can be manipulated in a number of ways.
Worst
Best
Composite DV Firewire Y/C
Component
SDI