DV Camcorder Resolution

[DonR]

Hi all,

I own a Canon MVX330i DV Camcorder (my first digital) and am slowly learning it's capabilities. One aspect of DV resolution (PAL) I can't find any specific information on is how the pixel count of the sensor relates to the DV output resolution. This camera's maker proudly features "real widescreen" which I believe means it uses the full width of the sensor and crops the top and bottom for a 16:9 image with a stated effective pixel count is 860,000. Does that mean the DV resolution output is better than 702x576?

Thanks,

Don

[communist]

max DV resolution is 720x576 for PAL. When it claims to do real 16:9 it claims to capture only picture at that res, subsequent stretching to 1024x576 (or 1048 or so) will give you 16:9 during playback (correct Aspect Ratio). This is called anamorphic encoding. There is no cropping or adding of black bars here. All pixels are used for actual picture content.

Most cheap camcorders however just crop at the top and bottom to give you 16:9 (look).

[DonR]

When it claims to do real 16:9 it claims to capture only picture at that res, subsequent stretching to 1024x576 (or 1048 or so) will give you 16:9 during playback

do you mean still images? If so according to the spec sheet (http://alpha02.c-wss.com/inc/ApplServlet?RQF=MENU&RQS=WWUCA910&LA=1149164776512&SV=WWUCA900&menu=TS&TRF=MAIN) stills are recorded on the SD card at 1280x960. If the sensor is 1280 pixels wide does that mean when recording video at 720x576 it's only using half the sensor capacity?

Rgds,

Don

[communist]

No I'm talking about video. Whether the sensor chip can do more than 720x576 doesnt matter, encoded video on tape cannot exceed 720x576 px.
Even for 16:9 it will still record that amount of pixels, correct AR is restored either during playback (anamorphic encoding) or you camcorder adds black bars, and there is no resize during playback (letterboxing).

[DonR]

Thanks for your help Communist. I'm going to start delving more into this world of digital video :confused: and start playing around with the help of some of the great guides here. One last question if I may. I've read that if a DV camera can take still images it also means that it records video progressively, is that right?

Rgds,

Don

[communist]

Still pictures shot with such cameras are progressive. However most (if not all) consumer camera that supposedly can shoot progressive just drops one field and scales the other to full resolution. While this gives you a progressive stream its hardly of great quality.
If you need a progressive picture I would suggest you compare if the camera's progressive output is better than shooting interlaced and deinterlacing afterwards with Avisynth.

[DonR]

Thanks for the insight. I'll look into it and see how it goes.

Rgds,

Don