jasonjoseph
New Member
What exactly is uncompressed "digital" recording ? Does it even exist ? or do we need an episode of mythbusters to figure it out. opinions?
The Uncompressed Myth
- Thread starter jasonjoseph
- Start date
Uncompressed digital video recording is a bit by bit, pixel by pixel, frame by frame representation of the video image defined by the resolution.
A 10bit uncompressed HD video at 1920x1080 resolution eats up 132 MB per/sec, 1 hour of that eats up about 460GB of storage space.
Any size lesser than the defined resolution = compressed HD video.
A 10bit uncompressed HD video at 1920x1080 resolution eats up 132 MB per/sec, 1 hour of that eats up about 460GB of storage space.
Any size lesser than the defined resolution = compressed HD video.
jasonjoseph
New Member
But what camera shoots that natively ? Maybe i should re-edit my question to what exactly is "RAW" ?
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I think many people are confused with the terms 'RAW' and 'Uncompressed'.
'RAW' is the exact pixel data output of the imagers, before any form of digital signal processing (DSP).
The 'RAW' image data (AKA Uncompressed image) is being recorded together with some of the camera's metadata settings like color temperature correction, gamma settings, lens settings, and many more other parameters. The set of data embedded in the RAW output gives the post production department the full control of image manipulation. The actual raw picture that you see, before any form of metadata input correction, will look crap, as per how the sensor sees the image.
Uncompressed HD recording, however, is simply a form of recording the baseband signal output of the video image, usually via HD-SDI output.
Only limited metadata like audio, timecode, and user bit info can be embedded in this uncompressed video stream.
This HDSDI video stream is post-DSP, which means that the raw sensor data is being processed before giving you the image output.
If your image is off in color temperature, what you see on a HDSDI monitor will be off in color, and what you record is also off in color.
'Garbage in, garbage out'...
Most HDTV cameras today doesn't have the capability to record uncompressed video onboard, but allows an option for you to do that with it's HD-SDI output connector. The only affordable 10bit HD uncompressed recorders available in the market is the Hyperdeck Shuttle from BlackMagic.
So in terms of 1920x1080 HDTV cameras that have the best onboard recording capability are the following in my opinion:
*Added* Sony HDCAM SR
1) Panasonic P2 AVC-Intra100 (By far the only affordable intraframe capable camera)
2) XDCAM HD 422
3) Canon XF
4) XDCAM EX
5) AVCCAM
I would exclude HDCAM, DVCProHD, & HDV formats as they only record in 1440x1080 resolution.
When we talk about portable external HDSDI recorders, our options open up to the following in terms of best recording quality.
*Added* Convergent Gemini (444 recording capable)
1) Hyperdeck Shuttle by Blackmagic (Uncompressed 10 bit HD, & soon to be available, Avid DNxHD)
*Added* CineDeck
2) Ki Pro & Ki Pro Mini by AJA (Apple 422 PRORES HD)
3) SoundDevices Pix (PRORES & DNxHD)
4) Atomos Ninja/Samurai (PRORES)
5) Panasonic P2 AVCIntra100 P2 deck
6) Convergent Nanoflash
7) Sony XDCAM HD422 deck
8) Sony XDCAM EX deck
With many codecs available out in the market, it's becoming hard to say which will yield the best quality.
If we take the benchmark at Uncompressed 10bit HD video, the easiest way to figure out how much compression is by the amount of storage space used, and the type of compression, whether it is an intraframe (ie. no compression between frames) or Interframe (ie Group of Frames compression block)
Uncompressed, ProRES, DNxHD, AVC-Intra are all frame independent recordings, whereas the rest are all interframe codecs. (MPEG2/4, long-gop)
Hope this quick write up answers your question.
'RAW' is the exact pixel data output of the imagers, before any form of digital signal processing (DSP).
The 'RAW' image data (AKA Uncompressed image) is being recorded together with some of the camera's metadata settings like color temperature correction, gamma settings, lens settings, and many more other parameters. The set of data embedded in the RAW output gives the post production department the full control of image manipulation. The actual raw picture that you see, before any form of metadata input correction, will look crap, as per how the sensor sees the image.
Uncompressed HD recording, however, is simply a form of recording the baseband signal output of the video image, usually via HD-SDI output.
Only limited metadata like audio, timecode, and user bit info can be embedded in this uncompressed video stream.
This HDSDI video stream is post-DSP, which means that the raw sensor data is being processed before giving you the image output.
If your image is off in color temperature, what you see on a HDSDI monitor will be off in color, and what you record is also off in color.
'Garbage in, garbage out'...
Most HDTV cameras today doesn't have the capability to record uncompressed video onboard, but allows an option for you to do that with it's HD-SDI output connector. The only affordable 10bit HD uncompressed recorders available in the market is the Hyperdeck Shuttle from BlackMagic.
So in terms of 1920x1080 HDTV cameras that have the best onboard recording capability are the following in my opinion:
*Added* Sony HDCAM SR
1) Panasonic P2 AVC-Intra100 (By far the only affordable intraframe capable camera)
2) XDCAM HD 422
3) Canon XF
4) XDCAM EX
5) AVCCAM
I would exclude HDCAM, DVCProHD, & HDV formats as they only record in 1440x1080 resolution.
When we talk about portable external HDSDI recorders, our options open up to the following in terms of best recording quality.
*Added* Convergent Gemini (444 recording capable)
1) Hyperdeck Shuttle by Blackmagic (Uncompressed 10 bit HD, & soon to be available, Avid DNxHD)
*Added* CineDeck
2) Ki Pro & Ki Pro Mini by AJA (Apple 422 PRORES HD)
3) SoundDevices Pix (PRORES & DNxHD)
4) Atomos Ninja/Samurai (PRORES)
5) Panasonic P2 AVCIntra100 P2 deck
6) Convergent Nanoflash
7) Sony XDCAM HD422 deck
8) Sony XDCAM EX deck
With many codecs available out in the market, it's becoming hard to say which will yield the best quality.
If we take the benchmark at Uncompressed 10bit HD video, the easiest way to figure out how much compression is by the amount of storage space used, and the type of compression, whether it is an intraframe (ie. no compression between frames) or Interframe (ie Group of Frames compression block)
Uncompressed, ProRES, DNxHD, AVC-Intra are all frame independent recordings, whereas the rest are all interframe codecs. (MPEG2/4, long-gop)
Hope this quick write up answers your question.
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hiderocketdive
New Member
Pretty much agree with DXNMedia. Just wanna clarify that RAW doesn't mean uncompressed. RAW can be compressed (eg. Redcode RAW). And you can't actually see RAW until it's processed. 
My apologies...was thinking of 'raw' from other higher end cameras with uncompressed data output.
'RAW' is kinda proprietary to the different manufacturers on how they interpret their sensor data.
A lot of the design considerations depend on recording medium's write/read throughput vs useful & practical recording times.
'RAW' is kinda proprietary to the different manufacturers on how they interpret their sensor data.
A lot of the design considerations depend on recording medium's write/read throughput vs useful & practical recording times.
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