More on HXR-NX5U does 4:2:2....now in 10-bit

Aaron Holmes points out that the HXR-NX5U sending 4:2:2 out the HDMI/HDSDI ports isn't that unusual; the HVR-Z5U already does 4:2:2 out it's HDMI port!:

...as did its consumer version, the FX1000 (according to web board posts, anyway). Truly, I don't know of an in-production pro or even semi-pro camcorder with HDMI that *doesn't* output a 4:2:2 signal. So 4:2:2 on HDMI gets a yawn. What's cool about the NX5 is HD-SDI. Unlike HDMI, HD-SDI carries timecode also, which can be used to command external recorders like NanoFlash. Using external recorders with HDMI is a lot more painful, as the recorders must be manually started/stopped, and the non-locking HDMI cables are more prone to disconnecting themselves.

Thanks for the correction, and the detail on the differences between HD-SDI and HDMI is enlightening for those of us that might have lost the plot.

And yet, I could have sworn that when I was first reading about the NXCAM, Sony made some claims about it's capture stage (and the HDSDI output) being better - and a little unusual - in a camera in this price range.

Which leads me to suspect that maybe it's the 10 bit 4:2:2 signal, (as opposed to 8-bit on the HVR-Z5U?) that Sony was talking about? Certainly, only this time last year, Panasonic was saying that their $10,700 HPX-300 was the "world's first affordable 4:2:2 camera."

If you check out the HXR-NX5U brochure on Sony's NXCAM site, you'll find the following:

The camera's E to E output from the HDSDI terminal will be a 10 bit uncompressed 4:2:2 signal.

So big "if" here, but if the HVR-Z5U is 8-bit, then that will explain my confusion nicely. [And if it isn't, then I guess I will just remain confused.]


I'm still wondering what the HDR-AX2000 sends out it's HDMI port though...

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