Video-Camera Recording Format and Resolution Charts
Canon |
Canon |
JVC |
Panasonic |
Sony |
Sony |
Sony |
Sony |
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| TV-Format / Camcorder Manufacturer |
Camcorder Model |
Sensor Type |
Effective Sensor Resolution |
Sensor readout |
Recording Format |
Color Sam- pling |
Recording Format Luminance Sampling |
Max. Effective Luminance Resolution(*2) |
Max. Effective Chrominance Resolution(*2) |
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| Digital NTSC | interlaced | 4:1:1 | 720x480 | 720x408(*3) | 294k | 14% | 180x480 | 86k | 4% | ||||
| Digital PAL | interlaced | 4:2:0 | 720x576 | 720x490(*3) | 353k | 17% | 480x288 | 138k | 7% | ||||
| HDReady | 720p | progressive | 1280x720 | 1280x720 | 922k | 44% | |||||||
| FullHD | 1080i | interlaced | 1920x1080 | 1920x918(*3) | 1763k | 85% | |||||||
| FullHD | 1080p | progressive | 1920x1080 | 1920x1080 | 2074k | 100% | |||||||
| Canon |
XL H1 |
CCD, 1/3" | 1440x1080 | interlaced(*4) | HDV (HD2) | 4:2:0 | 1440x1080 | 1440x918(*3) | 1322k | 64% | 720x540 | 389k | 19% |
|
HX A1 |
CCD, 1/3" | 1440x1080 | interlaced(*4) | HDV (HD2) | 4:2:0 | 1440x1080 | 1440x918(*3) | 1322k | 64% | 720x540 | 389k | 19% | |
| JVC |
GY-HD1xx |
CCD, 1/3" | 1280x720 | progressive | HDV (HD1) | 4:2:0 | 1280x720 | 1280x720 | 922k | 44% | 640x360 | 230k | 11% |
| Panasonic |
AG-HVX200 |
CCD, 1/3" | 960x540 | progressive |
DVCPRO HD 50/60Hz,720i/p 60Hz,1080i/p 50Hz,1080i/p |
4:2:2 |
960x720 1280x1080 1440x1080 |
960x540(*1) 960x540(*1) 960x540(*1) |
518k | 25% |
480x540(*5) 640x540(*5) 720x540(*5) |
259k 346k 389k |
12% 17% 19% |
| Sony |
HVR-Z1 |
CCD, 1/3" | 960x1080 | interlaced | HDV (HD2) | 4:2:0 | 1440x1080 | 960x918(*3) | 881k | 42% | 720x540 | 389k | 19% |
|
HVR-V1 |
CMOS, 1/4" |
960x1080 diagonally |
progressive | HDV (HD2) | 4:2:0 | 1440x1080 | 960x1080 | 1037k | 50% | 720x540 | 389k | 19% | |
|
HVR-Z7 |
CMOS, 1/3" | 1920x1080 | progressive | HDV (HD2) | 4:2:0 | 1440x1080 | 1440x1080(*6) | 1555K | 75% | 720x540 | 389K | 19% | |
|
PMW-EX1 |
CMOS, 1/2" | 1920x1080 | progressive | XDCAM EX | 4:2:2 |
up to 1920x1080 |
up to 1920x1080 |
2074k | 100% |
up to 960x1080 |
1037k | 50% | |
The average viewer will only be able to detect an improvement in resolution when there's at least a step up by a factor of two or more. Some sources claim vertical resolution were more visible than horizontal resolution.
Notes
(*1) Panasonic's HVX-200 camcorder uses pixel-shifted sensors. For details see here.
(*2) The effective resolution is also influenced by the anti-alias filter, the quality of the lens and the overall quality of in-camera signal processing. Therefore the values given in this column represent no more than the best achievable resolution due to the limitations of the sensor and the recording format when all other factors are optimized.
(*3) Interlaced sensors read only half the lines per field. To reduce interlace flicker, additional anti-alias filtering is required. This was taken into account by reducing the effective vertical resolution by a factor of 85% in the table. The figure 85% is certainly not scientifically correct for all cameras but has proven representative in many resolution chart comparisons and should be a fair starting-point.
(*4) High-end Canon video cameras traditionally offer a "frame movie mode" for recording progressive pictures. While the exact details of this procedure still remain unpublished it seems quite clear from resolution chart recordings that the sensor readout is still interlaced and some software deinterlacing is being performed in the camera's microcontroller after image aquisition. Vertical resolution does not seem to be improved.
(*5) Regardless of the pixel-shifting debate it should be entirely clear that three sensors, each with 540 lines of resolution, can not resolve RGB colors any better than by 540 lines.
(*6) In extention to the original HDV (HD2) specifications this camera can also record 1080p25 images.
(*7) In extention to the original HDV (HD1) specifications this camera can also record 720p50 images.
Notes
(*1) Panasonic's HVX-200 camcorder uses pixel-shifted sensors. For details see here.
(*2) The effective resolution is also influenced by the anti-alias filter, the quality of the lens and the overall quality of in-camera signal processing. Therefore the values given in this column represent no more than the best achievable resolution due to the limitations of the sensor and the recording format when all other factors are optimized.
(*3) Interlaced sensors read only half the lines per field. To reduce interlace flicker, additional anti-alias filtering is required. This was taken into account by reducing the effective vertical resolution by a factor of 85% in the table. The figure 85% is certainly not scientifically correct for all cameras but has proven representative in many resolution chart comparisons and should be a fair starting-point.
(*4) High-end Canon video cameras traditionally offer a "frame movie mode" for recording progressive pictures. While the exact details of this procedure still remain unpublished it seems quite clear from resolution chart recordings that the sensor readout is still interlaced and some software deinterlacing is being performed in the camera's microcontroller after image aquisition. Vertical resolution does not seem to be improved.
(*5) Regardless of the pixel-shifting debate it should be entirely clear that three sensors, each with 540 lines of resolution, can not resolve RGB colors any better than by 540 lines.
(*6) In extention to the original HDV (HD2) specifications this camera can also record 1080p25 images.
(*7) In extention to the original HDV (HD1) specifications this camera can also record 720p50 images.
Video Recording Formats
| System | PAL-DV | NTSC-DV | HDV HD1 | HDV HD2 |
HDCAM | HDCAM SR | XDCAM SD | XDCAM HD | XDCAM EX | ||
| Manufacturer | various | various | JVC | Canon Sony |
Sony | Sony | |||||
| Video | Quantization | 8 bit | 8 bit | 8 bit | 8 bit | 8 bit | 10 bit | 8 bit | 8 bit | 8 bit | |
| Compression | DCT Intraframe |
DCT Intraframe |
MPEG2 Interframe |
MPEG2 Interframe |
DCT Intraframe |
MPEG4 SP Intraframe |
MPEG2 (IMX) Intraframe |
DCT Intraframe |
MPEG2 Interframe |
MPEG2 Interframe |
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| Compression Ratio | 5:1 | 5:1 | 18:1 | 18:1 | 4:1 | 2,7:1 4,2:1 |
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| Color Sampling | 4:2:0 | 4:1:1 | 4:2:0 | 4:2:0 | 3:1:1 | 4:2:2 4:4:4 |
4:2:2 | 4:1:1 4:2:0 |
4:2:0 | 4:2:0 | |
| Luma Resolution | 720x576 | 720x480 | 1280x720 | 1440x1080 | 1440x1080 | up to 1920x1080 |
720x480 720x576 |
1440x1080 | up to 1920x1080 |
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| Chroma Resolution | 360x288 | 180x480 | 640x360 | 720x540 | 480x1080 | up to 1920x1080 |
up to 360x576 |
720x540 | up to 960x540 |
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| Picture Format | 576i | 480i | 720p | 1080i | 1080i/p | 1080i/p |
480i 576i |
1080p | 1080p | ||
| Framerates | 25i | 30i | 25/30p 50/60p(*1) |
25/30i 25/30p(*1) |
24/25/30p 25/30i |
24/25/30p 25/30i |
variable | variable | variable | ||
| Video Datarate | 25 Mbps CBR |
25 Mbps CBR |
19 Mbps CBR |
25 Mbps CBR |
112-140 Mpbs CBR |
440 Mpbs CBR |
30/40/50 Mbps CBR |
25 Mbps CBR |
18 Mbps
VBR 25 Mbps CBR 35 Mbps VBR 50 Mbps CBR |
18 Mbps
VBR 25 Mbps CBR 35 Mbps VBR |
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| Audio | Sampling | 32/48 kHz | 48 kHz | 48 kHz | 48 kHz | ||||||
| Quantization | 12/16 bit | 16 bit | 20 bit | 24 bit | 16 bit | ||||||
| Compression | none |
MPEG1 Layer II |
none | none | |||||||
| Audio Datarate | 1536 kpbs | 384 kbps | 3840 kbps | 13824kbps | 3072 kbps | ||||||
| Channels | 4/2 | 2 (or 4(*1)) | 4 | 12 | 4 | ||||||
| Tape | Size | 1/4" | 1/4" | 1/2" | Blu-ray disc | SxS-Card | |||||
| Playing Time | 80-270 mins | 80 mins | 49-155 mins | 124-155 min |
25 GB (single layer) 50 GB (dual layer) |
16 GB as of 2007 |
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Part 1: SD-formats, Canon, JVC and Sony
(*1) An extention of the original HDV specifications only supported by some cameras.
(*1) An extention of the original HDV specifications only supported by some cameras.
| System | PAL-DV | NTSC-DV | DVCPRO25 | DVCPRO50 | DVCPRO HD | |||
| Manufacturer | various | various | Panasonic | |||||
| Video | Quantization | 8 bit | 8 bit | 8 bit | 8 bit | 8 bit | ||
| Compression | DCT Intraframe |
DCT Intraframe |
DCT Intraframe |
DCT Intraframe |
DCT Intraframe |
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| Compression Ratio | 5:1 | 5:1 | 5:1 | 2,5:1 | 6,7:1 | |||
| Color Sampling | 4:2:0 | 4:1:1 | 4:1:1 | 4:2:2 | 4:2:2 | |||
| Luma Resolution | 720x576 | 720x480 | 720x480 720x576 |
720x480 720x576 |
960x720 | 1440x1080 | 1280x1080 | |
| Chroma Resolution | 360x288 | 180x480 | 180x576 | 360x576 | 480x720 | 720x1080 | 640x1080 | |
| Picture Format | 576i | 480i | 480i 576i |
480i 576i |
720p | 1080i/p | 1080i/p | |
| Framerates | 25i | 30i | 30i 25i |
30i 25i |
25/30/50p | 25p 25i |
30p 30i |
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| Video Datarate | 25 Mbps CBR |
25 Mbps CBR |
25 Mpbs CBR |
50 Mbps CBR |
100 Mbps CBR |
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| Audio | Sampling | 32/48 kHz | 32/48 kHz | 48 kHz | ||||
| Quantization | 12/16 bit | 12/16 bit | 16 bit | |||||
| Compression | none | none | none | |||||
| Audio Datarate | 1536 kpbs | 1536 kpbs | 3072 kbps | 6144 kbps | ||||
| Channels | 4/2 | 4/2 | 4 | 4 | 8 | |||
| Tape | Size | 1/4" | 1/4" | P2-Card | ||||
| Playing Time | 80-270 mins | 80 mins | 40 mins |
32 GB as of 2007 |
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Part 2: Panasonic