Apple announced a new video format, dubbed iFrame, specifically to improve the import and editing of HD images.
Apple’s support site states:
The iFrame Video format is designed by Apple to speed up importing and editing by keeping the content in its native recorded format while editing. Based on industry standard technologies such as H.264 and AAC audio, iFrame produces small file sizes and simplifies the process of working with Video recorded with your camera.
Currently, only Sanyo has announced cameras that support the new format:
SANYO North America Corporation (SANYO) today introduces its high-end Dual Cameras, the VPC-HD2000A and the VPC-FH1A, as the world’s first camcorders to offer compatibility with iFrame, a next generation video format designed specifically to allow users to easily import, edit and share high quality videos.
There are several important notes about this announcement:
- At the moment, Final Cut Studio does not support this new format – only iMovie 8.0.5 does.
- The new format is designed for computer editing – fast import, fast editing, and square pixels, which removes sizing confusion when dealing with still digital images.
- The new format shoots a progressive, rather than interlaced, image.
- This is the first new video format in a long while, joining the ranks of AVCHD, HDV, and AVCCAM
- This format does not require transcoding into a different format, such as ProRes, which takes time and storage space.
- This is not a transcoding format, this format requires camera manufacturers to support it in the camera.
- The format records a 1/4 frame 1080 image (960 x 540). While more than adequate for consumer cameras, it does not compete for image quality with a full-raster HD image.
I am very curious to see if other camera manufacturers adopt the format – and whether Apple decides to support it within Final Cut Pro.
For me, the big news is that this is the first of a long series of steps needed to reconcile the differences between video and computer formats to reduce the conversions we need to make when editing video on our Macs.
I do not want to use HD due to the extra time and hard drive space needed. What digital camcorder do you recommend? Which is better mini tapes, hard drive, or flash drive? I heard that you can only do presice editing with mini tapes. I like a viewfinder. The newer ones just have an LCD screen, which is hard to see in bright sun.
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Mike:
Almost all new cameras sold are HD, which means if you want to avoid HD, you’ll need to look for an older, probably used, SD camera.
Anything shooting tapeless – hard disk or flash drive – will be shooting HD.
You can edit with precision from any video format, not just tape. Some cameras have viewfinders – you’ll need to look around.
Assuming you have a fairly new computer, look at the AVCHD family of cameras. Low cost, good images, lots of features.
Larry
It is somehow weird to see that Apple for sometime has brought a wider support of formats within iMovie compared to those available in FCP.
On the other hand, and I take this opportunity to ask you Larry why are you not teaching anymore at Lynda´s website?
We miss you there. Cheers.
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Thanks for the kind words. Lynda and I are working on some new projects I’ll be able to announce in a bit, I hope.
Larry