Jason Cypret Videography » High Definition

Snow Day: Crazy Texas Snow

Jason Cypret — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 16:11:17 +0000

I live in Texas where we rarely ever see snow. To be honest we get super excited just to see snow furies. Most of the time those snow furies even stick. In fact the last time I got to play in a full Texas snow I was about 7.

This year we saw back to back snow days, and we got around 12 inches of snow. The best part was it stuck! Despite the driving conditions it was super fun to have the snow. I can honestly say I never thought I would need a snow shovel but I really needed one the last couple of days. Here’s a quick video I make of our snow adventures.

See the all the snow on my Flickr page.

Canon’s 5D Mark II: First HD Footage is Awesome!

Jason Cypret — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 17:52:17 +0000

If you read last post you know that I am extremely interested in Canon’s new 5D Mark II . This is the first digital SRL from Canon that actually records video as well. Not just crappy SD video, but full 1080p. The best part is that you can use regular canon lenses to give you a high end film like video.

If your still a skeptic check out the first actual video footage from the camera. This footage is not from Canon marketing team, where it no way represents what you could actually shoot. This footage was shot by regular Joe’s that do not work for Canon. I am astounded by the quality and am going to start saving up to get one. Again this camera is not out yet, but its coming out soon!

Canon announces XH A1S & XH G1S

Jason Cypret — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 18:18:33 +0000

My favorite camera company strikes again. Canon announces XH A1S and XH G1S prosumer HD camcorders. I have been on the fence lately on which model is going to be the winner in our decision over HD cameras. I was highly leaning towards the XL H1S or the XL H1A, however the new XH A1S and XH G1S is more up our alley.

The HDV XH A1S and XH G1S both feature a 20x HD video lens, manual zoom / focus, three independent manual adjustment rings, an "unprecedented" range of image / color settings, 60i / 30F / 24F frame rate options, Instant AF focusing system, the DIGIC DV II proprietary digital signal processor, two built-in XLR terminals with separate audio-input sensitivity settings, line output level switching and support for optional HDD recording in the field. The XH G1S adds in HD-SDI / SD-SDI output, SMPTE timecode input / output, and genlock input, which are all features that probably won’t be missed by greenies baffled by the mere mention of those inclusions. Via Engadget.

When I think of pairing this up with our current mini HD, the Canon 5D MKII, and two of these bad boys I will be set for a great quality wedding videography shoot. The best part about it is that all of the other Canon gear works perfectly with all the new offerings. Canon once again you’re making it very hard for me to look at other offerings, keep up the good work!

Read the full press release here:

Review of the Sony XDCAM ES – HD Camera

Jason Cypret — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 13:22:47 +0000

I usually don’t post about reviews other people have done, however I feel the review from Izzy Video on the Sony XDCAM EX is one to share. If you read my previous post you know that I am a big fan of Canon products. I have almost all Canon equipment. However I do know many “prosumers” swear by Sony’s camera lineup.

I am currently deciding which HD camera to bring home. I am strongly looking at the Canon XH G1, or the XH A1, but this Sony XDCAM ES. Izzy Video is a great place for reviews and knowledge surrounding videography. I subscribe to his podcast and never miss a show. This review discusses all of the features that the Sony XDCAM ES has. You can find his review below:

My new camcorder is the Sony XDCAM EX. Although this seems to be what everyone’s calling it, the actual model number is Sony PMW-EX1. In this installment of Izzy Video, I give a miniature video review of the new camera.

If you haven’t heard of this camera before, I should let you know that it’s pretty revolutionary.

You can get Izzy Video 75 here.

Adobe Releases Flash Player 9 – H.264 Support

Jason Cypret — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 18:08:25 +0000

Adobe officially released Adobe Flash player 9 for distribution. Go ahead and go pick it up if you want, and let me know what you think. As I mentioned in a previous post, I am super excited about the possibilities this will bring flash video. However, I must also be honest, I am a little confused as to how I can gracefully implement H.264 flash videos into all of my sites.

To their credit, Adobe has written a tutorial on Exploring Flash Player support for high-definition H.264 video and AAC audio. It really helps you get a small grasp on how this will work. Right now implementation is rather geeky and requires some Action Script knowledge in Flash. I am sure so we will have a GUI version soon to easily add an H.264 flash video to an online website.

Again I will keep you posted on what I decide to do with my video distribution. If I switch to this new technology I will be able to easily add files that can be played directly on my website, can download to view on an iPod or iPhone, view in iTunes, or directly in QuickTime all at great quality and through only 1 single file.

Flash Player 9 Beta Now Supports H.264

Jason Cypret — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 23:42:02 +0000

After reading the title you are probably wondering , Huh? I’m out, what the heck is H.264. H.264 is something that you probably have used and never knew it. If you’ve ever downloaded a podcast, or any video form the iTunes store, or watched a video on YouTube you have experienced H.264. H.264 is a wonderful compression tool for video. It allows you to compress your video down, keep the quality high, and the files sizes low.

We are in the process of re-encoding all of our videos for our gallery section. We eventually will provide a online flash version and an H.264 video to download. What flash player can now do is play that H.264 video natively in flash without having to download. This also means I will only have to provide one video and it can be used in many places on the site. This allows us to place more videos online, which is a good thing for everyone. Currently Adobe Flash Player is said to have 98.7% penetration in the Web, making it the most used media player. Clearly a big win for H.264 advocates.

Again this is only in beta and may take some time to roll out once it reaches final RC. Still this is very exciting for everyone who watches and produces video. Here are some of specks I pulled from Adobe Labs. Also if you would like to try out the new beta click here. After you install the player you can see some video implemented with H.264.

Flash Player 9 will support subsets of the MPEG-4 standards defined by ISO/IEC 14496-12, ISO/IEC 14496-10, ISO/IEC 14496-3, and the 3GPP timed text format standard. Specifically, Flash Player will support the following standards:

* ISO/IEC 14496-3: (Audio AAC) AAC Main; AAC LC; SBR
* ISO/IEC 14496-10: (Video AVC) Base (BP); Main (MP); High (HiP). All levels are supported.
* ISO/IEC 14496-12: (Container) 1 Audio track; 1 Video track
* 3GPP TS 26.245: (Timed text format)

Flash Player supports 480p, 720p and 1080p content encoded with either On2 or H.264. Performance will vary depending on the capabilities and configuration of your machine. In general a 2.0 GHz Mac or a 3GHz PC, with one or more processors, will deliver an optimum experience.

When To Move Into High Definition?

Jason Cypret — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 20:14:02 +0000

This is a question I have been pondering for some time now. It may seem like a simple choice given that everyone seems to be upgrading to HD. Now there are more and more cable and satellite providers offering HD. There are finally reasonably priced HD-DVR and HTPC’s readily available. And now HD program can be downloaded from the web at the click of a button. Read my post on streaming HD. I personally have upgraded the entire house with HDTV sets and watch nothing but HDTV programming. So what’s the problem?

As a videograpger, I currently author all of my videos to DVD. While DVD’s still looks good at 480p, DVD is not HD(720-1080p). So why not just switch to a HD format disc? There is one major problem, the format war. We are currently in a format war, as there are two formats fighting for market share. These formats are HD-DVD and Blu Ray Disc.

In previous format wars the distinction between the formats in question was much greater. The problem in the current feud is that the formats are too closely alike. One has more movie studios backing it, the other is cheaper, one has had quality issues, the other has smaller storage. As an HD enthusiast I am not even sure which one I will choose.

Until one of the formats wins and becomes main stream I cannot back either one. There has to be a clear winner, and the player must be in grandma’s living room before I can. It just doesn’t make since right now to support a format that virtually nobody has. I do have plans to slowly move my cameras over to HD. I happen to be a Canon fanboy so I’m really looking at their new HD camera lineup. I hope this HD war is over soon and we can all just enjoy the great HD content that is available.