NTSC in UK

[thewinelake]

I know some people around here have bought the NTSC version of the HV20 rather than the PAL as there are big savings to be made. However, if one is producing DVD's (normal SD ones) for sending to friends and family (or maybe even paying customers!) is there a problem with converting frame rates? I could see that going from 24P to 25fps is not too much of a problem (just double 1 frame in 24) but 30p or 60i to a 25/50 framerate is quite significant.

But what I'm asking is - how does the quality degrade? Is it a false economy (especially when combined with warranty issues)? I'm seriously thinking that I might sell on my NTSC model when it arrives. I'd imagine that I wouldn't lose that much money via eBay - might even make a small profit!

[Koala]

The conversion between 24p and 25p is usually down through a speed-up or a speed-down (diff. of 4%). The tone of the sound track is adapted accordingly.

But a conversion between 60i and 50i is not so easy. In HD (compared to SD) the number of lines is the same, so it's beter to convert in HD before to downscale into SD. But in every case, the difference of cadence will be viewable even with the best converter tool.

IMO, it's a little silly to pay for one of the best HD consumer camera as is the HV-20, to lost in the final step a part of its quality... And it's trouble on every point: custom taxes, connection on a low priced TV set, transfer of the videos, finalization of the video projects...

And it's in fact possible to find the HV-20 in PAL on internet, espacially if you live in a country of the ECC: check the other countries of the ECC! The economical borders are open since some years now (personnaly I check often the .DE sites for example: they offer at minimum 10% better prices for a HV-20 than in my own country...).

Koala

[thewinelake]

Mmmm. I think you're right. So what EU country or supplier is cheapest when factoring in delivery to the UK?

[tokyo_ren]

If anyone is interested in purchasing NTSC HV20 direct from Japan please PM me with your contact details (email/skype etc)

I can probably blow all UK/EU prices out of the water (payment via paypal, wire or escrow if need be)

I left blighty in 1991 and been here since and would be more than happy to help out someone with uncontrollable HV20 lust :hv20-smilie03: