Moonrise & Aurora

Moonrise & Aurora

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I love my Canon 5D MkII. The video that comes out of it has a fantastic quality. It also has an HDMI output that allows me to play 1080p footage on any modern HDTV. I shoot a lot of short 'shots' that I later edit in Sony Vegas and produce a final render that I then bring with me to show, usually on a stick.

The problem is that you don't know what you'll get when you reach your playback device. Some understand some formats but have issues with performance, and so on. What I want to do is render to a specific output file (I'm assuming Quicktime MOV) and store it on a CF card, then bring my camera along with the proper cables to present the show.

The question is really, is this feasible? Since the camera produces MOV files containing H.264 and PCM sound, if I were to produce such a file would it play? Would I be able to achieve better compressed but lower bitrates?

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I voted to close this because it is all about video and in my opinion off topic. Video formats, video playback, conversions - are off topic here because they are not photography, they just happen to be handled on a unit that also does photography. We do have an audio visual production stack exchange site where this would be on topic. – dpollitt Oct 1 '12 at 18:05
@dpollitt I concur – Dave Van den Eynde Oct 2 '12 at 8:21

closed as off topic by dpollitt, Stan Rogers, mattdm, Dave Van den Eynde, Imre Oct 2 '12 at 13:20

Questions on Photography Stack Exchange are expected to relate to photography within the scope defined in the FAQ. Consider editing the question or leaving comments for improvement if you believe the question can be reworded to fit within the scope. Read more about closed questions here.

1 Answer

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I'm 99.9% certain that the camera will not be able to play back an edited video. It might not even recognize it as its own. Besides matching the codec, you would also need to match the folder and naming structure of the camera. Just rename a folder or file on your CF card and the camera will no longer recognize it. The camera is really designed as a "data capturing" device rather than a "playback" device. The ability to play back the captured data (photo or video) is there to make your life easier only and giving you an idea of what you have captured.

Plus, I don't think you get 1080p out of the HDMI port on a 5D MK II, I think it is downscaled.

If you really want something to show video "on the go", then something like a BlackBerry PlayBook would be a better choice (or any other tablet with suitable ports - I just have a Berry and know it plays edited MP4 files from Pinnacle Studio, recorded with a 5D MK II without issues.)

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I'm fairly certain it's 1080p. My TV reports it as such, and there's really a lot of detail in the picture. Also, I have an older WDTV that I could use, but it needs a power supply, and as such is not as mobile. – Dave Van den Eynde Oct 1 '12 at 17:49
@DaveVandenEynde I was under the impression that the most you get out of the HDMI port was 720p not 1080p. It still leaves you with the problem that the 5D MK II really isn't a "replay device". – DetlevCM Oct 1 '12 at 21:29

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