CompuServe Messages

John, Thanks. I have my dup house dump my Hi8 masters to BetaCam SP and then hang on to them in their vault. That has lots of advantages. For this initial marketing trial, I'll get someone else to do the standards conversion. They can probably do it, but I haven't called yet to quizz them about their equipment. Between here and the BPFORUM I have a list of questions to ask. Now that I know the quality is feasible, I have been working at setting up my UK contacts. I do art and architecture documentaries, and I am working on a big series on French architecture now, Romanesque and Gothic periods. It would be nice to follow it up with a series on English architecture, since it ties in so nicely. It has taken four trips to France to get the footage I am satisfied with, including going back in the winter to some locations because trees were in the way, and until I do a series on trees and their leaves, that wasn't any good. Weather is always the big gamble, and I have had to go back hoping for better weather. Sometimes the editing is interesting because I can make Spring arrive with a simple fade. For my purposes, which so far involves mostly European locations, perhaps investing in a good PAL camcorder, and converting to NTSC might be something to consider. Again the quality question comes up .. apart from a possible generation loss, are you going to retain the same quality? Hi8 has worked very well for me, and has many in-the-field advantages, not to mention luggage advantages.