What is the audio quality like in HDCAM?
HDCAM format has 4 channels of 20 bit AES/EBU audio, providing a very clean digital audio recording exceeding DAT. 2 channels can be fed into the camcorder in the field (XLR connectors), with whatevers going to channels 1 and 2 redundantly fed to 3 and 4. Its important to understand the difference in setting levels for digital audio compared to analog audio: Peak reference audio should be set at -20db, compared to 0db for analog audio. For HDTV in the home, the provision for 5.1 channel surround sound is an awesome enhancement over regular TV.
