The response to HDTV has been varied, with a slower integration into the movie business than was expected. Opinions of cameramen and operators are mixed, and an initial three-month waiting period (at a time when rental cameras around the world were in short supply) had been off putting for some. But the HD camera is steadily creeping into general use where a traditional video camera would normally have been used, as well as for commercial shoots and cases where the finished result is intended for TV only.

Film shoots are another matter. George Lucas used HD in the current Star Wars movie - thereby giving the HD manufacturers a publicity boost. Even the motion control and special effects sequences were shot using HD cameras.