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DVCPROHD Pipeline and Online Question
So… we are about to start post on a Doc shot with a Panasonic Varicam at 720p 24 fps (23.98).
We are buying:
Quad 2.5 Mac G5
4gb of Ram
A G-Technologies 800gb Raid 0
Decklink HD Pro 4:2:2
Dell 2405FPW Monitor
BNC to Component Video cableWe are Renting:
Panasonic AJ-1200a with Firewire Option for a week for input
Panasonic AJ-1700 for final outputOK, so we are importing through the firewire option of the 1200a, to the G Raid using FCP 5.X. There is about 20 hours of footage not including graphics. This will all be compressed using the DVCPROHD codec. The footage will be cut. When we are done we are going back through the HD-SDI of the Decklink HD Pro to the AJ-1700. We are not going back to the AJ-1200a because of the frame flag issue.
First question:
Is the DVCPROHD Codec Broadcast Quality?The reason I am asking this is that with our Monitor and FCP’s Color Correction, we wouldn’t need to do an Online if in fact DVCPROHD is fine without going back to an uncompressed version.
Second Question:
Has anyone used this pipeline before and have they had any hangups or glitches you want to share with me?I am using the Ken Stone Article writen by Andrew Balis for research as well as a number of sites that have worked with the 1200a pipeline before.
https://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/dvcpro_hd_workflow_balis.html
https://www.hd-cinema.com/serv05.htm#DVCPro%20HD%20post%20workflow%20for%20editing%20tape
Thanks in advanced.
Adam
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27 Replies
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We did a similar workflow. The only difference was we were working at 60fps, laid out a master on the 1200A deck, then took that master to a Color Correction facility who mastered to the 1700. They quality was great. I had heard warnings of graphics/transition rendering at the DVCPROHD codec, and that it might not be acceptable but experienced no problems. In fact, we did several speed changes, which I never do in FCP, and they turned out looking really good.
We did run into technical problems along the way like some tapes had MANY timecode breaks in, upon checking the the timecode in the bin did not reflect the tape. Revealing in finder showed the the media itself was correct, so we had to rename the source and reimport. This could be a normal FCP problem but I’ve never encountered it before.
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First off, if you are shooting with the Varicam, and editing DVCPRO HD…then there is no compression from tape to system. That is the resolution on the tape…and the resolution you will be working with. No further compression.
I will be offlining using the DVCPRO HD settings…I too am editing a documetary shot with the Varicam, as well as HVX-200s when they come out. But we will be onlining uncompressed 10-bit HD out to D5, as that is the requirements for delivery. Onlining isn’t the right word…upconverting. No recapture, just uprezzing, as there really is no difference if we upconvert and render with the Kona card and if we re-capture SDI, and I’d rather upconvert…saves time and also avoids any re-capture issues.
My workflow and HD research is all laid out at http://www.lfhd.net
-shane
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|But we will be onlining uncompressed 10-bit HD out to D5, as that is the requirements for delivery. Onlining isn’t the right word…upconverting. No recapture, just uprezzing, as there really is no difference if we upconvert and render with the Kona card and if we re-capture SDI, and I’d rather upconvert…saves time and also avoids any re-capture issues.|
I’m just a little confused about this process. You are just creating a 10-bit HD sequence, rendering with the Kona card and outputting to D5? Or is there something else you need to do?
Adam
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That is what I will be doing…only after the upconvert, I will then perform the color correction and recreate any effects I did, so they are fully in the 10-bit color space.
And since I haven’t tried the process, I cannot say for sure it will work flawlessly, or what to look out for. I will be testing it VERY soon, however…so stay turned to my website.
-shane
http://www.lfhd.net -
The Decklink won’t run on a PCIe mac though….
Graeme
– http://www.nattress.com – Film Effects and Standards Conversion for FCP
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Sorry Graeme, but…YES IT WILL!
https://www.decklink.com/products/sd/
They have a PCIe Decklink Extreme….$900
(Who said editing was easy?)
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Shane
Graeme is right. Decklink HD Pro does not have PCIe connectivity yet. The Decklink Extreme does have PCIe compatibilty but it is Standard Def not High Def. I will either have to wait for Decklink to upgrade their HD cards to PCIe or go with the Kona. Looks like I’m going with the Kona.
Adam
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Oh…wait…DUH!!
This is an HD discussion. Man…I answer too many questions…
(Who said editing was easy?)
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[ahark24] “Is the DVCPROHD Codec Broadcast Quality?”
Absolutely. I work in that codec all the time here. Graphics and animations in DVCPro HD are incredible.
[ahark24] “Has anyone used this pipeline before and have they had any hangups or glitches you want to share with me?”
I use the Firewire pipeline In and Out all the time with my 1200A and it’s a solid pipeline so long as all the footage is shot correctly.
The first time I had to use Uncompressed Capture was for my short film when we really pushed the Varicam “F” model camera into low light situations that it was just not happy with. I got more compression in some shots on the original camera tapes than expected.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.com“The Rough Cut,” an original short film premiering December 7th in full High Definition in Atlanta.
rsvp@biscardicreative.com to reserve seats.
https://www.theroughcutmovie.comNow editing “Good Eats” in HD for the Food Network
“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters
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are you able to get frame accurate print to tapes?
We go in and uot FW to the 1200 but can’t get it to start @ 1:00:00:00 when we print to tape. It ranges between :02 and :12 frames off…we correct for this when we convert to D5 for delivery but this seems like a problem.
Thoughts? Will going out HD-SDI with serial control fix this? Should I buy a card?
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