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Atlanta options to lay master to XDCAM HD disk?
We’ve got a project we’re finishing in Atlanta that needs to be mastered to an XDCAM HD disk. So far I’ve only been able to locate two options:
1) Rent a deck from VER at $500/day. Maybe an okay option except I’m terrified that we’ll get it and have no idea how to use it. We’re a small production company, not a post house, and we’d basically need to be able to hook it up to our Mac Pro / MXO2 and lay it off that way. We’ve got specific specs to meet in terms of timecode on the disk and so forth, so I have no idea what kinds of problems we’re likely to run into doing it ourselves or if it’s a fairly straightforward process.
2) Have it done at Crawford Post. They say on a 42 minute project like ours to expect 1.5 to 2 hours at $450/hour. My experience leads me to expect that it would somehow end up taking even longer, and we’d be pushing $900+ for a simple transfer. Plus, this is a pilot for a low budget show that we hope to doing many episodes of, so if it’s easy enough for us to learn how to do it ourselves, that could ultimately save us a good chunk of change over the long haul.
3) ? This is where I’m hoping for other suggestions. Anyone know of a place near Atlanta that can do a transfer like this more cost effectively? Maybe a smaller place than Crawford who happens to have an XDCAM HD deck?
Any and all suggestions are appreciated!
Matt
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5 Replies
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Let’s start with the premise.
Why do you have to put it on XDCAM disk?
You can certainly create and XDCAM HD MXF file from the master in Final Cut Pro and give them the file on some other media.
You could also export your master with no additional transcode as XDCAM EX MP4.
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Basically…because that’s what the network is requiring. (yeah. I know. I even triple checked with them to make sure they knew what they were *really* asking for. They’re setting up a new workflow, and apparently xdcam disk is it)
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[Matt Pope] “Basically…because that’s what the network is requiring.”
If they can read XDCAM disk they can certainly ingest the MXF file. Can you explain to them you can create the file which they can import? They can’t be so dense that they don’t know how to use their own gear.
If you created the MXF file (as per my video) would Crawford really charge you between $450 and $900?
Explain to them you don’t need an NLE nor even an transcode. It’s just the MXF file burned to disk.Maybe Crawford doesn’t understand you just need the file burned. It’s not an NLE project output or transcode. It’s simply the media cost, dub charge and burn time at whatever their minimum is which I sure hope isn’t $450 for a dub.
Maybe the broadcaster doesn’t understand the file doesn’t have to be on an MXF disk to be ingested. My gosh I’ve done this many times (ingest/import). Recently I needed a bunch of MXF files on an XDCAM disk copied to a hard drive and a major rental house (that also does dubs) did it for $50.
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The mxf portion of things is new to me, so I’ll definitely check the link you provided and see if I can’t make an argument to them to at least let us try that. Thanks for the suggestion.
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What I think they need to understand is that, unlike tape, file based workflows aren’t dependent on the medium. People often copy file to portable hard drives or non proprietary optical disks.
MXF doesn’t have to be on XDCAM disk and any computer hooked up to a disk player also has the software to import the file from other mediums too. XDCAM disk provides easy and durable archival it’s not technically mandatory for MXF delivery.
Now maybe they want that archival but no one should be charging $450/hr for a dub of an MXF file.
BTW this is one of the things I DO NOT LIKE about XDCAM disk. It’s really not something I’d give to a client. Burn the file on something “universal” and they can check the masters on a home computer and no deck is needed. IMHO XDCAM disk is for archival.
BTW this is one reason I like SDHC, you can hand it to a client and they’ll have no problem finding a reader. The prices have dropped low enough so that they’re closing in on XDCAM disk prices. We do need some more longevity testing on SDHC for archival but I have a hunch good cards will last and it’ll be fast/easy to copy to new mediums as time marches on.
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