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AVC Intra support
Hi all.
The AVC-Intra option board for Panasonic cameras is shortly to be released and, with the very high quality offered by Intra-100 mode, we’re very keen to start shooting.
However, there appear to be several problems that remain unresolved – while the option board makes shooting AVC-Intra simple, there seems to be very little else you can do with the footage at present. Or, at least, it’s not at all clear.
I’ve spent most of today reading Panasonic documentation, trawling through forums and talking to local dealers, and I’m still in the dark as to how to get the footage into any NLE.
What I have discovered is as follows:
1. Final Cut Pro cannot at present import AVC-Intra. They promise support in a future update but refuse to give a date.
2. The Firestore FS-100 cannot record AVC-Intra. The data apparently is not streamed out by Firewire (unlike DVCProHD) and so there is no way for the Firestore to interface with the camera.
3. The P2 Gear Mobile card reader (AG-HPG10) seems not to support AVC-Intra. The AJ-HPM100 will do with an optional board, but I don’t know if this board is available yet. This would allow playing P2 cards out via HD-SDI, but at $15000 with the option board, it’s not cheap, and would necessitate transcoding.
4. The new 32GB P2 cards are promised by Panasonic “in November” but dealers here in the UK are saying “in the next few months.” There doesn’t appear to be a clear date.
5. AVC-Intra is not remotely related to AVCHD, though many people confuse the two.
We are a small production company but have always prided ourselves on using the newest available technology to produce high quality programmes. We were the first company in the UK to start using the HPX2100 and have been strong supporters of Panasonic’s P2 format.
But trying to move forward with AVC-Intra is proving to be a nightmare. In the absence of any clear statement from Panasonic (and the edit system manufacturers), there’s a sea of disinformation, claims and counter-claims. I hope in writing the above, I hope I haven’t fallen into the same traps.
Does anyone have any solid information as to how AVC-Intra can be brought into the edit? Or can Panasonic do anything to clear up the many questions which surround their new format?
I hope someone can help…
Jim
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11 Replies
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I have the HPX-2000 and just got the board installed last week, I haven’t had a chance to shoot or import anything with it yet., i am planning on doing that shortly. It was my understanding that if FCP didn’t iport AVC nativly, it could transcode it to ProRes. I’m not entirely sure on that though, i haven’t had as much time to research the matter as much as I’d like to, billable jobs get in the way, you know…
As soon as I have something, I’ll post.
Matt
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Yup- it’s a brand spanking new format and not the only one the camera can shoot. I cannot recommend highly enough doing tests of your whole workflow before you use it on a production. Just to play it safe…
Noah
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[Noah Kadner] “I cannot recommend highly enough doing tests of your whole workflow before you use it on a production”
Yessir. We’ve had 2 shoots since the board was installed, and we didn’t use it for jsut that reason. Don’t want to ahve to figure out later that all yor stuff needs to be transcoded….
Matt
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Thanks very much for your reply. Once you do give it a go, please do let us know how you get on.
Otherwise, if you feel so inclined, if you could shoot a brief test (even 5 seconds) and mail me over the resulting P2 files, I’d happily try to bash out a workflow to get this working.
Cheers,
Jim
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Thanks very much for your reply, Matt. If you do get round to giving it a go, please do let us know how it works out.
Otherwise, if you’re so inclined, if you could shoot a short test (even 5 seconds) and could mail me over the resulting P2 files, I could try and bash out a workflow to get this up and running…
Cheers,
Jim
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Edius Broadcast 4.52 update will support this.
You better have you a NASCAR Computer.(Horsepower) To drive this bad boy.Mule Ferguson
Pumpkin Creek VideoNew Format Support
* DVCPRO HD 720 59.94p/23.98p (over 59.94p) over HD-SDI (for EDIUS HD systems with HDBX1000 Multi-I/O)
* P2 AVC-Intra Import (also requires AVC-Intra plug-in option)
* Native AVCHD Import
* Sony HDV 1080 24p/25p/30p support (HVR-V1J)
* Sony HVR-DR60 import / direct support (patent pending)
* JVC HDV 720 59.94p/50p support -
[jimdummett] “I’d happily try to bash out a workflow to get this working.”
NOt sure about this, but I am pretty sure it’s as easy as P2 import, it just transcodes the files to ProRes in FCP6. Check out the preferences in the log and transfer window and it allows you to transcode to wither ProRes or the AIC.
Jeremy
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Unfortunately, I’m not sure it is as simple as that at present. I checked the preferences in the Log and Transfer window, as you suggested. It offers transcoding to ProRes for AVCHD, but there’s no mention of AVC-Intra. This is on FCP 6.0.1.
AVCHD and AVC-Intra are two completely different things. Why they have to be called by almost identical names is beyond me…
Cheers,
Jim
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Great catch.
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Well, see my other posts (to myself) in this forum. I tried everythign I could, but FCP won’t recognize AVCintra encoded clips. it will see other clips on the card, but not the AVC clips. The only way I was able to brig them in was to capture them using the camera as a deck, and digitize them via SDI through my kona card. Strange how an instant access solid state memory camera will behave like a tape based deck when digitizing. It worked perfectly, I controlled the camera through the Firewire port, but it would rewind, cue and start digitizing just like a tape deck. strange.
So, awaiting Apple to update FCP to allow us to use this!
Matt
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