Best route for HDV/DVCProHD to ProRes

[Walter Biscardi]

We convert HDV to DVCPro HD all the time via the AJA Kona series. ProRes has been unimpressive to me vs. DVCPro HD which we’ve been using for three years now. DVCPro HD is a proven, very clean codec.

But back to your question, the AJA Kona series makes it very easy to convert your footage from just about anything to just about anything. The Kona 3 also allows us to go 720 to 1080 or 1080 to 720 which is huge in our workflow.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.

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[Liz Smith]

Thanks Walter…

It’s looking more and more like a Kona card is the truly smooth solution. All of the posts and articles I’ve read so far seem to suggest that importing HDV via firewire and getting to another format for editing is kind of a nightmare. (And by nightmare, I mean all of the transcoding, rendering, and re-naming? clips… and capturing entire tapes at once? That’s madness.)

I’m a fair-weather editor. I want to log-and-capture individual clips and edit immediately.

[Walter Biscardi]

[Liz Smith] “I’m a fair-weather editor. I want to log-and-capture individual clips and edit immediately.”

Then the Kona is what you want. Simply select the Easy Setup for what you want and start digitizing.

Need multiple outputs from your timeline? Simply let the Kona Upconvert or Downconvert from a single timeline.

It’s really a plug and play device. Just be sure to read up on how the Control Panel operates. It can operate independent of FCP and that’s how you get all the realtime Up, Down and Cross Conversions.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.

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[Liz Smith]

Great! But… the Aja site is telling me that Kona LHe is not compatible with Leopard yet? What’s up with that?

For HDV, do you use the HD-SDI or analog composite in from the deck? It seems weird to go digital-analog-digital, but it would be cheaper in terms of HDV decks. A lot cheaper.

[Walter Biscardi]

[Liz Smith] “For HDV, do you use the HD-SDI or analog composite in from the deck? It seems weird to go digital-analog-digital, but it would be cheaper in terms of HDV decks. A lot cheaper.”

Analog Component from a Sony M15U to an AJA HDAVA10 Converter. Converts Component and audio to HD-SDI with embedded audio. We have two of these units.

As far as Leopard compatibility, the drivers have been available for at least a few months now.

https://www.aja.com/html/support_konaLHe_swd.html

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.

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[Liz Smith]

oops – I meant component. And right on about Aja/Leopard! It stills says on one page that they are working on it.

Alright! One last question – at least until I get the darn things and have to make them work…

I saw the AJA HDAVA10 – pretty nifty. Is there any reason (besides the LCD screen) to get the M25U?

Or – someone else mentioned getting the GV-HD700… it’s got HDMI as well, a big screen, and I could use it’s portability. It only plays back HDV w/o recording, but I have a hard time imagining what I would need that for anyway. It appears to have all the I/Os that I would need, including firewire. Any reason you didn’t go with this one?

(OK, that was two questions.)

[Liz Smith]

OK, third question:

Michael Palmer over on the HDV forum just noted: “I use the M25 deck together with a Convergent Design MI (HDMI-HD-SDI converter) into my Kona LHe card and it works great keeping the original timecode during the transcode.”

Are you able to keep the timecodes for re-capture going the component/M15U route?

Thanks!
Liz

[Chris Borjis]

I would stick with the deck for sure.

Those portable players are nice, but don’t quite have the robust build quality of a pro deck.

[Walter Biscardi]

[Liz Smith] ”
Are you able to keep the timecodes for re-capture going the component/M15U route?”

Timecode just comes in as part of machine control on Firewire.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.

STOP STARING AND START GRADING WITH APPLE COLOR Apple Color Training DVD available now!
Read my Blog!

[Liz Smith]

Yeah, the portable player is a nice idea. But I wasn’t sure about it.

Is there any reason to get the M25U? I read that some folks really appreciated the on-board LCD screen b/c of lag time on the computer window viewer – but perhaps that was just a problem with firewire capture.