Can Digibeta be recorded and captured as progressive?

[Sean Oneil]

Digibeta is interlaced but you can still shoot and edit progressive scan if the camera supports it. The camera has to be able to shoot a 25p mode. It records it on the tape as interlaced PAL, but then you deinterlace it back to 25p in post. Because it’s a digital format, this is a flawless process if it’s done properly.

Most of my footage here is shot on film but given to us as NTSC digibeta. I can still capture it and do a reverse telecine, thus bringing it back to 24p. Same concept. But make sure the camera supports this capability. This would mean that the shutter speed is 25, not 50. I do not know if any digibeta cameras can do this. I’m an editor so I don’t follow camera trends too closely. But be aware that DV cameras work this way. Like digibeta, DV tapes are always interlaced. Even though most DV cameras can shoot progressive, and you can capture in progressive, the video on the tape is still an interlaced format. FCP just deinterlaces it for you during capture if you use a progressive-scan capture setting.