Capturing Directly From XDCam EX1 SDI out

[Michael Palmer]

“I am wondering with my xdcam ex1 can be used as a deck ”
Yes you can play the clips from the card via SDI into the MXO2 and capture as Pro Rez

Good Luck
Michael Palmer

[Craig Seeman]

But remember once compressed always compressed.

Clips in XDCAM EX codec uprezed to Apple ProRez don’t gain resolution (although further deterioration may be minimized). On the other hand shooting live and sending out HD-SDI before XDCAM codec has touched the signal will give you “Uncompressed” source (then intelligently compressed with ProRez).

[Akbar Ukani]

Hey…Yes I certainly understand that once it gets compressed in the camera then pretty much its Quality In = Quality Out =)…

however, the reason I am trying to get into ProRes directly from the SDI port is because I am having some issues with the native xdcam files when adding filters and transitions between shots…doing so degrades the playback quality significantly and I am thinking perhaps I can overcome this playback problem if I convert the footage into something of an “frame” based editing codec instead of staying in Long GOP

any steps to achieve that workflow? I can definitely use media manager in FCP, but I just want to see if I can achieve it via the SDI port from the camera? Thanks

[Craig Seeman]

Transitions and light compositing shouldn’t do too much damage to EX codec. It can even handle a color correction pass if you’re not pushing things too far. I and many others do chroma key with EX codec (shooting progressive) without notable negative impact. When setting sequence to edit in EX also set renders to ProRes.

If you’re seeing something serious on transitions you may have something wrong with your settings. Again heavy compositing is a different story but if it’s adding a filter or transition that should be fine.

[Tim Kolb]

I don’t know if you’d be gaining much.

By the time you change 35 Mbits/s long GOP to 145/220 Mbits/s I-frame ProRes will quadruple your data rate at least…

I suspect any processing advantage gained by going to i-frame will be more than offset by the massive increase in data rate.

TimK,
Director, Consultant
Kolb Productions,

[Bob Pierce]

And of course Final Cut allows you to set your XDCAM EX sequence to render with Pro Res. Check the render options in “Sequence Settings”.
Bob

http://www.lightstreamassociates.com

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[Tim Pendergrass]

also make sure your FCP playback settings are at full quality, I’ve seen problems with playback set lower during transitions

tim@videoloungeproductions.com