Capturing Video Tape into FCPX?

[Jeremy Garchow]

You would need to use firewire to capture video in FCPX and DV.

[Mark Smith]

Your DVCAM deck doesn’t have Firewire 400?

[Ken Bennett]

Yes, and it worked great for many years. Now that port isn’t working. I’ve tried different cables etc. And that PC has only firewire input.

Ken Bennett
Video Adventures
Capturing Your Life’s Adventures!

[Ken Bennett]

Here is a techie question I need answered. If I have a HDV or DV tape and capture that footage via Component into my editor, is there a quality difference?

Ken Bennett
Video Adventures
Capturing Your Life’s Adventures!

[John Rofrano]

[Ken Bennett] “If I have a HDV or DV tape and capture that footage via Component into my editor, is there a quality difference?”

Yes, there will be a quality difference because HDV and DV are not a “capture”, they are a 1-to-1 digital transfer with absolutely no loss (like copying a file from one folder on your computer to another). The digital bits on the tape are the exact same digital bits on your hard drive.

Component will have some quality loss by definition because it is converting the digital signal on tape to an analog signal for component and then you need and analog-to-digital convert on your Mac to translate it back to digital (something like a Blackmagic Designs Intensity).

So yes, there is a quality difference in the Digital-to-Digital transfer of HDV/DV vs the Digital-Analog-Digital capture of Composite.

~jr

http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasstsoftware.com