DV and XDCAM in same sequence

[Devin Crane]

If the XDCAM is HD and DVCPro 50, and your output is only going to be Beta SP you should only need to keep everything in the DV realm or else you will need to upconvert your DV50 footage to match your XDcam footage. FCP likes everything in the same codec, as of yet it doesn’t support mixed timelines. However with RT Extreme turned on you can get by with mixing DV and DV50 in the Same timeline.
I would use the DVcam codec in the XDCamcorders if they are HD Xdcam (IMX50 if it’s SD) and keep it in the same ball park.

[Mark Maness]

Well, first of all, you say you’re using XDCAM? If you are, XDCAM shoots in IMX50, IMX40, IMX30 and DVCAM modes only. So the only logical way to edit is to ingest all of your footage using IMX50 (if that’s what it was shot in – the PDW-1500 machine will tell you).

Your DV footage is using what machine? If you want to stay realtime, you’ll have to capture your DV footage using the IMX50 codec also – that means, you’ll have to have a capture card like the AJA or Blackmagic.

When you do all this, you can edit in realtime and playback in realtime – barring any effects or titles, those still have to be rendered. The term “realtime” is sort of a catch phrase… as you’ll see.

I’ve been using this setup for the past year and a half and in the process of upgrading to XDCAM HD with the Sony HDV cameras as secondary camera.

_______________________________

Wayne Carey
Schazam Productions
http://www.schazamproductions.com

[Zak Mussig]

Wayne,
Do you capture HDV footage through your capture card as IMX 50 to match the rest of your footage? Subquestion… what is your HDV device (camera or deck), and how is it connected to your capture card? I really don’t want to edit HDV natively (the way it’s been done) in my new job, but I really want to have my workflow ducks in a row before I ask the boss for money.
Thanks for any help,
Zak

[Mark Maness]

Hey Zak,

Good questions… I use the Somy M10U HDV deck connected to an AJA HD10A Component to SDI converter and that is connected to my AJA Kona 2 card as HD-SDI input. I have firewire connected for machine control and audio. I have heard this can have some problems but for me it has worked flawlessly. I use the Kona 2 to downconvert my footage in FCP using the IMX50 codec. A better solution, now, would be to purchase the AJA HD10AVA so that you can connect your machine’s video and audio to be converted to HD-SDI embedded signal. That option wasn’t available to me when I purchased my converter.

This is the best workflow for converting HDV to anything else to use in FCP. Most everybody here uses somthing similar to edit HDV into a codec that is useable like DVCPRO HD. FCP doesn’t do HDV very well at all, so the need to capture into another codec is a real necessity.

If I were in your shoes, I’d ask for an AJA Kona 3 and the AJA HD10AVA to go along with a Sony HVR-M25U HDV machine. The Kona 3 is the best capture card available to the market. It is capable of cross-converting HD video which is real important when you break into HD. My next upgrade will have these.

_______________________________

Wayne Carey
Schazam Productions
http://www.schazamproductions.com

[Zak Mussig]

Wayne,
Thank you for taking the time to respond. That is all really good information that helps me out a ton. I’m still a little worried about the amount of money I’m asking for (we’re not huge)… but I can’t see how it won’t pay big dividends in the long run.

Thanks again,
Zak

[Mark Maness]

Something else to consider… Sony finally came out with their plugin to FCP and Mac. Its a great way to ingest video from XDCAM. Check it out.

https://bssc.sel.sony.com/BroadcastandBusiness/markets/10014/xdcamhd_info.shtml

I’m sure you’ll love it, I do!