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Activity Forums Apple Final Cut Pro Legacy FCP 7 Firewire Capture Question…

  • FCP 7 Firewire Capture Question…

    Posted by Doug Hope on September 2, 2015 at 7:21 pm

    Hello Folks,

    It’s been ages since I’ve last digitized a tape, but I have now been given a project that requires that very task.

    To start off:
    – Final Cut Pro 7
    – Panasonic DVCPROHD AJHD1200A Deck
    – Footage (apparently) shot at 30fps ndf, 1920×1080

    The AJA KONA LHi card that is installed in this system has been giving me issues all day. FCP can control the deck, but digitizing ftg has gotten me nothing.

    I switched over to try and digitize with Firewire, and at first it worked but the footage captured did not reflect that of my capture settings.

    My first capture attempt yielded me ftg coming in at 1280×1080, I tinkered around with my capture settings, tried different ones, and even attempted to build a custom capture setting to digitize at 1920×1080. None of this works, and all ftg since then has been coming in at 960×540 regardless of my settings.

    And to top that off my log and capture window pops up like this:
    https://i.imgur.com/oYdj7RG.png

    No logging, clip, or capture settings tabs (https://i.imgur.com/ftbRRaS.png)

    Again, it’s been years since I’ve dealt with a tape-base workflow so I’m very rusty with this. Any help is greatly appreciated.

    THANK YOU!

    Doug Hope replied 10 years, 11 months ago 2 Members · 5 Replies
  • 5 Replies
  • Shane Ross

    September 2, 2015 at 9:50 pm

    [Doug Hope] “My first capture attempt yielded me ftg coming in at 1280×1080,”

    That is the native frame dimensions of DVCPRO HD 1080. It’s not only anamorphic, but SUPER anamorphic. FCP will unsqueeze it…but those are the correct dimensions.

    [Doug Hope] “I tinkered around with my capture settings, tried different ones, and even attempted to build a custom capture setting to digitize at 1920×1080. None of this works, and all ftg since then has been coming in at 960×540 regardless of my settings.”

    Correct, because DVCPRO HD via firewire only comes in one way…choose the proper Easy Setup and don’t tinker with anything. The first thing you did was the correct one.

    Shane
    Little Frog Post
    Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def

  • Doug Hope

    September 3, 2015 at 1:33 pm

    Awesome! Thanks for taking the time to reply, Shane!

  • Doug Hope

    September 13, 2015 at 8:57 pm

    Hi Shane,

    Sorry to bother you again, but I just started capturing this project again and I had a quick question.

    The cameraman told me he shot 1080 30p –

    CAPTURE PRESET: DVCPRO HD 1080 30p 48khz
    DEVICE PRESET: Firewire NTSC NDF (He shot ndf)

    Is this correct? I just noticed that the compressor column in the bin is claiming that the footage is 60i?

    I tried playing with the settings in the capture preset (changing the compressor to reflect 30p) but digitizing would almost fail immediately once I started capturing claiming dropped frames.

    Again, I’m capturing via Firewire off of a Panasonic AJHD1200A.

    If I’m capturing incorrectly, is there a fix to avoid having to recapture all the tapes?

    Your guidance is very much appreciated.

  • Shane Ross

    September 14, 2015 at 7:25 am

    [Doug Hope] “Is this correct? “

    Yes…looks fine.

    [Doug Hope] ” I just noticed that the compressor column in the bin is claiming that the footage is 60i?”

    That’s the Compressor TYPE. The format for 1080 is interlaced. Even though the footage is progressive, the format is interlaced…it’s just how it’s designed. BUT, if you shot 1080p30, both fields of that interlaced format will be the same…basically progressive. 720 is a PROGRESSIVE format…it can ONLY be progressive, not interlaced.

    [Doug Hope] “I tried playing with the settings in the capture preset (changing the compressor to reflect 30p) but digitizing would almost fail immediately once I started capturing claiming dropped frames. “

    Don’t futz with that stuff. Use the DVCPRO HD 1080p30 Easy Setup and don’t change anything.

    Shane
    Little Frog Post
    Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def

  • Doug Hope

    September 14, 2015 at 2:24 pm

    You’re the man, Shane.

    Thanks again!

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