FCP HDV capture problem – PLEASE HELP

[Navarro Parker]

I’m sure this is obvious, but is the deck the only Firewire device connected to your Mac? Have you tried turning off both your Mac and deck and trying different power up sequences? (Power the Mac first / power the deck first / turn them both on and then insert the cable / power them on with the cable inserted first / etc)

Have you tried another cable? (The cable connector might be faulty)

Can other cameras connect to FCP with the same cable? (the port on your deck might be faulty — those 4-pin iLink connectors and ports are notoriously delicate)

Do you know anyone who has Final Cut 6? Are you running Leopard and FCP 5?

[Sally Lundburg]

thanks for responding so quickly!
I got it to recognize the deck earlier, after taking a brain rest. This is what I did differently: I powered up the computer, then powered up the deck, WITHOUT A TAPE IN IT. Before, I had a hdv tape in it. FCP recognized the deck, then I inserted a tape and I was able to capture.
But now I have some other issues. When I am capturing, I cannot hear audio. Also, When the clip pops up and i put it in the timeline, it needs to be rendered. Is this a function of working with HDV and is there any remedy for both the audio and render issues?

[Sally Lundburg]

I forgot to say that no, the deck is not the only firewire device connected to my mac. I have my powerbook hooked up to my cinema display, and through the ports in my display, i have both the sony deck as well as a external hard drive to store the footage.
Also, I’m running OSX 10.4.11 and FCP 5.1.4.

[David Smith]

[sally lundburg] “When I am capturing, I cannot hear audio”

You can monitor audio if need be, but I always leave it off to reduce the load on the computer during capture. To turn it on, click on the Clip Settings tab in the Log and Capture window. Check the Preview box in the Audio section.

[sally lundburg] “Also, When the clip pops up and i put it in the timeline, it needs to be rendered”

Then your sequence settings don’t match the properties of your clips. Choose the correct Easy Setup, then create a NEW sequence (existing sequences don’t change automatically). Assuming you choose the Easy Setup that is correct for your footage, they should not have to be rendered to play in your new sequence.

If you stay in HDV, you will have to conform when you are ready to output, but that’s a different story.

Regards,
David

[Sally Lundburg]

Ok, got the audio, thanks…but I understand why it’s better to not preview it now.

question: “Also, When the clip pops up and i put it in the timeline, it needs to be rendered”
Answer:”Then your sequence settings don’t match the properties of your clips.”
Ok, I’ve contacted my partner to find the exact properties…meaning was it shot in HDV 1080i50, 60, p24 or 720p.30, p24, or p25…(anything else I should ask her?)

Answer:(“If you stay in HDV, you will have to conform when you are ready to output, but that’s a different story.”)

Since I’m on a timeline here, can you tell me what’s involved in conforming…or point me in the right direction? At this point, I was just assuming (as in sd), that I could just “print to video” and output to a mini-dv like usual so i can jet them their assembly cut. Is there more involved here?

I really appreciate the help. Sorry, this is probably so basic.

[Stace Carter]

If you are cuts-only for the assembly it won’t hurt you to work in straight HDV, but if you’ll be doing anything else you may want to capture this material as ProRes – it will make your life easier down the line, even for things like simple dissolves.

Cheers,
Stace

[David Smith]

[sally lundburg] “can you tell me what’s involved in conforming…or point me in the right direction?”

I would search though this and also the HDV Forum using some term like “conform HDV”. What you need to do will also depend on your hardware and what you are laying your project back to. For example with my AJA Kona LH card I can play directly from the timeline and output HD/SD-SDI, or HD/SD component to a deck that could capture that.

Regards,
David

[Sally Lundburg]

Thanks you very much for responding!
You said: [If you are cuts-only for the assembly it won’t hurt you to work in straight HDV, but if you’ll be doing anything else you may want to capture this material as ProRes – it will make your life easier down the line, even for things like simple dissolve]

I am using FCP 5, OSX 4.11, I do not have a capture card.hard drives for storage. I’m using a Powerbook G4, 2 GB DDR SD RAM, 1.67 GHz with external hard drives.

I’m working on what will be a 1/2 hour doc that was shot all in HDV on a Canon HV20 at 1980i60 and am using a HVR-M15U deck to capture and (export later). I will need to color correct this footage and use some effects in transitions and speed. I have only worked in SD before.
I have not captured any footage yet, except for text clips using the HDV preset. After some help from this forum (THANKS EVERYONE!) I am able to capture, hear my footage via external non-hd monitor, and my footage comes into the timeline just fine, fully rendered. But I’m nervous to capture all my footage before I’m absolutely sure that I’m using the right settings, as I can see that many folks have lots of headaches later when it’s not imported correctly for what they need.

SO…with all this above info (sorry)-MY QUESTIONS ARE:

* SHOULD I, CAN I- import and export using the HDV preset (I see not option for PRORES in the FCP 5 capture settings)

*can I do this without a capture card (I don’t have much money..not your problem, but I don’t)

*Am I going to run into problems with conforming at the end? (I’m still reseaching exactly what this is, and what it entails, but haven’t found a thread that applies to my situation and footage yet to explain it.

[David Smith]

[sally lundburg] “* SHOULD I, CAN I- import and export using the HDV preset (I see not option for PRORES in the FCP 5 capture setting”

No Pro Res in that version as far as I know, however you could edit in DVCPro HD, or at least finish in that codec. How much material will you be loading for your edit? Depending on that, you could:

Rent some time with an AJA io-HD or Motu V3HD, taking the component output of the HVR-M15U deck, feeding one of those boxes and ingesting the material as DVCPro HD.

Ingest your footage as HDV via Firewire, and then convert it via software to DVCPro HD.

Do your basic edit in native HDV and then convert the material used (plus some handles) to DVCPro HD before you do any titles, graphics etc.

But there are lots of factors to consider. How are you going to deliver this project? If you’re going back out to HDV, it might be best to stay in that codec instead of converting back and forth.

How are you going to monitor the edit while you work? You can’t feed the deck via firewire and see a picture on a monitor like you can with dv. With your computer a Matrox MXO is probably the least expensive monitoring option.

Are you anywhere near a major market where equipment rental might be an option?

[Sally Lundburg]

I’m sorry this took me so long to reply, thank you for your response!
I am a little out of my league here. Before this I’ve edited short industrials, and experimental short pieces and a 1 hour doc that originated in super 8 and 16mm. These were all ingested via firewire and finished (SD) to either digibeta or mini-dv for transfer to dvd.
This was all shot in HDV and will be a 1/2 industrial doc. Our promised deliverables include (1 HD, 1 digibeta, and layoff to hardrive.) Now, I wonder why we said 1 digibeta and 1 HD…different formats. my partner works at a PBS affiliate where perhaps this is a standard deliverables, but I wonder if it was necessary for this project…as this project will be for internal dvd distribution. )

YOU WROTE:
[No Pro Res in that version as far as I know, however you could edit in DVCPro HD, or at least finish in that codec. How much material will you be loading for your edit? ]

I will probably ingest a few hours of footage for this 1/2 hour doc I’m guessing.

YOU WROTE:Depending on that, you could:
Rent some time with an AJA io-HD or Motu V3HD, taking the component output of the HVR-M15U deck, feeding one of those boxes and ingesting the material as DVCPro HD.
OR:Ingest your footage as HDV via Firewire, and then convert it via software to DVCPro HD.
OR:Do your basic edit in native HDV and then convert the material used (plus some handles) to DVCPro HD before you do any titles, graphics etc. ]

What is the advantage of converting to DVCPro HD?

YOU WROTE:
[But there are lots of factors to consider. How are you going to deliver this project? If you’re going back out to HDV, it might be best to stay in that codec instead of converting back and forth. ]

Deliverable answer above…since I am new to this and am on a small budget (so no new equip or software)…I”m wondering if I CAN just do this on HDV I anticipate very little effects other than lower thirds, titles and color correction. I could try and leave that to the online if I’m having problems. Also another editor I know with teh same camera and deck, down converts to NTSC when she captures. Is that an option? PRO and CONs?

YOU WROTE:
How are you going to monitor the edit while you work? You can’t feed the deck via firewire and see a picture on a monitor like you can with dv. With your computer a Matrox MXO is probably the least expensive monitoring option.
Wow…I looked up the Matrox…that looks great…will put that on my list, but not sure for now.
In the past I’ve monitored via firewire though my camera, now I’ve montiored capture via rca cables out of my deck. I didn’t know you couldn’t do this for the edit.

YOU WROTE:
[Are you anywhere near a major market where equipment rental might be an option?]
I hate to say small budget again. but I am also in the deep dark beauty of the mountains of the big island of hawaii. so I have to build my own empire. Slowly.