final cut pro

[Kristoffer Newsom]

Sadly, with an iMac, your only output methods can be a file export (like you did to DVD, but you could theoretically take a bounced QT of the video to another post house and lay it to tape), or a firewire export using some sort of intermediary widget, such as the camera you shot the video on and captured to your computer with in the first place. You could hook the camera up to the deck via S-Video and stereo audio RCA cables, and the computer up to the camera via your firewire, and let ‘er rip. Another thing you could theoretically do, is use the S-video output from your computer (as I recall, it should have a mini-VGA output, you should be able to get an adapter for mini-VGA to S-Video) to the deck, and run a 1/8th inch stereo to RCA cable from your headphone jack to the deck’s input for sound.

[Shane Ross]

Well, you have a couple of options. AJA I/O or I/O LA, connected via firewire. BUT, with your media drive ALSO connected via firewire, that might cause a bottle neck…media drive and AJA fighting for control of the firewire port. There’s also the Matrox MXO. That connects via DVI, and can output to BetaSP. You just need Deck Control if you want to get precise timecode…so for that you need a keyspan serial adapter for RS-422 deck control.

Shane

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http://www.LFHD.net
Read my blog!

[John Huff]

Thanks for your replies. Shane, I’m afraid I didn’t understand any of your post. If I understood what all those numbers and letters meant I’m sure I wouldn’t be asking this question. But thanks for trying to help. Kristoffer, you suggested 2 ways, and for the first my camera, a Canon HV-20, doesn’t accept or export S-video, and the second, the 20″ imacs don’t support S-Video. But again I really appreciate both attempts at trying to help.

I have been exporting my commercial spots to DVD as mpeg-2 files and the on screen quality is barely acceptable, so I’ve been looking for a better way. It is my understanding that my choices are digi-beta, which is unaffordable, or beta-sp, a deck that can be found used for around $1000. So that was my reasoning. If there’s anyone out there who can explain in layman’s terms how I can get from a DV50-ntsc file in FCP on my imac to a beta-sp deck I’d surely appreciate it. Thanks.

John Huff
Lake Oconee Video Editing and Production
Eatonton, Georgia

[Shane Ross]

[John Huff] “Thanks for your replies. Shane, I’m afraid I didn’t understand any of your post. If I understood what all those numbers and letters meant I’m sure I wouldn’t be asking this question.”

Well, to be blunt and snarky, if you don’t understand what I am talking about, you aren’t ready to be editing anything for broadcast. This area of post production isn’t just slapping images together to tell a story, there is a LOT of technical knowledge needed as well. Precise show timing, IRE levels (a MUST to know when delivering anything for broadcast), audio levels, program formatting…a whole lot. You cannot just jump into this from nothing. Training is required, and typically years as an ASSISTANT so that you can learn all of the technical aspects. I can go on about this for a while.

[John Huff] “I have been exporting my commercial spots to DVD as mpeg-2 files and the on screen quality is barely acceptable, so I’ve been looking for a better way.”

This is because you aren’t monitoring your footage properly on a professional monitor, and I doubt that you are color correcting properly. Add DVD compression…it won’t look good.

[John Huff] “If there’s anyone out there who can explain in layman’s terms how I can get from a DV50-ntsc file in FCP on my imac to a beta-sp deck I’d surely appreciate it. Thanks.”

You are in over your head. There is really no way to explain ALL that needs to be done in order to deliver a professional level broadcast quality master. I suggest taking your FCP project and media to someone who is qualified to output a broadcast master.

Shane

GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD now for sale!
http://www.LFHD.net
Read my blog!

[Chuck Reti]

[John Huff] “It is my understanding that my choices are digi-beta, which is unaffordable, or beta-sp, a deck that can be found used for around $1000. So that was my reasoning.”

Following up on Shane’s comments, any broadcaster to whom you are delivering content won’t care a bit what you can or can’t afford, but that you deliver what meets their requirements. Independent edit houses typically will just rent equipment as needed. An early step in your process should be knowing, not guessing, what your output will need to be. And, the choices today go way beyond BetaSP or DigiBeta.

[Kristoffer Newsom]

You may also wish to inquire as to whether or not DVCam or DVCPro would be acceptable delivery formats, as there are models of decks for each that accept firewire input.

In regards to Shane’s post, yes, those are basically a couple GREAT widgets that are a go-between from your computer to a deck, and convert a firewire DV signal to an uncompressed analogue (or digital SDI) signal that you can run to a deck. What he meant by the keyspan serial adapter is a method with which you can transmit and control the timecode on the deck. In my experience, some places are really specific about timecode, and they need your program to start at exactly X:XX:XX;01 or thereabouts, but MOST places will pretty much just cue up your spot to the first frame and capture based on that. As long as the timecode doesn’t have breaks in it, it should be fine. In two years making promos at CBS, the only time timecode became incredibly important is when delivering a tape with multiple spots, and even then, the ability to dictate to the tape what timecode to write wasn’t crucial. What WAS important was the ability to write down the stare timecodes of each spot, so the person ingesting it into the station’s server could act accordingly.

[John Huff]

Shane Ross, you are a nasty negative person only interested in putting down people who don’t know as much as you. You have not only been completely unhelpful and unsupportive but you insist on talking down to people and assuming the most negative things. I’m sorry you don’t like yourself but stop taking it out on the people who are sincerely trying to use this forum to learn. I await you to break this reply down sentence by sentence with your snide remarks, in fact I’ll bet everyone awaits your next reply. This forum isn’t just about video skills, it’s also about people skills. So go to town, everyone is waiting for your next negative assumption. Have at it.

John Huff
Lake Oconee Video Editing and Production
Eatonton, Georgia

[Shane Ross]

To connect your iMac to a Beta deck, or Digibeta deck (advice was to rent…that is good advice) your best option is the Matrox MXO. It has component (RBG) outputs and SDI (digital), as well as two audio outputs and REFERENCE signal (to keep the deck in sync with your machine, and keep the picture from rolling). Connect that to the beta deck, then the deck to a monitor…professional one if possible. You can “crash record”, meaning press record on the deck then play on your system, and it will record to tape, but if you need precise show timing to start at 1:00:00:00, then you need deck control, and that can be gotten with a Keyspan USB to Serial adapter, and the RS-422 cable that you connect to the deck.

DO you follow me so far? Pardon my snideness, but this is all basic stuff.

You’d better color correct the footage so that the whites aren’t above 100IRE and the blacks not below 7.5 IRE. You have built in scopes that can show you this, and the 3-way color corrector in FCP to adjust stuff. If you need to know how to do this, there is a small chapter in the manual, plus more than a few books and tutorial DVDs on the topic. Too large a topic to be answered in a forum post.

Quick answer…MXO is what you need to connect to the beta deck. That will get the signal to the deck. What you do with that signal and all is up to you.

Shane

GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD now for sale!
http://www.LFHD.net
Read my blog!

[John Huff]

Shane Ross, I no longer wish you to answer any of my posts. I am no longer interested in any of your rude, snide, self-serving comments that serve only to attempt to put people “in their place” no matter how “learned” you may think you or your comments are. You don’t fool me. Your negative assumptions and nasty comments about my knowledge of color correction and IRE levels, audio levels, time code, video editing, output format requirements or anything else for that matter only serve to curtail the discourse so necessary to the heart of CreativeCow.net. Underneath everything you say is negativity. You might want to study the phrase “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” While you think about that, I’m reporting you to the Founder and Director of CreativeCow.net.

John Huff
Lake Oconee Video Editing and Production
Eatonton, Georgia

[Ron Lindeboom]

[John Huff] “Thanks for your replies. Shane, I’m afraid I didn’t understand any of your post. If I understood what all those numbers and letters meant I’m sure I wouldn’t be asking this question.”

If you would use the search engine here in the COW or even Google, you could quickly and easily find out that the model numbers and information that Shane has given you is useful and directly applicable.

Here at the COW we do not guarantee that we will do tomes of information in-depth to explain to you all the ramifications, in detail, of why the answers you are given are applicable. We expect that people who come here are willing to do *some* of the work themselves.

Our leaders and others volunteer their help. They are not paid consultants. They are giving you good information and if you feel it incomplete, then hire a consultant to do the research work for you.

You slammed Shane with some far nastier comments than he ever leveled at you — yes, Shane got short with you himself but we’ll cut him slack as he has literally helped thousands here and we believe that everyone is entitled to a bad day — but I have turned off some of your nastier comments and replies and would tell you: Don’t come here asking questions if you are too lazy to follow up and search out what people tell you here.

That’s our bottom line in all this…

Ron Lindeboom
creativecow.net