HD 4:4:4 posible with my mac?

[John Pale]

You didn’t say what kind of G5.

I have edited lots of DVCPRO HD on a G5 dual 2 GHZ. It works fine.

Editing and delivering 4:4:4 is silly. DVCPRO HD is not a 4:4:4 codec. You would be just making really huge files with no improvement in quality, as the compression happened in camera before you captured it. If you have a massive fast disk array, you can probably do it anyway, if you are hell bent on it.

[Andreas Karoliussen]

Hi John,

Thank you for your answer.

The reason I dint say what kind of G5 is that I have 4 different machine specs.
I just gave you the mutual specs…

4:4:4 is my delivery format, so I recon its better to edit dvcpro HD and render it out to 444.
even though its not a quality improvement.

But if I understand you right:
FCP 5.1.2 supports DVCPro HD through firewire. ???

Do you have an HD kona / black magic card?

Best regards Andreas

[Bob Zelin]

yes, but your old Blackmagic card won’t support 4:4:4. If you had a new Intel Mac, the Blackmagic Decklink HD extreme ($895) would do it. So get an AJA Kona 3x, and you will be in business.

Your deliver spec is 4:4:4, which means that you will have to rent a Sony SRW-5500 for the day – this rental will cost you $1200 for ONE DAY, so the cost of the card is nothing compared to the rental of the VTR.

No TV station will let you deliver a file format to them.

https://www.blackmagic-design.com/products/hd/
this wonderful card will only work with an Intel MAC Pro, so you are “stuck” with the Kona 3x

Bob Zelin

[Tom Matthies]

I’m guessing from the original post that this commercial is going to be delivered to a digital cinema setup as a file. If that’s the case, the deck will probably not be necessary.
Tom

[John Pale]

You can capture via Firewire (if you don’t want to buy a card) or through one of the capture cards Bob mentioned.

For final output, you should consider rendering out a self contained DVCPRO HD movie and taking it to a post house with a Kona 3 and HDCAM-SR deck. The deck is complicated, you are better off doing this with people who do it all the time, if you are not familiar with it. Might save some money in the long run.

[Ben Holmes]

However, the card WILL be necessary, as otherwise you will not be able to grade or properly view your footage. There is no way you can deliver something 4:4:4 in HD without having first viewed it on a professional monitor via a video card.

Either the Kona or BM (if you have access to an Intel Mac) would be ideal.

Ben

Edit Out Ltd
—————————-
FCP Editor/Trainer/System Consultant
EVS/VT Supervisor for live broadcast
RED camera transfer/post
Independent Director/Producer

[Ryan Santos]

I’m a newbie and have never used HD. What is the usual delivery format for DVCPro HD if you’re going to hand the project to a TV station? Is it on a tape? What’s the codec and format? I only know of blue ray, but that’s for consumer use. What’s the professional format? Thanks and God bless.

[Sean Oneil]

Bumping up DVCProHD footage to 4:4:4 is shoddy and unprofessional. There is no reason to do it unless you are trying to deceive someone. HDCam SR can also record 4:2:2 mode. I suggest you do that. Regardless of what the delivery requirements are, nobody has any use for a 4:4:4 tape if the footage isn’t 4:4:4 to begin with.

Sean

[Andreas Karoliussen]

Thank You All!
For your great answers.

Ill take one thing at the time.
Hi Sean,
“Bumping up DVCProHD footage to 4:4:4 is shoddy and unprofessional. There is no reason to do it unless you are trying to deceive someone.”
I’m not trying to deceive someone, iv told them that they wont get full resolution 444 if they chose me. however that’s the delivery format.

Hi Bob, thank you for your thorough answer.
I have 4 machines on an xsan with blackmagic cards, so I was hoping to stay in the black magic path.
And one of the macs is a quad with pcie – so I’m now investigating if that can have a BM HD card…
As Tom says, there will be file delivery to a cinema setup. so 444 back to tape is unnecessary.
At the time I wondering if buying a new intel is the way to go.
Regardless: thanks for the Kona option.

Hi Ben
I totally agree. however without any major HD projects coming in. I cannot “Major upgrade” right now.
This is more a package deal my boss gave away. And I have to figure out what path to follow into HD world.

Thank you!

Best Regards
Andreas

[Walter Biscardi]

You give the tv station what they require. All stations are different. So e accept dvcpro he some take hdcam and so on.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.

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