HDV to SD digibeta workflow

[Bouncing Account needs new email address]

HDV comes in “directly” via FW.

If you are finishing out to SD and all other footage is SD you could choose to use the HDV camcorder to downconvert to SD DV for capture.

[Jerry Alto]

Morten- Two recent workflows for us;

1. Digitize the HDV 8-bit uncompressed SD using the analog component downconvert from the Sony Z-1 into your aja IO. Edit normally within FCP with matching 8-bit uncompressed SD material. This worked great for us and the digitized 8-bit SD video looked better than digitized Betacam SP. Then normal workflow with your Digibeta.

2. If you’re running FCP5 you can edit HDV native and export back to HDV. Then use the analog component out of the HDV deck into the component inputs of the Digibeta. We learned going this route that you need to do a hard record on the Digibeta (not assemble edit). The advantage of this approach is that you have a high defintion master (albeit HDV) should you need it down the road. The downside for going HDV native is the converting process for non-HDV material and the extensive rendering time if your doing lots of compositing and effects. HDV post also has an addtional step (conforming) that takes place before going out to HDV tape which took about 15 minutes for a 25 minute show. Doing HDV native with minimal effects and compositing was both fast and the results impressive.

Hardware wise you’ll need an HDV deck if you don’t want to use the Z-1 for digitizing and a separate PCI firewire card for machine control (your AJA-io takes up the internal firewire bus).

Hope this helps.
Jerry