how to import unknown footage??

[Rafael Amador]

You can make a try with the most simple capture tool: the QT Movie Recorder.
In the preferences set it Automatic/Device Native. After capturing a clip the QT Info window will tell you what kind of stuff are you dealing with.
rafael

http://www.nagavideo.com

[David Hunter]

Rafael,

Thanks for the advice! I just checked around with Google but I can’t really see the exact download location for this.

Is this another name for Quicktime Pro?

I see utilities referred to by the name you used that are about recording SCREEN movements, etc….

What is the direct source for this, if you know offhand?

[Nick Holmes]

It’s in QuickTime Player.

File > New Movie Recording. Set it to capture as “Device Native” in QT Player Preferences.

Nick

[David Hunter]

Thanks NICK and RAFAEL!

[David Bogie]

[David Hunter] “how to import some footage I have been given recorded on DVCam cassettes. Because I don’t know anything about the recording specs. “

Sorry, I’m not seeing an issue here. DVCAM is all you need to know. Doesn’t matter how it started, could have been 35mm film, Super8, 8mm video from the 70s, VHS from the 80s, Betamax, or LaserDisc. If it’s been dubbed to DVCAM, it’s now DVCAM. Play the tape and ingest using any of FCP’s basic FW settings.

> I tried picking out a couple of Final Cut defaults, including various PAL defaults, but the footage I get will only play back in a few second clips before Final Cut announces an error. So I keep coming up with a bin full of clips that only play a few seconds each before errors. < This indicates the tape is bad, not the video that's on it. It may never play in anything. You must acquire a new copy of the tape. bogiesan

[Arnie Schlissel]

[David Hunter] “I am told it was recorded off of some older Prosumer type Sony camera so it is SD, that is all I know. But, this was a French camera so it may be PAL to begin with but I am told the camera is capable of different formats and frame rates, too.”

Who gave you the tape? They should be able to tell you exactly what format it was shot in. If they cannot, then they should be able to get that information from whoever shot the tape.

If that person doesn’t know, then either return the job with a nice apology, or charge by the hour, including any time spent on the phone with these people and any time spend dinking around with any and all available settings until you determine that it doesn’t work.

Arnie
Post production is not an afterthought!
https://www.arniepix.com/

[David Welch]

This could also be a playback issue. The HVX200A may not playback DVCAM recorded material. Don’t have the spec’s in front of me, but since DVCAM (the codec) is a Sony thing it may not play back out of your Panasonic camera. Couldn’t this also be a PAL vs. NTSC, as again I don’t believe these camera’s are manufactured to support both systems (they make a different version for PAL vs. NTSC).

[Rafael Amador]

You are absolutely right.
PANA play DVCPro. DVCPro desks can play MiniDV tapes with an adapter but I don’t think the HVX200 can do it.
As you say the codec in NTSC is the same for DVCPro25-MiniDV-DVCam, the problem is a common player.
Rafael

http://www.nagavideo.com

[David Hunter]

The footage was shot in France and passed along to me. The AG-HVX200A plays it back fine. The cassettes are the DVCAM 40 (PDVM-40N) with a memory chip.

Shot on a Sony camera rented in France that, I am told, had several different schemas available for recording footage. My AG-HVX200A was purchased in Vienna, Austria, so the PAL format is offered and the MacBook Pro I have with Final Cut Studio was also installed with the Final Cut Studio that is installed in Germany and Austria.

The list of formats on the “Easy Set Up” is slightly different than what shows up on the USA Final Cut Studio.

But, one thing for sure, there is no simple import option that says “DVCAM”. So, I am just trying to get the closest codec to match whatEVER was encoded on the Sony camera.

I can select a number of different options in Final Cut that allow me to playback and control the AG-HVX200A but I really want to match the specs of the video and audio with the proper codec as closely as possible so that I don’t get anything “funky” showing up later. For instance, some of the Final Cut codecs offer 23.98 frames per second, 24, and 25, all PAL, which are the probably original choices the operator had in the French camera rental Sony.

I keep trying to record with the QuickTime player but I cannot get it to select the AG-HVX200A, even though I save the preferences and even restart QT with those preferences as default. It keeps defaulting to the built-in MacPro camera. So, I can’t get a recording started with QT using the native device setting and all that jazz.

So, any suggestions on the likely to be closest Final Cut Codec capture codec? On my Final Cut trials I can control the camera from Final Cut but when I click “Capture NOW” it keeps playing the footage but does not record it.

[Rafael Amador]

[David Hunter] “But, one thing for sure, there is no simple import option that says “DVCAM”.”
Don’t look for any special preset for DVCam. DVCam is just DV.

[David Hunter] “For instance, some of the Final Cut codecs offer 23.98 frames per second, 24, and 25, all PAL, which are the probably original choices the operator had in the French camera rental Sony. “
PAL is only 25 fps.
Try Apple DV 48Khz Anamorphic. If have been recorded in PAL land, this should be the standard. Set Device Control to FW PAL.
Rafael

http://www.nagavideo.com