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Mac Book Pro and HDV monitoring on SD Monitor
Here’s the set up, in a Mac Book Pro, I want to edit HDV material, Thats Ok with FCP, but if I want to playback the edit to a NTSC SD monitor, How do I do it?, using the camera as a deck is out of the question, I can but a Matrox, but it wont playback ALL the formats (720p at 24, an example), what can I buy?, I don’t want to render all to SD so I can monitor it.
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7 Replies
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Why is using the camera as a deck out of the question? You shouldn’t rule that out, if the camera has an SD output that downconverts HDV-SD on the fly. You’re not hurting the camera at all by using it as a firewire video device – it’ll just sit there on your desktop, receive a firewire signal, and send its downconverted video signal to your monitor.
It sounds to me like the big issue is actually that you’re on a MacBook Pro, so you can’t put in any 3rd party capture/output cards. Thus, you have to go out to some FireWire HD/HDV deck, the same way you would if you were trying to preview an SD or DV project from your MacBook Pro on an external SD monitor. Then, you’ll need to run a downconvert (be it built in to the attached deck/camera or with separate hardware connected in line between your video device and monitor) to crop or scale your image to play back on an SD monitor. FCP cannot do this downconvert on the fly as it plays, as the downconvert is too computationally intensive to play in real time (thus, the required rendering of an SD sequence). I have a MacBook Pro too, and have been battling with this problem too. I wish BlackMagic or Kona would come out with an SDI or Component output card for the MacBook Pro expansion slot… but since we’re talking a laptop here, that may forever exist in the realm of wishful thinking, and I don’t know that they’d be able to get a donconverter in there anyway.
All the best,
Ben
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I don’t actually own a camera ( I rent them), I used before the Dazzle Hollywood DV Bridge to see the dv signal out to a s-video monitor, I hope there’s something like this (no problem at all)
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you cant play HDV out through firewire because of the long gop structure
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With a macBook the Matrox MXO is the ONLY solution.
I am working at Macworld with the president of the company (Walter) and I will inquire about this.
Shane
FCP Preferences set to UNCONTROLLED ADVICE
Littlefrog Post
http://www.lfhd.net -
Then, please, Shane also ask him about European frequencies with 720p. We own (and like!) the MXO but are missing these very much.
TIA,
Uli
Author of “DVDs gestalten und produzieren”, a book on professional DVD-authoring in German.
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Oop…sorry Uli, I did’t get this until AFTER I worked my final day. But, I have his e-mail and phone number (and now know him rather well) so I will ask.
As for 24p (23.98)…it works with that format fine. It doesn’t output 23.98, but outputs 29.97 and 59.94.
DO you have the need to output 23.98? If so, why and to what format?
I’ll be getting one to review so I’ll get the skinny then.
Shane
FCP Preferences set to UNCONTROLLED ADVICE
Littlefrog Post
http://www.lfhd.net -
No, we don’t normally need 23.98 or 24, but 25p and 50p in 1280 by 720. BTW, 720p50 is the official recommendation by EBU (European Broadcasting union) for the years to come (until 1080p50 get’s possible). So it will be very important in Europe, could you please tell that to them?
A collegue from Germany found a way to handle DVCProHD in 720p50 very well in FCP already, even if it’s not officially supported yet by Apple. I can send you his document in English, if that helps, or we can do testing of any firmware changes in our institute.
If you like to contact me directly, my e-mail is: uli.plank (
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