XDCAM HD

[Andy Mees]

XDCAM HD is currently supported in FCP by Sony’s XDCAM Transfer plugin for direct file based transfer of disc based media, also by Flip4Mac’s MXF Import quicktime component … or via baseband using 3rd party HD-SDI input/output hardware

the direct file based transfer solutions are currently limited to using the 25 Mbps (SP) codec only (utilising FCP’s native HDV support) … support for native editing with XDCAM HD’s 18 Mbps, 35 Mpbs and Proxy codecs is tentatively projected for introduction around the IBC timeframe (nothing official, just best educated guess)

[Mark Maness]

We currently use the XDCAM HD setup and have used it for the past two months beautifully. The camera shoots the most gorgous picture I have ever seen and the ability to shoot CineAlta is the most important feature to me. Now, we are able to create true 24p short feature films without all of the hassles of converting video and conforming (what a real pain!).

Andy is correct that the XDCAM HD system in FCP only supports the 25 mb/s stream (bummer!). But we overcome that issue by capturing in the DVCPRO HD codec. Its almost the industry standard for editing HD today. I don’t use lots of heavy graphics so Uncomppressed is serious overkill for me. Besides DVCPRO HD is very drive friendly and user friendly in FCP. And the results are absolutely stunning!

BTW, I hope Andy is right… I would love to just lift the clips right off of the disk like I can with standard XDCAM. But I do still have one complaint about the software. Why do I have to import all eight tracks of audio if I have only recorded two tracks? Why can I not select the tracks I want to import?

_______________________________

Wayne Carey
Schazam Productions
http://www.schazamproductions.com

[Steve Connor]

I have to agree about the image quality, it is superb. Very close to the pictures from the 750. I’m just editing a project in FCP that was shot with 750’s and XDCam HD 530’s and the pictures grade together very well.

I’ve captured via HDSDi to the DVCPro codec and it looks very good. I did some side by side comparisons with 10 Bit HD uncompressed and there wasn’t a lot of difference. It would still be nice to use the 35mbs setting inside FCP though and then recompress the master to uncompressed. I gather thay may be an update shortly that will enable the 35mbs codec.

I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with your camera!

[Mschirad]

Word of warning…..

XDCam HD Transfer software from Sony does NOT reliably send finished programs back to Blue Ray disks.

I tried a 5 second timeline, and it worked.
A 13 second timeline, it worked.
A 3 minute timeline, error message.
A 4 minute timeline, it worked.
A 10 minute timeline, error message.
A 30 minute timeline, error message.
Of course, my 70 minute project, error message.

I kept trying to get the file transfer to blue ray to work, because our engineer said he compared the picture of a blue-ray transfer to a “Print-to-Video” transport stream run through a Miranda HDV-to-HDSDI FireWire transcoder…..and found the Miranda transcoded picture to be less sharp. (I never saw his comparison personally)

Editing in HDV is fine and dandy until you want to Print to Video. Render/Conform times are HUGE!!!! I tried a straight Print to Video for our 70 minute special, and after 5 & 1/2 hours, it started playing out, but the HDV transport stream dropped to black twice. (had to start all over). Not sure why the dropout happened. Everything was off of….unfortunately…..internal SATA drives on the Quad G5, but I really thought the data rate wouldn’t make a difference.

My solution was to export a QuickTime of the whole show (13.7 gig or so), import that into a new sequence, render, and print to video. It worked, but with (from what I hear) compromised picture quality. What I needed to do was export to Compressor, and wait 7 hours, to get the best encoded quality.

Kudos to the guy at Apple I spoke to on the phone; he really tried to help, but couldn’t in this instance.

Moral of this story: if you must do HDV, transcode it immediately into DVCProHD, or use an AJA Kona 3 or Kona LHe PCIExpress card that will do the HDV processing in real time. Conforming is the bane of my existence.

Short of a few FCP crashes, editing was great. Motion titles render slowly. Quad G5 was pretty rock solid. 4 gigs of RAM might have been a little low. Could have really used Digital Heaven’s AutoMotion.

mschirad
http://www.wmaeug.net

[Blub06]

I don’t understand your use of the term blue ray.

Ary you saying that the pro XDCAMHD decks dont work? I assume you know that XDCAMHD does not conform to blue ray specs.

Are you saying that you are trying to record an XDCAMHD timeline to a consumer Blue Ray product?

When you say HDV stream, are you saying MPEG2 stream? Or is HDV stream not an MPEG2 stream? If HDV is an MPEG2 stream then you mean MPEG2 stream, right?

Chris

[Andy Mees]

[Blub06] “I don’t understand your use of the term blue ray.

what mschirad is saying seems pretty darn clear to me …

[Blub06] Ary you saying that the pro XDCAMHD decks dont work? I assume you know that XDCAMHD does not conform to blue ray specs.

no, he doesn’t say the decks don’t work, he said the XDCAM Transfer software for FCP, was not 100% reliable on Export
XDCAM does use blue-ray optical disc technology. it is not however compatible with the upcoming consumer standard commonly known as ‘blue ray’ … obviously we won’t be sticking them in our dvd drives.

[Blub06] Are you saying that you are trying to record an XDCAMHD timeline to a consumer Blue Ray product?

no, he doesn’t say that anywhere

[Blub06] When you say HDV stream, are you saying MPEG2 stream? Or is HDV stream not an MPEG2 stream? If HDV is an MPEG2 stream then you mean MPEG2 stream, right?

yes, HDV is encoded using an MPEG2 compression variant … by specifying HDV we are simply being informed that he was using the 25Mbps data rate which conforms to the HDV spec

[Mark Maness]

I agree with mschirad… I, too, have the same problem as he does. I have done the sam tests and came to the same conclusions as he. The export software is a good start BUT needs work for it to work properly. SONY HELP!

_______________________________

Wayne Carey
Schazam Productions
http://www.schazamproductions.com

[Blub06]

It was not clear to me.

Part of my confusion is the constant use of consumer nomenclature used to describe professional products.

Maybe its my fault for wanting clarity between these two worlds. After your post I realize that If I expect people to define things exactly as in using 25mbps XDCAMHD rather then HDV I will forever be disappointed.

The market place of ideas has spoken, I guess its HDV and Blue Ray, even though its not.

Chris

[Gareth Sylvester-bradley]

I’m curious what kind of things are going wrong when you export.

Did the error message give any hint as to what was wrong? Do all your sequences have the same settings?

It seems like if it works for 13 second sequence and 4 minute sequence it should work for 3 minute one. They’re just files, right?!