[Gary Mc closkey]

OK
I’ve looked and looked, and it seems my cunning plan won’t work as described.

What I can do is
* log / capture the miniDV footage from tape via FCE
* Use MPEG Streamclip to convert to AIC 1440x1080i
* bring the AIC footage in to FCE, using the appropriate AIC easy setup
* edit / title / finalise
* export as AIC 1024x576i (correct resolution for DVD PAL)
* burn in iDVD

This I think works, on several levels. It avoids DV for any titling issues. It gives me an output I can use now to create DVDs, and the option to go to BluRay in the future. (I know SD footage doesn’t magically look HD just with upscaling)

The question is, will upscaling to 1440×1080 and downscaling again to 1024×576 lose me any quality? And will it make the titling much better? Especially as I’m using Streamclip and quicktime, and not a hardware solution for the conversions. Off to do some tests.

Maybe I’ll just bite the bullet and buy FCPX when it arrives, for $299, and save myself alot of workflow hassle.

Regards
Gary

[Gary Mc closkey]

Hi
thanks for taking the time to answer. And you’re right, FCE doesn’t have those options.

I’ve found another FCP answer though, which does work, for apply attributes across multiple clips:
* select the clip with the attributes needed (e.g. 90% scale)
* Edit menu / Copy
* manually select the clips which you want to apply the attrib to
* Edit menu / Paste Attributes
* window appears.
* select Basic Motion
* Apply.

Regards,
Gary