[Matt Larson]

Don’t use Sorenson! That’s a delivery codec, which is too compressed if you are going to Avid. The best option would be Animation codec at best setting 1280 x 720. You won’t need to deinterlace since you shot it in progressive. Keep in mind this will be a huge file if the clip is very long. Google the Sheer Video codec, it’s great for what you need. If the Avid is on a Mac, you might be able to use the DVCProHD codec and import that into Avid.

Also, if Avid can capture DVCProHD, why not try sending it out firewire from the FCP timeline to a DVCProHD tape and then capture in Avid?

[Matt Larson]

FWIW I too will offer what has worked for me in FCP:

I set tone in FCP to -20dB. I’ll set that to 0 on the Beta deck. Then I make sure my peaks are around -12dB with nothing going over -10dB in Final Cut. This setup gives me analog levels that hover around 0, with the occasional peaks bouncing in the +1 or +2dB range on a Betacam deck.

I also have a D9 deck with digital audio meters (although it is recieving analog audio). This setup yields the same levels as Final Cut Pro: tone -20dB, peaks below -10dB which is great for in house masters.

[Matt Larson]

Thanks-

[Matt Larson]

I have this issue also. Since I’ve had my Kona 2 card longer than I’ve been working with DVCProHD, I didn’t think that the driver could be the culprit. Interesting. I have all the latest updates, and it doesn’t seem to be an issue with that. I had assumed the shift was coming in the YUV to RGB conversion (since AE only works in RGB AFAIK).

Here’s how I’ve been dealing with it until I find a solution: Export the prtions of DVCProHD material you need for AE in FCP (which as you know, handles the footage corectly.) with Animation codec, or Uncompressed. Bring that in to AE and then render out with Animation or UNC back to FCP. Lots of extra rendering, but it gets the job done.

Depending on how much footage comes from AE in an FCP sequence, sometimes I’ll just bump the entire FCP seq to Uncompressed and use that as my master sequence.

Please keep us posted if you make any progress towards a REAL DVCPro HD solution though! I have seen this come up several times now without any proper solution.

[Matt Larson]

Wow, someone else with D9!

Can you digitize with something other than composite? D9 supports SDi which is the best option, but component would also be a good choice. That would definitely improve your key. And what codec did you export to in QT? Use Animation codec

Another thing to try once you re-digitize: Precompse your raw footage and put a slight blur on it and set the blend mode to “Color”. That will help smooth out the edges of your key.

And finally, make sure your footage is interperted correctly

[Matt Larson]

FYI if you have the sheer video codec installed, FCP 5.1.2 will not launch, so be careful if you plan to upgrade

[Matt Larson]

From what I remember, I don’t think you can import an MPEG-2 file into iDVD (so that rules Compressor out).

Your best option is to use “File>Export>Quicktime Movie…” and UNCHECK “Make movie self contained”. (This won’t work if iDVD is on a different computer than Final Cut Pro though; if that is the case, CHECK “Make Movie Self contained”.)

Once your file has exported, drop it into the iDVD project and it will encode to the best settings automatically.

[Matt Larson]

Make sure “PLayback Scopes live” is off in your sequence (from the RT menu) when you are editing XDCAM HD.

That one screwed me up for awhile at least…

[Matt Larson]

I have a call out to them, but judging by the betacam I got back, they do not add setup on output. I am very surprised by this since it is a national spot delivery company. Supposedly everything has passed their QC too… yikes!

Is there an easy way to apply a filter above multiple video tracks? You can do something similar in Avid. otherwise nesting is my best option I suppose.

[Matt Larson]

Never posted 3 times in a row before…. it must be Friday

Anyway, They did not add setup. Case closed.