[Neil Sadwelkar]

There’s no preset for NTSC ProRes in Compressor. You’ll have to use the Apple ProRes preset in Compressor which is at

Apple > Other Workflows > Advanced Format Conversions > Apple Codecs

There, use the Apple Prores 422 or 422 High Quality (It called ‘Apple ProRes 422 for Interlaced material’)

Duplicate it, inthe dupe preset, change the frame rate to 29.97, Set Frame Controls to On, And set dimensions to 720×486. and pixel aspect to 16:9 or 4:3 as you need.

Save this preset as NTSC ProRes so you can use it again.

———————————–
Neil Sadwelkar
neilsadwelkar.blogspot.com
twitter: fcpguru
FCP Editor, Edit systems consultant
Mumbai India

[Neil Sadwelkar]

The HM 700 shoots to SD cards only. Or to SD and SxS with an optional adapter. So there’s no safety of a tape backup. But SD cards have gotten rather reliable these days.

The HM 700 mov or mp4 workflow seems simpler than the older JVC HD111,/250/251 etc HDV workflow. Although those cameras provided you a tape backup.

The newer HM700 records to 1920×1080 full raster 35Mbps over the older HDV 1440×1080 25Mbps. Depending on your application, the extra data bandwidth will provide visibly better images.

———————————–
Neil Sadwelkar
neilsadwelkar.blogspot.com
twitter: fcpguru
FCP Editor, Edit systems consultant
Mumbai India

[Neil Sadwelkar]

Its OK to leave the clips in their respective scratch folders.

If the capture editor had sorted the captures into some sort of classification, and you wish to retain that. Then an easy method is to leave his projects alone. Open a new project, and open each of his projects one by one and select and drag his clip bins to this new project one by one.

FCP, allows you to open more than one projects at a time and drag and drop clips, bins or sequences from one to the other. No media is actually moved or copied while you’re doing this. All original media quicktime movies stay exactly where they were.

———————————–
Neil Sadwelkar
neilsadwelkar.blogspot.com
twitter: fcpguru
FCP Editor, Edit systems consultant
Mumbai India

[Neil Sadwelkar]

While doing these conversions ascertain that your 24fps movies are actually 24fps and not 23.976fps. And the 30fps movies are actually 30fps and not 29.97fps.

It is better to convert the 24 to 30 and make everything 30 as the final.

Compressor does a good job of converting 24 to 30 or 23.976 to 29.97. And CinemaTools can do the small 23.976 to 24 or vice versa, and 29.97 to 30 or vice versa.

Are these DSLR movies, by any chance?

———————————–
Neil Sadwelkar
neilsadwelkar.blogspot.com
twitter: fcpguru
FCP Editor, Edit systems consultant
Mumbai India

[Neil Sadwelkar]

I seem to recall that when one installed Shake one could install Qmaster with it. Maybe if you’re installing Shake after FCS, you should not let it install Qmaster. That may prevent Compressor from breaking.

Not sure about the Smoothcam though.

But if FCS is more important to you, you should not install Shake on top of it.

———————————–
Neil Sadwelkar
neilsadwelkar.blogspot.com
twitter: fcpguru
FCP Editor, Edit systems consultant
Mumbai India

[Neil Sadwelkar]

What’s the sequence setting? And stills format?

———————————–
Neil Sadwelkar
neilsadwelkar.blogspot.com
twitter: fcpguru
FCP Editor, Edit systems consultant
Mumbai India

[Neil Sadwelkar]

My favourite nowadays is a bare drive. Popped into a SATA Dock like a slice of bread in a toaster. This connects to my MacBook Pro via a Sonnet Express card SATA adapter.

So now my MacBook Pro has a SATA 3.5″ drive that’s wicked fast. When the drive fills up I pop it out and pop in a new one.

To connect to a MacPro, I use a Sonnet eSATA card. And to my iMac via USB.

Like this one…
https://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=222999

I got mine from Maplin at Tottenham Court Road in London – the geek’s ‘Chocolate Factory’.

———————————–
Neil Sadwelkar
neilsadwelkar.blogspot.com
twitter: fcpguru
FCP Editor, Edit systems consultant
Mumbai India

[Neil Sadwelkar]

You can use Compressor and tweak settings to get a clean HDV 1080i50 to SD NTSC conversion. Prepare for long render times.

Alternately, consider (Using Compressor) converting HDV 1080i50 to PAL as ProRes. The convert the PAL ProRes to NTSC ProRes. You can even ‘chain’ the two in Compressor, though I prefer doing it in two stages. Takes less time than one HD-SD conversion with frame rate change.

Make the DVD from the NTSC ProRes movie.

If you don’t mind a small (4%) speed change, convert the HDV 1080i50 to PAL ProRes. Then conform that to 23.98fps in CinemaTools, and use that 23.98 fps movie to convert to NTSC ProRes. There will be less motion artifacts that way.

Overall, the quality is in the settings. You also need to consider aspect – whether you want to see HDV’s 16:9 as 4:3 letterbox or 16:9 anamorphic in the final DVD.

———————————–
Neil Sadwelkar
neilsadwelkar.blogspot.com
twitter: fcpguru
FCP Editor, Edit systems consultant
Mumbai India

[Neil Sadwelkar]

Here in India we have exactly the opposite experience. While I too have a couple of LaCies from some years ago, in general LaCies don’t last too well… our climate, presumably. Especially the 2-drive RAID 0 drives. Aargh!

At our post facility we do not accept LaCie for data backups from clients. However, our experience with Western Digital is exactly the opposite. Extremely rare failures and even those attributable to human error – spilt liquids, dropped while spinning etc.

Western Digital in India has an almost overnight no questions asked replacement by paid courier.

LaCie in India has no support to talk about. They do not reply e-mails, no telephone. I have two LaCie Biggest 4 drive RAIDs both with failed Firewire ports (while in warranty) and one with a failed drive. No replacement, no replies to support mails.

So no LaCie for us.

Really sorry for the OT rant, but since you mentioned LaCie…

———————————–
Neil Sadwelkar
neilsadwelkar.blogspot.com
twitter: fcpguru
FCP Editor, Edit systems consultant
Mumbai India

[Neil Sadwelkar]

If you need more than 6 workstations, an/or you need uncompressed HD and/or money is no object, get an XSan setup.

Else take a look at Final Share. Up to 6 FCPs (MacPros or even iMacs) work up to DV, DVCPro, ProRes.

———————————–
Neil Sadwelkar
neilsadwelkar.blogspot.com
twitter: fcpguru
FCP Editor, Edit systems consultant
Mumbai India