[Sally Bartel]

Is Pro Res less lossy than HDV? If so, should I be using Pro Res in my timeline rather than HDV?

I am shooting HDV underwater video, so when editing in FCP, I use the 3 Way Color Corrector on just about every shot. I also use the Sharpen filter occasionally. I can render this in an HDV timeline, then send it back out to HDV tape, and it still looks amazing, very sharp and clear on a large HDTV. So it does not look like I am losing much in this process. Going to SD DVD is another story. (I do realize that SD just is not as nice as HD, but it is the slightly pixelated look of the DVD that I do not like.)

I want to do all of my editing in a higher resolution format (HDV or Pro Res) so that I have the option of going back out to HDV or HD DVD, but most people that I make the DVDs for need a SD DVD. So I will be going to the SD format at the end of the editing process, but i need to know if I am better off editing in HDV or Pro Res.

[Sally Bartel]

I have not been converting to SD before going to Compressor. I have been sending my HDV sequences to Compressor. Just now, I did a small test in Final Cut. I converted from HDV to SD in the timeline. I ended up with a soft picture but then added a sharpen filter to improve the image. I will try taking that to Compressor and see if the quality is better than going straight to Compressor with HDV.