Help needed. Capturing with HDV camera

Hi, I need your help.
I'm trying to capture via Firewire from my HDV 1080i camera into Final Cut HD 4.5.
I'm on a Powerbook G4 1.33 Ghz with a gig of RAM, running OSX.
I usually use a PD150 for shooting, which doubles as my DV deck for capturing, but I'm trying to upgrade to HDV.
My problem is that during batch capture (or capture now) I get this error:

"Capture encountered a problem reading the data on your source tape. This could be due to a problem with the tape. Capture has been aborted and ypur clip has been saved."

Obviously, I've tried various tapes, and tried using the HDV cam on DV CAM mode and capturing that way, but no dice. Always the same error.

Maybe I'm missing something obvious. Maybe I'm a complete moron.
If you gentlemen and ladies could help, I would be indebted.
PJ

FCP 4.5 isn't compatable with HDV. You need FCP 5 to be able to capture that footage, and a video card, either AJA or Blackmajic, and a HD monitor. So I believe you are at the end of your rope using the Powerbook.

Good luck1

Kevin

Kevin, thank you for such a prompt reply.

(I kind of suspected that I might need to upgrade, but I soldiered on due to the fact that my camera has "HD" written on the side, and Final Cut Pro has "HD" tagged on the end. I assumed they would make sweet love. Alas, it's not to be.)

Cheers!
PJ

I'm in the same boat and its quite a learning curve, expensive too! I love my new Z1, but the other costs to be able to edit are adding up fast.

Good luck!

Kevin

Hi PJ,

You are not trying to use your PD150 to capture or downconvert the HDV footage are you? If you shot it on the Z1U - you obviously need to use the Z1U to capture or downconvert with. I had a problem which may be similar to yours which I've now solved. Please see my other post re: Z1U / FCP / Powerbook issue solved!

Kevin - in my opinion it is possible to shoot HDV & work with a powerbook. If you use the Z1 as a way to downconvert to SD while FCP captures, then edit in SD and once you have your cut done in SD you can conform and re-capture just the stuff you've used in HDV. A G5 is obviously ideal but not essential.

Good luck,

Adrian



Think solutions!

"Kevin - in my opinion it is possible to shoot HDV & work with a powerbook. If you use the Z1 as a way to
downconvert to SD while FCP captures, then edit in SD and once you have your cut done in SD you can
conform and re-capture just the stuff you've used in HDV. A G5 is obviously ideal but not essential."

How are you going to color correct or view your footage on a proper monitor while you edit?

Kevin

Hi Kevin,

I would approach it the same way I have done with my DV editing in the past, which is to focus on getting the cut right first which I do in my own time on my powerbook. This is an offline edit if you will. Once I am happy with the offline assembly I find a way to color correct the project. I've done it two different ways in the past:

1.) If you are outputting in Standard Def you can view your project on the TV set at home (connected through the camcorder for RGB) and do color timing using the TV as a monitor. This is not 100% perfect but it is the cheapest and certainly gives a very satisfactory result.

2.) Alternatively, for more proffesional projects my clients have been willing to pay for +/- half a day in a proffessional FCP edit facility so I could online my project and color time with pro monitors. I did some negotiating and got a great deal for the use of the facility plus their online editor the help me drive the beast

If you've got your footage in HDV but you only need to deliver in SD either approach could work. Obviously it's less hassle to just buy a pro monitor and deck but everyone has a different cost / convenience situation. I simply didn't want to spend the money and was prepared to mission instead of spending.

Agreed, it does get trickier if you want to output in HD. Personally, instead of paying for a HD monitor or display (which are also likely to come down in price radically in the next 6 months) I would edit offline without the monitor and once I am happy with my final cut - I would find a friend or someone who would be willing to let my plug my PowerBook into their display going through the Z1U for RGB.

All this being said - I do aspire to own all my own toys (monitor, deck, G5 etc.) in the near future but until then I need to find other (cheaper) solutions. If you are interested in a monitor I've read some rave reviews about the Dell 24" HD display which looks awesome! It's +-$1,000 instead of $1,700 for the apple cinema display and also has composite inputs which the apple cinema display does not. When I do buy - I'll probably go with the Dell!

Best wishes,

Adrian



Think solutions!

I understand that the best thing to do is to convert HDV into an I-Frame based video codec. There could be a new problem for me working with my powerbook G4, How can I get it back to HD again and show a full HDV video quality after editing?

I suggest:

1.) Opening a new project calling it something with HDV in the proj name - make sure you set the AV prefferences & timeline settings to HDV.
2.) Copy your old time line and paste it into a sequence in the new project
3.) Close the old project.
4.) Disconnect the media in the time line of the new project (Select all & Ctrl click)
5.) Leave the media on the drive if there's space.
6.) Select everything in the timeline (which should now be disconnected)
7.) Ctrl Click and Batch Capture everything in HDV

for details of how to set up the project in HDV see:

www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/settings_fcp_5_balis.html

Good luck



Think solutions!