Ooops. HDV footage needs to be SD, please read for more info

Hi there,

so, I leant my camera to a friend (Canon XH-A1) who used it in HDV mode, gave it back (in HDV mode) and I neglected to check that before shooting a project. I am currently using FCP HD so I can't import the HDV footage I shot (which is for an ongoing project). I then played the footage from the A1 to my XL1S, thereby recording it in SD, which I have imported to FCP. problem is, this footage has been recorded with the same width, and therefore in FCP it has black at the top and bottom, so the width fits. I can, and have, magnified the clips to 135%, which works, but obviously reduces the quality of those clips enough for them to stand out.

My questions are:

a) is there any way of working this footage in FCP HD (even through another project with different settings) so I can have the footage full screen at the original magnification? I know this will mean losing the edges of the shots, but that's not a problem?

b) If I was running FCP 6, would i be able to use the original HDV footage with the original SD stuff i shot before?

c) If I buy Studio 2 now instead of at the end of the year, and upgrade my operating system to 10.4, will I have a nightmare with all the uncompleted projects i'm still working on in FCP HD?

d) Will upgrading the operating have an impact on all the project files, garage bandtunes, installed software I currently have? I know this isn't an FCP question, but you guys are my gurus and i'm sure you'll know

Ultimately (ie at christmas when i've completed all my jobs and before starting any more) i intend of upgrading to 10.4 and studio 2, but will do so now if it will be painless and help me out of my boob.

Many thanks in advance

Jules

Hey Jules,

Don't panic, its much better than you think. Apple have a intermediate codec called (unsurprisingly) the Apple Intermediate Codec - and you can use this to capture your HDV footage - and it works very well, you won't loose any of your footage, and will retain the full frame size.
Turn off the down conversion of HDV to DV on your camera and in your capture window in FCP select the apple intermediate codec. - and then off you go, capture to your hearts content.

Your problem is not that FCP HD cannot handle HD (or 'im pretending to be HD' HDV) its just the process of getting it into your system - and thats where the apple codec comes in handy. - no need to upgrade to FCP Studio.
Upgrading will have a impact yes - since FCP5.1 older projects need to be updated and are then not accessible by any versionf of FCP prior to 5.1 but unless your moving your project round on multiple FCP setups that shouldn't be a problem.
And no it wont have any inpact on garage band etc.

Hope that helps a bit, probably not very clear but i havn't had my morning coffee yet!!

Thanks Josh, that sounds great (and yes, i'd rather upgrade when i'm ready rather than as a desperate fix

Small problem (or perhaps me being stupid), but when i go to capture settings in the log and capture window there doesn't appear to be an option for the apple intermediate codec!?

Does it come under another name, or hooked up to another setting?

I have downloaded the 1.0.1 codec, but when i try to install it it won't show the main hard drive and won't (obviously) let me install it on my other drives.

Bit confused... as I said i'm sure i'm missing something obvious, doing something stupid, but any pointers would be great. I am going to scour the net to see if i can figure out what i'm doing wrong, so if i figure it out i'll post

ta

just to add, because i think i initially misunderstood something. when you say turn off the down conversion on my camera, i'm assuming you mean set the camera to HDV mode. Thing is, when i do that, FCP doesn't recogmise the deck. When I put the camera in SD mode, it does.

Ok, I have managed to figure out (with the help of other tutorials by people who know stuff, so not really me) a work around to my stupidity.

Basically, if i capture the footage in iMovie 5 and import it, i only need to magnify the footage to 55% (it imports at 40%) which retains the quality, and works.

Josh, thank you loads for trying to help. If you hadn't posted i wouldn't have even tried to go further (following your advice and trying to figure out where i went wrong) so i wouldn't be where i'm at now.

I would still love to know why i can't do it your way as it seems a lot simpler, but my mini-crisis is over, really appreciate the time.

Jules

Jules, what versions of OS and QuickTime are youi running? That might explain why you don't have access to the AIC.

Scott

This is something I've not had to try but I read quite a few similar reports when HDV first came onto the market. Since you're on FCP HD (4.5?) it will still be relevent.

Go down to the heading "DVHSCap" and start reading from there.

Scott. 10.3.9 and QT7 is installed (but not pro).

Tim, thanks very much... that was the article that enabled me to import via iMovie, but thanks anyway.

For myself, I'm working to clear jobs so i can upgrade to 10.4 and Studio 2 soonish, which will negate these problems (about time i dragged myself into 2007) but maybe someone else will have this problem and if anyone knows why I couldn't do as Josh suggested, it may help them.

Thanks again.