HD in FCP

Hi

Just recently took a job that I was most likely not set up for. I'm running off a G5 Dual 2.3 in FCP HD. I have a 10 Bit uncompressed HD quicktime (1080i) file that is roughly over 300 gigs. 32 mins of footage. I have the drive space but just recently relalized that my 800 firewire drive is not fast enough. Can anyone tell me a cost efficient way for me to edit this project in FCP HD?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

licfu

Do a downconvert of the HD clip to SD, edit the SD, and conform back the HD when you're done.

Graeme



[www.nattress.com] - Plugins for FCP-X

Or get yourself a good SATA Raid solution from Sonnet or Weibetech or Firmtek...

or macgurus



David at Movies Rock in Toronto
[www.tofcpug.com]

or from one of lafcpug's sponsrs, G-Tech or CalDigit or ProMax

:-)

true Mike
SUPPORT LAFCPUG

I was just basing my comment on my personal experience tho



David at Movies Rock in Toronto
[www.tofcpug.com]

I have a 10 Bit uncompressed HD quicktime (1080i) file that is roughly over 300 gigs. 32 mins of footage. I have the drive space but just recently relalized that my 800 firewire drive is not fast enough.

No kiddin'! ;-)

You need a LOT more horsepower with a file like that bro. You're due for a RAID Array.



Kevin Monahan
Social Support Lead, DV Products
Adobe
Adobe After Effects
Adobe Premiere Pro
Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro Community Blog
Follow Me on Twitter!

Do you understand that a "real" HD clip of 1080i at 10 bit will take around 200 MB/sec of disk throughput? Even a 4 stripe SATA RAID 0 will not effectively transfer at that speed.

SO, you got a clip to edit. Even if you choose to downconvert it first, you still need to recapture at full Rez to finish the project. Your system is not qualified to edit uncompressed HD footage as is.

You are going to need an HD capture card to do the downconvert correctly, or output full rez HD. Then you need a FiberChannel RAID system to facilitate the speeds required for uncompressed HD output.

Short of that, how else might you get this done?

The OP has the HD as a file - that can be downconverted in FCP and edited as an offline. Then it can be conformed back to (in slow time) produce a final edited HD file. That file can be given back to the person with the capture card who captured it in the first place, for output. There's no need for an HD card or fast drives for this project, although it would be much nicer with them!

Graeme



[www.nattress.com] - Plugins for FCP-X

check these out!

230 mb/s 2k! 1.25 tb

[www.caldigit.com]

just called them....wont be built till end of month.

Graeme has the best advice, of course.

But just FYI, a 4 drive SATA Raid plays back incompressed 10-bit HD just fine. I get 230MB/s read/write all the way up to 65% full. Then it drops a little down to about 200MB/s...which still works.

Not necessarily best advice, but it's a cheap way to do it :-)

Graeme



[www.nattress.com] - Plugins for FCP-X

Shane....what kind of controller card do you have?

Sonnet 4+4. Currently powering 4 internal Hitachi SATA drives that are installed inside my computer using what is called the "POPSICLE RAID."

Read all about it at www.LFHD.net. Scroll down or search for popsicle.

-shane

Shane,

My Quad has 4 - 500 GB internal SATA drives RAID = 0, and while I can also play out a 1080i 10 bit clip, I find this in now way capable of uncompressed HD editing chores. Perhaps adding another 4 stripes would help, but it really needs a FiberChannel RAID to work with multiple streams of HD.

It is good for playing out one stream of 10-bit HD. If you had a 10-drive SATA Raid (two Burly boxes for example) then you could get 2 or 3. But really, I don't edit with 10-bit uncompressed HD files. I don't layer 10-bit files. I do the initial cut at an offline resolution (DVCPRO HD...seeing that my footage is from the Varicam and HVX-200) and then UPCONVERT and render to 10-bit HD when I am ready to color correct and output. By that time I have gotten things down to 1 or two streams and playback is fine.

You don't need Fibrechannel...you can do SATA Raid. The biggest difference between them is that Fibrechannel drives can be stored far away from your edit bay. They can be downstairs in your Machine Room, or a mile away, if you had the cabling. SATA RAIDS need to be close. 6 feet or so. That is the biggest difference. Both work for uncompressed HD.