DVCPRO-HD Workflow Questions - Record to MacBook Pro - realtime?

I am wondering who has used the Panasonic HVX-200 and a Firewire connection to a Mac laptop for ingesting DVCPRO-HD in the field?

Is this a good solution for one hour and longer shoots? I read the Apple doc about recording into Quicktime @realtime and I am wondering if this would work with the laptop closed?

I know some like the Firestore, but others are using the laptop method.

Guess no one has any experience with HVX-200 + MacBook Pro recording.

This is a perfectly viable method although the downside is that you are capturing using Capture Now and hence no timecode.

The way to make it work while the laptop is closed is to hook up an external monitor and mouse, close the laptop and let is go to sleep, than wake it up with the mouse, that way you can work with the lid closed. Not sure why you want it closed but thats the way to do it.

Another issue is where your scratch drives are. If you want to go to an external drive, you will run out of bandwidth on your firewire bus for DVCProHD. You need to get an firewire card for you PCI bus and go that way for one of the firewire connections...

Scott Erickson Wrote:
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> This is a perfectly viable method although the
> downside is that you are capturing using Capture
> Now and hence no timecode.

That isn't quite correct. Of course there is timecode. FCP generates it. And since you are capturing to the computer directly and not to anything else, then the timecode that is recorded isn't referencing anything else.

But the idea that if you use CAPTURE NOW means you don't get timecode is incorrect. YOu do. Only if your device controls are set to UNCONTROLLED DEVICE do you capture without capturing the TC from the source tape. I Capture Now all the time with tape and capture the timecode from the tape as well.

Since there is no tape here, there is nothing for the TC to reference. I know I said that, I just wanted to make sure it was clear.


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Scott Erickson Wrote:
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> This is a perfectly viable method although the
> downside is that you are capturing using Capture
> Now and hence no timecode.

I waa asking about using Quicktime pro 's record feature to capture video and audio tracks from an HVX-200. I thought QT would capture timecode?

> The way to make it work while the laptop is closed
> is to hook up an external monitor and mouse, close
> the laptop and let is go to sleep, than wake it up
> with the mouse, that way you can work with the lid
> closed. Not sure why you want it closed but thats
> the way to do it.

My thought is to use this when capturing DVCPRO-HD and hanging the laptop in a soft bag under the tripod as extra weight.

> Another issue is where your scratch drives are. If
> you want to go to an external drive, you will run
> out of bandwidth on your firewire bus for
> DVCProHD. You need to get an firewire card for you
> PCI bus and go that way for one of the firewire
> connections...

The MacBook Pro has Fw 400 and 800 ports on the side. I was thinking about a Firewire powered 2.5 inch disk drive as the external drive for capture. I could always use the Express 34 port and a SATA adapter but, I don't think there is a battery powered SATA enclosure available.

Other thoughts?

PS: Thanks for replying to my question.

DO NOT USE QUICKTIME TO CAPTURE FOOTAGE FOR USE IN FINAL CUT PRO.

I cannot stress that enough. That is NOT it's purpose...and the files you capture in QT will not work in FCP. Even the ones that say record DV Native.

No no no no no.

Capture with FCP only. And you should not capture footage to your internal drive...it is highly unreliable. DV...it works for some. DVCPRO HD...no way. This idea of having your laptop in a backpack while you shoot sounds interesting, but I haven't heard of one successful case of it yet. And people have been mentioning it since the camera came out last January.

Hooked up to a laptop and capturing to an external hard drive, yes, this I have heard of working. But not directly to the laptop in a backpack.


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