XDCAM and our FCP system

I was brought on last minute to help digitize a pilot that was shot using sony xdcam. their fcp system is running on os 10.4.9 on dual 1.25 ghz power pc4
2mb L3 Cache per processor
memory: 768 MB DDR SDRAM

Currently, when I open FCP 5.0 and then open log and capture, it doesn't even recognize that the deck is hooked up.

Do I need to break some bad news to the Prod Company?

Cheers,
INFINTE CHAOS

What capture card are they using in that G4? Are you saying that they HAVE used this system before to capture XDCAM or they are moving to editing XDCAM?

I know you can't have much RAM in that computer, maybe 2GB? The older PCI slots are not fast enough to support anything other than an SD capture card and what about disk storage and speeds of transfer.


So, how is that deck hooked up, anyway?

I am not sure about SD XDCAM but the XDCAM HD decks have a bunch of settings for deck connectivity. There is a menu setting for iLink(firewire) vs rs422 as well as tape interface vs FAM (file access mode)
There are also settings in the HD decks for the downconvert to DV options over Firewire. Letterbox, anamorphic, crop etc.

If it's XDCAM HD you would really want to upgrade to 5.1.4 for the improvements in the import tool if you are going to use FAM to bring in your files.
More info please...

ak
Sleeplings, AWAKE!

as Andrew pointed out

you can bring the footage in in one of two ways A/VC mode (audio/video control) or FAM (file access mode)
you can switch between the settings in the camera or deck's menu pages ... if you use A/VC then you will get a DV copy of the video regardless of the source format be it DVCAM, IMX or XDCAM HD

if you plan to use FAM, for faster than realtime import, then you need to download and install Sony's free XDCAM Transfer software (version 1.1) [servicesplus.us.sony.biz]

and yes, if you are working with XDCAM HD using either the HQ or LP settings, then you need to upgrade to at least FCP 5.1.2 or else you will not have the necessary codec installed. (or you will have to cut at DV quality using A/VC mode as noted befoere)

cheers
Andy

No, this company just bought this deck, Sony PDW F30, XDCAM HD.

It's connected via firewire, not RS232.

I'm on with tech support currently.

yeah, now i'm waiting to hear back from the EP because there's a lot of old projects from FCP 5.0 all over the desktop. it's a mess. i coulda used this infor yesterday so i couldve researched some but now they're paying me to talk with you nice folks.

I'm going to do use FAM.

Thank you everyone for helping me out.

cheers,
infinite chaos

Mr Chaos,

Remind me NOT to hire you if you ever ask me for a job. With your attitude ("now they're paying me to talk with you..." I can guarantee that your reputation will precede you in the freelance world. You may soon wonder why no one is calling you to come surf the internet for pay!

Mark

ok ... i'm guessing / hoping you sorted this out

if you are using an F30 deck and ingesting XDCAM HD then you need to download and install the XDCAM Transfer software as noted above. after you have installed this then an inserted XDCAM disc will mount on the desktop as removable media when you connect the F30 to the Mac via FireWire.

when you're using the software to log and transfer the footage you'll be able to see, at top left of the thumbnail, exactly what format/bitrate the clip was shot in. (alternatively that info is shown in the lower right info pane, for a selected clip)

if the bit rate is 25 Mbps CBR then you'll be fine ... you can edit with this using the normal HDV preset. if it is 35 or 18 Mbps VBR then you need to be running FCP5.1.2 or later

assuming you're good to go, you can scrub through the proxy and optionally mark sections for import, then press the import button and move on to the next clip ... don't wait for each import to finish, and don't log all the clips before batch importing ... although you could do that it would not be taking advantage of the faster than realtime workflow. the clips import in the background whilst you continue to log more clips, or alternatively, whilst you edit in FCP

good luck
Andy

mark raudonis Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Mr Chaos,
>
> Remind me NOT to hire you if you ever ask me for a
> job. With your attitude ("now they're paying me
> to talk with you..." I can guarantee that your
> reputation will precede you in the freelance
> world.

Was that comment really necessary? I didn't hear anything that was out of line. He took a freelance edit job and found the hardware state unusable. He is just trying to get to the job he was hired for.