How do I capture 1080i footage with Final Cut Pro 7.0?

I'm using a Sony HVR 1000U camera and Final Cut Pro 7.0. I'm using a firewire to connect.

I've watched video tutorials, read web tutorials, and tried just about every setting I can think of. But nothing is working. It either doesn't capture at all (just a black window where the footage should be) or it crops and/or distorts the image. In the past, I used Final Cut Express to capture footage and had no problems with 1080i.

If anyone knows the proper settings or has any idea what it is I'm doing wrong, it'd be MOST appreciated!

Could be a Sony menu option you're overlooking, especially if you're getting cropping-- that's a menu choice, along with Squeeze (anamorphic) , Center Cut (crop edges) etc. And check your FCP reset to make certain this isn't HDV-to-something else.. although that's a good strategy, like HDV to ProRes422, same s=frame dimensions. Capture of HDV is generally a no-brainer. Make sure your camera is in VTR mode, like a deck. It's the mode that *isn't* camera mode.


- Loren

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Thanks for the response, but I think I'm going to need a much simpler, more "baby-steps" explanation. Is this something I can do through Easy Setup?

Incidentally, just to clarify, when I use various HD settings is when I can't capture anything at all. It's when I select NTSC, NTSC anamorphic, and other settings that I get either squeezed or cropped footage.

then that sounds like your CAMERA is not set up properly.

it sounds like it's set up to convert the HDV footage to DV over the FW.

go into your camera menu and change the iLink (the Sony term for Firewire) output to HDV.

in FCP use an HDV easy setup.


nick