Digi-Beta PAL into FCP Question

Hi Folks,
I have a project come in shot on DigiBeta and need some advice on the correct set up to edit in FCP. The job will output back to Digibeta.
Advice appreciated.
Cheers
Nick

Wrong forum. Head over to Final Cut Studio.
P.S. You'll need a decent capture card made by AJA or BlackMagic.

Similar Messages

Digi beta PAL editing on i Mac

Hi all. I am a film editor who has recently bought fcp and is eager to do my first professional job on it. An opportunity has arisen and I'm thinking of doing it at home on my imac (2.8 Intel Core Duo with 2Gb RAM). I'm unsure whether Pro Res 422 clips from the original Digibeta rushes will run smoothly on my machine. I am asking because I will be digitising the footage at an edit house and then bringing the files back home on a drive. so I need to know the maximum res my machine can cope with before digitising.

You might get away with uncompressed 8 bit on a FireWire 800 external drive. Do a small test first.
A few years ago I had to edit a long form project on a G4 from digi beta material. I captured through another companies machine with a Black Magic card to DV, retaining original timecode and edited at home.
Obviously, this was only to edit. I then went back and batch captured the finished version at full res to do color grading and titles.

Digibeta PAL into FCP

Hi Folks,
Just accidently posted in the Final Cut Server list butin the right place now!
I have a project coming in shot in Digibeta and am not sure on FCP settings to edit and then output back to Digibeta. Problem is, no Kona and FW800 input/output. I'm thinking that FW800 is not gonna work. I did a previous job converting from Digibeta deck to Sony HVR HDV FW deck to FCP via FW800 and then cut in HDV, that went onto DVD and looked ok.
Any advice?
Cheers
Nick

You could provide a hard drive to a post house and get the footage digitsed for you to an appropriate format (eg DV50, IMX50, ProRes etc) .. same for output back to Digibeta.
You could rent a J30 (Sony Digibeta player with firewire out) and ingest as DV then take output to a post house as above.
You could buy/rent an appropriate IO device (AJA, Blackmagic, Matrox) and rent a Digibeta player for ingest ... then rent same again w/ Digibeta recorder for output
Any combination of the above really.

PAL Digi-Beta Capture to Hard drive - which codec?

What would be the best codec to capture a Digi-Beta PAL tape (25fps film-sourced telecine) to a hard drive? I'm thinking ProRes 422.
And is there any way of calculating the file size for say 100 mins?

Yep, Prores 422 coming off Digibeta DVW-A500P's. We used to do all editing in uncompressed 8 bit
but Prores 422 proved to be a much more efficient way of working in terms of rendering out and storage. We created Prores easy setups for all suites and changed over with very little fuss.
Hope this helps
PS Nice Site. Worked with Stephen Weeks on a documentry series in the 80's!!

Digi Beta into FCP

Hi, I am shooting a documentary on Digi Beta. Can anyone advise on the best way to get the rushes into FCP. I have a Sony Z7 to import DV via firewire so do I need to convert Digi to DV ? If so what happens to the quality?

David Bogie Chq-1 wrote:
Jon, sorry to butt in, I don't know this deck, but doesn't this FW connection convert the DigiBeta to DV? Does the deck is show up as an external drive?
bogiesan
I own this deck but I've never used it via FireWire because I have a capture card. I had assumed it would capture as regular NTSC but further research indicates that you are correct - it does down-convert to DV.
Which means, I guess, that there is no way of doing this without a capture card.

Capturing from Beta SP via Canopus ADVC110 into FCP HD - HELP!

please help - desperately trying to capture into FCP HD using DV PAL 48 preset. I have BNCtoRCA adapter out of the beta SP video out going into the RVC video in of the canopus converter. Then 4 pin firewire out of the converter into my firewire 400 port. Have switched to all the correct relevant settings on the bottom of the canopus ...... but ... in my log & capture window the video appears to have no reference. i.e. black & white, scrambled. Any ideas?

Unfortunately I am sure... very confusing because you're right - that's exactly what it looks like the problem is! Sound is coming in scrambled also. If I try to capture it for longer than a couple of seconds I get an error saying there is a "problem with the source tape" Have tried every combination with the switches on the canopus box, changed cables, everything I can think of.

I have Video camera movies that are HD format.. I am doing editing work on them using Final Cut Pro, but using DV PAL format for the projects I am editing. When I then tried to copy my work done in FCP Project that's originally DV PAL , into a new FCP Pro

I have Video camera movies that are HD format.. I am doing editing work on them using Final Cut Pro, but using DV PAL format for the projects I am editing. When I then tried to copy my work done in FCP Project that's originally DV PAL , into a new FCP Project that is HD, and tried reconnect media with original HD movies (video), the sequence project got distorted for all the text, shapes used and all.. everything changed its orientation and scale.. Is there a way by which I can preserve my work done on DV PAL and switch it preserving its proportions, scale and orientation, but on a HD project sequence?? Appreciate your help and advice..

Yes. A couple of ways that might work.
First Way
What you need to do is load one of your hd clips in the viewer and edit into a new HD sequence. Does it display correctionly?
OK, select the clip in the hd timeline and copy (command-c). Now go to the HD sequence with the material that's distorted. Select all (command-a) and paste attributes (option-v) and choose basic motion and distort. That should maek things work. What won't work is anything that you've adjusted as far as basic motion or distort in your PAL sequence. That I'm pretty sure you'll have to redo.
Second Way.
Choose your original PAL sequence and do a Media Manage changing the sequence preset to the appropriate HD paramenters with the media offline. You then should be able to reconnect these clips with your original HD media.

Aspect ratio importing DV into FCP X

Can someone explain how DV format works (I think I understand this) and how importing DV into FCP X works (I definitely don't understand).
I have some old PAL DV files which I want to compress using Compressor, with the aim of later importing them into FCP X. I can compress them in one of two ways: compressing to 720x576 with the standard PAL aspect ratio, so they appear (eg. in QuickTime Player) as 768x576. Let's call this 'Old Style'. Or, I can compress them so they have square pixels, and genuinely are at 768x576. ('Square pixels').
Both display using QTP7 as 768x576, but Square Pixels is compressed slightly so there is more of the picture visible at left and right of the screen. Objects in the image are therefore thinner left-to-right than in Old Style.
Now, if I import them into FCP X, in the event browser Square Pixels still displays as 768x576 and looks just as it does in QTP. But Old Style is now wider than 768x576 and has the extra bit of picture that Square Pixels displays. So they're both displaying the same image, but Square Pixels has it compressed to fit into 768x576, whereas Old Style has it wider, and consequently people are fatter left-to-right.
When I import these events into a project, things change again. Old Style appears exactly as it does in the event browser (ie. about 786x576, with the whole image displayed). Square Pixels stretches the image north-south, and this means that part of the top and bottom of the image are chopped off.
What is going on? Is there a website which can explain this clearly? Which is the better format for me to compress my video into?
Cheers,
Martin S Taylor
FCP X 10.1.2
Compressor 4.1.2

I don't understand your question?
DV footage on DV or mini-DV tapes is already digitised . . . . hence the name DV or Digital Video.
If you have a DV camera or deck you can plug it into your Mac via FireWire and import the footage straight into FCP X.

Importing stills into FCP 7 ( and why Im seeing interlacing) HELP!

I have just started a new project in FCP7 and I am importing stills from photoshop (tiffs) Its for the opening sequence and they need to move as in key framing.I notice that when I view them on my monitor at 100% I see a jagged line as in interlacing. My questions are...
1. What size do I import the stills (Im working in HD and my footage later will be PAL)
2.How do I remove the interlacing...I tried de-interlacing but the images blur too much)
3.These stills are illustration images not photos and have very hard edges
Im a little new to all this....Someone told me to change my settings to proggresive (how and where do I do this?)
Any help would be great....Im good at making the film I just such at the technical stuff...thanks in advance..philip

Hard to give an answer without some background. Decisions about sequence settings depend on what yours or your client's objectives are for the movie. Where and how is it going to be shown? What other kinds of material will be edited into the movie? Has it been shot yet? Will it all be from the same kind of camera – or in a common format?
Whatever the answers to those questions leads you, select the easy setup that comes the closest to what you need. Take a video clip that has been shot at the desired format and make that the first thing that you edit into your timeline, If FCP asks you whether you want to have the sequence match the clip, say yes.
FCP has to turn whatever stills you give it into clips. If they are too large and there are too many of them your editing experience can be a real chore. If there are no keyframed moves, bring them into FCP the same size as your sequence resolution. For those that are keyframed, re-sizing in PS to about 150% is a good choice. Avoid going over 4K on either axis.
Undoubtedly, they'll look better – especially with keyframed moves – if they're in a progressive sequence. If you need your movie to be interlaced, wait until you export it and are able to judge it however you intend to display it (Web, TV, projector, whatever). If you then decide it needs de-interlacing, do that in Compressor (or maybe JES De-interlacer).
Good luck.
Russ

Capturing a VHS tape into FCP

Hello
I have a short VHS tape I need to get into FCP-6 and onto a DVD. I have my old Canopus ADVC-100 so I know the hardware.
My question is can I record directly to the timeline or do I need to log and capture? Reading the manual says something about 'capture now' to capture the entire tape.
Do I just connect my VHS player to the ADVC FW into the MAc Pro and go into FCP?
Thanks
Allen

Yes, you use the NTSC preset... I think you could also use Apple Pro Res as the compressor... it will look slightly better then NTSC DV... You simply Log and Capture... as you mentioned, just hit Capture now then hit Play on your VCR....
I do suggest though not capturing the entire tape in one session. Incase there is a glitch and you waste 45 minutes of recording... divide it into 15 minutes stretches. (I am speaking of experience)...

Importing DVD to FCP questions

I did a search on importing DVD content into FCP. I have read a lot of the articles but I still have questions.
I have about 8 DVD's that I have to pull clips from. There are about 18 clips. I know it is possible to just decode those clips. I am going to be editing this in FCP so here are my questions.
Which software is easier as far as setting in and out marks for the decoding of the DVD (mpegstreamclip or Handbrake)? I know I have to Encode the DVD to MPEG-4. Is this the default in mpegstreamclip or Handbreak? I also read that you have to demux the file before you import it into FCP. Is this an option in mpegstreamclip or handbreak?
One last thing, I know that a DVD is MPEG2 and I have to convert it to MPEG 4 but is it better to transfer the DVD to DVCAM and then capture the tape or use the software to rip the files. As far as quality, I would assume it is the same thing but I would like to hear it from the Gurus.
Any advice would be much appreciated.
thanks
Dual G5 2.0 Mac OS X (10.4.5)

Given the fact that both are free or very inexpensive downloads, give them both a try.
MPEG Streamclip extracts are variety of QT formats. And you do not have to encode the DVD to Mpeg4, instead mpeg2.
Not certain why you are calling something a fault of the program.
You might want to explain, and remember these programs do not work with encrypted DVDs.
best wishes
David
Remember to mark an response helpful or solved.
It protects the integrity of the board.

Capturing from Digi-Beta or Mini-DV

Our first two projects were supplied to us on Digi-Beta, but for ease (we don't have a Digi-Bet deck) we had these transferred to Mini DV which we then captured into Final Cut Pro using the DV preset.
Does anybody believe there would be a significant improvement if we were to hire in a Digi-Beta deck and capture direct at full res (we'd probably need a RAID for this?), and then export to DVD Studio Pro?
Considering how compressed DVD/MPEG2 is, we'd be interested to know if there would indeed be a discernible difference in picture quality/sharpness.

You'd need a Raid or at least a firewire 800 drive which can play back a single track of 10 bit.
I would think a mpeg created from an original 10 bit media source would look a little cleaner than a dv dub of that source. How much cleaner? That would probably be up to your to decide. I'm sure one of the more tech oriented guys could say what the exact difference could be...
I bring dv in as 10 bit from an original dv source because I do lots of filters and graphic stuff. To me, even dv brought in at 10 bit looks better than dv brought in at dv, but different people have put up engineering specs to show that there is not a discerenable difference. In my mind, I can see a difference in color and gradations of color...to me it is worth it.
I guess the question is how much more image quality do you need and is it worth the price of the hardware?
Do a test. Get a minute or two of digibeta captured for you somewhere and bring it through the dvd creation workflow. Do the same with a dub of the same footage and check 'em out side by side.

Digi Beta master

Hi All,
I have a project in final cut that has to be submited as a Digi Beta master.
How do I go about doing this?
Thank you.

A fully fleshed out how-to could easily be a book chapter or even a section with several chapters.
If this is a once in a while thing for you, and you don't have a background with broadcast tape decks, I do not suggest you take this on, unless you are prepared to spend days prepping and getting the output right.
You are probably better off taking the digital beta output to a post house, as others have suggested.
By way of explanation, here is an outline of the steps:
1. Research and buy the card. Black Magic Design Decklink or AJA KONA. You will want to output SDI with embedded audio. Between $1500-$3200.
2. Install the card with the correct version of the drivers for your version of FCP, Quicktime, and OS. The support pages on their websites are OK, call them if you need help. AJA has a better reputation for support, Black Magic Design is a little less expensive to purchase.
2. Test the output. You will want an external video monitor that takes SDI input. This will allow you to confirm you have a video signal. You will also want to test your audio output. The most convenient way to do this is to embed the audio in the SDI. This means you just need one coaxial cable with BNC connectors to carry the signal from the card to the deck. You can do it other ways however. For testing purposes I usually confirm I'm seeing the analog audio outs, as I don't own AES monitoring, or de-embedders.
3. Rent the deck. DVW-500 or DVW-2000. About $525 a day. Allow yourself extra time (like an extra day or maybe two) if you haven't done this before. Rent from a house that will give you a hand with menu settings, etc. Plan to spend a lot time figuring things out.
4. Black burst. When ever I'm mastering to a deck I provide a common sync source to the card and the deck. This might not be strictly necessary, but it eliminates something that any trouble shooter will ask you when you call. You can get an inexpensive black burst generator for about $350. Run BNC from the Black burst generator to the sync input on the card and the sync input on the deck. Set the deck and the card to get their sync externally.
5. Connect the SDI out of the card to the SDI in of the deck.
6. Connect audio cables, if you choose not to embed the audio.
7. Connect speakers to the deck. XLR out of the deck to self powered speakers or to an amp. Make sure you can monitor all the deck's channels individually.
8. Connect a video monitor to the deck. I like to take SDI into one monitor input, and composite with TC overlay into a second monitor input. I monitor SDI for quality, and TC overlay to confirm timing and edits.
9. Set the deck up so it is ready to accept your audio. You need to decide if you will be sending analog, AES, or embedded. You need to set the deck up to take your choice.
10. Stripe the tape with appropriate time code. Start at 00:58:00;00. Use drop frame (probably, ask the people you are delivering to.) This involves understanding how to set internal time code on the deck. Read the manual for your deck. I usually feed black out of the card and crash record a the head of the tape. Get it going and come back when it is done. You will probably have some trial and error here if you haven't done this before. Stripe as many tapes as you will need (typically one back up to send, and another back up to keep in house.)
11. "Facs" (short for facilities check) the deck. Send Bars and tone from FCP. Set your tone to -20 (probably, ask the people you are delivering to) and set the record pots on the deck so they are seeing -20. Confirm bars are passing through the deck in EE (electronics to electronics – sometimes called bypass.) Set the audio tracks in your timeline to go to the correct tracks on the deck. I do this while the deck is in EE. I check this by sending one channel of audio at a time and confirming that it is only going to the corresponding channel on the deck. Be prepared to spend some time in the FCP manual to get this correct.
12. Read up in the FCP manual on "Edit to Tape." This is important to understand. You will probably want to use the mastering method, but it is important to understand inserting as well. This will save you time if you need to pick up the edit mid-stream or drop a last minute change into the tape.
13. Tweak the settings in FCP so your edits land on the correct frame. The FCP manual covers this.
14. Record Bars and Tone and Slate to tape. As per delivery requirements.
15. Start your program at 1:00:00;00.
16. Leave room for commercials or breaks, as per delivery requirements.
17. Watch and listen to the output of the deck as you record. Watch for problems.
18. Check the record. Playback your work so you can be sure it is all there.
19. Make a second copy if it is required for delivery.
20. Make a copy that you keep in-house. In case something terrible happens when you ship the tape.
If you aren't going to do this very often, you will save yourself a lot of pain by hiring a post house or an editor with the right background and equipment.
If you do decide to give it a try expect problems, and be prepared to spend a lot of time in the manuals for FCP and the deck. Also be prepared to call the card manufacturer if you have problems during the set-up. Try not to get frustrated – this is not easy unless you do it all the time.
Good luck.
Tom M

Best way to get 3/4 inch tape material into FCP?

I have several 3/4 inch tapes I would like to edit on my FCP system.
I can only Capture through firewire.
Is it better to transfer the 3/4 material to DVD or create QT files?
(I can create the QT files on an Avid Adrenaline)
I need to keep the material at the best quality.
Thanks.

OK, I'm back now. Let's get to the first part of your question... and some tips.
To start with let me clear up some semantic errors that I may have inadvertently created. When I say "up-rez" I'm not talking about it the way you would use the term in print production and Photoshop. I was using the term "up-rez" as a more generic term meaning a general improvement in picture quality and upgrade of color space.
Now, to the improvement I have seen by taking my DV source material into a sequence using PhotoJPEG 75% or DVCPRO50 codecs with a 4:2:2 color space.
First, as a baseline, to all of my DV clips in the timeline I add the "4:1:1 Color Smoothing" filter as the first in line, and the final filter is always "Broadcast Safe" set to the lowest preset of "100" or "Extremely Conservative." If I use any color correction filter I always use it after the color smoothing and before "Broadcast Safe." Unless it works better using a different order, but this is where I start. However "Color Smoothing" is almost always the first filter.
It is the "Color Smoothing" filter that provides the extra chroma data that is used by the 4:2:2 codec to "improve" the color after rendering. Now understand, this is an interpolation process. The computer is guessing at what the extra color data should be. But in most cases where my goal is to provide "pleasing color" the computer usually makes some pretty good guesses.
Especially if you use color correction to remove any exising color casts from the clips in question. If you have a definite color cast in your original clip, you may find it necessary to color correct that cast out, then add the Color Smoothing, and then do your "primary" or "balancing" color correction by adding that filter a second time in the list to get things to look right. Confused yet? Don't be - if you have a good calibrated video monitor, then you can really trust your eyes a lot more than you might think. The point is, if you present the "Color Smoothing" filter with reasonably good color when it looks at the DV clip, then it will do a good job of "enhancing" your color after you render with a 4:2:2 codec.
Oh yeah, make sure your rendering quality level in the "Video Processing" tab of the sequence "Settings" is set to the best you have. FCP 4.5 and FCP 5.x differ slightly in how they word this setting, but the intent is the same.
So that's how I "improve" the color of a DV clip by taking it into a sequence with a 4:2:2 color space. I hope I explained it clearly enough.
BTW - Nattress suggests using PhotoJPEG 75% over DVCPRO50 for content that comes from an analog capture. He says that an unintended but positive consequence of the "lossy" compression in the PhotoJPEG codec is to remove some of the latent analog noise from the video during final rendering and encoding. I had my doubts about this at first since the specs would suggest that DVCPRO50 is the best way to go. But after trying it out I must say that Graeme is dead-on with this. A lot of the minor video noise in the luminence and chroma that comes in with the analog video is removed pretty cleanly when you look at your final rendered digital video. So once again we learn that Graeme Nattress is "The Man."
The truly scary thing is that among his peers in the community of this forum, Nattress is only one of several similar intellects. This forum is a gold mine for all of us FCP users. Nattress, Shane, Sheffield, and all the rest who I am probably making mad because I forgot to mention them -- wow! We couldn't afford to take classes from all these guys, and here they give it all for free. I hope everyone appreciates the value of the resource we have in this forum. I certainly do. Belated and future thanks to all you gurus out there.
Anyway, back to your analog capture issues. Here's some tips from my own experience. When doing my initial capture from analog via the A-to-D converter...
1) I always find I need to boost the saturation levels a bit. Use a vectorscope to keep track of this, but my analog source material always seems to come in 20 to 25% light in the chroma value. Boosting the saturation setting a little bit in the convertor fixes this.
2) I know I'll get some arguments about this one. In my ADVC-300 I have a "Sharpening" setting, with "0" being no enhancement, "-100" being totally blurred, and "+100" being totally sharpened. I find that adding a significant amount of "sharpening" to my capture settings really improves the quality of the analog input without leaving a lot of visible and unpleasant artifacts in the picture. So I always add between +15 and +35 of sharpening. Usually +25 works best so that's where I start.
Now, understand that I find this completely counter-intuitive after my years of experience with digital image editors and scanning software like "Photoshop" and "Scantastic," and the generally complete uselessness of the vanilla "sharpen" tools for sophisticated image enhancement. But for some reason, with these tools in this environment, "sharpening" works wonders.
The way it looks to me when I compare the "before" and "after" by switching the inputs on my video monitor is that the "after" picture looks like someone properly backlit the scene. The entire effect is to give that look of 3D depth to the picture that still photographers call "snap," and that I was taught to try to achieve by the guys who taught me TV lighting. When used in a subtle and appropriate fashion, the effect of this "sharpening" filter is stunning. But this is a matter of personal taste. To my eye the sharpened picture looks better, but you may disagree. Like I said, it's a matter of taste.
I must add that I am unable to duplicate these results by adding FCP's sharpening filter to an already digitized clip. This says to me that either you need to sharpen before digitizing, or the sharpening algorithm in my Canopus ADVC-300 is way better than the FCP filter. I don't know which it is, but I really don't need to know, practically speaking. It's practical results we are after here, so I can live with the mystery.
3) Always go back to the earliest generation of analog source tapes you can find. If this means re-editing the program, then be prepared to do it if max quality is your goal.
In 3/4-inch U-matic format (and especially with 1/2-inch S-VHS or lesser formats) the difference in picture quality between a third-generation dub and a second-generation edit master is immense. Look at the degradation of edge definition and the increase in noise between the generations. It's huge. It's even more striking if you compare the first-generation master tapes with a distribution dub or duplication master.
Conversely, don't even waste your time if you have a fourth-gen or later distribution dub. If you are dealing with a late generation tape source, then none of our digital and computer editing or enhancement wizardry will matter a hoot. Garbage in equals garbage out. So if you really care about quality, be prepared to go back to the earliest generation tape you can find, even if that means re-editing the program from the first-gen shooting masters.
OK, that's all I have for you right now. Please post any additional questions or any comments you have on my missives and I'll be glad to get into this further - at least until you suck me dry of usable info.
Let me leave you with this. It's funny how viewers don't seem to mind poor video quality when watching a late-gen dub on a VHS player. But when you offer them a DVD, they expect to see feature film or broadcast TV quality, and if they don't see something close they won't watch the program with the same degree of receptivity.
In my experience, picture quality really matters in its effect on the communication process, and that's why we should all take it seriously. Worrying about quality is not a purely technical exercise important only to technicians. Poor audio and poor video quality will negatively impact the communication process. That's why we care about quality.
After all, it's our business - the COMMUNICATION business. That's the perspective I try to maintain in my work.
Good Luck in your endeavor. Please let me know how it works out. My e-mail address is in my posted profile.

Hello..i use firefox 4 beta 05..my question is..why when i open let's say 6 tabs..my windows show that i have 6 instancies of firefox instead of one like it does with firefox 3.6? thanks

hello..i use firefox 4 beta 05..my question is..why when i open let's say 6 tabs..my windows show that i have 6 instancies of firefox instead of one like it does with firefox 3.6? thanks
maybe i am saying it wrong..when i press alt+tab there is only one firefox open..but in windows 7 in the taskbar..every tab open..appears as another window open

If you are referring to taskbar previews, you can turn them off by modifying a hidden preference.
# Type '''about:config''' into the location bar and press enter
# Accept the warning message that appears, you will be taken to a list of preferences
# In the filter box type '''previews'''
# Double-click on the preference browser.taskbar.previews.enable to change its value to '''false'''

Digi-Beta PAL into FCP Question

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for