How do I export FCP project to DigiBeta -- what video card?

Question

How can I export my 90 minute movie edited in FCP to a rented DigiBeta deck, so it will be broadcast quality? What video card do I need to buy? I can't afford an HD, so an SD card is fine for now. Where do I get one? And how much? Are they easy to install? Is it as easy as transferring to mini-DV, but to digibeta? Are there controls while transferring, or does it automatically make a perfect clone of the FCP project onto DigiBeta? I can't find info on video cards in SD anywhere for the MAC. Thank you.
g5   Mac OS X (10.4.8)  

Answer 1

See if this helps.
In the analog world, every generation - copying from one tape to the next - loses quality. A generation of BetaSP doesn't destroy the material, but a generation on VHS pretty much does.
If you have something important that is already on VHS, it will still lose some quality going to BetaSP. Probably not enough to matter, but the best quality will still come from that VHS tape.
The analogy to digital video:
Contrary to what everybody thought in the early days, digital video often works the same way. As soon as you commit images to DV compression you have compressed it and lost a lot of the quality of the otiginal camera signal.
As soon as you apply transitions, filters, CC, etc. in editing, you are recompressing and losing more quality. Sometimes these two compressions create visible problems.
Fortunately, outputting that product to DV tape is a digital clone of the date and loses no quality. So there is nothing gained by going to DigiBeta from your system as compared to taking a tape out for transfer.
But when you take that DV edit from DV format to DigiBeta, it is being compressed again. It will lose quality. Not as much as another DV recompression, but enough to make any visible artifacting worse.
The best thing, in my oopinion, for you to do is to move your bits into a DigiBeta-equivalent sequence (is that the same as DVCPro50?) and render. Then find a way to get that into DigiBeta - most likely from hard drive at a service bureau or dub house.
The second best thing you can do is to tell the dub house that your deliverable is going to be DV. If it makes them feel any better you can provide it as a QT file.
In the end DigiBeta will not add to your quality but decrease it. Probably not a enough to matter, but enough to be a ridiculous requirement under the corcumstances.
Also consider whether they are working for you, or you are working for them.