Mac + FCS 2 + SONY HDR Z1 for broadcast quality?

Can I get the broadcast quality US TV channels (PBS, Discovery, Nat Geo...) are asking for if I shoot a documentary with a SONY HDR Z1, edit and the post production in FCS 2 ? I also need to make a Blu Ray DVD, is it OK?
Thanks.

hey there paoloj,
it can depend on the context-- POV & Independent Lens are shows on PBS that may consider your doc as they are for indies shooting intimate, "closer look" stories generally using non-intrusive means. the same may apply for a similarly styled show on Discovery. it would be best to check out the requirements for submission to POV & Independent Lens or anything you're interested in. several years ago(pre-DV) there was a doc on PBS shot on Hi-8, the standard then was Beta SP--i believe it was "Reflections On A Spring Roll".
good luck.

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FCS 2 + Mac Book Pro + Sony HDR-CX7 = ???

I'm interested in using Final Cut Studio 2 to edit AVCHD video captured from my Sony HDR-CX7. I will be using the software on my Mac Book Pro 2.16 Dual Core w/2 GB Ram… Do you forsee any problems with this setup? Would you recommend any other software?

Just to clarify a couple of points. FCS2 does support AVCHD in the latest updates. Hopefully the problems raised in the previous thread I linked are only related to iMovie '06 and FCE. As far as I am aware there should be no problems but you may want to check to see if Apple has a list of supported AVCHD camcorders somewhere.
Other than that you should be fine. I am sure if you have any problems people here will be more than willing to help out.

Canon HV10 or Sony HDR-HC3 for iMovie HD 6

In case you're interested…
I'm in the process of reviewing both the Canon HV10 and the Sony HDR-HC3. Both use Mini DV tapes. I've heard hard disk models don't work with iMovie HD6.
I've tried both on my Intel iMac at 2.16 Gz and this is what happened…
Sony HC3
I used Firewire cable (must be Firewire - Sony calls it iLink) and plugged in the cam with iMovie already opened. Clicked to the camera icon and… Nothing happened. There was no recognition of the camcorder at all. Zilch. I fiddled, checked the camcorder's audio was set to 16bit and changed several prefences in iMovie but still nothing. I had previously set the cam's time too. I've since learned the HC3 and many other Sony's are incompatible with iMovie HD. It's a lovely camcorder but unless you download some extra software – as mentioned in the forums – it ain't gonna work.
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Performed the same Firewire connections and, lo, the camcorder was detected and I was able to begin importing HD visuals. But then… On immediate playback after importing I noticed the audio was running at half speed – subtley – the visuals too. I spent hours shooting short bits, importing them with other settings, and every time voices came out low and slurred. My wife sounded like a bloke. I posted the problem here and someone told me the HD takes a long time to render. So bear that in mind. And don't be impatient like me.
In this instance, the Canon wins.
Apple iMac 2.16 Mac OS X (10.4.8)
Apple iMac 2.16 Mac OS X (10.4.8)
Apple iMac 2.16 Mac OS X (10.4.8)
Apple iMac 2.16 Mac OS X (10.4.8)

I'm really confused now. I've set the HC3's settings to HDV (not Auto) and the iLink Conv to OFF. And still no joy. I've even tried 'Magic Movie' for which it searched for a camera but found nothing. I know the Firewire cable works because I've used it on the Canon and my own, older Digital-8 Sony Handycam.

Using Compressor for broadcast quality?

I apologize for posting this question here, but I did a search and found in one thread that nobody goes to the Compressor forum and they all post here.
Are there any online tutorials on what the best steps are to preparing a broadcast safe MPEG2 file? There are so many options , and I honestly have not used this part of FCP much. We've got a computer playback system now and it's something I am going to utilize more often now.
Or if anybody reading this has a suggestion to steps I could take I'd appreciate it greatly.
Thanks for any help

From what I can gather, it won't be as easy as creating a file with Compressor. For starters, you will probably need to "mux" (that is, mix the video and audio together) so this automatic system will play the program when you provide it to the server. This will need to be done in a program like DVD Studio Pro. Below are some VERY BASIC step-by-step instructions. If they don't make sense, pull out your manuals and start reading. I've left out explanations and alternatives as time and space doesn't allow for everything. That's why they have manuals. But here goes otherwise:
Export the final FCP timeline out as a Quicktime file. You can do this as a self contained movie but it's faster if you don't. Place the resulting file where you can readily find it. (Note: you can also export directly from FCP to Compressor. This is a long way to do it, as FCP has to first encode it out to Compressor.)
Open Compressor and drag your new QT file into the Batch window. Look over to your right in the same Batch window under Settings and using the pull-down menus, choose something like "MPEG-2 60 min High Quality Encode". Choose "All" in this situation because you'll want to go ahead and encode your audio too. You should see two entries: one for audio and one for video. Note the Destination tab (where the file will end up). In this regard, I suggest you use the pulldown menu and choose Source. This will place the resulting file(s) in the same location as the QT file. Click Submit to begin encoding and sit back, have some iced tea and wait a while.
When it's done, open up DVD Studio Pro. (If you don't have Studio Pro, then you're really stuck because -- again-- you have to provide it as a format that the player, be it server-based system or disc based, can read). But let's assume you have DVD Studio Pro and when it opens, import up the two files into your Assets (bottom left corner). When they import, drag the video (the one with the .m2v suffix) over into the Tracks timeline. Since they both have the same name, but different suffix, the audio file should follow over and sync up with the video. You can test it by playing the Timeline. Now go to the top left hand corner of DVD SP and click on the disc icon within the By Type window. Over on the right of the interface, in the Disc window, you'll see the name of your disc (probably Untitled) and under it, a pulldown menu again. Holding it down, choose Track 1. Save your project under a name, like the name of your video. Click on the little hammer, or Build, icon near the top middle of the DVD SP interface. You'll be asked where to place the results. Create a new folder and name it-- and decide where it will be placed. Click Build and sit back. This too takes a while. When done, you can upload the resulting folder (with the two folders that will be inside labled VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS) to your server. How your "juke box" player system will locate your file is beyond me but I'm sure there is a way to make it locate the folder. When it does, there are instructions written in the DVD standard so the player can play the program.
Once again: this a very basic explanation!! But you didn't really ask for details. If you get stuck, try some of the tutorials in FCP/Compressor and DVD Studio Pro. Good luck!
Oh yeah, as the others have written, "broadcast quality" is a very loosely based term these days. When providing programs to media outlets as "DVD quality", it usually means as good as a quality you can get with the amount of space on a DVD. This all depend on your bit rate and the length of your video. There are bitrate calculators out there that can certainly help!
http://www.videohelp.com/calc.htm
PowerMac G4 (Mirrored Door) Mac OS X (10.4.8) Extra Media Drive, 400 Gig External LaCie

What is the best format for broadcast quality

I am a web developer, but some of the things i did in flash my company wants to use for a tv commercial. They are not taking no for an answer (I tried). I have limited experience with video editing, but i have some.
My question is what size (dimentions) + format do I output a finished product in for the tv station? I know some formats don't have a size (dimentions). For example a wmv doesnt realy have a pixel size like 640 x 480.
I would be exporting a .mov from flash. Then editing it accordingly in Final Cut. So i would need to know what size to make my flash piece, because in flash you need to set dimentions in pixels by height and width.
If anyone could help me out by pointing me in the right direction i would really appreciate it.

Jumping into HD, when you don't even know the basics of SD, is not recommended. SD is simple: 720x486 (sometimes 720x480) and 29.97fps. That's it. Simple. Digitbeta, betasp, DVCPRO 50...maybe DV (if cable access)
HD is not simple. 1080i? 720p? 1080p? 23.98fps? 29.97fps? 59.94fps? HDCAM? HDCAM SR? D5? DVCPRO HD? Not to be entered into lightly.
No offense, but they need somone experienced with broadcast standards to make this output. You can provide the file, but someone needs to take it from there. I know that I would be the LAST person to go to for encoding a flash video for the web.
Shane

Not able to capture HD content from Sony HDR-HC3

I recently purchased Final Cut Express 4, after successfully using iMovie HD for the past year. I successfully captured some DV content (non-HD) from my Sony HDR-HC3 for a project. However, when trying to capture HD footage for a 2nd project, I'm not getting anything. Here's the info:
* I made the change in "Easy Setup..." to set the format to HD using Apple Intermediate Codec 1080i60.
* The footage was shot at 1080i on my HDR-HC3.
* The camera is plugged in via FireWire.
* When I choose "Capture", the the HDV Capture dialog comes up asking me for a file name. Once I give it a file name and click the Capture button, the tape starts playing and I get a black window with "Final Cut Express" in the middle (and the Apple logo). At the bottom, it says "CUEING TAPE (press 'esc' to stop)". When I press 'esc', the tape stops and the black capture window goes away.
* I never see a preview in the capture window, but I see the footage fine in my camera's LCD screen.
* A folder is created in the Capture Scratch folder, with the name I gave in the HDV Capture dialog, but nothing is ever written to this folder. It's empty.
I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong...I just don't seem to be capturing any video...FCE is seeing my camera and is taking control (starting and stopping) but nothing is actually being captured.

Ok, I figured it out on my own. Operator error.
When I had captured non HD content using my camera, I had to set the iLink (FireWire) conversion to "On - HDV-->DV" in the camera in order for it to work. I forgot to set it back to "Off", so the camera was downconverting to DV when output through FireWire. Once I turned off the conversion, I was able to capture in HD.

Sony HDR-CX160 won't import into iMovie

Hello! I am desperate for some help. I have had the Sony HDR-CX160 for over a year now. When I first got it, I remember having difficulty with iMovie reading the camera. I found a Youtube video that told you the order to hook everything in and it worked great. I was able to import my video with no problem.
I am once again having EXTREME difficulty. iMovie will absolutely no read my camera. I hook it up and it boots up iPhoto and even imported pictures off the camera. In iMovie, it shows that it reads the camera, but there is a weird error symbol next to the camera and it won't boot up the import screen no matter what I do. I'm inserting a screen shot to show what I mean.
Does anyone know what I can do? I recorded my friend's birth of her son and now I can't get the footage off my camera which is very nervewracking and stressful for me. Please help!

Welcome to iMovie Discussions.
Here's the standard crib-sheet from Apple, so check all these things first..
[P.S: David S. "..an response helpful.." ..?]

I have a Mac OS X and a Sony HDR-CX7 camcorder. When I get onto the sony webpage to download program to import movies onto my Mac, they only have downloads for Windows. How can I get a program for my Mac?

I have a Mac Os X and a Sony HDR-CX7 camcorder. When I get onto the Sony webpage to download the program so I can import my movies, they only have programs Windows. How do I get this for my Mac.

You shouldn't need any application except what you already have: iMovie, iDVD, iPhoto....
To check on compatibility with your model camcorder, check these out:
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT3290
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3356
Some formats are not readable by the above; you can use something like MPEG Streamclip to convert the footage or Quicktime Pro (as mentioned in one of the articles).

Sony HDR-SR11 /AVCHD/NON-INTEL MAC/HELP

I have called both sony and apple tech support and both offered little help today.
I have a Sony HDR-SR11 that I shot some HD content with. The computer registers that the camera is there as an external HDD. Sony's FAQ suggested that I save the AVCHD file to my HDD and it should work....NOPE
I hooked it up to a PC and installed the software it comes with and I was able to view my files but not export them into a normal format.
I have 2 sets of files one set is .m2t and the other is .mts both say they are Unix Executable files..***!
I have a Power MAc G5 running Leopard and Final Cut Pro 6 I ran the software update and it says that as of today 100% up to date yet it says that FCP should be 6.0.2 mine says 6.0
Apple support said that it may not even work on a non-intel Mac.....HELP
anyone get this to work, supposedly Imovie work s with it but the files are grayed out in the menus for imovie so I dunno all I know is I need this footage off the camera ASAP.
Thanks

I came here actually looking for a different solution and not the one I'm about to say... but I will tell you that the new iMovie will import the video straight off the camera (in either 960x540 or 1920x1080). It's not ideal, but it works.
In fact, I'm doing so right now, but I came here hoping there might be news of a new fix so that FCP will import it directly (it will not, log & capture will not do it, just so others are clear on this).
That said, the video off the camera looks very nice. I'm still happy with the camera, even if I do have to do one hoop jump before I can edit.

Sony HDR-HC3 to FCP to Color to FCP to Mac Mini

Hi,
My objective is to play our edited family videos using our Mac Mini(2.0 GHz Core 2) on a Sony 52" LCD at full 1080 resolution. The video is stored on a Firewire attached 1 TB LaCie external disk.
I use a Sony HDR-HC3 video camera (HDV 1440x1080i 25 fps) and use FCP 6.0.4 for editing. I have recently been learning Color for grading.
1. Currently reading footage into FCP as ProRes 422. Footage comes in with the following profile:
Sequence Preset: Apple ProRes 422 1440x1080 50i 58 kHz
Capture Preset: HDV-Apple ProRes 422
Current captured footage I'm working with has a data rate of 12.5 MB
2. Once editing is complete, I "Send To" Color and perform the grading
3. From Color, I "Send to FCP". (It asks "Change graded FCP seq. to match the QT export codec?" not sure whether I click Yes or No here)
4. After selecting Yes, the footage returned back to a new sequence in FCP now has the following profile:
Apple ProRes 422 (HQ)
1920x1080
21.6 MB/sec
From reading the Apple documentation, I was expecting something funny to happen coming back from Color.
5. I then send this sequence to Compressor where I select the "Apple | Formats | Quicktime | H.264" preset in the hope that I can render out an H.264 1920x1080 file to play on the Mac Mini. It renders it but the Mini can't play the video smoothly.
As I am still learning, I would appreciate any suggestions on an alternative workflow that can lead me to a 1080 video file that can play smoothly on the Mac Mini.
The Apple TV preset renders a video that works smoothly on the Mini, but I'm hoping for the full resolution.
Regards, Tony

Hi Shane,
Thanks so much for responding. Great tutorial also. And I wasn't conscious of any 'drone'...
Yes, I've tried to have the Log and Transfer recognize the card (through both the card reader and lately, by using the camera as a deck but without luck).The card reader and camera mount on my desktop as NO NAME and when I ADD VOLUME I scroll down to devices and click on NO NAME but L&T doesn't recogize the source and nothing happens. That's why I went in to see if the AVCHD folder might be recognized and got that invalid directory message. Following your tutorial I went into preferences button on the right hand upper corner of the L&T interface and selected the AVCHD - Apple Prores LT path in case that made a difference, but no go. Any other suggestions/thoughts?
Cheers, Mark

Is the Sony HDR-SR11 compatible with Mac OS 10.5.6?

Is the Sony HDR-SR11 compatible with Mac OS 10.5.6? Thanks in advance for you thoughts.

Oops. wrong link. Check this one out
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2948

How to view download videos from the sony HDR cx160 to Mac (Lion)?

I am not sure if this is the correct forum for my question. I just bouhgt a Sony HDR CX160 camcorder and need to download/view the videos on my Mac (Lion). Could you please help me with this issue or direct me to the correct forum? Sony's answer is to contact Apple...? Thank you very much in advance!

I am not sure if this is the correct forum for my question. I just bouhgt a Sony HDR CX160 camcorder and need to download/view the videos on my Mac (Lion). Could you please help me with this issue or direct me to the correct forum? Sony's answer is to contact Apple...? Thank you very much in advance!

HT3395 I am using sony HDR - CX100. Do I need a converter for the videos to work on the imovie? If yes, what converter?

I am using a sony HDR - CX100 camcorder. Do I need a converter for the videos to recorded with my camcorder to work in imovie? If yes, what converter do you recommend?

The guy at the Genius Bar has told you absolute and utter rubbish. It is true that Apple has stopped supporting iWeb, but it definitely DOES NOT mean that your website will stop working any time soon.
They should know that iWeb is an application on your Mac and as long as it is compatible with your OS - it works in Snow Leopard and Lion and will be compatible with the new Mountain Lion out this Summer, then you can still use it to build and maintain websites.
As long as your are not publishing your site to MobileMe, then you are okay - if you are publishing to a local folder and then uploading to another host that is fine and your site will not be going anywhere in a hurry.
You don't need to change software unless you really want to.

Which camcorders is good for iMovie - Sony HDR-CX700V or Panasonic HDC-HS900K? Please recommend - thanks

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Please recommend - thanks

iMovie iOS (this forum is only for the mobile version) can only be used on video shot on your iphone or iPad.
You may need to go to the iMovie Mac forum:
https://discussions.apple.com/community/ilife/imovie

Importing footage from sony HDR-SR12 to External for later use in imovie?

Hi all, I have a question, I would like to save my movie footage which is on my sony HDR-SR12 to a external drive(G Raid1TB) so I can view and also import clips to imovie for making movie's later. I have partitioned the Ext HD 150gb for photos and 781gb for movie footage. Just out of curiosity I mounted my camera and pressed get info and the format on the sony camera is MS-Dos(fat32) does this matter at all? Also which is the best way or how do I import the footage from sony hdr-sr12 to the external Hd. I have never done this before so your help would be greatly appreciated, I don't want to mess up.
Thank You
Jess

I should have mentioned, it is a good idea to make an archive copy of your AVCHD footage before importing. You should be able to do this from the FILE menu in iMovie. This will preserve the AVCHD files exactly as they were on the camera.
When you import, you convert the AVCHD files (which are highly compressed) into Apple Intermediate Codec, which is suitable for editing.
If you want to make sure that your archive copy is working properly, you can import from your archive copy, rather than importing directly from the camera. This is a good way to make sure you have a good archive copy before erasing the video on the camera.

Mac + FCS 2 + SONY HDR Z1 for broadcast quality?

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