Monitor for HDV footage?

I am using FCE4HD and ask if there is any monitor through which I can play the edited footage as on my G4 and, if so, how I should connect the two. I believe FCE4 uses an Apple Intermediate Codec which won't allow this but...........is there a way, apart from putting the footage out to DV tape and playing that through a High Def monitor using an HDMI cable?

Hi(Bonjour)!
It's not possible to monitor AIC in realtime without a dedicated video card like KONA and an HD monitor.
Michel Boissonneault

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Using and LCD TV as a monitor for HDV editing

I'm editing in FCP studio 2 and shooting with the new Sony HVR-S270u cameras. I'm trying to figure out the best way to use my LCD TV as a monitor for HD. I know FCP will not playback through my camera in HDV but print to tape with it. I looked into the Blackmagic Design Intensity Pro with HDMI. The problem is the camera doesn't have HDMI it SDI outputs so I'm capturing through firewire. I've been told that the Blackmagic card requires you to capture with it in order to playback with it. I know there is Matrox MXO but are there other options out there.
Can I use the LCD TV as a second monitor and do playback as Cinema Desktop Preview to second monitor? I've also seen a DVI - HDMI cable. Will that work? Any help would be great!
Thanks,
Mike

What format is the media in when you capture it?
Whatever you choose to capture it. You can capture it as HDV via firewire, or ProRes via firewire. Or you can use this card and choose one of the options it gives you...such as ProRes, DVCPRO HD, uncompressed HD...whatever you want, and your hardware can support.
I'm assuming it's no longer HDV.
Only if you don't capture it as HDV. You can still do that and then output via this card to some other format. Or you can capture as HDV, render to ProRes (in the sequence settings under RENDER CONTROL).
Is it uncompressed HD?
If you choose that.
Is there an Easy Setup for this?
Yup.
What codec does it use?
Whatever it lists in the Easy Setups...the ones I listed above.
They also state that you can use it for DV. I'm guessing that means if you have DV material and a device that outputs HDMI you have uncompressed SD?
First off, HDMI is an HD signal, not SD. BUT, you can use the card to output your DV timeline to your HDTV. You cannot output to an SD deck, as no SD decks have HDMI.
If you can import HDV via HDMI and you bypass the HDV codec and get full 1920 (as they say on their website)
Yup..you can capture as ProRes or Uncompressed, and get full 1080. BUT, this doesn't increase the resolution of your footage. It just means that it will render to a better codec with more color space...better manipulation of the image that HDV.
then I'm also guessing that you cannot go back to HDV.
Not via firewire. But if the deck had Component inputs, or HDMI...maybe.
Shane

Sequence Settings for HDV footage to create SD 16 x 9 -help!

I shot HDV footage (using Sony Z1U) and want to use it as SD footage in final cut.
How do I set up a sequence to be able to create an SD sequence in 16 x 9? Which sequence settings should I choose for this?
Also, do I need to capture the footage as Anamorphic 16:9 or can I simply check the Anamporphic 16:9 box?
Thanks, Joel

HDV has a natively wide aspect ratio, and is not anamorphic (stretched) like SD widescreen.
FCP seems unable to correctly allow for the reversed field order of HDV when converting to SD with software, whether exporting QT, going direct to compressor, or nesting into SD and rendering.
Also, if you go direct to compressor from your HDV sequence, type elements and pixel layers will shift around and change aspect ratio.
I have had good luck exporting a self-contained native HDV movie and running that through compressor, though I am forced to turn frame controls off in my compressor preset, which throws out every other field and gives a pattern of progressive frames where every 5th frame is repeated. Our producer called it the "max headroom" effect.
If you know you won't need HDV output for the current planned workflow of your project, I would start by capturing SD by turning on the DV downconvert setting on your HDV deck. You'll save yourself a lot of time and headaches.
Otherwise, if you want to work in native HDV, output and HDV master of the finished sequences and recapture those as DV if you want to retain the origiinal fields in your SD output, whether to tape or to mpeg2.
When you recapture as DV, whether the original source, or a recapture of you finished master, that's the point at which you'll want to capture anamorphic.

[CS5] Project Manager Trimming not supported for HDV footage?

Yes, I have the licensed version of CS5 Production Premium.
The Premiere Pro "Project Manager" allows you to create a "trimmed" version of your project. That is, only the footage actually used in sequences (along with some handles) is placed in the new, trimmed project. For example, I have a project which uses only 1 second of an 11 second HD Quicktime clip.
original project folder which includes the clip = 352MB.
trimmed project folder is = 26MB
My problem is with a similar project using only a small portion of an HDV clip (M2T):
original project folder = 232MB
trimmed project folder = 232MB
There is nothing I can find int the Adobe help file regarding limitations for HDV files with the trim feature. This problem is not limited to CS5. I experienced it also in CS4 but resolving it was not a priority at the time. But I now have a large number of projects I wish to archive.

Jeremy, I am assuming that this is harder to solve, because it gets into Premiere and/or the mainconcept codec being used, not providing smart rendering. You can't just take the middle of an mpeg clip without rendering. Premiere could do this, but there would be a quality hit. Is there any chance we will see a more sophisticated approach to mpeg inside Premiere? And I am also interested in whether the long gop formats are/might be addressed differently from others.
Todd, here is the CS5 help file that should have this.
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/premierepro/cs/using/WS1c9bc5c2e465a58a91cf0b1038518aef7-7c74a .html
And it does not.
In earlier versions (I'm still CS3, and I think it was CS3 in which there was this discussion), I found that you could not work around this by creating a subclip. In fact, the original full clip would be repeated for each instance of the subclip.
If someone adds a comment to this help entry, and it is a weak attempt, do you edit the comment so that the help file is most useful?

Best format for HDV footage online

I'm wondering what format people are using to export their HDV footage for online consumption.
I've tried all the preset avilable in PP CS3 and either the quality sucks or the file size is way too big.
I've seen a bunch of HDV footage online and some incredible looking video (really HDV quality looking) but can't seem to get the correct settings to achieve that.
It is also possible I don't understand all the pull down kinds of things. I'm shooting at 30f. The footage is primarily intended for online/computer rather than HDTV.
Also does smaller dimensions automatically mean reduced quality? I've seem some great looking HD quality videos online and the "HD" quality is quite apparent.

Steve,
Dimensions that will be effective (for online purposes, assuming the visitor has a high bandwidth connection).
I believe 1/4 the original size of HDV will be a good starting place. So that's 480x 270 (or is it 360x270).
That's the other thing, I see some HDV online that seem wider than others. Is that because they were shot using 24f?
I've tried the various formats the media encoder allows for. I'm not really happy with the resulting quality of any of the formats. As mentioned to Christopher, the smaller I make the dimensions the worse the quality gets.
The Quicktime format in particular sucks (at least with encoded using PP CS3). The resulting video looks completely washed out and artificial). I have seen other people post their footage using quicktime and it looks great (no color correction).
The other question is: Seing that the main intent is for online purposes, should I shoot at 720p instead?

Best compression for HDV footage

i got a 15 minute final production that was shot in HDV, im new to compressor but did a sucessful export and test viewing this morning , but im not sure if it was the best setting or if there are tweaks that should be made.
i used HD DVD MPEG-2 30 minutes
Dolby Digital Professional 2.0
HD MPEG-2 19.0Mbps
any tips appreciated.

There are always tweaks. I would make sure that the attributes for the setting I'm using are correct for my source. You know, right frame rate, field dominance, etc. I guess you've figured out how much space you have vs. what you need, so playing with the bit rate doesn't sound like it's something you're worried about. Compressor has some filters that may or may not be useful. It can preview them in the preview window. I would only make my final determination after viewing my DVD on a real player piping out the signal to an t.v. or ntsc/pal monitor. Given that you've successfully created your stream, right now it comes down to art.

*** What is the bare min. iMac to buy for editing HDV footage

Just wondering if someone could give me feedback on their editing experiences with a new iMac, HDV footage, and Final Cut Pro. I'm hiring an editor that will be working regularly with HDV footage. I'm currently on a PowerMac DP 2.7 G5 but there isn't the budget to give him a Mac Pro at this time. Just wondering if people think a 17" iMac w/ superdrive would be enough for that person to comfortably edit the HDV footage I give them. I'd be running a 19" monitor along side the iMac, so that's why I am not really considering the 20" at this point. Can anyone let me know if they think the iMac's can handle this kind of footage? I have a last generation powermac G4 tower, but I'm assuming that would be slower than a new iMac.
Thoughts?

I'm currently on a PowerMac DP 2.7 G5 but there isn't the budget to give him a Mac Pro at this time.
While the iMac will work for you, personally I'd stick with what you've got and save your pennies till you can afford what you want. You'll be happier in the end with a machine that you can expand.
Remember that your computer can render when that lazy editor of yours goes home to sleep. (;
rh

Not possible with FCP6: HDV Footage and external TV (monitor) viewing ?

Hi all, I learned from another FCP6 forum when I'm working with HDV footage, FCP 6 allows you to view this via firewire on an external monitor or TV, but ONLY as downconverted DV. This works fine but in a worse quality on my external TV. Is there really no possibility to view on an external TV via TRUE HDV via HDMI output ?

The MXO from Matrox might work OK (though it will only output HD via SDI or Component analog, no HDMI output) but I'd contact Matrox first about using a DVI adapter with the unit. It connects via a full sized DVI connection.
But quite frankly, you'd be very happy with the power of a MacPro. Especially working with HDV files. Rendering would be a lot faster, Motion and Color would also benefit from the added power of an 8 core machine... plus you can use that Kona 3 card. Best there is IMHO.
Jerry
P.S. You are running professional software that really is desinged to be run on a professional machine like a Mac Pro...

IMovie 09 versus FCE 4 for editing Canon 25f HDV footage

I have two Canon HDV cams. I film 25f (I'm in PAL land). I have used iMovie 06 with no problems for DV editing via this old PowerBook, but for HDV I need more guts so am about to buy an iMac.
I have just purchased Steve Mullen's excellent "The Ins And Outs Of iMovie 09" and note with disquiet his comments to the effect that later versions of iMovie 09, and a new iMac comes with version 8.0.3., will treat Canon 25f (and 24f) as if it were interlaced footage. As a consequence those who require the best possible edit, say to produce a BD, will have to avoid all but the most rudimentary special effects.
I gather that this is in part (or wholly) down to Apple's presumption that those using iMovie 09 aren't bothered about " quality hard copy portable media" and simply wish to flit home movies around the internet or watch them on their " Macs".
Given that this negates the visual quality provided by HD in its various guises, does FCE 4 avoid these limitaions of iMovie 09?
Ron

Thanks but not an answer to my question!
I appreciate that picture quality is determined by the camera, the lens, whether DV/HDV/FullHD/Progressive/Interlaced etc and not least by the cameraman/woman's skills.
In addition, unless I've got something very wrong, the NLE system will, to a variable extent, via compression/expansion of the original source material during the editing process, degrade the final edited images so that they will never be exactly the same as those input to tape, smart card, hard disc whatever at the filming stage.
I would like to know whether such "image degradation" is the same whether one uses iMovie 09 or FCE.
(I think I am right in saying that FCP provides the least "image degradation" of all the Apple NLE systems.)
Ron
ps there is nothing particularly complicated in filming birds. Long lenses are a must, as is a good tripod (my recently purchased Geman video head costs as much as FCP) and good knowledge of the subject matter i.e. birds and how they are likely to behave. Problems include camera movement, wind is a nightmare, over/under exposure, and focussing difficulties.Everything bar white balance is manual on my XLH1. Birds as well have a habit of not keeping still.
Editing for me ought to be straightforward. No fancy FX but a need for good dissolves cutaways and the like. A high proportion of my clips are about 10 secs. in duration.

*** Settings for importing down-converted HDV footage

Working with a Sony Z1U with HDV footage. Have printed HDV footage to tape and now want to import it as SD footage in order to go to DVD. In the settings on the Z1U, do I choose the "squeeze" or "letterbox" option? I think squeeze, but I want to double check. I want this to fill widescreen tv's and appear letterboxed on tubes.
Thanks in advance!

you will probably get better help on this topic at the creativecow.net forums

Good low-cost widescreen monitor for one-screen editing?

Hello, I'm on a tight budget, looking for a widescreen monitor that is a good blend of low-cost but good quality (if possible!).
I will be doing all my work off this single monitor. I will unfortunately NOT be able to have a dual-monitor setup, nor have an external reference monitor. I will be editing HDV footage.
Any suggestions? Thanks!

It is a PVA screen with dual DVI and a D-sub connector.
I use three of them and they give me a good BFTB, "Bang-for-the-Buck".
If you consider the various panels in use, they go from low to high in quality, TN >> PVA >> IPS.

Lines in QT HDV footage

With HDV footage why do I see artifacts and lines in my QT files but not in my AIC browser playback? Which is giving me the real quality? Is QT the actual digitized media playback?

redpaw wrote:
Which is giving me the real quality?
Well, the correct answer is neither. If your footage is HDV shot in an interlaced format, such as 1080i60, your footage is designed to be played on an interlaced monitor, such as a CRT television. It will not look correct on a computer screen, which is not designed to display interlaced video. So you see the "lines" of the interlaced format when displayed on a computer screen.
The reason that it appears to look OK in Final Cut is that Final Cut, if the Viewer or Canvas is set to any other magnification than 100%, will supress one of the two interlaced fields that make up a frame and display only one of the fields. This removes the "lines" in the display of video (but not in the actual video it self). Here is an example - viewer set to display at 50% frame size:
And now, the same frame with the Viewer set to display 100% size:
So setting the Viewer or Canvas display to any other size than 100% surpresses this artifact (but has no effect on the video itself).
When you view the clip in Quicktime Player, you are seeing the "lines" because it is displaying both fields of the video regardless of the magnification setting:
So, in short, the only way you will see this interlaced video displayed correctly is when you view it on an interlaced monitor. You can do this if you have a Matrox, Aja or Blackmagic video output card or hardware box, or if you were to burn a DVD of your material, and then play the DVD on an interlaced monitor. Interlaced footage is designed to playback on interlaced monitors.
This is not a problem for you. Edit the footage, and then use Compressor to transcode the finished movie into the correct delivery form - web, DVD, etc.
MtD

Optimal & minimal system for HDV

Hi all.
I have a client who wants some recommendations for buying a computer and monitor for editing HDV. When it comes to editing, I'm almost always for buying the latest and fastest, but I've read about some problems with the dual 2.7 G5 and HDV (I believe I read it in this forum, but couldn't come up with the post when I searched again). The client has the footage captured to a LaCie drive. I'm assuming it is a FW800 drive.
In Apple's white papers, the minimum requirement...
1 GHz processor, 1 GB of RAM, and 167 MHz bus speed required for HDV playback
That seems like it would be a pain to work with though.
My questions are,
1-What is the absolute minimum you would work with?
2-What would you suggest working with?
Thanks,
jack

Hi Jack,
I really do not think it is possible to answer these questions in general, as expectations will differ. Also: is that editing including colour correction or will that be done externally? What is the target medium? This pretty much defines the monitoring capabilities needed... and so on.
I have edited HDV on a G4 1.5GHz PowerBook with 1.5 GB RAM (dictated by the need to show something to the client at the end of the day) using a LaCie FW800 hard disk. It does work, but it is painfully slow, even considering that the actual FW800 throughput on a G4 is better than on a G5.
I also gave it a shot on my iMac 2.0 GHz with 1.5 GB RAM (which I normally exclusively use for doing music with LogicPro). Performance is OK, but it cannot be extended with PCI cards, does not have sufficient resolution for 1:1 display of 1080i and it only supports mirror mode for external monitors... that's pretty much the end of the story.
I have tried several configurations and this is what I ended up with and for the time being I am happy with it: PM Dual 2.7GHz with 6.5 GB RAM, added FW800 PCI card (to have separate busses for external HD and HDV) and DecklinkHD Pro card (single-link), HDLink adapter to monitor on a second 23" Cinema Display, G-Tech 1GB FW800 disk. I capture directly from the HVR-Z1 because the price/value relation of the Sony HDV deck is a joke. It is cheaper to get a FX1 just to use it as a deck and a door stop if needed.
So, back to your question, a system used for HDV editing must be expansible, so IMHO the PowerMac is the only thing that makes sense. Performance-wise the smallest model should be ok. I found (I increased RAM incrementally starting at 2.5GB) going from 2.5GB to 4.5GB a big improvement, going from 4.5GB to 6.5GB not relevant (anyhow the 6.5GB make a big difference using eg. Motion). I might be too extreme here, but I want to preview my stuff 1:1, so using a DecklinkHD together with HDLink and a second 23" CinemaDisplay is currently the most convenient option I know of... of course this is for editing, not for colour correction. That's why I went for the Pro version of the Decklink (it has analogue out). It allows me to use a regular SD monitor.
HTH,
Uwe

Unable to Subclip HDV footage

I'm having trouble subclipping HDV footage. When I match frame the footage in the timeline the make subclip option is greyed out. Anybody have any idea why FCP is doing this? Thanks in advance
Intel - FCP 6.0.4

I just got off the phone with a friend of mine who was having the same problem as you. Although you say the camera playback is set properly, please recheck this. go into your camera's playback menu>menu>standard set>VCR HDV/DV. Unplug your firewire from the camera. Make sure camera is set to HDV NOT auto. replace firewire cable. Now open FCP. Go in Audio/video settings>A/V devices (farthest tab on right). In box for playback edit to tape different from video output (make sure it's checked) mirrored (checked) Video playback 1080i50, Audio HDV. I hope that works now.
Steve

Trouble capturing HDV footage from Sony Z5U in FCE4 - any ideas?

I've shot about half an hour of HDV footage with the Sony Z5U. Have the computer at home connected to my Mac with a firewire. Tried with both firewires that I own. I've used a similar camera before to capture footage recently with no problems.
Gone through the Easy Setup in FCE4 and changed it to HD, HDV1080i60. In the camera, the VCR mode is set for HDV, the Video Out for Component says "1080i/480i", the down convert and DV wide convert are for letter box.
Any ideas on what the problem is? Do I just have 2 bad Firewire cables? or a bad port on my computer/camera?

Do you want to downconvert, or do you want to capture HD? Switch off downconvert. Switch off iLink.

Monitor for HDV footage?

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