Tape Import and transcode to proxy

I've been working with the tape import from an HDV tape and camera. My preferences are set to auto transcode to proxy on import, but when FCPX captures a tape to the archive, I import that archive into an event. The footage now shows up as offline until I manually right click on the file and click transcode and select proxy file. Anyone else having this issue or am I not doing it right. I was thinking it should automatically transcode it.
Thanks in advance,
Mike

I'd leave the Project and files set to ProRes.
Turn off background rendering as most newish computers should keep up. No real need to render even before export time.
When it comes Export time:
You can choose ProRes LT in the export options which is quit adequate for a DVD.
Use that export to author in the DVD software.
Al

Similar Messages

Interrupting Importing and Transcoding....

I put some clips on my project and now Background tasks is telling me that Importing media is at 65 % and Transcoding and Analysis is at 3%.
I have to go away now, so I wonder: if I close FCPX and reopen it tomorrow.... will it resume this process and bring it to completion?

Interrupting transcoding is not a problem, but you should not interrupt importing. Generally it's not a good plan to run analysis or transcoding on import, especially if you know the process will have to be interrupted. I suppose you can't leave it when you go away.

Should it take 40 minutes to render and transcode a 3 min video?

I was using FCE on a 2009 unibody MacBook Pro. It was starting to drive me crazy, so I stepped up to the plate and bought a new Quad Core 2011 MBP and FCPX. I'm editing 1080P from a Canon 60D and my typical video is about 3 minutes with several transitions and a graphic overlay. I'm typically saving the video locally using compressor's pre-configured YouTube 720P format.
Doing this seems to bring my machine to its knees for about 40 minutes to render and transcode the 3 minute video. All my other programs become somewhat unresponsive. Is this what I should be expecting, or is my computer having issues? I was hoping my shiny new $2300 machine was going to eliminate this problem, but it doesn't appear so. I've seen people mention that Qmaster isn't worth it for short videos, but if it's taking 40 minutes, I'm wondering if clustering is needed, or my computer has problems.
Thanks!

Well.. i'm using a 2009 unibody macbook pro and have no issues whatsoever. So lets try and see what your doing wrong.
When you say "I'm typically saving the video locally using compressor's pre-configured YouTube 720P format" do you mean you are importing the files from the camera and then converting them to this format before working with them in Final Cut?
Unless i'm mistaken, "YouTube format" seems to be .MP4 H264 codec. For working in Final Cut, that is a BIG no no, and might explain why your machines take forever. Final Cut likes ProRes 422. You can import and transcode to ProRes right in FCP in the Log and Transfer Window.
Or save the raw files onto your computer and use MPEG Streamclip to convert them to ProRes.
It is very important to do some research and figure out the best workflow for a particular NLE, before going out and spilling another 1.7k for something that still gives you trouble because of something you are overlooking.

Original and Transcoded (ProRes 422) Media

Hi all
Can anyone explain to me what exactly is the point of having both original (say H264, for example) and transcoded media in a library? I fail to grasp the point since I am only interested in dealing with prores files.
Thanks

Hyphen.
If FCP has the choice between original and optimized versions it will always use optimized.
It is not necessary to copy both versions to your library. If you check leave files in place in the import window and also check create optimized, it will link to the external original media and copy the Pro Res version to your library. Of course, it the clips are still on the camera, (or if you are importing from a camera archive) there will be no leave in place option and you would need to manage the library files after import.
Final Cut Pro X: Manage optimized and proxy media files
Russ

What is the best way to import and edit a large amount of footage?

Hello Apple world,
As a newbie to Final Cut 10 I have a question regarding best ways to import footage. I'll give you a quick run down.
I have a 150 gig of gopro footage that I just hit 'import' to recently (from my external HD), it took around 10 hours to process it all.
Its all under one event, but then somewhat organised into dates etc. But it is very slow. I imported it all at once because it was all footage from the last 6 months of my Whistler/states/fiji trip and want to make a movie out of it, using clips from all over the time, not just in chronological order.
I have the latest mac book pro, 4 gig ram,2.4 GHz i7, 750 hard drive, with nothing else on the computer.
Ive read about creating proxy media, after ive imported, but am still somewhat confused as to the benefit. Does it create duplicates? that will fill up my pretty large HD as it is!
Can you suggest any ways that might make my laptop run a bit faster? Should i delete and work directly from external HD etc etc?
Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance
Harlee

ascreenwriter wrote:
Hello,
I've just finished shooting what I am considering to be my directorial masterpiece. Shot it on the Canon 5D (1080p, 24fps), and the footage looks amazing. Now I am ready to start editing and have been using premiere lately, but I have yet to figure out the proper pipeline. I want to know the best way to retain resolution before I delve into this project.
My questions:
1) What is the best way to start a new project and import the footage without having to render whilst editing, so as to retain all resolution and originality of the source footage?
2) What is the best way/ codec/ format to export this same footage once editing is complete so as to retain that crisp 1080p for which the 5D is so recognized?
3) What is the best way/ codec/ format to import and export/ render between premiere and after effects? I am speaking mostly of vfx and color correction. I also have some 30fps footage that I intend to slow down in AE and then import into premiere.
I know this is pretty broad, but as a solo filmmaker I really need someone's guidance. I rarely ever finish my films with the same, crisp look as the footage. I need pipeline help, and really appreciate it!
1. Follow the advice above. Also use the Media Browser to import the footage in case you have spanned media files. Import files with the Media Browser.
2. It largely depends on what you wish to ouput to: Blu-ray, web, etc. This FAQ gives the best answer: What are the best export settings?
3. Use the Replace with Adobe After Effects Composition function.

ProRes files act crazy and transcoding to Animation codec gets ugly

So, allegedly, the Animation codec is lossless. However, when I take something encoded with Apple ProRes 422 HQ and transcode to Animation within the Quicktime Pro software, I see noticeable differences. Including: color change and increased aliasing.
The same is true when attempting to export stills from ProRes, even in the highest, most lossless formats. I am wondering if ProRes for PC is actually not quite ready for prime time? When I import a ProRes file into After Effects, I notice the same quality drop associated with trying to transcode it to a lossless format. It seems as though ONLY QT Pro has the capability to display ProRes files properly. If this is the case, this is largely useless, since I can't then USE these ProRes files for anything. What the heck guys? I wouldn't have had clients deliver me ProRes encoded stuff if I knew that it didn't actually maintain its integrity.
Please help out as soon as possible. Clients with deadlines are waiting on a solution that doesn't involve me spending 4000 grand on a new machine and FCP.

As a test, try nesting the problem sequence in a new empty sequence then export that new sequence using QuickTime. Let us know whether or not that succeeds.
Cheers
Eddie
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What's the best workflow for Home Movie Importing and Enjoying?

I'm new to iMovie (and the mac) and have started importing all my home movies from my camcorder into iMovie. I quickly realized that movies take a huge amount of disk space and it may or may not be reasonable to import all my movies and keep them on the hard disk in .dv format. At 12GB/Hour I would need 1.2 Terabytes of storage (plus backup). If that is the best workflow, i'm happy to invest in a few terabytes of storage and back up. But before I do that, I want to check to see if there is a different workflow I should follow given my use case.
Here is my use case:
I have 100 hours of 8mm and miniDV tapes already and plan to continue creating more.
I want to import them all into the iMac for ease of organization, searching for the clips of interest, and watch them either on my iMAC and also on my TV (via TIVO).
I may do some editing, but this is not a big priority for me at this time. I may do more editing in the distant future when I have more time. My editing for now will be limited to rejecting portions of clips I don't want.
I plan to watch the movies from my iMac on my TV via my TIVO (i've already ordered the Roxio Toast software that I understand I need, per the Tivo web site).
The final piece of my use case is back-up. I'd prefer to back up my movies on disk this way I maintain any editing i've done in case of a disk failure. Depending on what video format is recommended, this may bump me into a RAID multi-terabyte system as both working and automatic backup?
Here are my questions:
Should I maintain my event library in .dv format? (and bite the bullet on the storage)
Or is the .dv format intended only for temporary editing and users are expected to compress into another format after editing? if so, what format and which tool is recommended? (keeping in mind that I want to view the clips via Tivo and Roxio/Toast).
If I need to byte the bullet and invest in storage, my quick math suggests I'll need about 2 terabytes for the library and 2 more for back up for a total of 4 terabytes!?. Is a RAID system recommended for this? (I was surprised that the Apple store did not carry such a system, so perhaps that is not the best option). What would you recommend?
Anyone out there with a similar use case? I know I've asked a lot of questions here. I'd appreciate any recommendations you may have, even if you cant answer all of them.
Thank you.

I am in a similar mode, though about half as much existing DV footage.
+Should I maintain my event library in .dv format? (and bite the bullet on the storage)+
Short answer, yes; long answer:
I did "bite the bullet" since 1T drives are at or just over $100. I'm using a MacBook Pro so I bought an 2 port eSATA card for my cardbus slot ($34), and a 1T eSATA/Firewire/USB drive ($119). I don't plan to "back up" as I am not going to get rid of my Mini DV tapes/vhs/analog tapes, etc. Those will be in an off-site dark cool closet elsewhere. I don't want to do RAID or such as it still puts everything in the same drive unit, in the same location. Basically I'm splitting my video import to two different physical drives. So if lightning, thieves, personal incompetence or whatever strikes, there's more chance it'll only affect one of the drives. I've thought about a Drobo, which you might consider. It is unique device that offers a spin on RAID that offers some advantages.
Everything I read here on these boards suggests that it is best to grab the source video in the original format whenever possible. Since storage is cheap, makes sense to me.
It is likely you wouldn't compress your video unless you were going to edit it. For example if you wanted to make a video of the kids growing up to give the relatives you'd likely end up compressing to burn them a dvd. You would compress if you were going to use MobileMe, YouTube, etc. to post some footage. Whether you watch the video from home, or output to DVD for others, or post online, at least you'll have the source video in it's best possible original format to work with.
This is an aside, but might be useful, I imported one tape at a time, let iM09 create a new event and split per each day. THen I renamed every event based on what the content was before doing the next tape. This really helps later on once yo realize you have a hard drive with 50 hours + of everything in your life on it. I included the year in the name in some way, for example, John's wedding 1994, Hawaii 2000, Hawaii 2004. Then I ended up drag/dropping Hawaii to one event.

FCPX Project Render Settings - Can you edit in h.264 and Transcode/render only used clips on timeline to Prores during render?

I have a question on the PROJECT RENDER settings in FCP X. It’s seems to me that one could theoretically import and edit entirely with original h.264 video files without needing to Transcode to ProRes422. Once you’re done with your edit and want to get the added benefits of COLOR GRADING in ProRes422 color space, it seems that FCPX will automatically render your edit in ProRes422 according to these preferences. In that case, a color grade could be applied to the whole edit, and be automatically transcoded/rendered into ProRes 422 during the render process. After rendering, what would show up on the viewer and what would EXPORT would be the rendered Prores files and not the original h.264 files. This saves a lot of time and space of transcoding ALL your media, and in theory should enable you to edit NATIVE video formats like h.264, with automatic benefits of ProRes during render. I'm assuming the render may take longer because FCPX is having to convert h.264 video files to ProRes422 while rendering. This may be one drawback. But will you your color grade actually use the 4:2:0 color space of the h.264 native media, or will it utilize 4:2:2 color space, since the render files are set to render to ProRes422 ? Can anyone please confirm that this theory is correct and optimal for certain work flows?? Thanks!

Thanks Wild. That's what I thought - in that the render files would be converted to ProRes422 codec. So do you or anyone else think that there is an advantage to having the 4:2:0 original file be processed in a 4:2:2 color space?
Yes there is an advantage, any effects and grading will look better than in a 4:2:0 space.
Most professionals online seem to think so. Also - will rendering of heavy effects and color grading take longer using this method because it's having to convert h.264 media to ProRes during render?
Yes, it will definitely take longer.
Can anyone verify from a technical standpoint whether editing and color grading in this workflow will see the same benefits as having transcoded the h.264 media to ProRes in the first place?
Same benefits from a final product view point, you lose on rendering time though and if you have lots of effects things will seem slow as it will have render everytime from the h264 file rather than a Pro Res file for every change you make. This may be fine on a higher end mac but I'm sure just pummels an older lower end mac as to being almost useless.

How do you suggest I best import and edit many portions of old VHS?

I read the recent postings on digitizing the multiple DVD's and found that to be quite interesting and enlightening. I have searched through the archives but didn't run into a posting with exactly my question and I apologize because I know there are bound to be others with the same question. This is what I have and want to do: Vista with an external Seagate attached via USB 2. I have Adobe Premier Elements 3 but I am willing to purchase another form of software and another form of external drive. I do have a Firewire port.
I have a box of old VHS tapes of my kid's dance recitals, ball games, etc... the tapes are very long but often only have small portions of interest on them and now that my kids are older they are only interested in the 5 minutes of themselves. I would like to import the video and burn to dvd the pertinent portions of the VHS.
I need to know both the suggested hardware to use to hook to the computer... and what software do you suggest that I use to edit the footage.Or, maybe you have some other suggestions.
I have used Premier quite a bit. I have never used enormous files like an endless dance recital so I hope that you tell me there is a way I could perhaps find a device that would allow me to view and only digitize the portions I want... or, perhaps it would be better to take these tapes somewhere and have them made into a DVD and then would there be a way to only import a portion of them that way? These are NOT world class videos...(in fact, 20 years later I realize how badly I was wasting my money!! HA!)
Have I been clear in what I need and the kind of advice I am asking for?
Thank you for any advice you might offer me.

Here's what I did, more as an accident, rather than a thought out process to spend big bucks, or get the best possible quality on conversion.
I had a bunch of old analog tapes, just like you, and always thought it would be very kool to get them in a format I can use and loaded onto my PC.
When I purchased my DV Handycam, one of the options I looked for was "Analog Passthru" capabilities. This basically allows you to hook up an analog device like a VCR and copy video to your Handycam.
Desktop "DVD Writers" typically have analog hook-ups and basically can do the same thing.
With this capability, I then slowly went thru the process of moving all my old tapes onto my PC.
Did it work, yes it did.
Was it easy, yes it was (as far as cable hook-up).
Was it tedious and somewhat time consuming, yes, yes, and yes.
But over time I did get all my old tapes onto my PC and in a format that was primed for editing. (You can also do some bulk editing of source during the conversion).
As far as quality, considering the video source and conversion method, I was quite pleased with the end result, and anyone who views the clips (on PC or TV), has a hard time seeing the differences between the end product and the source.
Would a dedicated HW device like Canopus have given better quality, most likely yes, but for my purposes, the one time use to just move my tapes was not cost effective. The purchase of a Cam with passthru, or a DVD Writer, worked just fine and could be used for other things.
(One caveat, with Canopus or a HW bridge setup, the process is much quicker as it allows going from analog directly to DV-AVI. And DV-AVI is the format goal for easy editing with PE7).
One thing for sure, my family and friends get a hugh kick out of seeing themselves (as they've grown older over the years).
And no one ever complains about the quality of the videos...

Best practice question re. importing and scratch drive

Hello:
Will be editing .mov files primarily (Panasonic TM900 files wrapped as ProRes 422HQ - via ClipWrap). I'm using an external scratch drive.
Questions:
1. is it best to "copy" the files to the project as is the default check mark or uncheck and save disk space?
2. on the scratch drive, I currently have the original .mts files and then a new folder with the wrapped files. Is it better to keep these on the main HDD or is it ok to be on the scratch drive as well. Thnaks.
Steve

Yes read your manual to understand more but here is a clip:
Create proxy media: This option creates video and still-image proxy files. Video is transcoded to the Apple ProRes 422 (Proxy) codec format, which provides high-quality files useful for offline editing at the original frame size, frame rate, and aspect ratio. Final Cut Pro creates medium-quality (one-quarter resolution) proxy versions that increase editing performance. Video proxy files take up considerably less disk space, which often means you can work on a portable computer instead of a desktop computer that has significantly more memory and processing power. Still images are transcoded to either JPEG (if the original file doesnʼt have alpha channel information) or PNG files (if the file has alpha channel information). Still-image proxy files facilitate faster processing and rendering when the original image is very large.
Note: When transcoding files, Final Cut Pro always retains the original media for future use. For more information about where to find original media, proxy media, and transcoded media files, see Where your media and project files are located.

Importing and organizing raw video footage - options

greetings-
Looking for a better solution, if available, for importing & organizing raw video. I am using imovie for now. Soon to switch to FC express. After much exploring & learning on my new machine (recent convert), I’m a bit frustrated on how it video is handled.
Please correct any of these that I’ve got wrong, but it appears that:
Importing video (from DV camera) with programs provided on my machine can only be done through imovie and idvd.
Importing video through these programs requires creating a project, and importing the video to that project.
Then that imported video is associated with that project.
So I want to take the imported clips (say from imovie), and organize them archiving, use on other projects, backup, etc. I know that I can find the actually video files by control clicking on the project in finder, hit show package, and get to "clip 1, clip 2...clip 55". This represents the raw footage, but now I’ve got say 55 separate clips, for just one import.
I’d like to effectively organize my various raw videos by year/event etc. So that when working a project, a can pull in the different footage that I want to use. For instance, I previously imported and organzied video footage with my PC editing software, and now, thankfully, I can just bring that various footage from the external drive into Imovie and edit. If I want to do a project and grab some footage from 04, 05, 06, it's all right there.
Is there a better solution for import & organizing my raw video clips more efficiently with imovie or idvd?? Or perhaps another program. Such that I’ve got the 1/2 hr of video "Christmas 05", one file (not 40 seperate clips), saved, and can pull it into projects as needed in the future... Ideally maintaining the clip breaks. Am I asking to much from apple? How do you all import/manage/save your imported video?
Much thanks for any feedback!
20" G5 core duo Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Ciao Rubbersoul,
unfortunately iMovie doesn't allow you to rename the clips (other than within the project), so if you want to label them for future reference, you'll have to do that outside iMovie.
I personally save the best shots from each project to an external hard drive using the following method:
• simply drag the desired clips from the iMovie project to the desktop
• organize the clips by creating the appropriate folders (e.g. by subject, time, etc.), so you'll find your footage faster
• rename the clips within the folders. If you don't need to give each clip a separate name, you can use tools like Renamer4Mac (http://www.power4mac.com) to batch-rename the clips.
• transfer and organize your folders/clips on the external (Firewire) hard disk. You can do that manually or by using media browsers like iDive to organize and view your clips. iDive is a digital hub that can help you to keep not only your video but also music and pic collections under control, and it integrates with iMovie and FCE/FCP. Check it out here:
http://www.aquafadas.com/idive-digital-video/index.php
Always remember that DV eats up a lot of disk space and don't forget to back up your footage to tape.
spero che ti sia d'aiuto
mish

Conferencing and Transcoder Resources in Campus Environment

This is my first time working in a campus environment, and have some questions regarding best practices especially regarding conferencing and transcoding resources.
The central office consists of several buildings, all connected via gigabit fiber. It houses a single CallManager Cluster, IPCC and Unity servers, and 2 2821 voice gateways. Each gateway has a connection PRI to the PSTN, and also a PRI to the legacy PBX.
The two remote offices (50 users) are located within one mile. Each office is connected to the main office via metro ethernet, but also has a 2821 with FXO ports to handle 911 calls. In addition, the 2821 has a Data T1 terminated on a 2821 at the central office. Routing is configured so all Voice VLAN traffic goes over the Data T1 rather than the Metro ethernet.
Due to the 1.5 MB limit on the data T1, calls to/from the remote offices use G.729. Calls in the same office use G.711.
My question is where conferencing and trancoder resources should be configured. Currently, all 2821s are configure as MGCP gateways in CCM, but none have conferencing or transcoding configured. Should I configure this on the 2821s in the central office and have the remote offices use them, or configure them on the remote 2821s as well? Keep in mind the remote offices do not have PRIs, just a couple POTS lines for 911 and SRST calls.

John,
Usually if IPCC is in the mix without Transcoders, then IPCC ports are put into it's own Device Pool/Region with G711 to all. Even though at the HQ to Remote you might be running Device Pool/Regions with G729 in between. Check that to be sure.
Also later IPCC versions have the option of being installed with either G711 or G729, just to make you aware of the options. If you want to verify this in IPCC 4.x, goto AppAdmin/System/System Parameters and look for the installed codec.
As far as conferencing, my original recommendation was based on normal installs. I really didn't notice in your original post that you had limited PSTN access at the remotes. So this is going to come down to your total resources. Do you have limited WAN bandwidth? Do you expect more parties on the Conference Bridge to be remote PSTN or local IP Phones? Really its going to come down to your DSP resources compared to your WAN resources.
With all that being said, from your last post I would gather that your conference calls mainly are with more participants from the PSTN. So I would configure the 2821s at the main site with enough sessions to transcode my calls to IPCC. Then configure the remainder for conferencing. Then the DSPs in the remote I would configure for conferencing. The I would create MRG for the main site resources then another for the remote. Then create a MRGL for the remotes using the main site MRG then the remote MRG.
The reason I suggest this is mainly because you feel more calls will traverse the WAN if you have the remote site initiate it's conference with a local bridge. Most importantly you want to make sure you have enough for transcoding and worse case scenario if you run out of HW conf resources at the main site you can failback to the HW resources at the remote. Of course you should really try to trend this with CCM Perfmon, looking at stats like Location utilization and the conference bridges utilization.
Hope this helps
Thanks
Fred

Help - HDV tape import problem - Sony HC-3 broken - Questions/Warning

My Sony HC-3 HD camcorder has just failed. I've had it just over 3 years.
I really don't enjoy video editing much, and despite maybe shooting 20-30 tapes of HD footage of my young children, I'd only got round to importing a handful over Firewire, but was lulled into a false sense of security perhaps by treating the tapes as my film negatives (new tape each time).
The camcorder behaved a bit erratically a few weeks ago when inserting a tape, then the other day it gave an error, I ejected the tape and had a constant C32:11 error flashing. Lots of user reports on the web, no idea what the real issue is, but any suggested fixes didn't work.
Essentially I cannot close the tape transport compartment with or without a tape - it won't accept a tape and return to record/play position.
Almost feels as though something isn't clicking/catching when you push the tape in.
Anyhow, I thought if worst comes to worst I'll just buy Sony's latest model - then the realisation they'd discontinued consumer HDV tape camcorders. Not a happy bunny.
I've sent camcorder to local Sony repair center and am awaiting outcome.
Now my questions are:
1 - Is there any way of simply reading the tape data using an SD camcorder if I ever needed to ? - There are programs that use them to archive data so I guess in theory it must be possible just to read the data, unless it's stored in an SD compliant file format rather than just data.
2 - is 1080i HDV (1440x1080 res) as captured by the Sony HC3 a cross-vendor format or Sony specific - (if 1 is impossible) could I if needed say pick up a Canon HDV camcorder and use that to import my video?
3 - are we to assume now that DV/HDV is dead as a consumer format despite it's better image quality compared to hard drive/memory card video codecs.
Hopefully Sony will repair my camcorder for a fixed rate charge - if they can't or won't what are my options for importing the video I've got on tape?
There are bound to be companies who'll do this for a fee if worst comes to worst, but I feel a bit annoyed with Sony for dropping support for the format after buying an expensive camcorder only a few years ago.
Even if it can be repaired, I'm not sure I'll want to continue using it if there's a risk of future failure and inability to import old tapes. Frankly I'm glad I've used the video function on my Canon 5D II a lot in the last year or so for quick video clips even if many are transiently OOF.
Yes, my fault for not importing the tapes immediately after shooting, but I'd assumed that I would be able to import the data well into the future evene if it meant a new device.
AC

Jeremy Hansen wrote:
HDV is not dead!!! Heavens, the pros laugh at AVCHD and hard drive based cameras. When you shoot on HDV tape, you have a backup.
Sony do still manufacture HDV pro camcorders of course - it's the early adopter consumer they've left in the lurch.
One of my original reasons for using tape was this automatic backup - silly of me not to routinely import tapes to Mac of course.
To answer your questions:
1. No, you can't read it with an SD camera. you are correct that it is just 12GB of data, but no software really knows how to go back and forth, so to speak. In case you care, there was an app years ago (I forget which) that could use a Dv camera as a 12GB backup drive. But practically, no.
Shame really seeing as it's just data - I'd used the Firewire SDK kit DVHSCap app to pull off 12-13GB m2ts files in the past which I felt would be ok for computer archival, unedited direct playback on PS3 and fairly quick to convert to AIC as needed for future editing purposes using a utility.
I did wonder if DVHSCap might be able to pull the data from an SD camcorder, but maybe the tape just would not play.
2. HDV is HDV. If you had problems, pros would advise you to import with the same camera, or at least same brand. But, usually there are no problems. There shouldn't be, but occasionally there are.
I was hoping this was the case, great.
3. Image quality is NOT better with hard drive based camcorders. In fact, most use a higher rate of compression than HDV. What is the advantage? A tape-based camera takes an hour to import and hour. Hard drive cams go faster. Some look great, but there is no advantage over HDV.
Yes, the only advantage of HD/card based camcorders is simpler import faster than real time, and I'd always been concerned with HD camcorders you'd have too many eggs in one basket if the HD failed in between imports to computer.
I own an HC-3, and you have to realize it was an early camera in the high-def market. I don't use it often (except as a secondary) because of its optics.
I've always found it produced pretty acceptable results - constantly amazed that 3-4 year old products get regarded as obsolete by manufacturers who just want you to buy the latest gadget.
Here is my advice:
Get a Canon HDV camera. Use it to import your tapes, and enjoy its superior optics and color quality. Opinion? Yes, but I believe it.
I may consider that if repair fails - any model recommendations that would trounce the Sony?
Cheers
AC

How to roundtrip and transcode footage for Davinci Resolve and others

Hello,
I'm cutting a project using multiple codecs in Premiere CC, but I want to grade it in Davinci Resolve- a software that can't handle MXFs and MP4s and H264s in the same sequence. My colorist is asking for a sequence in a single codec- preferably Pro Res.
I'm trying to do the equivalent of "Media Manager" in FCP to simultaneously move and transcode the footage from my finished sequence to a new location, but I'm having trouble finding this.
The "Project Manager" feature in Premiere Pro CC was incredibly buggy. It took 15 minutes to export a test sequence that was 15 seconds long and it didn't even trim my clips- even though I selected that box. This took up a ton of hard drive space. More importantly: It doesn't give me the option to transcode on export.
Does anyone know if this feature exists? I'm a professional editor and Premiere needs to play nice in finishing if I'm going to continue to use it.
[Text formatting removed. Please type your posts here rather than copy/paste.]
Message was edited by: Jim Simon

psion99 wrote:
Hello,
The "Project Manager" feature in Premiere Pro CC was incredibliy buggy.
Hi psion99,
Sorry that you didn't have a great experience with the Project Manager. It does work with some caveats.
psion99 wrote:
It took 15 minutes to export a test sequence that was 15 seconds long and it didn't even trim my clips- even though I selected that box. This took up a ton of hard drive space. More importantly: It doesn't give me the option to transcode on export.
Does anyone know if this feature exists? I'm a professional editor and Premiere needs to play nice in finishing if I'm going to continue to use it.
Yes, it takes awhile to copy the clips with Long GOP codecs. With footage like you are describing, Premiere Pro must copy the entire piece of media because of the codec. If you shot, say, ProRes in an ARRI Alexa camera, the Project Manager would only copy what you needed (plus handles) instead.
ProRes in an intraframe codec which allows the consolidation of media. Since Long GOP footage requires surrounding frames, you cannot consolidate it (therefore, requiring the entire media).
Do you recall that FCP could not playback Long GOP footage natively? It could not. In FCP 7 or earlier, Long GOP footage had to be transcoded to ProRes so it could be handled in the timeline. FCP's Media Manager seems faster because all the footage got sent through Log and Transfer making it into intraframe footage, which can be consolidated and exported quickly. In fact, the Project Manager is equally snappy if you only include intraframe footage.
You do have a point regarding managing the media and transcode it to a new codec. Please make a feature request: https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/mmform/index.cfm?name=wishform
Most people that want to consolidate footage in Premiere Pro transcode the footage before starting the edit. It would be nice to be able to manage that media and transcode it at the same time.
Hope that helps explain things.
Kevin

DV tape import trouble

I am currently archiving quite a big amount of SD DV footage in FCPX. I'm using a pretty old consumer DV camcorder as a source, connected via FireWire 400.
My workflow is to archive every whole tape to disk as quickly as possible and use the archive files as a source later on, since the camcorder will soon be retired.
Sometimes, however, archiving fails with the following behavior:
Tape is inserted
Clicking "Archive..." button in FCPX import window, entering name and clicking OK.
Camcorder neither rewinds nor starts capturing, but "archiving..." message appears with timecode counting.
I press "play" on the camcorder manually, now it really seems to be archiving something. "archiving" message with time indicator counting in the top left of the capturing window, original timecode counting in the top right.
at the end of the tape (after an hour or so), FCPX rewinds the tape
after rewind, a couple of seconds of footage are captured
A message appears along the lines everything has been captured successfully.
Shockingly, when I open the captured archive package, there is only on clip with the first few frames of the tape in it. Everything else seems to be gone!
Sometimes, not even the archive package with the name I entered exists. Sometimes, I look into the trash and there is an empty archive package with the name I entered.
According to FCPX documentation, archiving from DV tape should start at the current tape position and terminate automatically at the end of the tape. It never worked for me like this. Either FCPX rewinded the tape and captured from the start after I enterd the archive name, or the tape didn't move at all, and I had to start it manually. What can be wrong here?
Are there any settings to instruct FCPX to continue archiving on timecode breaks? It should be possible to automatically skip to the next valid timecode...
Mirko

It's an imac super model with i7, dual video card, etc. so it's not a computer limitation. The camcorder is an older version of another one I have (both Sony), and the tapes (all Hi 8) made after 2000 imported into archives-no problem (not mini-DV, regular DV Hi 8). The tapes made prior to 1999 won't import from either camcorder-I've tried. The camcorders are both connected using Firewire 800 (main imac port). The cable is fine-since I have imported the Hi 8 DV's The newer Canon using mini-DV tapes imported with no problem.
So, I know I'm using the proper protocols. I turned off all the rendering options to simplify import to the lowest common denominator. In attempting to import into imovie as well I get the same message "NO DATA FROM DEVICE". The archive mode does rewind the tape, plays the tape, and the monitor shows the images. However, nothing is being recorded. The arcives are automically dumped into the trash after import is complete. Regardless, I can't import into an "event" either-the same message appears.
Any help welcome.

Tape Import and transcode to proxy

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