Need to convert QuickTime HDV and EX1 to something for Premiere Pro CS4 Windows
 

Hi,

I captured two Sony V1U HDV tapes (1080i60) and Sony EX1 footage (1080i60) in Final Cut Pro 7.0.x. I need to convert them to something that can be read and edited in Premiere Pro CS4 for Windows. Any advice on what I should convert it to?

Thanks,

Heath

You need to recapture the HDV material. For the EX material, just import the complete BPAV directory from hard disk. No conversion needed. AFAIK FCP uses an intermediate format for HDV, so recapturing is the only sensible way without losing quality.

If the HDV and EX1 material is the rewrapped QuickTime file that FCP was using... Those will not fly on the PC at all, not even QT Player.

Thank you Apple.

Like Harm said, you'll need to recapture.

Well, I've definitely seen Vegas struggle with the FCP/HDV/QTs a few years back. I'm converting everything to H.264 which should work. My colleague was able to edit H.264 in Premiere Pro CS4 for Windows.

Thanks,

Heath

I would much prefer re-capturing than converting with the inherent loss of quality and the time difference between re-capturing and conversion is small, so I suggest to use the re-capture option.

What do I re-capture it as?

Also, I goofed last night (because I've been using the EX1 for 2 years now)--I shot on the NX5U which converted to ProRes 422.

Thanks!

Heath

Capturing is just a digital transfer of data, is does not require a specific format, because it is only a whole range of 0's and 1's. For editing HDV material, you must choose a HDV preset that exactly matches the way you shot the material. For your AVCHD material, the same applies as with XDCAM-EX material, just import the whole directory that you transferred to your hard disk before importing to FCP.

Harm,

I don't think you understand, I captured the HDV footage using the FCP HDV 1080i60 FireWire Basic codec. I thought you were going to tell me I could capture it in another format.

I was looking for a way to convert the footage to another codec for Premiere Pro CS 4 (Windows). A colleague of mine mentioned H.264, which I'm using.

When it comes to Premiere Pro CS4, I'm not as well-versed, hence this post.

Thanks,

Heath

I think you don't understand, because as I said earlier, capturing is just a digital transfer and can not be done in a format. I assume FCP converted that digital transfer to an intermediate format which can not be used on PC. Hence the requirement to recapture.

Converting to H.264 will not make life easier and will deteriorate the quality. It is like you have a bicycle and a car to choose from. The bicycle will accelerate faster in the first few meters (H.264) but after 100 miles the car will be way ahead (unconverted HDV).

Harm,

Recapturing it won't do anything--it'll be HDV or ProRes 422, no matter what. I did a conversion to regular QuickTime and the timecode went with it.

Heath

Well, except the NX5U clips, but we're discussing that on another thread.

Heath

Heath,

You could try using DVHSCap on the Mac, it is supposed to capture directly to the M2T format, which is the standard HDV file on the PC. If that doesn't work, Premiere & Vegas will do it. The M2T file format is basically the same thing as an FCP HDV .mov file. Unfortunately, FCP's HDV .mov files are only compatible with Final Cut. In the PC world, .m2t HDV files are the standard.

There is also a ProRes "read only" codec for the PC available from Apple. Then you could just transfer your ProRes files to the PC and get on with it.


Personally I prefer to create mirror images of my HDV files for each platform, so that each NLE/FX program has it's preferred format in the highest possible quality. For example, FCS loves ProRes. In the PC world, Cineform or DNxHD are more likely to be getting the love. My basic workflow is to always capture M2T file as the originals and then use ClipWrap to create .move files for the Mac.

I'm looking at standardizing with Cineform on both platforms as it elegantly solves this very annoying cross-platform issue. I've seen many people also transcoding to DNxHD for cross-platform work.