Correct Settings for HD capture
 

I'm going insane trying to capture HD footage from my (seldom used) XHA1.

Can someone please tell me the correct sequence settings for capturing HD into FCP 6.0.

I've tried Easy Setup and just about everything else I can think of, with varying results. Sometimes I can communicate with the cam but get a "No video" message, and sometimes, I just cannot communicate with the camera at all. This is maddening because I have had it working before.

It works perfectly with SD footage, so I assume it's just a setting I am missing.

Many thanks,


RES

What you described was one of the fallbacks i saw on the HDV format - its not quite standard yet so you get this trouble in capturing and what not.

Anyways, I've worked with an XH A1 and one thing I do recall that made capturing a pain was the fact that the camera has an HD Downconvert feature. If this is turned on, turn it off so an HDV feed, rather SD, goes through firewire into final cut pro. I dont have an A1 on hand with me right now so I cant give you step by step directions on fixing this, but it should be in the manual.

In FCP, easy set up should work just fine, but if not, go to your Audio/Video Settings and make sure the settings are as follows:
- Capture Preset: HDV or HDV-Apple ProRes 422 (if you want to edit in prores. its limited to doing a straight capture.)
- Device Control Preset: HDV Firewire.

As far as the Sequence preset, this really depends on what kind of HDV you're working with (24F, 30F, or 60i in your case and working with the A1), but the beauty of FCP 6 is that it can match a sequence timeline based on the clip you'll be placing in it.

Hope that helps.
-Ryan

With the fireire unplugged, change the menu settings to download HD instead of SD. Connect everything up again and it should work.

Make sure you connect your cam via firewire and let the electric run
through to your computer before connecting your external hardware
and consequently open up FCP.

Ron,

Also take a look at Andrew Balis' article for further explanations and some downloadable capture presets.

http://edu.moviola.com/hdv_prores

Bill

Sorted - thanks
 

Thanks everyone - problem solved.

Easy Setup didn't seem to do a complete job, I had to go to AUDIO/VIDEO settings and set everything correctly there.

Sequence Preset - HDV 1080i60
Capture Preset - HDV
Device Control - HDV Firewire

Once I did that - everything worked beautifully.

Ron

I was reading this article and it states that FCP will break up the captured video into "clips" based on when the camera recording was started and stopped. When filming weddings I often record dozens and dozens of 10-15 second segments, so am I to understand that capturing to ProRes in FCP will make each of those an individual clip? Part of me likes that idea, but part of me is concerned that I'll end up with a million little clips for a wedding project and it will be a nightmare to go through.

Anyone care to comment on this aspect of the capture?

That's a feature you can turn on or off. If you choose, I believe you can get the whole tape onto one clip. Don't quite remember where you customize that but I'm sure you can find it in the manual under 'capture'.

Okay, cool. I'm just now upgrading to HD, so I'm trying to learn all of this. Having hundreds of tiny clips might turn out to be a good thing, or it might not, so I was a bit concerned. Thanks for the response.

Travis, having the clips broken up has always worked for me, as it saves me having to effectively do it in post. It helps me be organised so when I get to compiling an edit I know what I've got to with (I'll ofter rename each clip so I know what's in it, and can then sort them into bins). Of course it's up to you how you work, and what works for you.

That's what I was thinking too. At first I didn't like the idea, but then realized that it's basically helping me do the rough cut, and might actually end up saving me some time. Guess I'll know for sure once I've had a chance to try it out.

Premier elements only splits the clips in SD, and I'd got used to working that way - then either renaming the clips according to their subject, or modifying the name if I needed to keep them in sequential order. Unfotunately it doesn't split clips in HD - you have to do it manually. Now I've got used to it, I don't mind so much. It's like going back to basics, and really looking at the footage to decide where YOU want to start and end each clip.