real quick question... FCE and DVCAM
 

can final cut express capture DVCAM tapes?

thanks.

-edward

Yes, read the spec page for full details:

http://www.apple.com/finalcutexpress/specs.html

yeah, that's what i thought... i checked all my settings and everything. still no working.

i have a few tapes that my boss gave me; footage that i did not shoot myself tho. supposedly footage from a conference in south africa. when i try to capture it, i click capture, it takes a few seconds then prompts: "This operation could not be completed as there is no video"

i wonder if there really is no video on the tapes... very odd.

are there any settings that i have to look out for?

-edward

What you need to figure out is if your deck can play DVCAM tapes. he problem is as likely to be there as in FCE.

Over firewire, there is no difference between a miniDV signal or a DVCAM signal to the computer.

South Africa is PAL. Edward, you are in NY: with an NTSC deck?

ooooh, it may be in PAL. good thinking.

i have the sony HVRM15U deck.

-edward

i set FCE's easy setup to DV-PAL and still nothing. this time the prompt didnt even come up to tell me that there was no video, but the capture screen stayed blank.

-edward

You might have to reset the M15U:

"OTHERS" menu: "60i/50i SEL" to 50i...
and make sure "IN/OUT REC": "HDV/DV SEL" is set to AUTO (or DV)...

Like its SD cousin, the HVRM15U is PAL/NTSC switchable and can play DVCAM tapes.

If FCE isn't seeing anything, chances are there's nothing there, an incompatible format or a faulty connection between the deck and the computer.

Here's what I do with the DSR-11 (the SD PAL/NTSC deck) - I'm assuming you can do the same with the HVRM15U:

1. Connect it to a video monitor so you can see what the deck is picking up on the tape directly rather than relying on the computer's capture screen.

2. Enable the color bars - these are broadcast over the FireWire. If you can't see those at the computer end, something is probably very amiss with the connection.

3. When the tape is playing, see what format the deck claims it is. Even when the deck is switched for NTSC, when you play a PAL tape it will play it correctly.

4. Hook the FireWire on the deck to another device (e.g., camcorder) and see if it can get the signal from the deck.

Also, since you have DVCAM, you must have SD recordings. Is the deck configured to output SD? If it can be configured to HDV (even with an SD source), are you sending that to the computer? That would certainly explain the apparent lack of video if FCE can only support SD.

(I plead ignorance to the realities of the HVRM15U but these are the first things I'd look for.)