Convert HDV?

[Manu De Smet]

Hellow,

Is it possible to change the captured HDV material and convert it to normal DV file? I'm working with Adobe premiere cs3 and i'm having lots off problems with the HD material, mainly because my pc aint that heavy.

Any help is welcome

Manu

[Peter Rhalter]

If your camcorder can downconvert the HDV to DV, it may be be faster and better quality to use its hardware and recapture the footage to your computer in DV format.

Best,
Peter

[David Tindale]

I agree with Petet, I work with HD acquisition everyday and my company down converts everything to DV PAL for post, as we don't supply content to our clients in HD. The quality is good, better than if we were just capturing SD.

hope that helps

David

[Manu De Smet]

the problem is I opend a normal DV Pal project in Premiere to capture the footage, I knew it was possible to capture the HD footage as normal DV. The funny thing is, it always captures HD. What settings should I change.

[Ron Evans]

The settings are in the CAMERA output menu settings NOT Premiere. Set camera output to convert HDV to DV then capture normally as DV.

Ron Evans

[Manu De Smet]

Thanks, I don't know why I oversaw this ...

[Stefan Verna]

I have footage shot in HDV w/ the canon XH G1 and i can't figure out
how to either capture it in DV into my FCP or to simply transfer it
to a DV tape via my DVX-100B camera....

stef./.\

[Ron Evans]

You need to go into the playback menu of the XHG1 and set signal setup to (HD DOWN-conv) page 99 in manual. This will convert the output to DV and just capture as normal. I have PC so no idea how to capture HDV on MAC. To transfer to a DV tape on your DVX just connect firwire cable between the XHG1 and DVX, set down-conv as above and record between the two cameras. IF you just have the tape then you will need a Canon HDV camera to do the conversion or capture to make sure that there is compatibility.
Ron Evans

[Stefan Verna]

thanks ron, i got my buddy camera and it all worked out.

stef./.\

[Fred Phillips]

Originally Posted by Ron Evans

The settings are in the CAMERA output menu settings NOT Premiere. Set camera output to convert HDV to DV then capture normally as DV.

Ron Evans

I am about to get into HD for the first time with a Sony SR 12 camcorder purchase. So I have a few basic questions but perhaps this forum is too advanced for my kind of query and I should be directed elsewhere. I'd be grateful for any advice on other forums on this topic.

But my question concerns the AVCHD format and whether, if I capture my camera input, say, during a vacation in full 1089 HD, I can later downconvert this footage to SD when transferring to a computer for editing. The aim would be to ultimately burn an edited program to an ordinary DVD for use by friends in an ordinary DVD player feeding a non-HD TV set. Then I would still have the camera HI Def footage to be viewed by feeding directly (unedited) from the camera to an HDTV set. Of course over time I would gradually ease into Hi-Def editing after upgrading my computer and burner. BluRay??
Would such downconverted SD program material have the same quality as if the footage were originally shot in SD?

[Ron Evans]

The SR12 is an AVCHD camcorder with an internal hard disc drive. VIdeo files from this are transfered to the computer over a USB2 connection and cannot be changed on this copy operation. It is done fast about 6 to 10 times realtime. Once in the computer it is possible to convert to any format you wish to edit in either an intermediate format like Cineform or Canopus HQ and then output from the NLE to whatever format you want. I have recently converted my SR11 output to HDV to mix with other cams in the shoot. THe Sony Browser software that you would use to copy to the computer will store in a nice picture storage format that can be used to show by date,time etc and this will also do simple cuts editing and output in either AVCHD burned to a normal DVD to be shown on a BluRay player like PS3 or can be converted to burn on a normal DVD in SD ( you will need a powerful computer as these operations take some time). If you are a beginner and only want to do simple editing you do not need any other software other than the Sony Browser software that comes with the camera. Also the ONLY difference between the SR11 and the SR12 is the size of the hard drive. So unless you want to record over 14 hours of high definition at the highest quaility before backing up to a PC etc then the SR11 is a more economical choice.
Ron Evans

[David Wayne Groves]

Yes your footage can easily be edited,converted and burned for playback in regular DVD players with most editing programs, Vegas, Pinnacle ,ect,ect ...Your footage will loose some of its clarity, although it still will look better than most SD camcorder footage, but nothing however compared to the original AVCHD footage...

[Fred Phillips]

Many thanks for the replies to my query. I am off to Europe in Sept and I will shoot HD on my newly acquired SR11. I presume therefore that I can edit and convert to SD of pretty reasonable quality while still preserving the original HD camera footage. I am normally a still photographer using Fuji DSLRs in a studio in Toronto specialising in fashion and model photography (tough work but somebody has got to do it!). So video is a brand new field for me, especially HD and HD editing. I get the feeling from reading these messages that consumer level HD is still pretty new and perhaps not well understood by many, especially the editing and computer savvy needed for that. While I am going to jump in and learn as much as I can, can it be said that amateur HD (AVCHD, for example) is not really ready for prime time?

[Ron Evans]

Hi Fred, I think it may be the other way around. The software that comes with the SR11 is necessary to transfer to the PC, don't by pass it, and is easy to use. IT will make good DVD in AVCHD to play on BluRay player OR SD DVD's to play on a normal SD player, has simple cuts editing and will make menus etc. The consumer NLE's from Ulead and Pinnacle also work well and are a little more elaborate. It's the PRO NLE's that are behind!!!!!!! They all take some time to process( the faster the PC the quicker they work) but again the consumer ones seem faster I expect its because they work more in native format in some way. I tend to just convert to HDV ( also takes some time) but then it is easy to mix with my other HDV cams. Within the year I am sure both PC's and software will be in better shape.
I would let the Sony Motion browser software make an AVCHD disc as backup to the files on the PC and then also make a SD DVD of the same thing to watch on a SD DVD player. IF you want to author a fancy menu then you can always RIP this SD DVD into one of the many authoring programs. This is what I have done with most of the SR11 and SR7 clips I have taken. Others I have editing in Vegas and output as needed from there.

Ron Evans

[Fred Phillips]

Thanks for the update Ron. I didn't realise that it will be quite so easy to make an AVCHD DVD right from the downloaded cam material. Also to make an SD disc the same way. That at least gets me started. I note that the price of the SR11 in Canada is 1299 CDN (at Henrys or Vistek). Are you aware of any good shops that would be best to deal with regarding this kind of purchase that might also offer a bit of a lower price. I note that the US price hovers around 1140 in US dollars.

By the way I lived in Ottawa for about 9 years while working for the Govt some time ago. I'm from Toronto though, where I now reside. Right now I'm on holiday in Thailand where I am missing some awesome video opportunities which I intend to remedy in future with the new Camcorder.
Fred