how to capture HDV for use in Windows AND Mac

[Gerald Labrador]

I use an FX7 and have Premiere CS3 on Windows, and also Final Cut 6 (in the works of getting Premiere on Mac also).
What is the best way to capture HDV so I can use it for one program or the other at any given time without having to re-capture for each platform?

I read an old article on EventDV regarding preserving native HDV. But I need clarification...If I capture using Premiere on a Mac, will those files be compatible with Premiere on a PC?

[Matt Vanecek]

If you have the codec available on both clients, then you can capture to any codec you have, depending on your capture software. However, I don't think, for example, a codec like ProRES422 would be available on Windows (I could be wrong...).

M2T is standard, and will (had better?) be the same regardless of platform. I assume Premiere on Apple has the same capabilities as Premiere on Windows, and Premiere on Windows edits M2T rather nicely.

Also, Cineform is publishing an Apple version of their software. You'll need to see their site for details, of course. I'm not sure if it's just the codec, or if they're doing the full-fledged Real-Time Engine.

I have heard it said that AVIs work best on Windows and MOVs work best on Apple and never the twain shall meet equitably on the other's platform. But Cineform can wrap to both AVI and MOV, so maybe the Cineform wrapped one way or the other would look just as good on both platforms...

I short, if you've got the codec on both platforms, you can use the same footage on both platforms...


Thanks,
Matt

[Christopher Glavan]

If you're capturing on a Mac, you can download the firewire sdk from apple's website. It includes a couple of programs used to capture m2t streams to disk: DVHSCap (which I've never gotten to work) or AVCVideoCap. From there you should be able to go straight to Premiere on PC or Mac, since Premiere can handle m2t files. If you want to edit in FCP, ClipWrap will take m2t files and wrap them into .mov files without transcoding (read: no generation loss).

Side note: if anyone who's had success using DVHSCap would like to comment on their workflow and/or setup I'd love to get some insight as to why it doesn't work for me. =)