logging 720p - 24 fps into FCP 5.0.4 from JVC GY-HD100
 

Is it necessary to have FCP 5.1 in order to log 720p - 24 fps into FCP from JVC GY-HD100.

Anyone know a way around that.

Thanks.

Hi Matt.

Yes, you would need at least FCP 5.1.2 to capture HDV 720p24 natively into FCP over the FireWire.

Yes, there are other workarounds to capture the footage and then bring it in to FCP if you have version 5.0.4.

From recall, you won't be able to work in a native timeline (HDV 720p24) with your version either, but you can work in AIC (Apple Intermediate Codec) or another codec that you might choose. AIC is an excellent codec for 720p footage and is close to visually lossless (at least for most purposes).

There are various ways to capture your footage (you could do a search for a thread by Tim Dashwood where he summarizes various methods) and I personally used (before version 5.1.2 was released) a paid application called HDVxDV to capture the .m2t files from the tape (.m2t stands for "MPEG-2 Transport Stream") and then transcode them into Quicktime movies (using my codec of choice such as AIC) which can then be imported directly into FCP 5.0.4.

There is also a free solution where you can capture the .m2t files with DVHSCap (available from the Apple website) and then transcode into a Quicktime movie with a free application called MPEG Streamclip.

If you use HDVxDV you have to be alert for audio drift on longer clips (which you might need to re-sych in your FCP timeline).

If you use MPEG Streamclip, I advise you to be alert for repeat frames in your Quicktime movies. It works great with 25p, but I personally found repeat frames with 24p (which is why I switched to HDVxDV). However, a number of others (including Tim) reported no problems at all transcoding 24p with MPEG Streamclip, so it might work well for you. Just double check the final product for repeat frames.