DVHSCap Workaround Question
 

Hi,

regarding the thread
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=83228

I go through the steps and my visual is off from my audio. I am trying to get some 30fps footage into final cut without subclipping. Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Sharon

Hi Sharon.

My first thought is that you are using Tim's workflow for 60p footage on your 30p footage. It's not the right fit. (For one example, there is no need to use Cinema Tools in your case. At least not that I can see.)

For another example, for that 60p workflow, Tim says you can leave the frame rate box blank and it will default to the current frame rate. That is perfectly true for 60p (or 50p) footage, but if you do that with 30p footage, I suspect it will give you double the frames (with every second frame being a repeat of the previous one).

Perhaps that is causing your audio synch problems.

If not, my next thought is to check that you are using the "Fix Timecode Breaks" function in MPEG Streamclip before you transcode.

Lack of this might also cause your audio drift problems. (Maybe not, but it's worth checking.)

I know that Tim has made a number of previous posts (you can search this forum and the Mac forum) where he gives more comprehensive steps for the lower frame rates (before the HD 200/250 came out). Perhaps you could check your current workflow against these and it might find the "culprit" causing your audio problems.

I've also made very detailed posts on DVHSCAP-MPEG Streamclip workflow for 25p footage in the past. You could try these, but instead of putting "25" in the frame rate box (when using MPEG Streamclip), change it to "29.97" (or whatever frame rate is correct for an NTSC area. I don't work in that frame rate myself, so I'm only guessing that it's 29.97).

That's all I can think of right now. Good luck.

Thanks David, I forgot to mention that I was not doing the Cinema Tools step. And the timecode fix is a good guess but sadly no. The audio starts way before the image picks up. I just have no idea. Any more suggestions are welcome.

Cheers,
Sharon

Any other thoughts forum?

For what it's worth, I had another thought.

Because your problems (you changed to 30p and it wouldn't even capture through FCP with AIC, for example) seem very unusual, I went back to your original post:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=98141

because I suspect that your core problem might be something outside these workarounds, i.e. the thing that made it not work with native HDV or AIC capture through FCP, will also make it not work with DVHSCAP-MPEG Streamclip, etc.

When you said, "The tape stock was top of the line," could you give a bit more detail here as to the manufacturer and the particular stock?

And, back to the .m2t footage which you captured with DVHSCAP, have you tried to play the actual .m2t file on a player such as the VLC? (If you don't have one, you can download the free player from http://www.videolan.org/vlc/ )

If it plays fine, with the audio in synch, then the problem could still well be the transcoding with MPEG Streamclip (setting in and out points, are you transcoding to AIC or straight to DV, etc.).

These may not be helpful at all, but I know you've got a deadline so I thought I'd mention them.

Other than that, my final thought is to holler for Tim. (Although I suspect he's all tied up with getting his new instructional DVD on the ProHD cameras finished and out the door.)