I recently shot some Beta SP which I dubbed to Mini. Used a Sony BVW 22 as a source to a panasonic ag1000 to record to. Looked pretty bad, interlaced and very "digital." I used the bnc as my connector but perhaps I need a better Beta deck instead of a "viewing deck" only. Perhaps one with a Super V out?

Not sure but I know someine here knows.

highest regards.

Mike

When done properly the Beta SP footage should look great. However, for best results the signal can't go straight from Beta SP to DV. The component signal (not composite signal, BNC) should pass through a TBC and a transcoder. Transcoders convert the signal from component (Y, R-Y, B-Y) to DV. Transcoder can be fairly expensive and if this is a one time occurrence than it would probably pay just to have the Beta SP dubbed at a good post-house with the proper equipment.

I agree with Jeff. Probably not worth it to get your own decks unless you plan on making hundreds of copies yourself. A good post house charged me $20 to do the exact same thing about a year ago. He told me the decks they were using cost around $40,000. I'm not sure if he was lying or not, but that's certainly something I don't need to spend my cash on.

Thanks,
A workaround-- allbeit a pain. Go to DVC Pro then to DV. Signal is clear. I think I just need a higher end Beta Deck, one with a Super V out like the DVC Pro has. Regardless, thanks as always.

Here is one solution from DataVideo, a bi-directional component to FireWire media convertor:
http://www.datavideo-tek.com/content/product_info/dvformatconverters/dac2/dac2_page.htm

http://www.datavideo-tek.com/content/product_info/dvformatconverters/dac2/dac_2_review.htm

- don

S-Video is not that big of an improvement in my opinion. I own a Beta SP deck and transcoder. S-Video is still composite and not component video. The improvement is slight. Don's links are to some relatively inexpensive transcoders. If you do the dubbing frequently it might be worth the investment.

I'm going to be producing two 30 second spots (very low budge, $4000 each), and although we own Xl-1's, we'll most likely rent a betacam.

I'll be transferring to DV to edit on FCP. From what I gather in this thread, if done properly at a transfer house, I can expect decent results from the DV transfer? Any additional tips as far as dubbing the DV master back to tape? (ie. audio compression, etc.)

Thanks!
Jeff

Jeff,

Requires more gear but it works well for me:

I dub from a UVW1800 Component outs to a DSR45. It then does the transcoding to DV real time (don't even roll tape) and outputs to my NLE via 1394. Works great going both directions.

I go from Betacam SP to DVCAM all the time, and vice versa. I use a UVW1800 Betacam deck and a DSR1800 DVCAM deck. If you use the component in and out of the decks, the transfer is practically transparent. It's difficult to tell the difference between the DVCAM dub and the Betacam original. So if you go to a dub house, make sure they have component-to-component transfer capability if you want the best quality. Second best quality is to do it with the S-video input. This method is very acceptable and a lot better than composite, but not quite as good as component-to-component.

Bill, I find the S-Video dubs to have considerably more noise in the signal than component copies. Are you getting different results?

Before we got the DSR1800s, I transferred Betacam to DVCAM on a client's DSR20 via the S input, and it wasn't bad at all. I didn't notice any increase in noise, but it was a little softer than the original. It may have something to do with the decks you're using. I found the S to be a heck of a lot better than composite, especially when going from DVCAM to Betacam, but not as good as component; still it was closer to compenent than it was to composite.

I'll get my tapes transferred at a tape house with component-video capabilities.

Thanks for all the info guys!

Jeff