Capturing footage on FX7 using final cut pro 6

[Chase Doutre]

Hey,

I'm new to HD and I was curious about capturing some fx7 footage onto my 24'' intel2duo imac (Final Cut Pro 6.0). But I was unsure of what preset I should use to capture because when I capture the footage on the scratch disk (1TB Western Digital External). The resolution of the footage is 1920x1080 but I thought the camera was only 1440x1080 and I dont want to stretch the footage. So I was wondering what settings I should I use on both my camera and my mac. I'm using a firewire 400 cable to upload it.

Settings on Final Cut Pro for uploading (please tell me what to change)

Sequence Preset: HDV - 1080i60
Capture Preset: HDV-Apple Intermediate Codec
Device Control Preset: HDV FireWIre
Playback Output Video: None
Playback Output Audio: Default
Edit to Tape/PTV Ouput Video: HDV (1440x1080) 60i
Edito to Tape/PTV Output Audio: HDV


On my camera I have the format

REC FORMAT: HDV1080i
COMPONENT: 1080i/480i
i.LINK CONV: OFF
TV TYPE: 16:9

This is my first big camera purchase and I just want to get the best out of it! So hopefully you could help me out with everything I'd really appreciate it.

I would like to have HD footage in anamorphic format (i thought all HDV footage was anamorphic but what do i know) that I can play on a regular tv.

Also I was curious about what the best way to export my footage out of final cut is for a regular dvd (using iDVD or if its better Dvd studio pro) burning using compressor or self contained quicktime movie export from final cut.

Also what the best way is to export for the web :)

I know this is a lot of questions but I really do appreciate the help :)

[Tom Meertens]

Hey chase I'm not an expert as some of the people on this message board but I might be able to help you out with some of the questions.

Your main concern about what settings when capturing I think should only be changed at the 1440x1080/60i to 1920x1080/60i cause the fx7 has, as you mentioned, 1440 chips but stretches the pixels in camera to 1920...

It's best to edit in native HDV since this is mpeg2 and ready for dvd production as is.

for web you could go with different codes but I think the h.264 coded should be your weapon of choice.

someone correct me if I'm wrong and help chase out or do some more searching yourself to try and find the answers, good luck with this!

Tom

[Chase Doutre]

k so i rendered a 1440x1080 clip using compressor with the Apple Intermediate codec (16:9) and now it looks like its in 4:3 ratio when i play it instead of 16:9. did i mess something up?

Using compressor with AIC (1440x1080 16:9):
http://img251.imageshack.us/my.php?i...icture7by8.png

Exporting using quicktime movie from final cut (HDV 1080i60):

http://img48.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture8ea3.png




The bottom one is in 1920x1080 resolution while the one above is 1440x1080.

I thought HDV was anamorphic but i guess not...

Which way is the correct way of doing it? I would think the top one but then it doesnt look like it comes out in widescreen then and I dont want to stretch the video.

ps. I'm on a 24'' iMac so the resolution of my computer is 1920x1080 and i just took screenshots when at full screen in quicktime. I know alot about editing but cameras not near as much...

[Tom Meertens]

The bottom one is the correct one, you get little black bars at the top and bottom because your screen resolution is 1920x1200 and not 1920x1080...

and about the webvid thing always deinterlace otherwise you'll get ugly horizontal lines in your image...

[Joe Busch]

You wanna look for pixel aspect ratio settings

1440 x 1080 @ 1.333 pixel aspect ratio is the correct setting

The camera records at 1920 x 1080, then squishes it to 1440 x 1080 (less information, less to store) then records it to tape, then when it's played back the pixels are wide rectangles instead of squares.

:)

[Chase Doutre]

oh shoot yea im an idiot the res is 1920x1200.

So 1920x1080 is the native resolution of the camera? I'm still confused... sorry.

http://img143.imageshack.us/my.php?i...icture1wh0.png

What should I put in each of these fields? When I change the pixel aspect ratio to 1.333 it looks exactly the same.

I also heard about downconverting is that the best way to go if i plan on burning all my footage on regular dvds or uploading to the internet

[Kenneth Michiels]

Hello everyone,

I'm using final cut 5.1.4. Which capture settings should I use with my Sony FX7 to get the best result? When I use the HDV1080i50 easy setup I get a 4:3 image in Quicktime. Where and how do I change the resolution to 1920*1080 if that would be needed?

Cheers,
Kenneth