V1U Capture-Intensity Pro vs FCP ProRes422 Transcode
 

We've been contemplating buying an Intensity Pro card to capture our V1U footage through HDMI instead of Firewire, so we can more efficiently transcode HDV to ProRes, but haven't been able to find definitive information that this is an advantage of the Intensity Pro. Obviously, shooting through HDMI card has its uncompressed advantage, but I can't find a clear answer as to whether importing through HDMI makes better ProRes footage and/or is faster than letting FCP do it. I know that you can't log and capture with either method so that's a wash. Is the Intensity Pro transcode 1:1 real time instead of with FCP delay? Does it ultimately look better? Anyone know?

It's an interesting question and something only the manufacturer can answer accurately. The website for the card is a tad misleading as they have their color-space tech specs off a bit (they list HDV as a 4:1:1 color space when it's actually 4:2:0) but the concept of the card is intriguing.

Hit up BM for the answer and let us all know what they say.

Additionally I would consider the Matrox MXO2 Mini; not sure what it sells for but considering the feature difference between the two and the fact that the Matrox offers a built-in calibration tool makes it the hands-down winner.

Check out the comparison sheet between BM vs. Matrox offerings:

I thought about the Matrox Mini also, but from what I could tell it doesn't provide any acceleration for HDV to ProRes conversion? The CPU still needs to handle the load? Does it make the conversion real time? It looks like it costs a little more than twice as much as the Intensity Pro, in the $450 range.

Hi Arne,
Get the intensity mate.You won't regret it.I get 4:2:2 colour from consumer cams and the sharpness and detail is great.I have been recording to one for a year and it is amazing quality - a definite step up from HDV,AVCHD or whatever else in-camera compression out there.Check my vimeo vids for your own info.I compress to Cineform using a portable DIY rig.I am sure it can do so to Prores.The intensity also relies on your CPU.
The advantage is only there if you capture and transcode live.No real point doing it off tapes I don't think.Maybe a slight advantage for those who wish to go from 1440 to 1920.
Go well.

Portable DIY rig? Does that mean you are somehow shooting run and gun with that? Or just have a setup you can plug in at various locations with your desktop computer? I'm very curious, sounds very cool...