XHA-1 FCP HDV Workflow?

[Jim Morlino]

Folks,
I need help. I'm a one man band A/V producer for a fairly large Catholic Charity here in the North East. My XL-1 is dying, I have already begun to migrate to HDV and want to shoot/edit HDV and output to SD DVD plus archive back to HDV. My version of FCP obviously does not support HDV, I can't seem to view my XHA1 footage (in HD) on my Westinghouse HDTV, and I haven't a clue how FCP will behave with DVD Studio Pro. Is all my SD stuff useless now? What exactly do I still need to buy/upgrade to make this workflow happen today? Thankfully, I still have a decent budget left for the year. Please help me spend my money wisely.
Thank you!
- Jim

Current set up is:
XHA1
FCP HD 4.5
G5 D2GHz (Power PC) OSX 10.4.8
DVD Studio Pro 3.0.2
DSR-20
Sony Trinitron G520 VGA
Sony PVM-14N5U NTSC
Westinghouse LTV-32w6 HD (720p)

[Rob Katz]

jim-

if i'm not mistaken, u need to move from final cut pro 4.5 to fcp5. i believe that apple has a very reasonably priced (for apple) upgrade path for the entire apple studio 5.1-something like, i think, maybe, if i recall, $199 for all parts of the studio package coming from fcp 4.5. check the apple fcp site.

with the fcp5 installed, u will be able to ingest the a1's hdv footage right into a fcp timeline.

and (others will need to confirm so jump in) then u can down rez from hdv to sd so u can ouput to tape if necessary or onto sd dvd.

i hope the above is helpful.

be well

rob

ps-what do u think of the hdv footage that u have shot w/the a1? u have been able to review it in the camera, right?

[Jim Morlino]

Rob,
Thank you very much. As happens periodically, because I'm such a lazy idiot, I didn't do nearly enough research before I posted my sob story here. (I'm ordering the upgrade as we speak.) So that gets me part way.

But I still have questions about monitoring. I've read a lot about the Cinema Displays and Dell's monitors, but I'm confused about what I'll actually need in order to view/preview the HDV timeline. For 5 years, I've been editing while viewing FCP on the VGA, and watching playback sent via Firewire to my DSR-20 and out to my NTSC via BNC - like most people, right? But now, do I actually even need a dedicated playback HD monitor plus a computer monitor, or will a big Dell fill both needs? Can I just send the FCP Canvas window full screen to the 2nd monitor? Should I get 2 Cinema Displays or 2 Dells? Or am I OK with the Westinghouse HDTV as my "NTSC" Monitor? How do I watch playback off of a stand-alone DVD player, VHS deck, or the DSR-20?

To answer your question about the footage - absolutely beautiful. With myself as the subject outside yesterday, using AF, with ND on, Iris wide open, and fully zoomed in, the image was stunning, with super shallow DOF, and I could see every zit on my nose, and gray hair in my beard. Wow! And that, right out of the box!
- Jim

[Bjørn Sørensen]

Jim,

I am interested in this, because my setup is much like yours, except that I live in a "PAL"-country!
What did you find out regarding your workflow with the XH-A1 and how do you view your final FCP-output in HD ?
What about delivery, how do you convert to SD and how do you save a HD copy?

[Jim Morlino]

Bjorn,
What I've learned thus far is:
1. To edit HDV natively I must upgrade to FCP 5 Studio (should arrive this week)
2. My $900 Westinghouse HDTV displays my XH-A 1 footage beautifully through component out - stunning!
3. As far as a monitor set up during editing, I don't know - I'll figure out if I need a Cinema Display after I install the upgrade
4. I plan to edit in HDV, and down-rez in FCP Export - I think FCP Studio Pro may do this automatically - Compressor may be involved, too - a lot of questions still
5. I believe HD archiving is out to tape - still a lot to learn

Let me know if you learn anything else!

Merry Christmas,
- Jim

[Bjørn Sørensen]

Jim,

thank you. I will write back when I have my workflow ready.

Bjorn