Exporting Sequences for DVD
 

I am using both SD and HDV cassettes to film using a Canon XHA1s. Is it best to capture HDV at 1440x1080 29.97fps or should I capture HDV at 720x480 fps so it corresponds with the SD capture? (Using FCP) What would be the effect if I recorded and captured with HDV settings using an SD cassette?
Thanks!

The cassette itself doesn't make a difference. An SD cassette will record an HDV signal. Now I'm not quite sure if you have a mixture of SD and HD footage.

If your primary concern is maintaining highest quality then I'd go with HDV. If the larger portion of your footage is HD then when you drop SD footage in the sequence Final Cut will scale it up (assuming your using FCP 6 or 7). When you make a DVD it will scale it down to SD resolution.

Now if the bulk of the footage is SD or you're primarily concerned about reducing rendering time then you can capture in SD. You can have the camera down convert it and capture it as DV in FCP.

Thanks! That's really helpful. I am still a little lost with my capture settings. Is it better to capture at 1440 x1080 or 720 x 480? I am shooting at 60i but capturing at 29.97 fps. My intent is to burn to dvd. It's my first video project (a rockumentary with live footage) and I am a little confused about the best way to capture to dvd to submit to film festivals and the like.

Thanks again for your attention.

If you want to create a DVD, export from the camera in DV. Many cameras have settings to change the output. If you want to produce it in HD, then output HDV. DV and HDV are your only export options from all of the cameras I've ever seen.

I don't know what HDV 720 settings you might be looking at as I have never worked with FCP. Could you be selecting the project presets? If you're not creating HD output from the project, stay SD. It will make your life easier.

Since the OP gave the thread title ... to DVD, it is by far the easiest to follow Tripp's advise, since DVD is SD only. It makes no sense to complicate the capturing and editing by using a mix of HDV and SD when the output is SD.

There is an advantage to the HDV workflow in that you will eliminate compression artifacts created in the camera when you drop it down to DV. So quality would be slightly higher. Also you can always go from HD to SD, but never the reverse. And with online delivery now commonly HD, it makes sense for archival or future use purposes to edit in the highest resolution. That being said HD demands more computer resources and takes longer to compress for DVD.