Monitoring HDV in SD
 

I wish to monitor my HDV projects in SD during editing on a TV. I am editing in FCP. The format is PAL. I generally shoot in HDV25P.

Is there a good external monitoring downconversion solution for HDV in PAL land eg Decklink?

Rob

This might help;

http://www.convergent-design.com/CD_...DConnectSI.htm

Cheers,

Liam.

That Convergent box is for HDV to baseband HD and SD SDI. It won't help for monitoring a native HDV1 timeline, only for ingesting HDV via HD/SD SDI. You do not get HDV out via firewire in realtime on a native HDV edit like you do with DV via OHCI.

For monitoring HDV1 720p/25 in SD in real-time as SD 625/50 from FCP, the options are not good. I use the Kona LH for real-time down-conversion to SD but you need to switch the sequence to uncompressed before you get real-time SD output. AFAIK you can only do what you want with Edius and Liquid. Blackmagic say that their boards will not down-convert 720p/25 or 50. This leaves you with AJA and the need to work uncompressed for now.

Thanks. This confirms the search I. Very disappointed with Decklink which would have been a very good solution.

How on earth then are people checking to see what their images are actually going to look like then? My particular issue is that I am entering a project which includes stills which look fine in the timeline but have all sorts of strange banding and other issues which only actually appear once downconverted and watched on a PAL tv.

Hopefully, a solution will appear soon.

Rob

Check out the Matrox MXO http://www.matrox.com/video/products/mxo/home.cfm


What's new for MXO 2.0?
A must-have for Final Cut Pro users!
Portable broadcast-quality audio/video output for the Mac

Matrox MXOMatrox MXO connects to your Mac computer or laptop to provide broadcast-quality audio/video output. You can view your Apple Final Cut Pro projects or the output ofother QuickTime-based applications such as Apple Soundtrack Pro and Motion, as well as Adobe After Effects as they will actually appear on TV and record them frame accurately to tape with perfect a/v sync — no drop frames, no repeat frames. Other cool features that save you time and streamline your editing workflow include realtime HD to SD downscaling, and hardware acceleration of DVCPROHD, HDV, and Dynamic RT segments to full output resolution so Final Cut Pro can do more for you in real time. As an added bonus, Matrox MXO also provides flicker-free output of your computer desktop so you can easily broadcast and record Keynote and PowerPoint presentations, web browser sessions, and software application training.

Matrox MXO is a cost-effective external box that's easy-to-use and portable. It will save you so much time, you'll wonder how you ever worked without it!

From the DVI out? Hmmn...

If you switch to uncompressed before finishing, then you can check what your images will look like with the AJA boards. There are countless other reasons to be working uncompressed for the final stage anyway, so it's not an issue for us with the Kona LH.

Even in HDV1 compressor settings in your sequence you will get a down-converted output as a freeze where the playhead is parked. That's already an accurate representation of your SD SDI output.

The DVI output is used as the datapath to the MXO. It is not sending a video signal over it.

The technology is pretty damn amazing. look into it - you're going to end up wanting it. check out this review http://lfhd.blogspot.com/2007/02/matrox-mxo-part-1.html

Gary

I have read the Matrox Box details on their websites.

Will this box allow me to monitor HDV 25P in real time in SD out of a FCP timeline on a PAL TV an external monitor?

Is anyone else using it for this purpose?

Rob

I"ve got a MXO and it works fine.

So, Steve, are you using it to monitor HDV25P out to a PAL tv in real time?

It would certainly be great to have a workable solution.

Rob

HDV 720P30 to NTSC. same thing except pal is a lower frame rate

Thanks Steve. I will email to get confirmation that it will work monitoring HDV25 in PAL land. If it does, it really does look like an actual workable solution which is great.

Rob

You'd think it was that easy wouldn't you? But there are plenty of products out there that can handle HDV1 30fps down-conversion to NTSC but not HDV1 25fps to PAL. I see that 720p/60 and 24 over 60 are supported but I see no mention of 720p/25 on the Matrox site. Can anyone confirm from their own experience - not theory - that the MXO will down-convert HDV1 25fps to 625/50?

In a way, this thread is rather characteristic of the whole HDV area.

It is often difficult to get answers to really basic questions.

Rob

Which format
 

I am really new to the world of digital video so my questions may sound stupid but it does not matter. I am a student of film and video, and before this I had no experience or training but I know a little more than the person on the street.

I bought a JVC HD110 and I have to shoot my thesis project this summer. It is basically a series of interviews. Which format should I shoot on. Since I have the HD camera why not shoot HDV? But I am afraid about the post production work that is involved in HD. I don't have a deck that would help me capture my HDV footage and I don't want to screw up the camera. Is there a way by which I can shoot on HDV and downconvert it to SD? Can I edit my HDV footage in FCP the same way as I do with DV footages? Is it harder with HDV to edit?

Since my project is for thesis, I guess the finished product should be on SD. Can I shoot on HDV and then convert to SD? I have had this camera for 3 weeks and I have not shot a single second on HDV. Can I shoot HDV on regular minidv tapes? Sorry for all this amateurish questions.

Questions usually come from amateurs. If this forum was full of professionals what is there a need for such a forum?