How can i extract DVCPro HD tape footage?

[Paul Hildebrandt]

I have to get a large amount of DVCPro HD footage off the original tapes and onto my computer for editing, something like ProRes or DNXHD would be great.

None of the local news stations have DVCPro deck that works, and I haven't been able to find a good solution.

Would appreciate any ideas on how I can get this footage off these tapes.

Thank you!

[Daniel Epstein]

You pretty much have to rent a deck (some place will ship it to you) or buy a used one or send the tapes to someone who does for transfer. Unless you have the camera which recorded the tapes and you might be able to use it as the deck. If you don't ship the tapes but have the playback situation arranged you will have to have a system which takes in HDSDI and also control of the deck (you won't get that from a camera most likely) You don't say what edit system you are using but there is little advantage in converting from DVCPRO to Apple Prores or DNXHD except for getting the pixel size to be standard HD instead of Panasonic DVC Pro.

Here is a link to a deck rental place just for your info

Panasonic Camera, Monitor and Deck Rental - Southern California

[Sam Lee]

Originally Posted by Paul Hildebrandt

I have to get a large amount of DVCPro HD footage off the original tapes and onto my computer for editing, something like ProRes or DNXHD would be great.

None of the local news stations have DVCPro deck that works, and I haven't been able to find a good solution.

Would appreciate any ideas on how I can get this footage off these tapes.

Thank you!

I recalled the AJ-HD1400 will let you capture native firewire in DVCPRO HD 720p codec. It's a bit for bit pristine capture w/ out wasted hd space if you were to capture it via HD-SDI and ProRes. Plus all of the important TC value on the tape native will be retrained 100% when doing firewire capture. HD-SDI is a pain to preserve the TC. Plus the audio grouping is also a bit tricky. So many steps need to be taken via HD-SDI. Why bother? Not sure why there's a need to transcode into Pro Res 422. DVCPRO HD a legacy 8-bit codec. Pro Res 422 is more suitable for newer 10-bit cams. Most current NLE apps will handle DVCPRO HD natively w/ out a problem. FCP 7 or X are good examples. I even use legacy DVCPRO 50 and although it's a bit soft in HD's world, the quality is quite respectable.