I guess I am open to it...
 

I'm still looking for a place that can do it for a decent price (more worried about quality)...
And you're right about BetaSP (that was one of my worries)...

I should have mentioned that this is for a festival screening (at Cinequest San Jose).

Thanks guys, please keep the advice coming!

DVCAM-- On a sidenote...
 

I'm reading that it's almost exactly the same as MiniDV, SAVE for the higher quality of tape (pertinent to physical wear and tear).

So since i shot on the XL-2 and everything was limited by the MiniDV compression, theoretically the highest quality image I could output can only be output by a MiniDV tape (or in this case, a DVCAM tape as well?)

Is that correct?

If it is, wouldn't getting my footage transferred to Digibeta (or now reluctantly to BetaSP) which offer high quality resolution and image be a waste since my footage couldn't fill that in and make use of that extra "space?"

That price really isn't too bad if they're going to do digibeta. To rent a digibeta deck you'd spend $400-500/day.

It's probably not a straight transfer because the .AVI will have to be imported back into an editing system for output (at least that's how I would do it on my Avid), so they're probably charging you for edit time as well.

Did you make any kind of master after the edit or did you just put it on the hard drive?

No master.

Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0, as far as I know, doesn't allow re-recordning of 24pA footage in 16x9 (only 4x3)... So I don't have a master per se but I have a 4x3 backup on MiniDV. The reason I want to go off this AVI is because it is indeed uncompressed, audio and video alike, and that it's the only true "master" I have (and it's in its natural 16x9 state).

yes, that is correct...I'd just go DVCAM. It's better for mastering than mini-dv...it records at a higher speed so there's less chance for drop-outs. You would have an advantage with digi-beta if you were going to be using it for duplication....the image would probably hold up better.

Awesome, thanks. I'm glad to finally have been convinced as to choosing one format.

Now all that is left is how I should go about this. Any dub houses that you guys recommend? Or would it be possible for me to do this myself at home (I have my editing PC, Premiere Pro 2.0, and a firewire card--basically the barebones minimal... I also have a Linux partition if there is some AV software recommended there, though I doubt that).

So what should I do? Where could I get a better quality job for the best price?
Know of any good independent or small/quality dub houses or editors?

(P.S. I've been calling places in Southern California like Lightning Dubs and Santa Monica Video and even left a message with Technicolor, but most places are just as expensive as previously aforementioned).

What format does the festival require/allow?

You could rent a DVcam deck, like a dsr11 and simply print to tape, no? Not familiar with Premiere. But any deck the festival plays it on, is going to read the tape as 60i anyway. Seems like you might want to burn a DVD if they accept that for submission?

Cinequest San Jose allows:

DVCAM, DIGIBETA, BETASP, or HDCAM (or 35mm film :))

They don't accept DVDs unfortunately.

So yeah, just rent a DSR11 if you can, buy a DVCam Tape and do a 'print to tape' function from the timeline. Again, not familiar with PP, as I edit on Avid. Alternately, you MIGHT could go back out to the XL2, and then DUB from the XL2 to a DVCAM deck or camera...

I'm more and more open to renting.

Hope this isn't nitpicking but for those of you with festival experience, will I need to worry about "bars/tone, slate, and countdown with 2-pop on" and "black for x seconds" and whatnot?

And I've been told that there needs to be colour correction and fixing certaint things and artifacts in the video and making sure the tape recorded "properly" ... Is there a such thing or are they pulling my leg?

I see that Adolf Gassers has
Sony DSR-80 DVCAM (Play/Rec) (QSDI) for $150
Sony DSR-30 DVCAM (Play/Rec) (Jog Wheel) for $125
Sony DSR-20 DVCAM (Play/Rec) for $80

and Avista rentals (any good?) has a Sony DSR-11 for $99

Any other places to rent from? Which should I pick (are the ones at Gassers better than the DSR-11?).

AND DVCAM is only 41 minutes? (My footage is 55 minutes at most)!!??

all you need is the DSR-11...which should be the cheapest rental (it's the cheapest deck)....so if the DSR-20 is cheaper than go for that. Also, while you have the deck, do yourself a favor and run off a bunch of tapes, so you don't have to go through this again. ;)

Just make sure when you get it, you scroll through the deck menu and highlight DVCAM...if not it will record as DV (regardless of the tape).

ALSO...if you do get the dsr-11, I'm pretty sure you need the remote control to get to the menu, so make sure that comes with it.

Thanks for looking guys. Until I repost this tripod here again, if I repost this ad again, I have to end this ad because it's going up for auction on ebay.

Thanks again,

Eric

DVCam tapes come in two different physical sizes. The 'mini-dv' cassette size, and the larger size, which are more like three times the size of a mini DV cassette. You want the larger size, as they can record up to 184 minutes, I think, maybe more. You can get a 94 minute tape for about twenty bucks. (They also come with or without the 'chip' the records meta-data for sony)

The DSR11 will record on either size, and it's the 'bottom of the line' of the decks you mentioned. (I own one.) The DSR 20 is the next step up, but for your purposes, not really needed... but if it's closer and cheaper, sure.

So, first LOCATE a source for the Tapes then locate/rent the deck then dub away.

WTB: Matrox MXO
 

Let me know if you are selling a Matrox MXO. I am looking to buy in the next 24 hours...

Sold!
 

The tripod has been sold.