What should my capture/sequence settings be? and more ?'s

[videoed]

Hi,

Upgrading editing station from an ancient setup.

I start and finish on DVCAM with component inputs/outputs.

98% sure I'll be getting Kona LHi.

Should I be using ProRes? Which one?

Be doing 5 or 6 layers of graphics and probably no more than 2 concurrent streams of video at any given time.

I do basic image correction but nothing too fancy.

How much hard drive throughput do I need?

And if I want to edit off external hard drive and laptop, what kind of limitations and/or extra tasks am I adding to the process?

Thanks,

ed

 

[spinnerlys]

DVCam is SD (Standard Definition) and ProRes is made for HD footage.

It's best to use the DV (PAL or NTSC) preset, as DVCam has the same data rate as DV.

As DV only uses 3.125 or so MB/s, you can use any 7200RPM HDD for several streams.

I once used a USB HDD (I couldn't get a mobile FW HDD) for editing a 20 minute DV project, and it worked quite well.

But FW or eSATA is recommended for using external video scratch HDDs.

Here is a thread about using DVCam footage in FCP:
http://forums.creativecow.net/thread/8/977537

 

[KeithPratt]

I start and finish on DVCAM with component inputs/outputs.

Why component? If your source is DVCAM, capture over Firewire. Capturing via component means a second round of compression.

I know it can be helpful to have more opinions, but the advice you've been given here is solid.

 

[LethalWolfe]

I start and finish on DVCAM with component inputs/outputs.

If you start and finish on DVCAM there is no reason not to stay in the native format which means using FW to capture/layoff and editing the DV footage in a DV native timeline.

If you were mastering to a higher quality format the workflow would be a little different, but since you mastering back out to DV there is no reason to ever leave DV.


Lethal

EDIT: spinnerlys, ProRes isn't just for HD. You can get some high quality ProRes SD for a fraction the size of Uncompressed SD or DV50.

 

[spinnerlys]

EDIT: spinnerlys, ProRes isn't just for HD. You can get some high quality ProRes SD for a fraction the size of Uncompressed SD or DV50.

Thanks. I read somewhere a while ago, that ProRes was meant for 720p and 1080i/p footage, so maybe that bit got stuck in my head.

I have never edited uncompressed SD footage with FCP, so what is the data rate like for uncompressed SD footage in MB/s and the same with using the ProRes codec?

In Avid MC, 1:1 captured SD footage takes up only 20MB/s.

 

[LethalWolfe]

Thanks. I read somewhere a while ago, that ProRes was meant for 720p and 1080i/p footage, so maybe that bit got stuck in my head.

When Apple first came out w/ProRes their big tag line for it was basically "HD quality at SD file sizes" and that gave the impression that ProRes was HD only.

I have never edited uncompressed SD footage with FCP, so what is the data rate like for uncompressed SD footage in MB/s and the same with using the ProRes codec?

In Avid MC, 1:1 captured SD footage takes up only 20MB/s.

Uncompressed, 8-bit SD in FCP is about 70gig/hr where as ProRes 422, 8-bit SD is about 19gig/hr (or 42Mb/s). DV, by comparison, is about 13gigs/hr (or 25Mb/s or 3.6MB/s).

Digital Heaven makes a widget for calculating disk space called VideoSpace and there is also a web version of it as well,
VideoSpace online. There is also a ProRes White Paper that goes into more detail about ProRes (the last few pages detail all the format and file size permutations).


Lethal

 

[videoed]

If you start and finish on DVCAM there is no reason not to stay in the native format which means using FW to capture/layoff and editing the DV footage in a DV native timeline.

If you were mastering to a higher quality format the workflow would be a little different, but since you mastering back out to DV there is no reason to ever leave DV.


Lethal

EDIT: spinnerlys, ProRes isn't just for HD. You can get some high quality ProRes SD for a fraction the size of Uncompressed SD or DV50.

is there no advantage even while image correcting to capture with component?

 

[LethalWolfe]

is there no advantage even while image correcting to capture with component?

Not if you are mastering back to DV. If you were mastering back to DigiBeta or saving a high quality QT as a master then there can be an argument made for editing in a higher quality codec, but if you are mastering back to DV anything you might gain from working in a higher quality codec would be lost.


Lethal

 

[videoed]

Not if you are mastering back to DV. If you were mastering back to DigiBeta or saving a high quality QT as a master then there can be an argument made for editing in a higher quality codec, but if you are mastering back to DV anything you might gain from working in a higher quality codec would be lost.


Lethal

what if, in the same situation, i wanted to upconvert and finish in HD- what should my capture and sequence settings be?

 

[LethalWolfe]

You set the Kona card to up-convert the footage and pick your codec (I'd go w/ProRes 422 personally). I'd do tests between 1080i60 and 720p60 to see which looks better. 1080i60 would blow the SD image up more, but you keep the frame rate the same which means less chance of artifacting from interlacing. 720p60 wouldn't be as big of a blow up but you are then running at double the frame rate so the Kona card would either have to double each field or interpolate new fields to 'fill in the gaps' and that could look to artifacting. I've never used a Kona card to up-covert DV footage before so I can't speak from experience. AJA is supposed to have some of the best converting hardware available w/o stepping up to the expensive, big boys like Teranex.


Lethal