Hey Everyone -

I have a questions about the following workflow - HDV to HD Broadcast Workflow starting on SD system.

We are going to shoot with a HVR Z7U on mindv and edit on an 2.7.7 Media Composer SD system then finalize on a Symphony with output to Sony HDCAM with 1080i 59.94 project.

Offline process -

1)Shoot 1080i/60 in HDV

2)Ingest/Digitize via firewire into 2.7.7 Media Composer system into HDV project. Edit offline.

Online Process

1)Take project from Media Composer to Current Avid Symphony Online System.

2)Batch Ingest/Digitize via firewire(???) into Avid system. Online project.

3)Output to Sony HDCAM 1080i 59.94.

My question is regarding firewire into the Symphony with the HDV content? Is this compressing it to much? Is there another way to ingest into the symphony without firewire that will my keep the HDV content at the highest quality for the HD broadcast?

 

 

I have figured this out. Thanks. HD-SDI is the answer I needed.

my understanding is that HDV via firewire is as good as you can get from HDV, i.e. there is no additional compression. once in avid it can then be rendered into a full HD format. am I wrong?

sasha1:

HDV via firewire is as good as you can get from HDV

That's correct.  It's sent to Avid as a data stream in its native format, and used in that way.  No transcoding or conversion takes place.

Once inside Avid typically it will be transcoded to a DNxHD (square pixels) or DNxHD TR (anamorphic/thin raster) format for editing convenience.

sasha1:

HDV via firewire is as good as you can get from HDV

The online is for a Symphony with HDSDI in, So as HDSDI takes the same time to capture at any DNxHD of your choice as it takes to capture HDV that will need to be transcoded for output to tape I think that HDSDI is the answer. So HDV via FW being "as good as it gets" is a red herring in this case. (IMO)

AndrewAction:

HDSDI takes the same time to capture at any DNxHD of your choice as it takes to capture HDV that will need to be transcoded

yes that makes sense - a big savings in time

The secret here is that you have to have an HDV deck that has HD-SDI output. Once that is setup then the rest is DNXHD. So to speak.

Eh - why re/auto-conform when you have all your edited material as native HDV to start with?

Take your drive(s) to the Symphony suite, hook 'em up and transcode the seq there onto the Symph drives - no nasty Batch conform from nasty wee HDV tapes...

Or, simpler still, attach drives, do all your CC/grading work to your drives, flip the project tab to 60i full raster and play out.

K.I.S.S.

(DISCLAIMER: not that i am implying any of the above posters are stupid you understand..!)

Neil J:

why re/auto-conform when you have all your edited material as native HDV to start with?

Guess it depends how you work.

The original post suggested batching was part of their online process.

FWIW

Usually needing to have all of the footage for a HD project available for subsequent projects I have fallen into a habit with HD of using a 3 project method. The first is offline capture only with all its media to a specific drive (virtual drive) This low res media is duplicated and archived for any subsequent use.

The second project is the offline edit which gets all the footage bins imported into it. All renders etc go to a different drive from the offline captures and are easily junked after the online completed and signed off.

The third project imports a bin with the locked sequence from project 2. I duplicate this timeline to a new bin and  batch capture all the media to an online RAID drive. (all online media is now associated only with a project 3) For me this it simple to archive just the online media and renders completely seperate from the offline media.

Takes a little more planning time initially but has saved me that time atleast 10 fold with subsequent projects

Fair enough Andrew - what works for you, works for you.

But given the original poster's methodology started out with an "offline" capture of HDV via FW - why "online" and re-capture what you already have in an as good as it gets condition?

Given the relatively low disc space needed for HDV media and the low cost of reasonably good drives it seems a bit of a waste of time, in most circumstances, to "online" and re capture material.

It's debatable that you will save any time by batch capturing by HD SDI or FW in "online" over transcoding or even rendering complicated seqs that are native HDV.

... and as for having to mess around with those daft wee tapes - TWICE?? ...don't get me going...

Neil J:

having to mess around with those daft wee tapes - TWICE?? ...don't get me going...

No push start to get me going on that one either. Been there done that.