I'm going to shoot a short film, and I want to shoot it at 1080/24pa, however, I have no way to edit HD at this point. All I have is Sony Vegas.

My question is: does the HVX allow you to downconvert like the Sony FX1? Would it be possible to shoot my short film in 1080/24pa, and edit in SD now, but still keep the original 1080 footage so I can make a High-def version later when I have the means?

Thanks.

(One more question: If this is possible, then what aspect ratio would the SD downconversion be? 16:9 native? Or would it be similiar to squeeze with a loss in resolution?)

You might be able to dump it to DV tape, then capture that. I know that is possible. But then you still need to back up the CONTENTS folder and LASTCLIP.TXT file somewhere.

Does Vegas even support the P2 format?

Per the Operating Instructions that came with my HVX (Pg. 84) it appears that anything stored to a P2 card can be copied from there to a hard drive, using 1394 HOST mode. It requires a menu setting, but since the manual specifically lists the steps as "Copying from P2 cards...", I presume the original files remain. So, copy them to a hard drive and store that safely away.

In my mind, it doesn't qualify as a "down convert", but it does allow saving files to another medium.

However, also see pgs. 86 and 111. Pg 86 states that "You can dub any clips from a P2 card to a tape you have inserted to the unit. The recording formats of clips that can be dubbed are all in the 1080i and 720P formats. In all cases, the data is recorded in the DV format."

Now THAT strikes me as a REAL down-convert. Unless I'm reading it entirely wrong, review pg 86 and I think you're good to go.

Good luck, and please report back.

Copying from the P2 cards to a drive is just that, copying the information from the card to the hard drive. There is no way to downconvert this way.

The only way to downconvert is to record from the P2 card to the DV tape on the camera. Or import the footage onto a supported system and have them export a lower res version.

Why not just use Raylight with Vegas ? I do, works great. .

http://www.dvfilm.com/raylight/index.htm

Finish your project as an AVI, deliver drive to post

Detailed Vegas info here. .

http://dvfilm.com/raylight/raylightTutorial3.htm

Why not just use Raylight with Vegas ? I do, works great. .

http://www.dvfilm.com/raylight/index.htm

Finish your project as an AVI, deliver drive to post

Detailed Vegas info here. .

http://dvfilm.com/raylight/raylightTutorial3.htm


Thanks for the info, Vince. Does the Raylight solution work good? Are there any drawbacks? Thanks.

Works great for me so far, no drawbacks. Read through the site, it should give you the information you need. Cineform now also has a similar product

http://www.cineform.com/

Connect HD - though seems more complicated to me. Try out the demo for both. DVFilm product could not be much simplier. Both products are $200 for full working product.

Vegas is a great product, with these products, no need to look elsewhere. Just work on having a fast system for HD work and youll be fine. . . .Good luck.

Shane,
if 1080/24pa resided on the P2 card, then was copied to a hard drive, it would preserve the original footage for future editing with an HD NLE. The content of the P2 could then be down-converted to miniDV for editing with the current software. (though it seems the order doesn't matter, as long as the P2 card(s) are not wiped clean).

I understood that was what he wanted to accomplish. Maybe I misunderstood the intent.

I don't know Vegas at all, so can't be any help there.

You can also use Canopus Edius. The trial lasts for 30 days, and has native support for P2 as well has HD DVCPRO, something only Avid has at this time. You won't need to mess around with converting you Native files into AVI and having to store both versions (takes up a lot of space).