HD100 and Avid

[Larry Melton]

OK, I dove in and took advantage of the battery promo and beat the price increase, and in my limited play-time so far, the camera looks great.

I have Avid Express Pro HD, and all of Avid's literature talks about their native compatibility with HDV, specifically mentioning JVC. This was a factor in my decision to buy.

But when trying to set up an HDV project, (digitizing from the BRHD50U), the only compatible option I see is for 29.97 - no support for 24pHDV? This is probably a question for Avid, but from what I've read on this forum, the users here seem to know more about this camera and format than any other resource I've found.

I'm looking for some information about successful workflow examples when using the HD100 and Avid - best-practice information on monitoring during the editing process, and Avid's performance processing HDV, since I can't use the MOJO. I do a lot of TV spots, generally distributed on Beta SP, and corporate work that usually needs to be mastered to Beta SP for DVD duplication. While I have many years experience as a shooter and editor, I'm not a true tech-head, and there are so many options in terms of resolution and frame rate it makes my head spin!

I'd welcome any references you can point me to, and would even be willing to pay someone as a consultant if needed. Thanks very much.

Larry Melton
Triangle Productions
Grand Rapids MI

[Nate Weaver]

30P mode only, no 24P yet in Xpress.

[Steve Mullen]

Originally Posted by Larry Melton

OK, I dove in and took advantage of the battery promo and beat the price increase, and in my limited play-time so far, the camera looks great.

I have Avid Express Pro HD, and all of Avid's literature talks about their native compatibility with HDV, specifically mentioning JVC. This was a factor in my decision to buy.

But when trying to set up an HDV project, (digitizing from the BRHD50U), the only compatible option I see is for 29.97 - no support for 24pHDV?

You are correct -- no 24fps support in Avid. And none to come until summer. There are other solutions if you can work without Avid.

If you you want to get up to speed on the HD100 and your editing options -- my eBook may be what you need -- at a cost much lower than a consultant.

Go to my website.

[Maurice Jolly]

Originally Posted by Steve Mullen

You are correct -- no 24fps support in Avid. And none to come until summer. There are other solutions if you can work without Avid.

If you you want to get up to speed on the HD100 and your editing options -- my eBook may be what you need -- at a cost much lower than a consultant.

Go to my website.

steve,
help me out here please. in your book:
1. do you have answers for 24p editing workflow in fcp5.
2. do you have hd to sd downconversion workflow for output to dvd in fcp5.
rumor has it that a hd to sd downconversion done properly will look better on dvd than native sd. i have yet to see one that looks good, so maybe i keep doing it wrong.

[Adam Rench]

Originally Posted by Maurice Jolly

steve,
help me out here please. in your book:
1. do you have answers for 24p editing workflow in fcp5.
2. do you have hd to sd downconversion workflow for output to dvd in fcp5.
rumor has it that a hd to sd downconversion done properly will look better on dvd than native sd. i have yet to see one that looks good, so maybe i keep doing it wrong.

Hey Maurice,
I have an answer to your first question. FCP doesn't handle 24p from the JVC yet. Rumors are that it will soon though. However, when it does handle it, you will still be capturing over firewire.

Now here's the neat thing. If you have FCP and a PowerPC (not a notebook) there is a workaround right now and it's better than even waiting for the 24p support by FCP. What you need to get is an AJA Kona LHe card. What this does for you is allows you to take advantage of the analog component outputs from the cam or deck. Yes, it is analog, but what you do is capture your HDV footage in the DVCPro HD codec at 10bit. I've seen what this looks like using this workflow on a high def monitor and was blown away. I actually called my loan guy in my car on the way home to get a loan to get the Mac, the Kona card, and FCP. (I'm an Avid user on the PC currently).

[Maurice Jolly]

Originally Posted by Adam Rench

Hey Maurice,
I have an answer to your first question. FCP doesn't handle 24p from the JVC yet. Rumors are that it will soon though. However, when it does handle it, you will still be capturing over firewire.

Now here's the neat thing. If you have FCP and a PowerPC (not a notebook) there is a workaround right now and it's better than even waiting for the 24p support by FCP. What you need to get is an AJA Kona LHe card. What this does for you is allows you to take advantage of the analog component outputs from the cam or deck. Yes, it is analog, but what you do is capture your HDV footage in the DVCPro HD codec at 10bit. I've seen what this looks like using this workflow on a high def monitor and was blown away. I actually called my loan guy in my car on the way home to get a loan to get the Mac, the Kona card, and FCP. (I'm an Avid user on the PC currently).

thanks adam, i'll look into that.

[Adam Rench]

You won't be sorry you did. Trust me. :)

[Steve Mullen]

Originally Posted by Maurice Jolly

steve,
help me out here please. in your book:
1. do you have answers for 24p editing workflow in fcp5.
2. do you have hd to sd downconversion workflow for output to dvd in fcp5.
rumor has it that a hd to sd downconversion done properly will look better on dvd than native sd. i have yet to see one that looks good, so maybe i keep doing it wrong.

All the FCP solutions -- including the Kona -- are covered. They range from under $100 to over $1500 (Kona).

Yes, edit in HD and then downconvert to SD. Of course, you can do the down conversion using FCP. I'm about to review an OS X compression package that promises better compression.

[Maurice Jolly]

Originally Posted by Steve Mullen

All the FCP solutions -- including the Kona -- are covered. They range from under $100 to over $1500 (Kona).

Yes, edit in HD and then downconvert to SD. Of course, you can do the down conversion using FCP. I'm about to review an OS X compression package that promises better compression.

thank you steve. one last question. in your opinion, can i get a sd picture from the downconversion in fcp or new compression package using the hd100 that looks as good or better than native dvcpro50. because the dv50 is the only reason i would buy the hvx. but it doesn't record to tape. this is my dilemma. (did i spell dilemma right)

[George Ferrell]

I believe that the new 5.2.2 avid upgrade will solve all the problems.
Hope so anyway.

[David Holleb]

I am using Avid Express Pro HD, and have just ordered the HD100.

Does anyone know if Avid yet supports 24p or any other previously unsupported formats? It's already May now and next month is summer :-)

ALSO-
I want to verify with a current user- did I hear/read correctly that I can mix/edit SD and HD(720/29.97) and others on the same timeline and then output in any other supported formats?

So can I theoretically output as 480 SD or 1080i or DVCPro, etc. etc.
or any other formats besides the 720/29.97 that I shot in?

[Jiri Bakala]

There are currently two versions of Avid: PC and MAC

On the PC: I believe that it supports HDV in 30p or 60i only, 24p is supported in SD

On the MAC: HDV in 30p and 60i will be supported in June when Avid will release new version of AXP. Again, 24p is supported only in SD. Mixing resolutions will be fine but I don't believe that you can mix frame rates in the same timeline.

There is a new MOJO SDI coming up some time in the summer/early fall - SDI capture and digital cut and possibly HD monitoring (not sure about the last). There will be also Avid Media Composer software-only. Best is to check Avid website and Avid discussion groups.
www.avid.com
http://www.avid.com/exchange/forums/thread/87750.aspx