HDV on a Mac or do i go back to PC at DVinfo.net

Robert Bec · September 17th, 2008, 10:18 PM

Hey Guys

thinking of going HDV but noticed it takes a lot lot longer to render. MY system is a macpro 2.6 4core system.I was playing around on the timeline with some HDV footage which was fine but when i went to render it takes much longer than DV.

I have friends that use pc and HD rocks on there systems plays back realtime.

what do i need to do to get my macpro to rock. I hate pc for the fact it is unreliable and FCP is one awesome program
Do i upgrade my videocard it is the standed card the system came with, do i upgrade the ram, is there cards that offer reatime

what can i do i am lost and worried.

Rob.

Loren Simons · September 17th, 2008, 10:57 PM

i too am interested

Brian David Melnyk · September 18th, 2008, 07:46 AM

Are your sequence settings correct? if different from what you shot, everything needs to be rendered and renders take longer... your mac should 'rock' harder than any pc...(no offence to pc lovers).

Pete Cofrancesco · September 18th, 2008, 09:05 AM

Transcode your footage to prores

Noah Kadner · September 18th, 2008, 09:30 AM

If your sequence timeline is setup properly for HDV it will play in realtime on FCP too. It's hardly a Mac vs. PC issue.

Noah

Michael Liebergot · September 18th, 2008, 09:50 AM

Yo didn't mention what you are trying to render to, or what your final destination might be (DVD/BLURAY).

Besides transcoding your footage to ProRes, try changing your render codec in you preferences from HDV to ProRes. Then export to Quicktime Conversion.

Robert Bec · September 18th, 2008, 11:52 PM

the only thing i did was change my easy setup settings to 1080i 50i thats it

Paul Cronin · September 19th, 2008, 05:28 AM

I have run HDV in the past on my Mac Pro and Mac Book Pro in real time with very quick rendering. Now I run XDCAM EX1 in real time with very fast rendering. I would look at your sequence settings and make sure you are set up properly. The go up to Sequence then settings and make sure you are using the proper HDV settings or go to Prores. As said before this is not a Mac/PC problem it is user settings.

Brian David Melnyk · September 20th, 2008, 04:20 AM

because i'm a bit of a dummy, i usually drag a clip into a fresh sequence and if the 'clip does not match sequence settings' prompt comes up, i let FCP change to the appropriate sequence settings for me. i will also then go into the sequence settings and change the render to 'pro res' as this is better quality and, i think, faster rendering...

Dylan Pank · September 20th, 2008, 06:49 AM

Rendering HD will always take longer than rendering DV, but I have a 3 year old 2Ghz g5 iMac and it's realtime HDV. There must be something wrong if you're not getting realtime playback on your MacPro.

If you want faster effects rendering, there is an option to render effects as ProRes which works pretty nicely, effects hold up better too.

It may be that your friends are using an intermediate codec too on their PCs (you don't say what programme they're using) which can loosen things up considerable and make rendering/playback easier for the most part, but you'd need much more storage space.

September 17th, 2008, 10:18 PM	#1
Robert Bec Major Player Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 358	HDV on a Mac or do i go back to PC Hey Guys thinking of going HDV but noticed it takes a lot lot longer to render. MY system is a macpro 2.6 4core system.I was playing around on the timeline with some HDV footage which was fine but when i went to render it takes much longer than DV. I have friends that use pc and HD rocks on there systems plays back realtime. what do i need to do to get my macpro to rock. I hate pc for the fact it is unreliable and FCP is one awesome program Do i upgrade my videocard it is the standed card the system came with, do i upgrade the ram, is there cards that offer reatime what can i do i am lost and worried. Rob. Last edited by Robert Bec; September 18th, 2008 at 12:58 AM.

September 17th, 2008, 10:57 PM	#2
Loren Simons Major Player Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 288	i too am interested __________________ Loren Simons

September 18th, 2008, 09:50 AM	#6
Michael Liebergot Trustee Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Maryland Posts: 1,505	Yo didn't mention what you are trying to render to, or what your final destination might be (DVD/BLURAY). Besides transcoding your footage to ProRes, try changing your render codec in you preferences from HDV to ProRes. Then export to Quicktime Conversion. __________________ Michael www.lvpvideo.com Last edited by Michael Liebergot; September 19th, 2008 at 07:20 AM.

September 19th, 2008, 05:28 AM	#8
Paul Cronin Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Rhode Island Posts: 4,048	I have run HDV in the past on my Mac Pro and Mac Book Pro in real time with very quick rendering. Now I run XDCAM EX1 in real time with very fast rendering. I would look at your sequence settings and make sure you are set up properly. The go up to Sequence then settings and make sure you are using the proper HDV settings or go to Prores. As said before this is not a Mac/PC problem it is user settings. __________________ Paul Cronin www.paulcroninstudios.com

September 20th, 2008, 06:49 AM	#10
Dylan Pank Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Portsmouth, UK Posts: 611	Rendering HD will always take longer than rendering DV, but I have a 3 year old 2Ghz g5 iMac and it's realtime HDV. There must be something wrong if you're not getting realtime playback on your MacPro. If you want faster effects rendering, there is an option to render effects as ProRes which works pretty nicely, effects hold up better too. It may be that your friends are using an intermediate codec too on their PCs (you don't say what programme they're using) which can loosen things up considerable and make rendering/playback easier for the most part, but you'd need much more storage space. Last edited by Dylan Pank; September 20th, 2008 at 07:53 AM.

September 18th, 2008, 07:46 AM	#3
Brian David Melnyk Major Player Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Winnipeg Canada Posts: 532	Are your sequence settings correct? if different from what you shot, everything needs to be rendered and renders take longer... your mac should 'rock' harder than any pc...(no offence to pc lovers).

September 18th, 2008, 09:05 AM	#4
Pete Cofrancesco Inner Circle Join Date: May 2004 Location: USA Posts: 3,005	Transcode your footage to prores

September 18th, 2008, 09:30 AM	#5
Noah Kadner Better than Halle Berry Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 435	If your sequence timeline is setup properly for HDV it will play in realtime on FCP too. It's hardly a Mac vs. PC issue. Noah

September 18th, 2008, 11:52 PM	#7
Robert Bec Major Player Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 358	the only thing i did was change my easy setup settings to 1080i 50i thats it

September 20th, 2008, 04:20 AM	#9
Brian David Melnyk Major Player Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Winnipeg Canada Posts: 532	because i'm a bit of a dummy, i usually drag a clip into a fresh sequence and if the 'clip does not match sequence settings' prompt comes up, i let FCP change to the appropriate sequence settings for me. i will also then go into the sequence settings and change the render to 'pro res' as this is better quality and, i think, faster rendering...