XL2 -> 10bit -> FCP workflow at DVinfo.net

Adam Rench · February 14th, 2006, 12:59 AM

OK, so how do I take the footage that I shot on an XL2 and capture it into my Mac at 10bit? I see on the Apple website that FCP allows capturing 10bit over firewire. Is this true? I downloaded the FCP manual and I'm still having trouble figuring this out.

I'm thinking about getting a Decklink SP card so that I can hook it up to a CRT SD monitor, but with the XL2, I couldn't use the Decklink for capturing purposes... could I?

Glenn Chan · February 14th, 2006, 01:22 AM

10bit uncompressed over firewire might be possible with the AJA Io... or it does 8bit uncompressed over firewire.

You don't gain quality by capturing DV this way.

2- You can use the XL2 to hook up a CRT SD monitor. Use the XL2 as the external preview device.

The FCP forum here, should have a sticky at the top that explains the process of using an external monitor.

Adam Rench · February 14th, 2006, 01:26 AM

Hey Glenn,

thanks for the response. I just checked the FCP forum but didn't see a sticky there. I'm thinking about picking FinalTouch SD to color correct my XL2 footage and wanted a good quality CRT monitor out for that so I was going with the component out on the decklink card for that. figured I'll just use that for my editing output as well then aye...

Glenn Chan · February 14th, 2006, 01:38 AM

I was wrong about the sticky... I thought there was one. Clearly not the case.

2- The XL2 footage is still probably best captured over firewire. A minor advantage to SDI (or component) capture is that it'll apply chroma interpolation for you (same idea as FCP's 4:1:1 color smoothing filter). Component may degrade image quality though, because you go through the D-->analog--> digital conversion.

SDI can slightly degrade image quality if it results in an additional digital generation.

In practice, it generally won't make a difference how you capture. I don't think I'd be able to tell the difference. Although firewire is clearly cheapest (and fastest)... that does make a difference.
Exceptions: chroma key, secondary color correction, upsampling the chroma for 4:2:2 or better formats.

Adam Rench · February 14th, 2006, 01:41 AM

I read that article regarding the chroma work by Natress and saw that using that 4:1:1 filter really does wonders for the footage. I was very impressed. Do you have any experience with that?

Greg Boston · February 14th, 2006, 01:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam Rench

I read that article regarding the chroma work by Natress and saw that using that 4:1:1 filter really does wonders for the footage. I was very impressed. Do you have any experience with that?

Quickest way to see how nice the 4:1:1 color smoothing filter works is to grab the SMPTE bars from the camera and put the clip in the viewer. Open up the scopes and select vectorscope. Set vectorscope input to be what's showing in the viewer. Observe the waveform and then drop the 4:1:1 smoother on the clip and see how it does help linearize the vectorscope display.

-gb-

Adam Rench · February 14th, 2006, 01:55 AM

Awesome. I will do that. I don't have my Mac yet though. My loan is coming in on Thursday so I'm stuck sitting here and doing research on what all the extras I need to buy are.

February 14th, 2006, 12:59 AM	#1
Adam Rench Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Dallas, Texas, USA Posts: 386	XL2 -> 10bit -> FCP workflow OK, so how do I take the footage that I shot on an XL2 and capture it into my Mac at 10bit? I see on the Apple website that FCP allows capturing 10bit over firewire. Is this true? I downloaded the FCP manual and I'm still having trouble figuring this out. I'm thinking about getting a Decklink SP card so that I can hook it up to a CRT SD monitor, but with the XL2, I couldn't use the Decklink for capturing purposes... could I?

February 14th, 2006, 01:38 AM	#4
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	I was wrong about the sticky... I thought there was one. Clearly not the case. 2- The XL2 footage is still probably best captured over firewire. A minor advantage to SDI (or component) capture is that it'll apply chroma interpolation for you (same idea as FCP's 4:1:1 color smoothing filter). Component may degrade image quality though, because you go through the D-->analog--> digital conversion. SDI can slightly degrade image quality if it results in an additional digital generation. In practice, it generally won't make a difference how you capture. I don't think I'd be able to tell the difference. Although firewire is clearly cheapest (and fastest)... that does make a difference. Exceptions: chroma key, secondary color correction, upsampling the chroma for 4:2:2 or better formats. Last edited by Glenn Chan; February 14th, 2006 at 02:47 AM.

February 14th, 2006, 01:22 AM	#2
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	10bit uncompressed over firewire might be possible with the AJA Io... or it does 8bit uncompressed over firewire. You don't gain quality by capturing DV this way. 2- You can use the XL2 to hook up a CRT SD monitor. Use the XL2 as the external preview device. The FCP forum here, should have a sticky at the top that explains the process of using an external monitor.

February 14th, 2006, 01:26 AM	#3
Adam Rench Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Dallas, Texas, USA Posts: 386	Hey Glenn, thanks for the response. I just checked the FCP forum but didn't see a sticky there. I'm thinking about picking FinalTouch SD to color correct my XL2 footage and wanted a good quality CRT monitor out for that so I was going with the component out on the decklink card for that. figured I'll just use that for my editing output as well then aye...

February 14th, 2006, 01:41 AM	#5
Adam Rench Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Dallas, Texas, USA Posts: 386	I read that article regarding the chroma work by Natress and saw that using that 4:1:1 filter really does wonders for the footage. I was very impressed. Do you have any experience with that?

February 14th, 2006, 01:55 AM	#7
Adam Rench Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Dallas, Texas, USA Posts: 386	Awesome. I will do that. I don't have my Mac yet though. My loan is coming in on Thursday so I'm stuck sitting here and doing research on what all the extras I need to buy are.