Capture problems GY-HD200 to FCP (HDV)

1. mskvideo
   Member

   

   I have a client who is having a problem capturing the 720p30 video into FCP I shot for him.  I can capture it no problem, but his editor is saying that's because I'm using the camera with which I shot the video.

   The tapes play fine in his deck.

   Question:  has anyone else run into this issue, i.e. HD tape shot in a GY-HD200 un-capturable in any other deck than the camera itself?

   My impression was that JVC uses a pretty standard MPEG-2 encoding system, or is it something weird and proprietary that renders the tapes basically useless to anyone else?

   Michael Kinney
   MSKvideo
   703-863-6903

   Posted 2 years ago #

2. composite1
   Moderator

   

   Michael,

   As a user of the 200UB, I know there might be an issue depending on what deck or camera your client's editor is using to capture from. Due to all the proprietary crap between the companies now sometimes tapes from differing cameras don't play nice with each other. Also, unrelated to you could be an issue with the editor's version of FCP. It may not have proper updates to deal with the encoding on your tapes. That's a longshot possibility, but many times it's the little things that cause the biggest problems.

   That's odd though that it will play but not capture. It's gotta' be an issue with the deck. An alternative is to just capture the raw footage yourself onto a portable harddrive and send it to the client. Just work out what codec they want it in (most likely quicktime.) You'll have to get the tapes back though to do it.

   H.Wolfgang Porter, Composite Media Producer
   Dreaded Enterprises Unlimited, Inc.
   http://www.dreadedenterprises.com

   Posted 2 years ago #

3. mskvideo
   Member

   

   So did I buy a bum camera system, or is this a common cross-platform problem?

   Posted 2 years ago #

4. Rob Grauert
   Post Production Host

   

   I've had problems with HDV tapes playing on one deck and not another deck too. It seems the camera, deck, and tape all have to be of the same brand...in my experience anyway, which is limited to one instance.

   Rob Grauert, Jr
   http://www.robgrauert.com
   http://command-r.tumblr.com

   Posted 2 years ago #

5. mskvideo
   Member

   

   Well, jeez.  That's a pretty serious limitation.

   Posted 2 years ago #

6. Rob Grauert
   Post Production Host

   

   yea. ya win some, ya lose some. 

   Posted 2 years ago #

7. mskvideo
   Member

   

   Well, I guess it's a relief to know I didn't buy the wrong camera and that it's a general issue.

   Posted 2 years ago #

8. composite1
   Moderator

   

   Michael,

   No you didn't 'buy a bum system'. Like Rob and I mentioned it's the different manufacturer's and their attempts to compete with each other. This issue even runs down to tapes not working with other brands sometimes. I'd be willing to bet my own money it's an issue with the deck. I've shot 720 60p on tape and turned it over to clients using FCP and they had zero problems.

   30p is fairly generic across the higher end NLE software platforms so unless his version of FCP is missing some required updates, that leaves the deck. He might be using a Sony and it's pretty common that their products don't like working with JVC in the last few years. I just picked up a Sony clamshell and it'll play 720x30p but will only playback audio if shot at 60p. However, it will link up via firewire with the 200 @ 1080i. Did I mention I only shoot with Panasonic tape?

   So your system is fine. It's just that 'mixing and matching' gear these days is a fine science. Definitely ask them what kind of deck/camera they're using for capture. If it's not a JVC, that's the first place to start looking. As is, the primary solutions are get another deck or capture the raw footage to a hard drive on your end and give it to them that way.

    

   Posted 2 years ago #

9. mskvideo
   Member

   

   The weird thing is his deck can play the tapes, but he can't capture.

   Posted 2 years ago #

10. composite1
    Moderator

    

    Michael,

    Actually that's fairly typical. I had a guy shoot DV footage with a Sony prosumer rig but could barely play it on the little canon dv camera we were using as a field deck. Now when I put the same tapes in the Sony clamshell they play just fine.

    Posted 2 years ago #

11. mskvideo
    Member

    

    Well, I'll be a....this really puts a crimp in shooting HD for folks, however, unless I have a box full of drives I can give away.

    Posted 2 years ago #

12. composite1
    Moderator

    

    "...this really puts a crimp in shooting HD for folks, however, unless I have a box full of drives I can give away."

    Michael,

    You don't give them away. You offer them as a solution for your clients either up front or 'a la carte'. You had no way of knowing they had incompatible gear. You just add the price of the drive and or the capture time into your fee. I offer the same setup to my clients and some dig it, others would rather have the tapes. If they aren't going to try to find a compatible deck (bought or borrowed), then the only other option is to have you put it on a hard drive.

    Posted 2 years ago #

13. mskvideo
    Member

    

    Cool.  Good advice.  Thanks.

    Posted 2 years ago #

14. composite1
    Moderator

    

    Mike,

    You're welcome. Most important things to do if they request the hard drive option; Make sure they specify the codec they want (if it's FCP, they're gonna' want qt), what compression level (be advised, uncompressed qt files in HDV still get pretty big) and how much detail they want in the log sheet. Also find out what connection they want (i.e. eSATA, Firewire 400 or 800, USB 2 or 3) for an external drive or if they have a hard drive dock (Toaster) to plug in external drives.

    The toaster option will save them money on the drive but they will be limited to 1TB per drive as most models won't see a drive bigger than that. Since their using mac's, you'll have to format the internal/external drive for FAT32. Don't use NTFS! That's a Window's file system and their mac might not be able to read it.

    Posted 2 years ago #

15. mskvideo
    Member

    

    Comp, thanks again.  The funny thing is I only understood half of what you told me (if that), but I know how to look stuff up for sure.  This whole codec/drive/format thing is all pretty new to me, but I love learning new stuff!

    Posted 2 years ago #

16. bradman
    Member

    

    I had trouble capturing in FCP from my GY-HD200 camera.  I had to change a setting in FCP to "apple intermediate codec".  I can capture fine, but I can't use the logging function to capture clips selected by timecode.  I have to manually start and stop the capture if I only want to capture a portion of the tape. I also have to select "apple intermediate codec" in the sequence settings when editing.  I'm not sure if this will help your client but it might.

    Video Storyteller

    Posted 2 years ago #

17. composite1
    Moderator

    

    "... Funny thing is I only understood half of what you told me (if that)...."

    Michael,

    HA! I can appreciate a person who can admit their limitations. Thanks for reminding me about the 'Technospeak Overload'.

    In a nutshell;

    Codecs are sofware 'devices' that assist you in controlling the level of information compression for video and audio clips. There are many out there but the most commonly used ones are Windows AVI, Windows Media, Quick Time and Flash Media. VM Magazine currently has an article out on that subject so check it out.

    External Hard Drive Inputs and Connectors are the means by which you will connect an External Hard Drive to your Desktop or Laptop Computer. When you are looking for an external drive intended for shipment to a client, you have to confirm which type of inputs they have available and prefer to use. The best inputs currently available on external drives are; eSATA, Firewire 800 or 400 and USB 2.0 in that order. Also make sure your system has similar inputs so you can upload the footage to the drive quickly as possible.

    External Hard Drive Docks are convenient devices that allow you to skip using an Enclosed External Hard Drive and use Internal Drives like those you have in your computer. The only drawback to this method is your client must have a dock or have an enclosure of their own or be prepared to install the drive in order to access the data. The good news is docks are really inexpensive. The semi-bad news is in order to take full advantage of their capabilities the computer you hook up to it should have eSATA capability either built in or via an installed eSATA controller card. Otherwise you'll have to use USB 2.0 which is slooooooooooooooooow when it comes to downloading video footage. If you have uncompressed HD footage, the 'Glacier Races' will be over before you're done downloading!

    FAT32 and NTFS are the file formatting systems used by both Macintosh and Windows based computers. FAT32 is used exclusively by mac's while NTFS is used exclusively by windows based systems since full implementation of the Win XP Operating System. Windows systems can read and write to FAT32 drives and I hear tell that mac systems can read but not write to NTFS formatted drives. To make both yours and your client's lives easier, ask them prior to getting the drive what computer system they are using and what file system they want the drive formatted in.

    Unfortunately, today's shooters better have a reasonable background in computers if they want to keep working!

    Posted 2 years ago #

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