anderskam
Level 1 (4 points)

Q: miniDV, FCP X and AppleTV

I'm not sure there are any quality gains from using FCPX vs iMovie 10, but I'm leaning towards purchasing FCP X with the intention of importing about 30 MiniDV tapes shot in SD resolution (interlaced).  I'm doing this to have them "archived"on the computer should something happen to the tapes and also to be able to watch these movies on a large 1080P TV that's hooked up to an AppleTV.

 

Any recommendations on the workflow and FCPX import and export settings to get the best possible quality on my TV thru the AppleTV?  I've never used Compressor - should I for this purpose?

 

Thanks in advance!

iMac, Mac OS X (10.7.2)

Posted on May 7, 2015 1:51 PM

Close
anderskam

Q: miniDV, FCP X and AppleTV

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by David Bogie Chq-1,

    David Bogie Chq-1 David Bogie Chq-1 May 7, 2015 2:04 PM in response to anderskam
    Level 7 (25,792 points)
    Video
    May 7, 2015 2:04 PM in response to anderskam

    Quality is not a factor in this operation. The images will never be any better than the original DV. Period. Well, there are some enhancements you can perform but that's not part of the question.

    FCPX will capture from a DV deck but you need timecode. MiniDV does not have timecode, I think. DVCAM does.

     

    You want this to be really easy? Get a copy of FCP7, an older Mac, a Sony 11 DV deck, and use "Firewire controllable device" on the ingest settings.  Slick.

     

    There are plenty of threads related to DV in FCPX forums, just search. You can also spend a few hours in the iMove forum for DV discussions. iMovie is free and offers all the utility you need for this job.

     

    If you are preserving precious family archives, be sure you print out several copies to DVD using iDVD or DVD Studio Pro (another reason to use Final Cut Suite) and maybe even back out to DV.

  • by Russ H,

    Russ H Russ H May 7, 2015 7:45 PM in response to anderskam
    Level 7 (21,825 points)
    Quicktime
    May 7, 2015 7:45 PM in response to anderskam

    Just to say that there is a 30 day trial version of FCP X that is full featured and which you can use  to test how well this capture works from your camera or deck. Tape capture is not one of FCP X's strong suits, but many users do OK. (I've had good results, but also some problems.) Try it and let us know how you fare.

     

    Russ

  • by Alchroma,

    Alchroma Alchroma May 7, 2015 11:56 PM in response to David Bogie Chq-1
    Level 6 (19,036 points)
    Video
    May 7, 2015 11:56 PM in response to David Bogie Chq-1

    David,

     

    Mini DV does have timecode and will capture direct to FCP X.

     

    Al

  • by VomitMan,

    VomitMan VomitMan May 8, 2015 2:09 PM in response to anderskam
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 8, 2015 2:09 PM in response to anderskam

    I have just recently converted my some media that were iso files so that I could store them on a hard drive connected to my Airport Extreme router and view the media files on my AppleTV via iTunes.  I used HandBrake to convert the iso files and used the AppleTV preset in HandBrake to convert to a compatible AppleTV media file.