Best quality capture of DV: IMovie 09 or Final Cut

the capture is in both apps identical.

but.. if you 'process' interlaced-video in iM09 (=adding an animated title, effects, etc), iM skips one field = vertical resolution is halved.

so, capturing is ok, on export, FC is better.

and Welcome, JerryWasatch, to the Apple boards 😀

Hello Jerry, and welcome to the Forums !

There is a subtle difference in capturing DV video in iMovie vs. Final Cut.

iMovie captures DV video as DVStream, in which the video and audio data are interleaved (video-audio-video-audio etc) due to the way it is recorded on the tape in the camera. (Or in your case how it is converted by your deck.) This is ok, and iMovie works with it, but it is the reason audio editing has always been relatively difficult & limited in iMovie (from a technical perspective as well as user perspective).

Final Cut captures DV video as +QuickTime DV,+ in which the video and audio data are separated into synchronized, parallel tracks. This makes editing the audio much easier and enables other possibilities during editing.

You can import DVStream files into Final Cut but it will be necessary to render the audio before you can hear it or work with it. Don't have to do that with QuickTime DV.

If you have Final Cut (any version), I'd suggest capturing your video there instead of with iMovie.

Jerry,
I should add that it also depends on what app you intend to do your editing in.
If you plan on using iMovie, then capture with iMovie. Ditto regarding FCE.

Just don't plan to capture in one app if you intend to edit in the other app - that's where the differences between DVStream & QuickTime DV can become issues. (BTW, there is no difference in the visual or audio quality, both are DV.)

However, keep in mind Karsten's original reply - iMovie08/09 do not do well exporting DV.

JerryWasatch wrote:
.. My prime concern is captured video quality which is probably "identical" between the two programs. ..

the quality IS identically.
FC doesn't add any value due to its method to 'split' the data-stream into separate 'tracks' of audio and video on import. the number of bits&bytes concerning the video is identically. it is just an internal difference in engineering how the two apps handle that stream ..-

a last word about 'quality':
usually, I don't participate any more in quality-debates - for me, in 99% cases it's academically 😉

your source, you told us, is Hi8.. so, due to techniqués avail that time, the recordings are far far away from the tech max, the codec DV allows. it starts with thee optics, the CCD, the internal electronics, the compresssion-techniqués, .. nor do I doubt, the recordings were done under 100% perfection in lighting, tripod etc.pp.
example: I once were allowed to record with my miniDV a few minutes in a professional TV-set - breathtaking! and far far away from Daddy's recording last Xmas under low-light candle-light conditions .. 😉
what I want to say: I understand concerns about 'quality', but the 'usual suspects' (=iM, FC, Premiere..) don't lower any quality, which isn't on the tapes anyhow..

sorry for venting.. 😉

JerryWasatch wrote:
... The link below provides an excellent diagram...

.. which I don't understand for this topic's issues ... :
source for both of your workflows is identically.. a dv-stream, with muxed/interleaved audio-video.
so, why should a 'split' on import (=FC) or a split on processing (=iM) have ANY effect on pic quality? both splits are done by QT = same engine = same.. quality. (your diagram is for Windows, perhaps diff. 'drivers' offer diff. quality......).

plus, that diagram speaks of 'uncompressed video' in step3.. no such thing, sorry to say. DV is highly compressed - 'demuxing' it from a stream does not add any value.. (which reminds me of that painstaking fruitless discussions about AVCHD=>'native'/AIC/proRes422 editing.. ), nor does it, after demuxing, have a 'better' quality.. DV is a lossy compression process.. (making a jpg a tiff makes the file bigger, but not the picture better).

sorry, I'm out of here..
I don't trust 'testing scales'... I'm a hobbyist, a Daddy-does-movies, my watching-situation is far from 100% .. do YOU level/color-correct your monitor on a daily basis, as a pro-studio does? .. is your room non-reflecting audio, or do you notice the birds outside and your neighbour's lawnmower ..? ...

😀

as I mentioned above: I shouldn't participate any 'quality'-discussions ...