Is it possible for 1080i tape camera to direct capture as 1080p ProRes file on Mac?

Question

Is it possible for 1080i tape camera to direct capture as 1080p ProRes file on Mac?

This is a hypothetical question to settle an argument I am having with my son.

My position is that FCP or other video capture application won't capture the video from the 1080i tape based camera (Sony HVR Z1U) unless the camera is recording. In that case it will be recording on the tape as 1080i and that is what will be fed via Firewire to the Mac. The resulting file (if it works at all) will not be a standard 1080p file even if that's what the capture setting are set at.

My son say that the trick is not to press record on the camera but just capture on the laptop as 1080p with the video having not gone through the onboard camera/tape encoding process.

I say that FCP, etc. needs the timecode from the camera to properly capture.

Is either one of us in anyway right?

Are we both nuts and should stick to fishing?

Thanks

Posted on Feb 28, 2015 1:34 PM

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Answer 1

hyphen

Level 6

15,499 points

Mar 1, 2015 5:56 AM in response to Adrian Smith4

Have a look at this: https://forums.creativecow.net/thread/8/1020884

and this: http://www.geniusdv.com/news_and_tutorials/2008/01/live_capture_with_final_cut_p ro.php

Your son is right (I guess) but don't give in with out a fight. Ground him until he is ninety. Sorry for the links but there was no point in me repeating this ready offered info.

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Answer 2

Stockholm

Level 1

124 points

Mar 1, 2015 10:05 AM in response to Adrian Smith4

Hi

You will not get 1080P from the Z! since it does not have any progressive setting.

You can only capture 1080i even if you feed it directly to a computer

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Answer 3

Mar 2, 2015 12:31 PM in response to Stockholm

I was thinking along similar lines. But, for argument's sake, if the camera is not in recording mode - just in standby does the image bypass the recording mechanism of the camera and instead be fed directly to the recording mechanism (for wont of a better word) of the MacBook Pro and FCP/Premier, etc. (and the capture preference selected on that edit software)?

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Answer 4

Mar 2, 2015 2:55 PM in response to Adrian Smith4

your son is right, i am afraid.

if a video cam has an HDMI output, it can output the original signal from the sensor, without compression - so this will be 1080p, if your cam can do 1080p (if it cannot, the signal usually gets transformed to 1080i right after the sensor, and there is no way to output 1080p). you can feed this signal into FCP, to a monitor or onto any recording device of your choice.

your cam, though, has no HDMI out, i think - just firewire. there is no uncompressed full HD signal on firewire as far as i know. so this output will not help, because it is compressed already.

but i think your cam has analogue component outs. these should be full HD 1080p. by converting these (eg thru a blackmagic or AJA converter), you could feed them into FCP.

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Answer 5

Mar 10, 2015 8:19 PM in response to mdesignffm

Yes I have discovered that going from the component output of the camera at the very least bypasses the compression used by HDV while continuing to be in HD. I'm still not sure whether the image is interlaced or not or what the effect will be as capturing it as 1080p when it hits FCP or Premiere.

I have ordered a MOTU HD Express Video Interface with PCI Express Card from B &H. This will take the HD component signal from the HVR Z1U and feed via the HDMI Express card into FCP as ProRes 422.

Even if it does not come in as true 1080p it will at least be minus the compression that would otherwise occur going to tape first or coming in directly through firewire.

The MOTU interface and card is about $300. A cheap and cheerful improvement while my son saves up for a decent 1080p camera.

I shall report on my findings.

We hope.

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