Capture HD video on FCP

[James in HD]

OK I'm not sure if this is a question for mac or Mini DV.
I have a Canon XH-A1 and I don't know how to hook
it up to Final Cut Pro to capture video.

I'm not sure if I need to do something special in FCP
or is there a setting on my camera?

I can control the camera through FCP, I just don't get
the audio or video signals. The same happens with my
Canon HV20.

Both camera's are HD.

Any solutions?

I can capture regular mini DV's with no problem.

[rumplestiltskin]

Which version of FCP? What have you set your project's parameters to? Have you set them to expect the source video/audio that your camcorder is sending?

[James in HD]

I have Final Cut Pro Studio 2.
And I tried using all the different capture chioces.
(if that is what you mean)
None of them display my video or audio.

[terryj]

Canon HDV20
Apple Thread
HDV20 home and connecting to computer, follow post #6 steps

XH-A1 and FCP Capture

[James in HD]

OK, I'm new to all this videography stuff and I'm just learning how to use
FCP. But the information you gave me is confusing. It allowed me to capture
video, but when put to a quick time video it was pushed in on the sides.

1st I still don't know if it's a setting on my camera or FCP.

Then if I'm recording in 1080i which capture/input on FCP am I suppose to use?
Like I said, a regular mini dv works fine for capturing. But both of my
HDV's will not work without pushing the sides in.

Please help.

[terryj]

Not into HD realm yet, still running Mini DV, so I'll help as
best as possible:

When outputting it to a QuickTime video from FCP, you should export it
as 1920 x 1080HD, or if the setting allows, Preserve Aspect Ratio.
This will stop your "squishing" as the footage is trying to squish it into
a smaller dimension, probably SD video ( 720 x 480).

It's the settings on your camera, according to the posts I posted earlier
(Tip #6 explains that).

record in 1080i, create a new 1080i project in FCP, and Capture footage
into your 1080i project. FCP will set your defaults to 1080i based upon
the type of project you select when you go File-->New Project,
And then select what the project's Parameters are
(720 x 480 NTSC SD, 1280 x 720 HD, 1920 x 1080HD, etc).

[James in HD]

Thanks again for all the help. I have Apple one on one, so I used it today and problem solved so far. It was FCP and a hidden set up menu. But that's solved. However now that I can capture and edit HDV, my new problem is making the final copy 1920 x 1080, so that I don't have to zoom in on my TV. I want it to play like the new 7.0 iDVD menus (full wide screen).

Any tips on that and I would be very happy.

[skrugman]

I am having the same problem, What was the hidden set up?

[edDV]

Without getting into FCP details, I can offer a background overview on HDV format.

Like all Sony/Canon 1080i high def formats (HDV, XDCAM, HDCAM), 16:9 video is horizontaly squeezed to 4:3 1440x1080i for recording thus saving 25% bitrate. HDV 1080i editing is best done in native HDV format which is 1440x1080i. This allows "native" HDV "smart edit" techniques to minimize recoding generation loss. The video only needs to be horizontally expanded for preview purposes before encoding.

If you import to a 1920x1080 project format, every frame needs to be decoded thus losing a generation.