iBooks + FCP + Dvx = tapeless recording?

[RyanT]

Well, I came across that DVrack software a while ago and was really into the whole idea of capturing straight to my harddrive. I think its safe to say that EVERYBODY hates capturing, so I was definitely considering it.

The only problem was the whole "hey look I'm only compatible with PC's!" Seeing that I already have all the necessary programs for my desktop machine(a mac), I kinda found it counterproductive to get another PC. This along with viruses(ick) and spyware(double ick) made me think against it.

Then I think a while ago someone mentioned doing tapeless capturing in FCP, in theory it should work, but little problems always love to pop up on me so I'm just wondering if I'm making the right decision here. I've found a good price on a used iBook that'll definitely handle the DVX and FCP, but what about the waveform monitors and vectorscopes. Can you use that on footage that is coming in through the log and capture windows? Does anyone have any kind of experience with this setup?

Thanks for your help in advance guys!

 

[cheezweezl]

FCP is not bulletproof but you will probably have far less issues than if using a PC. when capturing from tape, the only time i get errors is when there is a dropout on the tape itself.

of course, your mobility will be very limited if tethered to a laptop and it's one more link in the chain that you always will need to think about.

the other thing is that if you capture straight to a laptop, you may spend as much time backing up later as you would capturing to begin with. i don't know how everybody else does it but i use the "log and capture" method in FCP. i log each clip i want to capture on a particular tape then i batch capture those clips all at once automatically. this means when i'm done editing, i can trash all the capture files and free up some drive space knowing that if i ever need to do a re-edit, i can simply insert the original tape and FCP will recapture all the clips automatically and accurately down to the frame.

using the straight to disk method, you have no tape, so you will need to backup all that footage when you're done (or just keep buying drives as they fill up....) also keep in mind that if you back up to dvd, a single layer dvd only holds 4.7gb so if you had a clip that ran over 23 minutes it wouldn't fit. you would have to use a dual layer dvd to back it up and those babies are still kinda pricey and slow to burn.....

and.....the last snag is that i have heard a bunch on this forum that the firewire board on the dvx is prone to failure and should be used sparingly. i don't know how true this is but lots of people here have had problems. i no longer use my dvx to capture. i have a cheap dv cam for that.

i have a powerbook and a large firewire drive and i was seriously considering the direct to disk method but i ultimately decided it would be a huge pain in my ass.

 

[RyanT]

Yeah, I've definitely thought about some of the things that you've put forth. As far as not having a tape to backup with, I would never dream of not having a tape backup, thats just plain scary. I would just run a shoot like normal except I would just have someone hitting that capture now button as I record on a tape.

Mobility is bleh, oh well. That'll be bad, but it'll be nice to have a big image to look at rather than the small viewfinder or LCD on my camera.

I've heard the same thing about the firewire board on the DVX, but from what I understand its from the hot swapping of it. I already use my camera to capture so doing this straight to disk thing will ultimately save the ware on the heads.

uhh and yeah, I just bought a dual layer DVD drive along with 100 blank dvds. I'm hoping the prices for that will come down soon, but I've definitely got my backup situation handled.

Thanks for pointing some of these things out though, I think I may just have to try it myself and see how I like it. That'll probably be the true test.

 

[cheezweezl]

let us know how much you love/hate it.

 

[RyanT]

Will do!

 

[Dvader]

Hey RyanT, or anyone who could help for that matter, you wouldnt know how to monitor/capture live from the dvx to a ibook, using iMovie would you? I have a old 12 inch ibook which I would love to run w/ my dvx for focus/mis en scene. If worse came to worse could get a copy of FCP and use that instead but also have the added bonus of seeing waveform and vectorscope of the images?

 

[dustino]

Hey RyanT, or anyone who could help for that matter, you wouldnt know how to monitor/capture live from the dvx to a ibook, using iMovie would you? I have a old 12 inch ibook which I would love to run w/ my dvx for focus/mis en scene. If worse came to worse could get a copy of FCP and use that instead but also have the added bonus of seeing waveform and vectorscope of the images?

I don't know about capturing but I've used iMovie to monitor as I was taping. Just plug in your firewire cable and open iMovie - voila - it's there. I don't see any reason you couldn't capture as well - just give it a shot.