Best way to save my final HD edit for future

[The Irish TRex]

Hi!
Quick question. I don't have a Blu-ray burner yet so I'll be exporting my recent edit (720p24) to DVD...for now. But I'd love to have a 720p24 copy so that when I decide one day to get a blu-ray burner I can output that HD version. Also, I'll have to delete the source footage afterward to make room on my drives for the next project. Oh, and I'm using FCP 6.0.6 right now with Compressor 3.0.5

What's the best way of saving a final edit (please be as detailed as possible) so that I can easily export it in its highest quality in the future?

a) Do I File>export>quicktime movie (current settings) like I have for previous SD footage (usually for short videos)?

b) If the final edit is like 2 hours should I just export to HD-DVD using compressor? If so, the preset only has a 30, 60 and 90 export template in Compressor. What do I adjust to allow for more (up to 150 mins)?

c) Is it possible to export out of FCP back to a spare SDHC cards for now? If so, how?

d) Some other way...if so please explain in detail.

Not sure if upgrading to Final Cut Studio 3 will help this effort any...if so, please advise.

Thank you all in advance!

 

[Exact]

Export to a self contained quicktime file without transcoding. This will give you the best quality and flexibility in the future, although the file size will be bigger than a fully compressed one.

Use compressor to make your DVD output from the quicktime file.

If/when you buy a blu-ray player use compressor to convert to H.264. You could always compress to this now and dump the original (and much bigger) FCP quicktime output, but then you have less flexibility going forward.

Yes, you could save to an SD card, but it better be a big one.

 

[The Irish TRex]

Thanks Exact.

1) How do you export back to the SDHC cards using the HMC150?

2) Does a 16gb card hold approx. 90 minutes of EXPORTED footage just like its able to CAPTURE approx 90 minutes of footage (in PH mode of course)?

Thanks!

 

[Exact]

Thanks Exact.

1) How do you export back to the SDHC cards using the HMC150?

Easy answer. You don't. You can use the SCHC card as storage, but you'll need to put it in an SDHC compatible card reader/writer and hook it to your computer via USB (or firewire).

2) Does a 16gb card hold approx. 90 minutes of EXPORTED footage just like its able to CAPTURE approx 90 minutes of footage (in PH mode of course)?

In theory yes, but since you can't export back to 'PH' mode I think it's all academic. PH mode is an internal mode for the camera and you can't send footage for the camera to re-record in to PH mode. You are exporting a quicktime file. Whether that fits on a 16GB after export (and compression) depends on the settings you used. If the file is less than 16GB on your HDD then I guess it will fit - but you will need to file copy to the card.

 

[The Irish TRex]

Got it. Thanks (again). Basically, until I get that blu-ray burner, etc. I want to at least have a high quality option that I can play for people of the final edit. Whether that cut is 5 mins or 85 mins it would be great if its in HD still and not compressed to DVD...although I'm sure that will look good too. I figured I'd use the cam as the playback device because I can just play footage on my HDTV via the HDMI output, but maybe I should think of another way to display the final edit on a HDTV for the time being...hmmm....

 

[Exact]

Got it. Thanks (again). Basically, until I get that blu-ray burner, etc. I want to at least have a high quality option that I can play for people of the final edit. Whether that cut is 5 mins or 85 mins it would be great if its in HD still and not compressed to DVD...although I'm sure that will look good too. I figured I'd use the cam as the playback device because I can just play footage on my HDTV via the HDMI output, but maybe I should think of another way to display the final edit on a HDTV for the time being...hmmm....

Have you thought about a DVI --> HDMI adapter for your computer? That would allow you to play on a large TV in Hi-Def