Better image digitizing minidv using high-end capture device vs a DV deck??

L

Lkorver

Well-known member
I have some minidv footage (dvx100) I'm using on a 1080p documentary. I digitized the footage right into FCP using a regular sony DSR-11 deck at NTSC resolution. Is there any benefit to digitizing using the Teranex 2d, or blackmagic capture cards? Can you get a better image using a better capture devise or is digital just digital???
 
Well digital is just digital as far as cloning the standard definiton footage into a standard definition project/resolution. The bigger question is the quality of the scaler from SD to HD - and where there is also a progressive/interlace conversion or frame rate conversion going on. You may very well find that just a scaling (uprez) with no need for interlace or frame rate conversion looks fine being done in FCP or with third party plug-ins that specialize in uprez (Boris, etc.). Hardware conversions can offer high quality in real time which is where their value lies, but also have corrections for cadence, broken cadence, interlace, in addition to resolution such as Teranex. Blackmagic probably offers a good quality scaler only. If 24p, you would need to ensure via Blackmagic capture that it does the 2:3 pulldown removal for either STANDARD or ADVANCED to ensure high quality. I would start with a FireWire or SDI capture, and scale for starters in software to see if that is good enough for you.

Michael
 
thanks Michael!

The FCP scaler has been fine for me but since going from 720X480 to 1920X1080 is such a crazy move, I'd like to have the best quality scaling possible. I have access to a Teranex 2d system, so thats not the issue, it would be is it worth my time to rescale 40min of clips (ps, no idea how long that would take, maybe it's quite simple? Also, there are some cadence issues that maybe the Teranex can help with. The majority of the project was shot in ADVANCED mode, but some was accidentally shot in regular 24p. There's also some found footage with interlacing as well.

Would I need to batch from the MiniDV tapes using something like the Teranex or just go straight from the captured files?
 
I would make sure that Teranex 2D supports ADVANCED pulldown. It was not clear on their website - it may just work and is part of the 2:3 pulldown family of support. It's a real time processor, so think of it as a I/O card that also process with Teranex algorithms. It is not a file based converter, so it does expect a signal. I would recapture from the original tapes.
 
Thank you for clarifying that the Teranex 2D is not a file based converter.

Have had 30 miniDV (PAL) tapes, which I captured via Firewire to my PC 6 years ago in the hopes of one day to find the time and money to de-interlace and uprez the footage. I thought I went to heaven when the Teranex 2D came along this year until I found out what it really offers, or better, does not offer, from your post.

I was hoping that the Thunderbolt connection would finally allow the input of DV files from a Mac to the Teranex to achieve digital, hardware de-interlaced out, but I was mistaken.
I called BlackMagic yesterday and they said that I will need a second Mac/PC with one of their HDMI playback/capture cards to get the DV video files over HDMI out to the Teranex and then capture from the Teranex to my MacBook Pro via Thunderbolt. What a terrible workflow. I have tried software de-interlacing and uprez solutions, which did not deliver a very good result.

My dilemma is that I only have some of the original tapes and no DV deck (sold after I captured the footage - what a mistake), which currently excludes any recapture without a re-investing in old technology.

Do you have any other suggestions on how to best approach hardware de-interlacing of DV file footage aside from having to recapture?
 
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