DVCPRO HD Tape Stock?

L

livelikeriley

Well-known member
I need to output a copy of my film shot on the HVX (720p 24pn) to DVCPRO HD - I have two questions. First, where is the best place to buy cheap stock (not in quality, but the cheapest price for name-brand stock) - and what is the shortest running time (my project is only 14 minutes long). Also, are there different size DVCPRO HD tapes like there are for DVCam? Or is it just one size? They're pretty expensive (relatively speaking) and I don't want to buy a tape that when I get to the deck I can't use.

My second question is about outputting itself - I've never done this before (finished on DVD/Blu-Ray in the past)...do I need to do anything special to it since it was 24pN? Or since I'm editing on a 23.98 timeline, does it not matter? I'm doing this at my school, so they should be able to help if I run into problems, but I want to make sure the sequence settings are correct before I go in.

Thanks,
Mark.
 
why are you out putting to tape?
is it just for archival?
Do you have a DVCPro HD deck that you can use?
If you want to have it just for archival they 14min of 720p will fit on a dual layer DVD disc which will be much cheeper to do.
I have exported 720p DVCPro and to HVX by putting it in a 720 HDV timeline and exporting out to a HDV deck using FCP.
DVCPRO HD tape media comes in 23, 64, 92 and 126 minute lengths with prices ranging from $31 to $104
 
You can buy DVCPRO regurlar tapes and use those.. They just run faster. I have some 128 minute tapes that I'd sell for really cheap. I have two of them. I think that when it's converted... they each will hold 28 minutes of DVCPRO HD. I'd say to use them instead of the native HD ones... will be much cheaper. If you want to buy the two I have then let me know as they are just sitting around and not doing anything with them. cheers
 
Oh...you can put HD footage on just plain DVCPRO tapes? It's not for archive...my school has an end of the year festival, and since I shot HVX200 they recommended me give them a DVCPRO HD tape copy to play out (they have the decks). I think I'd be more comfortable with a DVCPRO HD tape, because that's what they asked for? Anyone know the shortest length/how to buy...and what about native framerates? Is it a problem I shot in 24pN?

Thanks,
Mark.
 
Anyone know? I've been reading up and realize I can use regular DVCPRO tape for DVCPRO HD footage, just that the running times will be different...but what about the native frame problem...does the deck correct this...? I can't find any info on it.

Thanks,
Mark.
 
Mark,

B&H Photo sells the tapes for a good price. Get Fuji stock. I know when sending 720p/59.94 footage to the tapes the runtime is usually half. A 126 minute DVCPro Tape holds 60mins of HD footage. DO NOT get the "XL" tapes that are actually labeled DVCPRO HD. They are very big and only fit in a handful of DVCPRO decks. Just get the yellow ones, not RED. So for 14 minute timeline, you are looking at a 33 minute tape probably, as long as your whole runtime is 14, including any bars and tone, slate, countdown, all that stuff.

Adam
 
Thanks for the info, that's pretty much what I had pieced together though. My question is about changing my timebase from 24pN (23.98 in FCP) to 59.94 - does the deck automatically do that, or do I need to do something weird in FCP to get it to work?

Thanks,
Mark.
 
I guess I'll run blind with this...I'll let you guys know how it goes so in the future everyone can use this thread as a reference.

Mark.
 
Hey, I shot a feature with the VariCam and we shot 24p, but it was in a 60i stream as the pN mode is not available on tape. I would imagine that the only way you can output to a deck (via firewire? SDI?) is to do it in a 60i or 59.94 stream, especially via FireWire since it cannot carry the pN stream.

I would second the notion that you should get Fuji stock, but some info above is inaccurate. The tapes run at 4X, not 2X, when you are recording DVCPro HD. I am 100% sure about this, and the proof is in the data rates. DVCPro is 25Mb/sec. DVCPro 50 is 50Mb/sec, and so it runs 2x as fast when recording, and DVCPro HD is 100 Mb/sec , so it runs 4x when recording. A 126 minute tape will give you exactly 31.5 minutes of record time in DVCPro HD.

You will need to test the output - not sure if FCP will automatically stream 24pN footage out at 59.94 or if you will have transcode it first. I would highly recommend buying a 33 minute DVCPro tape for testing, and then a 66 minute tape for final output. Don't record tot he 66 minute tape until you are sure that it works. Every time you run a tape through the recorder it will degrade it a little bit, so use that test tape to get your settings right first.

Consider posting this output question in the FCP forum and maybe Noah or others can answer you.

Good luck.
 
herb,

The info I posted is correct. But yours can be as well. Different Decks do different things as far as speed goes. It all depends on the micron you use.

I can confirm that at the post house I work at we use the HD1400 deck from Panasonic, and using 720p59.94 as the datarate, we can fit 60 minutes of footage on a 126 minute tape.

Here is a great chart explaining all the various formats and times.

There are way too many options with DVCPro HD for a single answer to be correct or incorrect.
 
You are talking about DVCPro HD-EX. The EX variety uses 9 microns instead of 18 and so only half the width of the tape, so yes, it does allow for 63 minutes on a 126 tape.

Thank you for the clarifying link. However, I think it should be noted that the EX variety is not standard on all decks, so to ensure playback with ALL DVCPro HD devices, you would want to use plain ol' DVCPro HD. If you are certain that you will have a deck that allows DVCPro HD-EX, you could use it to double your tape's effective length. A list of decks that allow DVCPro HD-EX is at the bottom of the page that churchie provided.
 
I agree with herbalmedia. You really have to know your hardware before you make decisions about tape backups and whatnot, especially with DVCPro HD material.
 
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