Still No Luck with final cut and the HV20

[stuntagency]

I am using Final Cut Pro 5.1.4
I have tried everything everyone has said on both computers.
I am running a Intel quad zeon and a intel 2.1 duel core laptop both have the identical set up.
I can capture DV footage from a panasonic 3ccd camera.
I have gone into the store and even the so called experts can not get the HV20 working with Final Cut. Everyone says yeah it works but I hate to say it doesn't and on both computers not even the ones in the store it works on.
So if anyone has an actual solution for me I would appreciate it as I am about to give up.
The sad thing is the panasonic I don't want works straight away.
Pleeeeeaaaase someone have the almighty answer that will solve the enigma and destress me.

I just want the HV 20 to work

:)

[Rico]

Well first of all I can tell you for a fact the HV20 does work with FCP, I have done loads of work on it, I don't know whats happening on your system but I would need more info from you, does FCP recognise the HV? how are you trying to capture? which codec? HDV, Apple intermediate? are you running the latest version of Quicktime? have you tried another firewire cable?, you say they couldn't get it to work with FCP in the store, if this is the case maybe there is a fault with it, I doubt it tho, there is usually a simple explanation, just need to find it, but if the HV is not being seen on several computers with different cables then I think you may have a problem, but one the warranty will have to fix.

[stuntagency]

Firstly I movie does recognise it.
FCP doesn't
My settings are for Capture:

Sequence Preset: HDV1080i50
Capture preset: HDV and have tried HDV Intermediate apple codec
Device Control: HDV 1080I firewire basic and tried HDV Firewire
Video Playback:Digital Cinema desktop preview
Audio Playback: Default

Trying to capture through FCP - File - log and capture - then says Unable to initialize video deck. you may still log offline clips or use Capture now. I then press OK then below Test bars it read on the panel (no communication)

I have tried different cables but as it works with Imovie I elimated themas the cause.

Quicktime version is: 7.1.6

I hope this helps

[tiloprobst]

As far as I remember it was stated in the final-cut-pro.de boards, that FCP5 does not work directly with the HV20, at least not with "log and capture". Hence, try a different capture mode.

The solution is to capture the HV20 material with iMovie and then edit it with FCP5. FCP6 works fine with the HV20.

I am not 100% sure about the information I've just given, try to find confirmation.

[Rico]

Ok look I'm telling you for a fact FCP5 works fine with the HV20, I have just capured nearly an hour of footage just today, so lets go through this with you and see if we can't figure it out,

first make sure the firewire cable is plugged in correctly and the battery is charged or it's pluged into the mains, then switch the HV to play, (Sorry if this sounds obvious but I just want to make SURE everything is right)

Ok then start finalcut, once open go to the Audio/Visual Settings and click on the summery tab, then put the setting like this

sequence Preset = hdv-1080i50

Capture preset = HDV

Device control prest = HDV 1080i50 Firewire Basic

Video playback set to None
and Audio Playback to Default

Click Ok to close the window

Now under the file menu click Log and Capture
and the capture window should open, now at the bottom of the preview window (just under the transport controls) it should say VTR OK

let me know if it does or doesn't, and we'll take it from there, if it does say it then all os OK if it doesn't then you may have a broken HV20, we'll see.

[revlution08]

This is so wierd. A week ago i was able to capture footage into final cut with my hv20. now this week i tried to capture some footage today and im having the same problem as stuntagency. I dont understand whats going on. I tried doing what you said rico but i didnt work

[Rico]

Thats weird, are you using a pal version? if not then the settings I gave would need to be 1080i60 in each case, do you get the VTR OK, there has to be a simple explanation, have you installed anything since last using it, have you updated Quicktime or anything else, have you tried another firewire cable, have you verified that the firewire port on your comp is working ok by plugging in a Hard drive, you definetly set the hv20 to play not camera?, I am struggling to think of anything else.

[Appleidiot]

Wow, that is a trip and not a fun one. I concur with Rico as I've captured footage with my HV20 in FCP 5.1 using that exact same setup. What about trying to capture via an uncontrollable device? Also, you might and I say might want to try to trash your Plist in FCP and see if that cures the problem.

[Appleidiot]

Also found this article that may be of some help.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=302407

Sorry, don't know how to post a hyperlink nor does FAQ, it's all good!!

My bad, does it automatically.

[revlution08]

appleidio,
Thank you so much. that link helped. i got it working now. i just turned it to play mode and changed my "play out setup" from "auto" to "hdv" i think thats what did the trick!

stuntagency,
you should try that yourself maybe that would work.

[Appleidiot]

revlution08,

Cool, I'm glad I could help.

[Rico]

Err excuse me I said "you definetly set the hv20 to play not camera?"
:hv20-smilie03:

Appleidiot comes in and gets all the credit

I don't know why I bother:hv20-smilie03:

Glad you got it working.

[revlution08]

rico,

lol i understood what you where saying to but i still had to change something in play mode. Thank you for your advice to though. :hv20-smilie77:

[nolook84]

Hope someone is still looking at this thread ... i'm trying to capture my footage from my HV20 (duh!) onto my macbook. When i set the In & Out points and run Capture Clip, the screen shows the first take and it just hangs there. I figured if its working, then it should at least move a bit ... but it seems frozen (although i can abort it by pressing Esc). Sorry if this is vague, but any help would be appreciated.

I should also mention that i can only seem to capture clips by using the "Now" function.

[jbannister]

i tried the audio/video settings listed in this thread after not getting any communication from fcp and my new hv30. it helped in that the vtr turned ok and i could see my footage, but when i tried to log and capture it didnt. i am so close i can taste it. i talked to apple support and i guess hv30 is not supported by fcp. but that doesnt explain why i can get this far? i am trying to tape in hdv24p cinemode to get the best 'film-like' footage possible. the apple tech said worst case i can dump to imovie or log/cap with another deck. can anyone help so i dont have to go through those hoops?

great site btw

[Canonman21]

Ok look I'm telling you for a fact FCP5 works fine with the HV20, I have just capured nearly an hour of footage just today, so lets go through this with you and see if we can't figure it out,

first make sure the firewire cable is plugged in correctly and the battery is charged or it's pluged into the mains, then switch the HV to play, (Sorry if this sounds obvious but I just want to make SURE everything is right)

Ok then start finalcut, once open go to the Audio/Visual Settings and click on the summery tab, then put the setting like this

sequence Preset = hdv-1080i50

Capture preset = HDV

Device control prest = HDV 1080i50 Firewire Basic

Video playback set to None
and Audio Playback to Default

Click Ok to close the window

Now under the file menu click Log and Capture
and the capture window should open, now at the bottom of the preview window (just under the transport controls) it should say VTR OK

let me know if it does or doesn't, and we'll take it from there, if it does say it then all os OK if it doesn't then you may have a broken HV20, we'll see.

I tried doing what you have and everything matched up good but when I went ot device control preset the only options I could choose from are DVCPRO HD 1080i50 Firewire, DVCPRO HD Firewire, Firewire NTSC, FireWire PAL, HDV FireWire, Non Controllable Device, Sony HDV 1080i50 FireWire, and Sony HDV Firewire, which one am I supposed to choose now?...... I tried to do the HDV FireWire instead but when I click log and capture it exits out of the program............

Any help? Please?:hv20-smilie51::hv20-smilie51:
Oh yeah, before this I used a Panasonic PV-GS80 and i could import things perfect on final cut, so I changed the setting to what you posted above, and alas this is my situation

[poopmonkey]

I tried doing what you have and everything matched up good but when I went ot device control preset the only options I could choose from are DVCPRO HD 1080i50 Firewire, DVCPRO HD Firewire, Firewire NTSC, FireWire PAL, HDV FireWire, Non Controllable Device, Sony HDV 1080i50 FireWire, and Sony HDV Firewire, which one am I supposed to choose now?...... I tried to do the HDV FireWire instead but when I click log and capture it exits out of the program............

Any help? Please?:hv20-smilie51::hv20-smilie51:
Oh yeah, before this I used a Panasonic PV-GS80 and i could import things perfect on final cut, so I changed the setting to what you posted above, and alas this is my situation

If it just exits or crashes the program then there must be something wrong with the program itself so I would definitely try a reinstall.

[Canonman21]

If it just exits or crashes the program then there must be something wrong with the program itself so I would definitely try a reinstall.

I fixed it, I think it was because I was filming on a normal DV tape set in HD mode perhaps, plus I never installed those 2 OS discs I got with my imac :p so I thinkkkk that was the problem, I just set the settings on it to normal DV and refilmed over what was originally in HD(I think), and it imported fine now! Here's hoping it stays grea & !:hv20-smilie77::hv20-smilie32:

[fantomaz]

I fixed it, I think it was because I was filming on a normal DV tape set in HD mode perhaps, plus I never installed those 2 OS discs I got with my imac :p so I thinkkkk that was the problem, I just set the settings on it to normal DV and refilmed over what was originally in HD(I think), and it imported fine now! Here's hoping it stays grea & !:hv20-smilie77::hv20-smilie32:

hdv can be record on 'normal' dv tapes, i only use (good quality) dv tape...
imo you didn't fix anything because you are now filming in dv again and i think you baught ya hv for filming in hdv!? :hv20-smilie03:

however some time ago i had troubles with my hv30 and fcp as well. fcp 5.1.4 recognized my hv in DV mode just normal but in HD my hv didnt get recognized or better said it just got recognized as an DV device. (you can control that on hv30s lcd it should say 'HDV-out' not 'DV-out' when its connected via firewire in hdv mode. i tried out every setting and much more for hours. what i did then and i dont know why this didnt came into my mind before i just made a system-reset on my hv30, since then it works fine.
btw get sure you plug in your hv via firewire before you open fcp!
hope it helps for you as well. :)
regards

[Dutchwolves]

Ok.. let me get this straight... you can't log and capture HD footage from an HV20 using log and capture... just using capture "now"? I could do that simply with my old trusty digital 8 but not the HV20. I just want to be clear on this.. FCP 6.02, G5 dual 2.0 8 gigs ram.
thanks

[mattias]

it works fine in version 6 though there were issues with 5.1.

[SloYerRoll]

First off, this thread has proven to be the most informative regarding helpful solutions. I appreciate all the help you've given.

So I followed Rico's advise here (http://www.hv20.com/showpost.php?p=5259&postcount=5). And FCP no longer gives me the Firewire message anymore when I launch FCP :hv20-smilie70:. But now when I go to "log and capture", it tells me, "Device is not connected or the capture preset is not setup correctly. You may still log offline clips. This also might happen if you play DV footage in an HDV device."

So I'll try to give a full run down of all my HV30/FCP settings to see if someone can help out.

HV30:
D. EFFECT - OFF
S. FINE/1920x1080
DV RECORD MODE SP
DV AUDIO 12bit
AVtoDV OFF
PLAYBACK STD A
TV TYPE 16:9COMP. OUT 1080i
DV OUTPUT HDV/DV

FCP SETTINGS:
Version 6.0 (going to upgrade soon)
Sequence preset HDV-1080i50
Capture Preset HDV
Device Control Preset HDV 1080i50 FireWire basic
Video Playback None
Audio Playback default.

Just to be clear. I have rebooted and I do have my camcorder turned on to PLAY. I've also updated all Quicktime and other apps per other Google search returns. And my MacPro recognizes the HV30 connected to the Mac via FireWire.

I'm pretty savvy regarding technology, but am a bit of a n00b on this though :/

Cheers,
-Jon

[SloYerRoll]

Bump.
Any ideas?

TIA,
-Jon

[Dutchwolves]

Finally, after agonizing forever over this... someone posted the tip to switch playback output from "Auto" to HDV. It solved the problem. My investigation went from disconnecting all my firewire drives, suspecting my FW800, buying a new firewire cable for my camera output, disconnecting my M-Audio firewire 410, maxing ram and performing a midnight voodoo ritual.
It was the camera setting that kept interrupting the firewire/timecode to the computer screwing up batch capture.
I can't remember who posted that solution but many thanks. I contacted one of the other posters and he said he got fed up and bought another camera...
At times I felt like going back to the old trusty Digital 8. Thanks everyone for sorting out this puzzle... It's still a great camera.

[skinnyboy]

I wish I'd see this thread when it started.

Yes - you have to have the PLAYBACK mode in the camera set to HDV.

Here's a kicker - you can't adjust (or even see that setting) if you have the camera connected to the computer via Firewire. You'll need to disconnect, then turn the camera off/on in order to change that setting.

[SloYerRoll]

Thanks to both of you :P

It seems such an easy answer would be a bit easier to find...

I'm sure I'll be in here more since I'm just learning the technology of HDV.

Cheers,
-Jon

[Music2Joe]

OK - so I read through the posts and believe I have the settings correct - however cannot get through more than a few seconds of capture till i get a "STREAM PROBLEM" or a TIMECODE error (seem to almost alternate). And it often has to try twice to cue up the cue. Tried different FW cables and ports.

Usually capturing DV50 footage through Pan deck - no problems.

thanks
Joe

FCP 6.8.3
Mac G5 dual 2ghz

[skinnyboy]

What is your gear/setup?

[Music2Joe]

Mac dual 2G G5
FCPS2 - FCP 6.0.3
Kona SD card (do not use for HD stuff)
OSX10.4.11
QT Pro 7.5.5
Canon HV 30

[Darius]

So I got my HV20, right? And a Macbook Pro.

I've always seemed to have connection problem to it, in general. It showed the HDV/DV firewire sign when connected via cable, but generally I had to give it various tries to import with iMovie HD. Usually it said it's not connected (although the camera showed it was).

Ok, so after I got sick of iMovie HD I told myself I gotta learn some FCP. I got version 6.0.

I followed all of your setting (thanks for those) and when I get to the "now" point, the black import screen comes up, but after a couple of seconds it says: Capture was aborted due to lack of incoming data from device. Check your connections and that the deck is playing.

So I contact my old buddy iMovie HD to check if it imports there. After a few cable jigglings (which I replaced a couple of times) I get it to "import" status. In iMovie HD I mean. I get back into the FCP window, restart it and it immediately goes:

Device is not connected or the capture preset is not setup correctly. You may still log offline clips.

This might also happen if you play DV footage in an HDV device.

So I figure FCP is jealous over the standing by import on iMovie HD, so I close iMovie HD. Nothing...

When only FCP is opened it gives the first message, I can't tell if it's my general connection luck and when iMovie HD is open (saying it can import), FCP gives the second message.

Any clue?

Later edit: if I push play on the LCD button, it starts playin and gives me the preview in the window of FCP. When I click now, which is the import button, right?, again, with the message.

[Villainousturtle]

I was going to kill myself because of this problem and a massive freelance HD project but thanks to you guys I'll live to see another day.

[vale77]

Capturing 1080i50 (auto mode) in Final Cut Pro 6.0.3 & Tiger OS X
the only way I'm able to capture footage, is Apple Intermediate Codec,
with my HV30.
Is this really the only way? I want import via
Sequence preset HDV-1080i50, but
...when I click "Capture Now", at the bottom i see "VTR OK"
then error "Capture was aborted due to lack of incoming data from device. Check your connections and that the deck is playing."
I found utility DVHSCap, that play very well, then MPEG Streamclip and then import in FCP but hours and hours of jobs
Is there others ways for direct importing operations in FC???
-I read http://support.apple.com/kb/TA23532?viewlocale=en_US
- tryed to trash my Plist
- I filmed on a normal DV tape set in HD mode perhaps..
- On lcd say 'HDV-out' when its connected via firewire in hdv mode.
- Device Control Preset HDV 1080i50 FireWire basic or sony

I followed all setting Please, help me

[bradmoulton]

I've captured HD30p footage and plain old SD footage off my HV30 but it's totally hit and miss. Right now ans for the last 6 hours I've been trying to get some 24p cine mode footage off and I cant even get it to communicate with FCP 6.0.5. Going KRAZEE and will try another cable but I dont think that is the problem since I've captured in the last week or two. going buggy,

[MithrilFox]

I just want to clarify something:

A functional HV20 with a functional Mac system with a properly configured Final Cut installation does work. PERIOD.

There is no debate about if it works or not, it does. MANY of us are regularly cutting video and putting together projects on it, including me.

[HueyNRolf]

In conclusion:

Make sure that what you're trying to capture is HDV, if you shoot DV there's no way it'll communicate with a capture in an HDV project.

Then prep your camera before you connect it to your computer. Switch the camera to playback (deck) and check your camera output is set to HDV. There's two places you need to check 1. Play/out setup 1 is set to HDV and 2.play/out setup 2 DV output is HDV/DV and not DV Locked.

Then connect to your computer fire up FCP and go to 'easy setup' and select HDV1080i60 (for NTSC) or HDV1080i50 (PAL) as the capture pre set.

[ugman77]

any time I have had capture problems, I just capture in imovie and bring the files into FCP. Smple as that.

[wondering]

Hi

I can get my footage using easy set-up but the ratio of the video is out when I drag into the main timeline. I'm a pal girl.

I've played around with my sequence settings
Frame size: 1920 x 1080 (HDTV 1080i (16:9))
Pixel aspect ration: HD (1440*1080)
Editing time base: 25

Quicktime video settings
Compressor HDV 1080i50

Also my aspect ratio was out in the "motion" tab. so I set it back to 100% scale and distort to "0".

Also when I drag footage into the timeline I have to render my footage, which usually I don't have to do.

[fishops]

Hi

I can get my footage using easy set-up but the ratio of the video is out when I drag into the main timeline. I'm a pal girl.

I've played around with my sequence settings
Frame size: 1920 x 1080 (HDTV 1080i (16:9))
Pixel aspect ration: HD (1440*1080)
Editing time base: 25

Quicktime video settings
Compressor HDV 1080i50

Also my aspect ratio was out in the "motion" tab. so I set it back to 100% scale and distort to "0".

Also when I drag footage into the timeline I have to render my footage, which usually I don't have to do.

Your sequence settings don't match your footage. If you're using 6.0 or newer, you can make a new sequence and drag your footage in. It should ask you if you want to set up your sequence to match your clip, just hit yes and you're good to go. You can then go to your sequence settings and save them as a preset so you can avoid the problem in the future.

[spadella]

I've been following all those steps, I'm able to capture via FCP6 (MacBook White, Core2Duo 2ghz, not a pro) as you said, and also in PremierePro (PC, relative same configuration).
Comparing both footage I've noticed the PC footage is way way better than the Mac.
So, I guessing... my macbook doesn't properly handle HQ HDV? Or am I screwing something up?

Thx...

[fishops]

It's probably your RT setting. In your sequence window, you'll see a little button on the top left that says "RT". Click that and change your Playback Video Quality to "High". If you end up dropping frames as a result then your macbook isn't beefy enough to handle your footage.

[krewcial]

I'm not trying to point fingers, but how many of the people reporting problems have an official legal version of the software they're trying to capture with ?

IF you use an illegal downloaded version of a software, maybe that could be the cause of the problems ?

[iThinkergoiMac]

Hi
Also when I drag footage into the timeline I have to render my footage, which usually I don't have to do.

I have to render my footage too, though only after I run it through JES Deinterlacer. I've kind of accepted it as a fact of life, but if there's a way around it, I haven't found it.

[bradmoulton]

reset the hv-30 and it's working now....... I think there was a setting that needed to be set to HDV out instead of auto.??? try it you might like it

[riacirca84]

One thing you might want to try, is having the hv20/30 in play mode while playing too before final cut is started... it works for me for some weird reason....

[Janke]

I'm not trying to point fingers, but how many of the people reporting problems have an official legal version of the software they're trying to capture with ?

IF you use an illegal downloaded version of a software, maybe that could be the cause of the problems ?

Very possible. The official disks have an installer that checks your system, configures, and does a lot of other things during an install. A drag-and-drop installation may not work.

If iMovie isn't enough for you, FCExpress is inexpensive enough (under $200) so that you can buy it to edit the stuff you've captured with your fine camera.

Professionals (usually) need FCPro, and (usually) pay for it - it's a deductible...

Some hobbyists using FCP are probably using a bootleg version, without the manuals that come with/on the original disk. Is that why there are so many FCP questions on this forum? Not pointing any fingers, me neither...


I'm satisfied with FCE myself, have paid for it, and I am using it for editing a professional half-hour TV documentary - FCE is quite good enough for the purpose. I will save everything on an external HD in 1080i50, 4:2:2 format, and take it to an edit suite for transfer to PAL 16:9 DigiBeta, which is what the broadcaster has specified. I don't think anyone will know that some of the shots are made with a low-cost HV30... (Quite a difference for me, I used a 35 mm Arriflex on the previous job, shot almost a mile of film - now the same screen time fits on a matchbox-sized cassette!)

[billjv]

This has NOTHING to do with illegal vs. legal copies - I have a full legal version of FCPS2 and am having the same issue as others with log and capture and the HV20. Let's not spread rumors unnecessarily, okay?

[dearcatastrophe]

Very possible. The official disks have an installer that checks your system, configures, and does a lot of other things during an install. A drag-and-drop installation may not work.

If iMovie isn't enough for you, FCExpress is inexpensive enough (under $200) so that you can buy it to edit the stuff you've captured with your fine camera.

Professionals (usually) need FCPro, and (usually) pay for it - it's a deductible...

Some hobbyists using FCP are probably using a bootleg version, without the manuals that come with/on the original disk. Is that why there are so many FCP questions on this forum? Not pointing any fingers, me neither...


I'm satisfied with FCE myself, have paid for it, and I am using it for editing a professional half-hour TV documentary - FCE is quite good enough for the purpose. I will save everything on an external HD in 1080i50, 4:2:2 format, and take it to an edit suite for transfer to PAL 16:9 DigiBeta, which is what the broadcaster has specified. I don't think anyone will know that some of the shots are made with a low-cost HV30... (Quite a difference for me, I used a 35 mm Arriflex on the previous job, shot almost a mile of film - now the same screen time fits on a matchbox-sized cassette!)


sometimes, it does amaze me how many non student hobbyists use the adobe suite, fcp, and other software packages, and you have to wonder how many are totally legit. anyhow, i think that is off topic. thats probably for another debate.

[billjv]

I am ready to throw my mac and the HV20 across the room. I have tried everything mentioned here to get log and capture to work, with no success. I've trashed prefs, I've pulled the firewire cable and set the cam to HDV out, I've tried all kinds of different seq and capture settings in FCP, and every time I still get the stupid "Unable to initialize capture device" message. The HV20 is not my camera, so I'm afraid to do a reset on it - maybe that's the final issue that's wrecking things, but I'm hoping there is something else I can try before doing that.

Most importantly, can someone post the "foolproof" Sequence Preset, Capture Preset, and device control presets that work for the HV20 in FCP 6.05?

Thanks very much in advance!

Bill

[iThinkergoiMac]

Your sequence should be HDV - 1080i60. Make sure the camera is in play mode, set to HDV out, and connected to the computer. If FCP won't initialize it, go into the system profiler and make sure it sees the HV20 under firewire. If it doesn't see it, which I think is likely, you probably have a bad firewire cable or port on the computer or camera. For device control, you need one of the HDV ones, my version of FCP (5) defaults to a Sony one and that works just fine.

[Janke]

Let's not spread rumors unnecessarily, okay?

As said, I'm not pointing any fingers, and besides, I was only replying to another post, just wondering why so many people spend more on their editing software than on their camera...


To address the problem:

Have you checked the FW connector and cable thoroughly? I had a cheap cable go wonky, sometimes the software (I use both iMovie 6 and FCE) saw the camera, sometimes not. A new, better cable fixed the problem.

By the way, be VERY careful with the connector on the camera end - it's simply too small and vulnerable. I gave away my Canon DV camera to a friend having no firewire on his PC, since the FW socket in the camera broke. I hate all these mini-micro connectors!

BTW, pressing the reset button on the HV camera won't do any harm - just return all the settings to factory default...

[billjv]

just wondering why so many people spend more on their editing software than on their camera...


Thanks for the tips - I haven't tried them all yet, but I will. As for your question above - I can tell you exactly why I bought the Canon HF20, which is what I have right now. I was recently laid off from my job in professional media. I now have to start building my reel and doing work in HD to stay competitive. I want eventually to buy a very serious, professional HD camera rig costing thousands of dollars. But for the time being, I'm out of work and still needed to get into HD - so I spent the lion's share of my money on Final Cut Studio 2 (and have plans to get certified and freelance), and looked at all the options and decided that the Canon HD cams were the way to go for around $1000. It provided me with a good quality HD camera at a price I can afford right now, and even if I can't afford the $5 - 10K cam for some time, I can add a 35 adaptor to the Canon and shoot decent quality stuff. So for the price, the Canon is perfect for me right now - the best tradeoff between price and quality, which is obviously why this forum is so popular. Maybe if I had unlimited resources and cash I would have gotten a Red. Oh well.

My question for you in return is - why do you seem to slam the Canon HD20 or cams in this pricepoint on a forum which is dedicated to them???

[Janke]

My question for you in return is - why do you seem to slam the Canon HD20 or cams in this pricepoint on a forum which is dedicated to them???

How can you construe that I "slam" the HV cameras??? You have either misread my posts or mistakenly attributed other people's comments to me... (Note the spelling, I gave away my DV camera - as in miniDV, NOT my HV camera... ;-)

I own a HV30 (PAL version), and it's great (despite some shortcomings, admittedly, mainly low-light noise and rolling shutter). I'm currently using it on a 30-minute documentary for Finnish TV!

Incredible though it may seem, the director is editing the material in iMovie6, and I will be doing the final cut in Final Cut... And not even FCP, FCE is plenty good enough.

I wasn't speaking about you particularly - but generally, on this forum, many, if not most people seem to spend more on their software than on the camera...

[dearcatastrophe]

I wasn't speaking about you particularly - but generally, on this forum, many, if not most people seem to spend more on their software than on the camera...

one thing you have to consider, or may want to consider (you don't have to, but doing it makes sense), is that some people here with more expensive software and other gear may be here as a hobbyist with their consumer camera but a pro in other departments.

i think it's fair to say a minority of people that post here actually use final cut pro, i think more use final cut express.

also, some of us use the software for business, and get tax benefits from that, and hardware as well.
I used FCE for several years, and just recently dug up the old boxes that i kept for some reason, books and all. I had thought i would come and offer my FCE stuff to someone more needy here, but then when i opened realized the discs weren't there, i guess i got rid of them some time ago. oh well, still have the boxes though.

in the US it makes sense that more people would buy it, you have pc enthusiasts over the last few years shoveling out 500-600$ for video cards only to replace them when something faster came out. so i could see people saving up a little to buy better software.

in my case, i come here as a hobbyist to see what others are doing with DIY stuff. i think this whole revolution of consumer cameras with 35mm adapters and more is just awesome, when i grew up, there was no such thing.

in most cases, i see software as much more of an investment then a camera over time, as cameras come and go, but the time you put into learning software, becoming proficient and mastering the software will last a lifetime.

plus, as a hobbyist, i'd rather have a cheap camera in the field, and good equipment at home.

[billjv]

Janke,

Sorry if I misconstrued your postings - I may very well have confused your posts with someone elses too - I have been all over the boards reading. Glad to hear you like your HV30. I think the Canons are a good entry point into HD.

I would venture to guess that some on this forum don't actually *spend* their money on software that is more expensive than the camera - they just "have" it. There is a difference. You can usually tell who they are, as well - they post questions that have been answered a million times, and they don't read their manual (most likely because they *lost* theirs - yeah, they "lost" them.... uh huh, that's it...

Anyway, thanks for your help - I do appreciate it.

[iThinkergoiMac]

billjv, have you been able to get your camera to be recognized by your computer yet?

[billjv]

Hi iThinkergiMac,

Yes and no. I got FCP to at least bring up a generic capture dialog box (not the normal log and capture one, but a small dialog box with a file name space, capture button, and cancel button. The camera was never recognized within the normal log and capture screen. I did reset the camera, trashed my prefs, and tried every setting mentioned in this thread - with no luck. It may be the cable I'm using - I don't know. At this point my only option is just to capture with the blunt tool, and deal with it.

Thanks to all for your suggestions....

Bill

[zephyrnoid]

These forums, yes all of them, ought to be split into three 2nd level categories
- Amatuer
- Pro-sumer
- Pro
To a pro or a pro that's 'cross-training'/ retraining in the business, purchasing decisions are made based on a career strategy. As technologies advance and economy of scale impacts professional pursuits, the camera becomes cheaper, even as the qualityof the images improves exponentially. This is Moore's Law in motion.
I use iMovie HD 6 AND Apple FCS2. For fast and dirty rough cuts, daily previews etc. iMovie6 rocks! For the production injest, color grading, sound editing, Pro caliber titling, motion effects etc, FCS 2 is king. The gap between iMovie & FCS narrowed recently, which deserves Kudos to the iMovie development team.
More importantly. The camera is the tertiary link in the production chain.
So it doesn't matter that the rest of the gear may cost many times that of the camera as long as the rest boost production value.
What does the cost or quality of the camera matter if the scene lighting is rubbish? Nought! Or the best visual footage accompanied by horrendous or noisy audio? Nought! I could go on but you get the picture
- Editing is king
- Then Audio
- Then video (Lightng, good composition etc)
You haven't lived till you've emersed yourself in the intricacies of pro editing. Imovie 6 is a fabulous alternative - if you can find it ;)
Indeed, I made the huge mistake 15 years ago of spending too much on the camera and hoping that iMovie 2 or FCP 3 would take care of the rest. I was dead wrong. Sold that pricey XL1 and with the cash upped the edit suite and jumped on HD with an HV20, EXACTLY as others making the transition have done.
Keeping Moore's law in the back of my mind I became a consumate 'mid stream' adopter.

[iThinkergoiMac]

billjv - Hmmm... is your camera showing up in the system profiler? To get there, go to the apple menu, About This Mac..., and click More Info...

It will bring up the System Profiler and you should look under firewire to see if your computer is even communicating with the camera. You, of course, need the camera on (play or record doesn't matter) and connected to the computer before you do this. Also check to see if the firewire icon is showing up on the screen of your camera. It will be a little picture of the 4 pin port and will say DV/HDV under it (it might be HDV/DV or some variation of that).

[pietz]

those presets worked like a charm for my issue.