35mm > HDCAM > FCP ?

Hi, all.

I am working a gig running FCP 6.0.5 on a (2004) Power Mac G5, Dual 1.8, 1GB ram and OS 10.5.7. A client and I are re-cutting a feature film. We've finished an offline edit using our only available source, an old NTSC Beta SP DF transfer.

I am now ordering a new telecine conversion to be performed at the Library of Congress from their print of the film. The only HD transfer they offer is via HDCAM tape. Can anyone recommend the ideal HDCAM format to specify? One friend suggested HDCAM SR. The original film is 24fps stereo and I need the new HD media to reconnect with a minimum of discrepancies. By the way, the HDCAM > digital file conversion will be performed by an outside facility and I will edit with those. So no HDCAM I/O will necessary on this computer. Does anyone have any codec suggestions? The final product will be a Blu-ray disc. Also an SD DVD. The Producer also intents to pitch the film to various networks.

Finally - What's the most advisable way to upgrade this trusty OLD Power Mac to accommodate the new HD media workflow? Or should I use my Intel 2.2 Macbook Pro (2GB ram)? Any card/storage recommendations? And about how much storage will likely be needed for 100 minutes of HD media and some occasional render files? (And the eventual Blu-ray authoring.) External monitoring would be ideal, however the client is working under considerable budget constraints and we may have to be content with internal monitoring.

Many thanks!

T.