Re: XDCAM EX Clip Browser and XDCAM Transfer

[Lawrence Robbin] "Is this right...
I need to decide upfront if the final product is SD or HD before I import clips... If SD, use the Clip browser to transcode HD to SD. After transcoding clips, import them into the project and work on it. "

Not necessarily. You can always edit in HD and export an SD version once the edit is complete. With FCP there's always 3 or 4 different ways to accomplish the same task depending on how you like to work. Now for the first time it's possible to use the Sony Clip Browser software to transcode from HD to SD before you even start FCP. Up until now everyone has been using FCP/Compressor to do these down converts. If you choose to use the Clip Browser for this make sure the quality is on par with FCP's conversion quality.

[Lawrence Robbin] "Also, it looks like I need to figure out project settings (for the particular kind of HD quality I've shot) "

With FCP 6 as long as you have any sort of empty timeline to begin with all you have to do is drag your 1080p 24 clip into it and FCP will ask if you want to change the sequence settings to match the clip settings. Just say yes and FCP will properly format the timeline to match.

[Lawrence Robbin] "When I imported video from EX1 using the XDCAM transfer tool into a test project and placed the shots on a timeline to view the quality of the HD imagery, playback was 'iffy.' A bit jerky, jaggy edges. "

It could be that your 24p clip was being displayed in an interlaced timeline. Check this out by going to the Browser and making sure the field order for the actual timeline is set to "none" in the field dominance column. You can right or control-click in the text field to change it if the field order is set to something else.

- Don