Sony M25->Sony UVW1800 with timecode? + HD-SDI?

As so often happens, answering one question has raised several others. In this case, a simple timecode issue has raised the question of whether I should move to HD-SDI to ingest all my HDV material.

Back to Square One:

I need to dub a lot of HDV tapes to Beta, and I'd like to preserve the original HDV timecode. My HDV deck is the Sony M25, and the only outputs for timecode are the HDMI and iLink/Firewire ports. My Sony deck is the UVW1800, which has 9-pin RS422 and BNC timecode inputs.

I read Bob Zelin's COW review of the Convergent Design HD-Connect-MI. The UVW1800 can't handle its video inputs, but the Convergent Design unit does seem to offer Firewire-RS422 conversion.

Would the HD-Connect-MI make any sense for my system? It seems like overkill for my dubbing job, but if HD-SDI would significantly improve my workflow for FCP, it may be worth it.

I am currently ingesting HDV material two ways: For simple jobs, I use Firewire. For "real" editing, I send the component video signal through the Kona LHe and mix audio through a Mackie mixer.

Thanks very much for your insights.

Bob Cole

Sony M25 HDV deck, Sony UVW 1800 Beta deck, MacPro 2x3 dual core, Kona LHe, internal SATA RAID.