User Guide

16 Chapter 1 Working With HDV
Step 5: Output HDV back to tape, or export to a QuickTime movie
Before you can output or export your HDV sequence, Final Cut Pro needs to conform
any noncompliant GOPs to the correct I-, P-, and B-frame pattern. Conforming is a
necessary step for creating an acceptable MPEG-2 data stream for HDV devices.
Important: Conforming and rendering are not the same processes. Rendering
calculates the visual data for each frame, while conforming ensures that your sequence
has the proper GOP structure prior to output.
You can only output HDV footage to tape using the Print to Video command. The Edit
to Tape command is not supported for HDV media.
Connecting an HDV Device to Your Computer
Once you have HDV footage on tape, you can connect your camcorder or VTR to your
computer to capture.
To connect your HDV camcorder or VTR to your computer:
1 Turn on your VTR or camcorder and switch it to VCR (or VTR) mode.
Note: On some camcorders, this mode may be labeled “Play.”
2 Connect the 4-pin connector on one end of your FireWire cable to the 4-pin FireWire
port on your camcorder.
3 Connect the 6-pin connector on the other end of your FireWire cable to a FireWire 400
port on your computer.
4 Make sure your camcorder is in HDV mode, not DV mode.
For more information, see the documentation that came with your HDV device.
FireWire
HDV camcorder
in VTR mode
Computer
6-pin connector
to computer
4-pin connector
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