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Updated: 2006.02.18
Director's Cut Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What are the minimum system requirements for Director's Cut?
A: You will need a Mac running Mac OS X, a FireWire port and sufficient amounts of hard drive space (DV streams are 3.5 MB/sec). Note that Director's Cut is not compatible with PowerMacs G5 'Dual Core' and MacPros.
Q: Does Director's Cut have device control?
A: No. Users have to manually operate their analog equipment, i.e. press play, record, etc. on their camera or VCR.
Q: My VCR only has a SCART (Peritel, EuroConnector) but no composite or S-VHS connectors. Can I still import and export video?
A: Yes, you can use a SCART-to-Composite cable. If you wish to export video (from your computer to your VCR), you will have to use a 'two-way' cable. They usually have an 'IN/OUT' switch.
Q: How do I connect Director's Cut to my PC, I don't have a FireWire (IEEE1394) port?
A: You can simply purchase Director's Cut PCI, this product includes a FireWire PCI card which you install into your PC, then everything is ready for you to connect Director's Cut.
Q: Can I connect both my DV Cam and my old camera to Director's cut at the same time?
A: Yes, simply connect your DV Cam to the S-Video port, and your analogue camera via the composite connector.
Q: Can I connect Director's Cut to a Betacam?
A: Director's Cut may not be able to connect to a Betacam if it requires component video connections. Director's Cut can connect to a Betacam with S-video and composite video connections.
Q: Does the Director's Cut have component video inputs and outputs?
A: Director's Cut does not have component video connections. It has S-video and composite video connections. Most analog video devices will have one of these.
Q: Can Director's Cut be used to convert NTSC to PAL?
A: Unfortunately, Director's Cut cannot convert NTSC to PAL or PAL to NTSC. It is only capable of importing or exporting in the original standard of the video.
Q: What are the specification of the external power supply?
A: You will need the external power supply only if your computer has a 4 pin Firewire sockt or if your PCI card is not powered. Ideally, it should be 10V (can be 9 to 12V), 1 AMP, DC output. The inside tip is positive.
Q: To what file format does Director's Cut convert?
A: Director's Cut converts analog video to standard DV (also known as DV-25). DV is the same video standard which is used by DV camcorders. It is considered to be ideal for video editing applications where file size and the ability to grab single frames is important. Most new editing software uses the DV format.
Q: Why is Director's Cut better than USB devices?
A: USB does not have enough bandwidth to Support the amount of frames per second that is necessary to display a moving image. Images imported with USB devices appear choppy and are delayed. Director's Cut uses FireWire which is much faster than USB. It allows users to import and export all types of images quickly while maintaining video quality.
Q: Will I lose video quality when importing and exporting with the Director's Cut?
A: Director's Cut compresses your analog video in order to convert it to standard DV resulting in a minor quality loss from analog to DV. There is no quality loss when copying from DV to DV.
Q: What is the sample rate of Director's Cut?
A: Director's Cut converts analog audio and video to standard DV. The sample rate specifications for standard DV are 4:1:1 for NTSC and 4:2:0 for PAL.
Q: What is the data transfer rate of Director's Cut?
A: The data transfer rate of Director's Cut is 25 megabits per second for video and 36 megabits per second over all. This allows the video to move so quickly that the images of your analog device and the editing application's window appear to be simultaneous.
Q: What are the system requirements for Director's Cut?
A: In order to use Director's Cut, you must have a computer which is equipped with FireWire (IEEE-1394) and a DV editing program. Please make sure your computer meets the requirements for the DV editing program you are using.
Q: Which video editing applications can be used with Director's Cut?
A: Director's Cut has been tested with iMovie, Final Cut Pro, Final Cut Express, Adobe Premiere 6.0 and 6.5, BTV Pro, Avid XPress DV , IntroDV and Cinestream. Any application which may be used for importing and exporting video to and from a DV camcorder may be used with Director's Cut.
If you are using Director's Cut with a DV application that is not listed here, please inform us about it.
Q: How many FireWire ports does Director's Cut have?
A: Director's Cut has one 6-pin FireWire port which handles input and output to and from your computer. An external device such as a camcorder or VCR must be connected to Director's Cut via composite or S-video.
Q: Will Director's Cut import and export to and from a DV device other than a computer?
A: Director's Cut will output DV to any device with a FireWire input. Some DV devices may requre a 6-pin to 4-pin cable rather than the Director's Cut 6-pin to 6-pin cable. An external power supply may also be necessary. Import to a DV camcorder requires a 6-pin to 4-pin FireWire cable and an external power supply for Director's Cut.
Q: What is the audio sample rate?
A: 48 khz 16 bit or 32 khz 12 bit if you select it.
Q: What is the purpose of the headphone jack and audio level control?
A: The audio level control only controls level coming into headphones. It's used for monitoring audio in the same way the monitor out is used to monitor video.
Q: How do you view the editing window on the TV as you edit?
A: While your DV editing program is in export mode, Director's Cut will automatically display the image on your TV monitor. In order to view what is in your DV editing program's window while using other modes, you have to turn this feature on. Select "Play through to camera" in iMovie.
Q: In Final Cut Pro, what settings should be selected in order to use Director's Cut? Audio 32KHz, 44KHz?
A: Device control = non audio 48khz 16 bit.
Q: Timecode?
A: If video source has embedded timecode Director's Cut will not transfer it. You'll need to import the entire video as one clip to get new time code.
Q: Can Director's Cut import black and white images?
A: No, Director's Cut cannot import black and white footage. Miglia released an add-on for Director's Cut allowing black & white capture, the B&W INabler.
Q: Can Director's Cut import audio only?
A: Director's Cut needs a colour sub-carrier to turn 'on' and begin converting footage. It is therefore possible to capture audio but only with accompanying video which is separated out afterwards.
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