Hi again Johnny ...

If you're using Premiere Pro 1.5 remember to download the free upgrade to 1.5.1 from the Adobe website. This will allow you to capture and edit HDV - it transcodes the M2T file you capture from the FX1 into a hi-def AVI file suitable for editing using the Cineform codec. If you want much slicker and quicker HDV editing in PPro 1.5.1 you need to buy Cineform Aspect HD, a much more advanced version of the free 1.5.1 upgrade.

Conversion to the Cineform codec adds 25-30% to your capture times so you have to wait before you can edit - but its worth the wait.

Exporting HDV to MPEG2 is easy. You just select File/Export/Adobe Media Encoder from the menu, select MPEG2-DVD from the Format drop-down list, and select a preset such as 'PAL DV 16x9 ... '. For best quality select 2 pass encoding (takes longer). If you want to tweak the encoding settings, click on Video and set VBR 2 pass encoding, and push the target bitrate up towards 7 or 8 Mbps for best quality.

There have been problems reported with the Adobe Media Encoder in PPro 1.5 that sometimes causes a noticeable motion judder when going from HDV to MPEG2. If this happens there is a workaround I can tell you about.

Of course its much simpler to get the FX1 to downconvert to Standard Def and edit in SD, but you get better SD resolution by editing in HDV and then downconverting as above.

Happy Encoding ...

GG