Tapeless Workflow

I finally took the plunge and bought a new Panasonic HMC150 to replace my aging DVX100A. I'm trying to nail down a solid workflow for handling footage from the new camera. Nearly everything I shoot is a 3-4 camera stage program, so I usually have clips exceeding 60 minutes in length. I edit and deliver in standard definition, so I'll need to down-convert my footage from this camera before I can use it in a multiclip.

I've successfully used Log and Transfer to convert the files from AVCHD to ProRes. Is there any way to have the Log and Transfer process perform the down-conversion for me, or is it better to use Media Manager once the files have been imported into FCP?

Also, I'd be curious what any of you are doing to archive this footage. I'll likely have close to 30 gig of AVCHD data, and that will fill up a 1TB drive fairly quickly with the number of programs I do. Does anyone have any suggestions for long-term storage?

Thanks!

Rick

Thanks for the response Ken. This is a pretty cool solution.

Rick

Hi Rick,

I am going to try and get my hands on a unit to test out. It really seems to be the betst way to go and it i actually cheaper (a lot) than Blu-ray.

--ken