AVC/H.264 and FCE HD

Hi,
I just bought a consumer HD camera and have been shooting SD on Panasonic DVC-30, using FCE HD to edit. The new camera's specs say "Conforms to ISO Standard MPEG-4 AVC/H.264." Do I need to upgrade to FCE 4? Will be recording on an SD Card.

As far as I can tell this camera shoots in a non-AVCHD version of AVC/H.264 that no version of FCE will support directly. You can most likely use the free [MPEG Streamclip|http://www.squared5.com> to convert the files to the Apple Intermediate Codec, and if not you may be able to use VoltaicHD to achieve a similar function. You'll need FCE 4.0.1 to be able to edit full 1920x1080i60 material.

Similar Messages

Import quality issue with AVC/H.264 and workaround

When I import from my Sanyo Xacti HD700 using "Import from Camera..." the import quality has significant blocking / compression artifacts. However, if I copy the same file off the SD card from the camera and play it back in QTplayer it does not have this same blocking / compression artifacts.
The file is a .MP4 container using H.264 codec for video and AAC for audio. The resolution is 1280x720p and framerate 30fps.
After spending a significant portion of time messing around with iMovie 08 trying to get it to import without the quality loss I have discovered that "Import from Camera..." and "Import Movies..." have different behavior (in terms of video quality) on the SAME FILE.
*To reproduce*:
1) Record a video with Sanyo Xacti HD700 camera. (One with a nice color gradient is good because it will make the compression artifacts more obvious).
2) Import the video from the camera using "Import from Camera..." (Name the event "Import from Camera" so you can remember which is which)
3) Copy the .MP4 file from the mounted drive onto your local harddrive. (Not sure if this step is actually necessary, but haven't tried without)
4) Import the video from the .MP4 on your desktop using "Import Movies..." (Name the event "Import Movies") Notice that this completes much quicker than step 2.
5) Find the two imported movies in your "iMovie Events" folder. You will notice that both movies are different sizes when you would expect them to be identical. (In my case the movie from "Import from Camera" was 47.4MB while the movie from "import movies" was 33.1MB, and the file on the SD card was 33.1 MB)
6) At this point you will also notice that the movie imported from camera will have a custom name like clip-2007-12-26 14;41;44.mov while the movie from "import movies" will have the same filename as it did on the camera i.e SANY0025.MP4.
7) Now open both files in QTplayer and arrange them side by side showing the same frame. You will see that the quality is much worse in the file from "Import from Camera".
Hypothesis:
My guess is that when you select "Import from Camera" it does some transcoding on these files that it doesn't do when you select "Import Movies". (Maybe Import from Camera always transcodes, whereas Import Movies checks to see if it needs to transcode or not?) I believe this because it takes significantly longer using the "Import from Camera" during which time it would appear to be performing some type of transformation on the movie. Also, because the file name in the folder is different.
I believe that either this transcoding is flawed or of poor quality which leads to the poor quality video when importing.
*Work around*:
Use "Import Movies..." instead of "Import from Camera..."
Note that I have not yet taken this through the export process to know how this will impact the final output.
Finally, for the skeptics, here is a screengrab of the two movies side by side in QTplayer on the same frame. The one on the left was imported with "Import from Camera" and the one on the right with "Import Movies". Look at the right side of the yellow playset and also at the hair. In motion it looks quite bad.
Thoughts?

Really? You don't see the difference?
Ok, well here is it blown up to 2X to make it more obvious:
and here it is blown up to 2X and with the contrast increased to make it even more apparent:
I perhaps didn't pick the best frame as an example, but it is very obvious in motion. If necessary I suppose I could post a small movie clip to show.
Message was edited by: Richard_

Better to convert from H.264 or mpeg4 AVC H.264?

I've read the threads related to the need to convert video shot in both H.264 and mpeg4 AVC H.264 before editing in FCE. But I am wondering if there are any pros or cons on which would result in the better quality.
Do you experts think it makes a difference? Once you use Mpeg Streamslip is it all the same?
I am asking this because those seems to be the available formats for shooting video with the point and shoot cameras currently available. The Canon format is H.264. Nikon s6000 uses the mpeg4 AVC H.264. With the Canon the workflow involves importing the video from the camera using the supplied Canon software, then converting it with Mpeg SS, before importing it into FCE. Log and transfer doesn't work. When I converted the video straight from the SD card with Mpeg SS, the resulting video when imported into Final Cut required rendering. Using the same setting after importing it with the Canon software, does not require rendering.
I just bought the Canon and I am wondering if I exchanged it with the Nikon if I could avoid the intermediate step or if the quality would be any different. Any thoughts?

Yes, sorry, FTR is For The Record, just like FYI is For Your Information. (and that is a smile.)
It must be so frustration for you folks to have to keep explaining this to newbies. I was thinking perhaps this forum needs one of those sticky, permanent answers called "Codec for Dummies." Or Tom you could add a primer to your next edition of the book.
So the proper terminology when referring to H.264 is codec not format? Unfortunately the manufacturers don't help us much. This from the Nikon website:
Movie Modes
Video file format: MPEG-4 AVC H.264
Audio file format: AAC stereo
HD: 1280 x 720p / 30fps
Standard TV: 640 x 480 / 30fps
Small Size: 320 x 240 / 30fps
HDMI output: mini-connector Type C
HDMI cable not included
Now I understand why our techs at work would always say not all Quicktime .mov files are the same whenever I asked what format people should use when sending us digital video!
FTR or FYI, I did an experiment and shot a bit of video at the camera store using the Nikon s6000 on my SD card and just converted it with MPEG streamclip then imported it into FCE directly. It comes in fine with no need to render it, unlike the Canon file where I have to use the Canon software to import it and then, MPEG streamclip and then import it to FCE. Saves a step.
So I am going to take the Canon back and exchange it for the Nikon. (Another reason for me to be a Nikon shooter!
Thanks for your patience.
Nina Zacuto

Sony - HDR-XR350V - HD: MPEG4 AVC/H.264; SD: MPEG2

Considering a Sony - HDR-XR350V - HD: MPEG4 AVC/H.264; SD: MPEG2
Please help - I have been using search and spent about 45 min with a Sony sales person on the phone today, but would love to hear from someone using this camera or an expert who can interpret the specs.
Is this camera a true AVCHD camera and will it work seamlessly with FCE?
I understand, if it is compatible, that I would have to use Log and Transfer and the files would be converted to Apple Intermediate Codec (fairly large file size) I would plan to use an external drive as scratch disk for any large projects.
Here is the link to the spec page for the camera.
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=1055 1&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921666073203#specifications
My ultimate use for camera is editing, using iDVD to create DVD for use on TV, or being able to upload short video projects to Facebook or You tube.
For these shorter projects will this camera also work well with iMovie 09
I am so frustrated trying to find a good camera that will work well with FCE - my old Sony (only two years old has died) I had to use Mpeg Streamclip to convert its files - large learning curve but mastered it. I don't want to go through another complicated process to begin editing again with a new camera ($271 for repair and 90 day warranty doesn't make sense to fix the old one).
Message was edited by: Tyrkitty

Tom - thank you so much - so if for any reason I would want to use SD I could convert with Mpeg streamclip like I did for my old camera. Not sure why I would do that, but just wondered.
I believe the Sony - HDR-XR350V camera has several different settings for filming - are you able to tell me how to set the camera or should I just cross that bridge when I get it. I would like to use the highest quality setting. The Sony sales guy said it has Progressive and Interlace settings - That is over my head. For going to iDVD for play on a TV what would I use. I will be ordering the camera on Monday.
You were the patient one who got me going in the right direction with my old camera - so glad you responded. I have your book and have attended a lot of One to One sessions. Love FCE and just want to get going again.

Unwanted rescaling of 1280x720 mov-files (Aiptek AHD200/A-HD720P-avc/H.264)

Hello,
we currently bought a Aiptek AHD200 camcorder, which is sold in the US as "A-HD720P".
Its a neat toy for 130 Euros (about $120-150 in the USA).
The 1280x720 video is better then on our old 200 Euro discount-camcorder, and even though the AHD200 lacks optical zoom, the other features and the price make it worth its money.
The only problem is editing the movies on my fiance's MacBook.
She has iMovie HD (version 6).
The MOV-Files (avc/H.264) take very long to import, and ojn our first atempt they get converted to 4:3 with black borders.
Finaly the resolution seems to be changed, no matter what we will set up in the settings (which are very minimalistic, really. I know it is a beginner's editor but it really should allow a tad more advanced settings).
Does anyone have an idea how to import these video clips right?
Or a cheap/free solution to edit these clips?
Converting them to another format would be an option, but the quality would decrease if the clips would need to be converted once more. Also, it takes long for 720p movies.
I did youse avidemux on Mac and Windows, but the saved videos are corrupted most of the time and there are only basic cut functions available. Not that I would like fancy transitions, but its a bit too basic to really edit a video.
I would be thankfull for any suggestions

Hello,
I solved the problem
As I am rather new to iMovie, I missed the little arrow for the advanced options to switch to HD... Shame on me.
Still, importing takes a long, long time, but there is a walk-arround which I found in another forum (even though I was looking for something else).
Rightclick the iMovie project, choose "view package content" (or whatever its called in english) and just drag and drop the .mov-files into the Media-Folder.
The Clips will then be shown in the iMovie trashbin when opening the project again, and can be dragged to the clips or timeline without the import!
My guess is that with this the back-to-tape wont work since iMovie did not convert it to a DV Stream.
Working with the h.264 like this works well, just some graphical glitches (so far no problem in the export though, even Keyframe excat-Cut works like a charm).
This way there will be only one conversion: When creating a DVD.
It saves a long time since converting the h.264 takes a while.
I have a new problem though:
I also have a g4 iBook, 800MHz.
Its with a older iMovie of course, and it still creates a regular project folder. With that, this trick will not work.
Which iMovie versions will run on g4 AND store the project as this single file?
As far as I saw iLife 08 requires a G4 866MHz, but the included iMovie will only run on a g5 (though I read that Apple seems to provide a Download-Link with a older version if you enter the registration-Number).
So i Checked ebay and iLife 04, 05 seem rather cheap- and I have no reason to buy 08 just to upgrade my g4 to a old version anyway.
Which iMovie versions will run on g4 AND store the project as this single file?
(10.3.9)
Thanks in advance
Marcus

Is CS5 a good edit program to edit mpeg-4 AVC/H.264 with?

I always used adobe premiere pro 2 to edit DV. But now i've bought a new HD camera so i'm searching for a good program to edit my movies with. Right now I have to convert my HD movies in elements 7 and transfer it to adobe, but the result is very poor,time consuming and frustrating.
I'm about to buy a new computer and also a new edit program. But is CS5 a good choice? Is it possible to capture or transfer my movies of mpeg4 AVC/H.264 straight into a project in CS5? is there anybody out there who already uses this kind of codec for projects in CS5?
Monique.

Thanks a lot, I will check this section.
Can you also give me information about the quality when burning
(H.264) projects from CS5 on DVD?
Or do I have to use a blue ray recorder to avoid looking at unstable/jerky
images?
2010/10/7 Colin Brougham <[email protected]>
If you get a fast enough computer, you should be fine. Check out the
Hardware section for recommendations on computers or components that will
help make the most of Premiere.
>

Ipod plays MPEG-4 but not MPEG-4 AVC (H.264)??

I've converted a bunch of DVD's to MPEG-4 AVC H.264 using Xilisoft's DVD Ripper Platinum. But to my surprise my iTunes doesn't even transfer them to the Ipod. It says on Apple's Tech Spec's that the Ipod plays H.264 format.
The video's are converted in 320x240, 30fps, 768Kbps, all according to "what's allowed". Xilisoft also converts DVD's straight to Ipod format, which plays without a problem. But the problem for me is, that it is in MPEG-4 format and the file is TWICE as big as in H.264!!
It is possible to use in "iTunes->Advanced->Convert selection for Ipod" too. This converts the MPEG-4 AVC H.264 file to a .m4v file, which works fine on the Ipod and all.
But i'm still wondering why the Ipod doesn't play from the beginning the MPEG-4 AVC H.264 file? So if i want a small file that plays in my Ipod i need to convert twice, DVD->H.264 and then H.264->.m4v?? Just sounds so crazy...What am i missing??
I would appreciate it very much if somebody could help me with this, i have tried to search in just about every single forum on Google but none has really helped me.

Do you have a check box or option for baseline
profile under h.264?
Yes, it says on the upper right corner, after you choose in which format you want to conver the file to, in which codec it is. So when i convert it to MPEG-4 AVC it says h.264 and when converted to "Ipod format" on the drop down menu, it says on the upper right corner mpeg-4.
I am just really dwelled with this and i have updated all softwares, but no luck whatsoever.

MPEG-4 AVC/H.264

Hello all,
I had a camera which records MPEG2, but it is broken. Now I want to buy a new camera which will record in AVCHD. Before I do this, I want to try to edit a MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 file in Adobe Premiere, see how it works on my PC.
Is there a place or site where I can download a sample MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 file. The content doesn't matter, as long as it is a file in the format I will get when having a AVCHD camera.
Thanks in advance,
Best Regards,
André.

What version of Premiere?
Here's a downloadable sample file courtesy Fuzzy Barsik:
Spanned AVCHD clips sample from SONY HDR-SR12 camcorder
(7z archive file / Post #148).
http://forums.adobe.com/message/5461972#5461972
Reference:
H.264/MPEG-4 AVC
CS6 note:
Audio and Video glitches | AVCHD footage - CS6 bug
http://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-pro/kb/audio-video-glitches-avchd.html
Promised fix:
Premiere Pro CC July 2013 Update
"Our commitment to customers includes those who haven't yet
subscribed to Creative Cloud or who rely on CS6, and we plan to
release an update to Premiere Pro CS6 in the coming weeks that
will address an AVCHD clip spanning issue."
http://blogs.adobe.com/premierepro/2013/07/ppro-cc-july-2013-update.html

Importing H.264 into FCE without decoding/re-encoding. How?

QuickTime cannot open my Handycam VOB files (mpgv/a52) so I'm using ffmpegX to convert them to H.264 (4000+ kbps). when I import the H.264 files into FCE, FCE insists on decoding the files, taking a long time to do so and producing very large in-project media files. I tried converting to the DV format; same problem.
I seem to remember with iMovie that one could place their media files into the project package in a specific format and iMovie wouldn't re-encode them. if I'm importing H.264 files into FCE, what format should they be exactly (video and audio), and how could I import them into an FCE project without FCE decoding/re-encoding them? I'd prefer to use H.264/Dolby+AC3 if possible.
sincerely,
Gregory

Ok, you should be converting directly to DV or Apple Intermediate Codec if you intend to edit the video in FCE. Not to H.264 and then importing the H.264 into FCE. You're going from one highly compressed format to another highly compressed format and then FCE is trying to render it into something it can edit.
Also, you can't directly import 5.1 audio into FCE. Even though FCE supports up to 99 audio tracks in a project, you can only import or export a single stereo pair at a time. There are ways to trick it out, but you can't do 5.1 all at once directly in FCE.
Have you tried MPEG Streamclip instead of ffmpegX to do your conversions?

Solution to AVC/H.264 MPEG4 video compression Audio Sync Issue

Been trying to find an solution to this problem for a year now - one would think Adobe would have addressed themselves but....
I have the Xacti E1 camera and it utilizes the AVC/H.264 MPEG4 video compression that both Premier Elements 4 & 7 plus Pro CS4 have sync issues with.
What I did was use Quicktime Pro to convert the Audio ONLY to wave – very fast actually. So basically in Premier I added the original MPEG4 video to the timeline, removed its messed up audio, replaced it with the Quicktime Pro wav file then regroup the wav audio and video to keep it clean.

Sure!
Would be nice if Adobe addressed the problem as this std is used by most flash based video cameras

H.264 and prores proxy question

I've read through a ton of posts about proxy and h.264 workflows but didn't find any that answers my specific question.
My raw video from my camera is mp4 (h.264). I understand that h.264 is not good to edit with, so I have a few options. I use a macbook pro for editing so I have been toying around with prores proxy for editing and it makes a difference on RT playback and rendering while editing, so that's good. When I get ready to output my movie after editing, I relink my project back to the original h.264 source files and that seems to work fine.
I'm wondering if that's not the right workflow though. Should I transcode the h.264 into prores HQ or LT and then ALSO to proxy, edit with proxy and then relink my project back to the HQ or LT files to output? Or is linking back to my source h.264 files and outputing the right way to go?
Since the original files must be in the best possible quality that I'm going to get (since they're my original clips), I assume that relinking to them right before output is the way to go but I really don't know much about codecs to know if I'm missing something.
Thanks in advance for the advice.

Thanks for your response. I'm shooting with a Sanyo FH1, mostly in 1080p, but I've scaled back to 720 since 1080 was overkill for what I'm doing to save some space.
The thing I don't quite understand yet is the issue with pointing my project back to the source files after all the editing is finished with prores proxy and just before output. That way, FCP would only have to uncompress the source files to render for final output only one time (besides the initial transcoding), albeit, probably longer than it would be for prores. I'm sold on proxy because it was so much faster to edit with than h.264 and I didn't have to keep any video files after I was finished except my source files....trying to budget hard drive space. I transcoded one file a while back to prores but the file size was more than I wanted to deal with since I only edit on my macbook pro so I didn't try to edit with it. Like you said, maybe just converting to prores and dealing with the space juggling would be the best way to go, or try prores LT to see how the quality is.
Does converting from h.264 to prores buy me any quality or a better final result, or just a cleaner workflow? Don't misread my questions, I'm not arguing, just trying to understand from you guys that know a lot more about this than I do. Making my living as a developer, it's just ingrained in me to understand this one
Message was edited by: kenmoberg (updated macos version)

Re-use of .264 and .ac3 created by compressor or fcp-share

Good Morning from Belgium
Here is my question
How do I reburn a blu-ray without having to reencode in compressor or using "share" in fcp. In other words, how to re-use the .264 and .ac3 files created in a previous burning session ? I have tried Toast 9 but get 2 files (one with audio, one with video) .
Can I safely delete those huge files if it is not possible to use them later with any software ?
Hope you can help
Michel

I can put a movie in Compressor, add the video and audio presets and then select "Create BD/AVCHD Disc" in the Job Action menu but that will only create one disc.
My idea was to save the .264 and .ac3 files so that I could burn another disc at a later date.
I can do this with Toast but there is no way I can use those files in Compressor again (that I know about).
What exactly did you mean by burn it from a disk image?
I can do that in Toast but I don't know how to do it with Compressor.

Working alternating with iPhoto and FCE tgrying to import pictures from iPhoto into FCE suddenly all my 22300 pictures disappeared leaving empty frames. Does somebody know where the pictures could have gone and how can I get them back into iPhoto? Lothar

Working alternating with iPhoto and FCE tgrying to import pictures from iPhoto into FCE suddenly all my 22300 pictures disappeared leaving empty frames. Does somebody know where the pictures could have gone and how can I get them back into iPhoto? Lothar

The ! turns up when iPhoto loses the connection between the thumbnail in the iPhoto Window and the file it represents.
Option 1
Back Up and try rebuild the library: hold down the command and option (or alt) keys while launching iPhoto. Use the resulting dialogue to rebuild. Choose to Rebuild iPhoto Library Database from automatic backup.
If that fails:
Option 2
Download iPhoto Library Manager and use its rebuild function. This will create a new library based on data in the albumdata.xml file. Not everything will be brought over - no slideshows, books or calendars, for instance - but it should get all your albums and keywords back.
Because this process creates an entirely new library and leaves your old one untouched, it is non-destructive, and if you're not happy with the results you can simply return to your old one. .
Regards
TD

Are FCP and FCE user interfaces the same?

I was recently talking to a pro videographer and complaining that I miss the old iMovie, it was so easy and intutive to use, Final Cut Express confuses me, etc. He said that I should try Final Cut Pro because the user interface is better than FCE. Is this true? I thought that FCP and FCE have the same user interface?
I just edit HDV videos for my business or personal videos. I don't do anything "pro." I just want a video editor that's easy, intuitive, and fast to use. I don't edit videos often so I don't want to spend an hour reading the manual every time I edit a 3-minute video, i.e., use FCE. iMovie drives me up the wall.

Thomas Kehoe wrote:
He said that I should try Final Cut Pro because the user interface is better than FCE. Is this true? I thought that FCP and FCE have the same user interface?
No. Just download the trial version and see for your self

Color fidelity between slides and FCE output

Until the recent past, I have been scanning 35mm slides using a Cannon Canoscan 9900F coupled with Photoshop Elements v 2.0 into FCE v 3.0 on a Mac G-4 with OS 10.4.3. The color fidelity between the slides and final output was reasonably good. Within the past week I have upgraded system software to OS 10.4.8; upgraded Photoshop Elements to v 4.0 and FCE to v3.5.1. Now when I scan slides, the resulting images (both on the desktop and as printed with an Epson stylus 2200) are dark as if the slides were greatly underexposed. The Photoshop Elements correcting or enhancing tools do not solve the problem. I don’t think this is a monitor calibration issue but would welcome any suggestions. Thanks in advance. Jack A

Hi(Bonjour)!
What is the relation with FCE ? It's seem that is more a problem with MAC OS X itself or photoshop or your scanner than FCE.
See MAC OS X forum:
http://discussions.apple.com/category.jspa?categoryID=160
Try to make a new color profile for your monitor.
Michel Boissonneault

AVC/H.264 and FCE HD

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