Cutting in DVCPRO HD

I've been looking into DVCPRO HD as a compression to cut our HDCAM footage in and just need some feedback.
We're working on FCP Studio 2 and After Effects CS3 on a Raid 5 SAN and we're capturing with KONA3.
Does FCP allow us to capture HDCAM footage with DVCPRO HD compression upon ingest? Shane Ross, I know you work with DVCPRO HD; what's your experience with it; or anyone else for that matter? Have you had any trouble with the format? Do you use a different compression when working with it? Does DVCPRO HD material work well when bringing it from FCP to AE and back and other such programs? How does it compare to working with native HDCAM material?
Basically, I'm just trying to find out if it's a viable compression to work with and find any possible pitfalls. I've done a lot of reading on it but I need to know an editor's and graphic artist's experience with it.
Thanks.

*Shane Ross, I know you work with DVCPRO HD; what's your experience with it; or anyone else for that matter? Have you had any trouble with the format? Do you use a different compression when working with it? Does DVCPRO HD material work well when bringing it from FCP to AE and back and other such programs?*
We shot for three months on a HDV cam (Z1U) and its LONG GOP format was too difficult to deal with in post and with round trips to AE.
We switched to a HVX200 and shoot almost exclusively 720/24pNative.
We use DVCProHD footage in all of Adobe's Production suite programs that apply, and with Motion, LT, FCP, and a variety of 3rd party utilities.
One of the simplest codecs to work with, and easy to edit. Titling and FX are far superior than HDV. Don't know about HDCAM.
However, it you are capturing via Kona3, stay with prores.

Similar Messages

Final Cut Export DVCPRO HD720p uncompressed/hi-res for tape and projection

Well I've been through the many suggestions found throughout the forum and have tried many combinations of exporting options, timeline options and codecs and still for the life of me can't find the one that works. Please offer any advice you can.
Objective:
Export a 30 minute film with a DVCPro HD 720p60 timeline shot in 720p 23.98fps as uncompressed and as high resolution as possible for transfer to a Beta-SP for big screen projection.
In trying the Uncompressed 8 and 10 bit exports the film's video became jumpy and some color's over saturated to the point of pixelation (is that a word?). I've created new Uncompressed timelines and exported from there as well to the same over saturated/pixel effect.
Is just an export of a Quicktime movie with current settings and then use compressor with "DVDPRO HD 720p60" my best options? I've tried that too but not happy with the softness of some of it and as we're projecting BIG, I want to have the best resolution possible.
Oh - and this time - size does NOT matter.
Thanks for any pointers.

What I mean is - how to create then a Quicktime someone without Final Cut can play. Exporting as a self-contained Quicktime movie does not seem to creat the stand alone file I may need. Any tips?

AE Composistion Settings for DVCPRO HD footage?

Slightly unrelated but giving it a shot anyways .
I have some DVCPRO HD footage. Here's the clip settings for it (digitized using Final Cut Pro).
Vid Rate: 23.98 fps, Frame Size 960 x 720, Compressor DVC PRO HD 720p60, Data Rate 5.5 MB/sec, Pixel Aspect DVCPRO HD (720p60).
In After Effects, what should my composition settings be? Or should I be going for a specific preset? Using After Effects 6.0, doesn't have a DVCPRO HD preset.

I'm not familiar with any of the formats, nor how they compare with each other when put side by side. I'm guessing whatever I get from my After Effects composition would be compatible with what's in my FCP timeline. I'm actually asking this on behalf of the editor who is also new to these new HD-related formats. Not exactly sure of his timeline settings, but when he puts in his DVCPRO HD footage, there's no rendering required. So I guess Final Cut's DVCPRO HD preset settings? If FCP has such a preset that is.
Even better would be if I could somehow export a lossless clip that I could put into my FCP timeline and render out perfectly fine. Example i'm more familiar with: using clips with no compression in DV NTSC timeline.

DVCPRO HD format question

Hello all Finalcutters,
So I've been cutting a lot of DVCPRO HD footage, usually for finishing in standard definition NTSC. I'm enjoying great success, but I note that when I edit DVCPRO HD footage onto an NTSC timeline, two things:
1. The clip defaults to resize itself to letterbox on the screen. This is great when I want that, but for this project I'd rather the footage just stay at 100% size and fill the screen. Can't find a way to make this happen automatically, and I'm a little tired of manually resizing everything just to get it to fill out a 4 x 3 aspect ratio.
2. I'm puzzled - when I cut a DVCPRO HD clip at 100% on an NTSC timeline, I actually have to size it to 102% to fill the screen from top to bottom. Where'd those extra 195 lines of vertical resolution go? I notice that the distortion tab is set to -50.
Any clues?

I realize I have to resize my footage in the workflow I've chosen, I'm fine with that, and my system is fast enough to handle it efficiently.
My spot is NTSC, always will be, so I feel it's appropriate for me to edit in that format, so we can all see the 4 x 3 aspect ratio and compose scenes accordingly.
I'm not puzzled by resizing - what bothers me is why does a 100% size 960 x 720 pixel DVCPRO HD frame just barely fill (vertically) a 720x486 pixel NTSC frame, when, counting pixels, it should be somewhat taller?
My material looks correct in every other way, seems correctly aspected, not squished or anything.
Joe

DVCPRO HD 720pN24 and HDV 1080i60

Can you cut with DVCPRO HD 720pN24 and HDV 1080i60 in the same sequence of FCP? If so, how do I do this?

Open Format Timeline Feature
In Final Cut Pro 6, you can freely mix clips with different formats in a single sequence and play back the sequence in real time.
This allows you to combine formats such as standard definition (SD) and high definition (HD) video, full-resolution and offline-quality video, and video with mixed frame rates, field dominance, and scanning methods (interlaced and progressive).
Might want to peek at that manual.
http://www.apple.com/finalcutstudio/finalcutpro/?movie=openformattimeline

Higher quality presentation than dvd?

Hello. My sequence will be DV NTSC 720x480. I will be cutting some DVCPRO HD 1080i60 into it but that may not be relevant. This video will be shown in front of many people at an event. Is there a step up, quality-wise, from playing a dvd via a projector? I can rent any equipment I need.
Also, if this video is projected, I read somewhere that projectors use square pixels? If that true? And if so, how to I export the sequence for the event?
Thanks a lot!

My sequence will be DV NTSC 720x480
Since your Sequence will be DV NTSC, you really can't improve over that. So to obtain the best quality feed to the projector, do a print to tape from FCP when you're finished with the edit and playback in a DV VTR or camcorder. A Y/C (S-Video) feed from the playback device will be better than a composite feed, but if you have a DV/DVCam VTR with a component output it would be even better.
That said, what David Bogie Chq-1 said is true. You can get very good results with DVD-Video playback as long as the encoding is handled properly.
-DH
Message was edited by: David Harbsmeier

Why does FCP set 30fps TC Rate for certain audio clips that lack TC stream?

Hello folks,
I'm cutting a DVCPRO HD 720p50 feature at 25fps on FCS2 w fcp 6.0.3. (Used a PAL Panasonic HVX200)
When I import certain of the audio files from the location sound recordist, FCP lists the file as having a TC Rate of 30fps -- and puts a greenbar over my audio track in the 25fps timeline. the audio folks were not TC locked to the camera, so I'm in the midst of doing a manual post-sync (yeah, yeah) of all of these files and Merging them into new Master Clips (1V+6A) for editing.
I already learned the great trick from this forum of importing the audio takes folders from each day and then disconnecting them to set them all as dual mono, then reimporting -- makes my Merge clips work the way I had hoped they would.
But this 30fps/25fps issue is really holding me up. This phenomena of tracks mysteriously being picked as having a TC Rate of 30 is rare, like 50 of the 400 audio files, but I can find no way within FCP to correct this setting nor any indication why these files were chosen.
I can't change the TC from 30-25 when a clip is online or offline -- I get the message "The media of one or more selected clips does not support the chosen timecode rate of 25, and are left untouched."
Any help will be wildly appreciated -- I am eager to complete this sync project and get cutting!
matt

I got help for this issue over at CreativeCow's FCP pages -- it turns out, all I had to do was open a new project using an easy setting and project setting for vanilla PAL 25 fps SD stuff. All of the audio was correctly brought in -- then I disconnected all of the clips, made them dual mono, reconnected them, and copied them over to my old gristly project folder.
Now I can marry these dual mono 25fps files to the video files without having FCP incorrectly compensate for "30fps" by speeding these clips up slightly, so things stay in sync.

How to output as DVCPRO1080i60 at 23.97

Hello,
I have an AE file that needs to be output to FCP, and the settings provided to me by the editor are the standard DVCPRO1080i60 but at 23.976. This wasn't a problem until I tried to output the project and found that AE forces a 29.976 frame rate onto the outputted movie.
I understand that CS5 has become stricter with these settings viv a vis Quicktime, but is there any way I can output the movie in 23.976?
Thanks for any help you can give.

No such thing as DVCPro 1080I60 at 23.976 fps... DVCPro HD is a codec. One of the acceptable frame sizes is 1280 X 1080. If it's 1080 can't be anything else. The frame rates for the codec are a little more complicated. Here's a clip from the specs from Final Cut concerning DVCPro format:
Frame Rate
DVCPRO HD supports both NTSC and PAL frame rates:
NTSC: 59.94 and 29.97 fps
PAL: 50 and 25 fps
Note: The Panasonic Varicam camcorder has an option for true 60 fps recording (versus 59.94 fps), although Final Cut Pro does not support these rates when capturing via FireWire.The 1080i60 format can record 24 fps progressive footage with standard pull-down (2:3:2:3) or advanced pull-down (2:3:3:2).Camcorders capable of recording 720p60 footage can also record 720p30 and 720p24 footage. Camcorders that support 720p50 can also record 720p25 footage. Tape-based camcorders achieve these frame rates by duplicating frames and flagging them for removal during capture (or with a frame rate converter). P2 camcorders such as the Panasonic AG-HVX200 can record natively (without duplicate frames) to the 720pN30 and 720pN24 formats. The Panasonic AG-HVX200E camcorder supports 720pN25.Some DVCPRO HD camcorders support variable frame rate recording in the 720p format. In this case, the video is actually recorded at 60 or 50 fps and duplicate frames are flagged for removal during post-production. Duplicate frames can be removed using a frame rate converter.
Scanning MethodDVCPRO HD can record either interlaced or progressive scan images, depending on the frame size and format.
1080 lines: Interlaced or progressive (via advanced pull-down)
720 lines: Progressive only
I'd take some raw footage from your editor and look at it's properties. I'd guess that it's 60i with 3:2 pulldown which must be removed to turn it into 23.976 (23.97) progressive. I don't think your editor completely understands the format.
If it were my project I'd work in a 23.976 fps full hd comp and render to something like Pro Rez 422 and use that in the edit. You'd then edit in 24P and I wouldn't render to a DVCPro codec for delivery unless that was absolutely required by the client. DVCPro HD is an acquisition codec, not a delivery codec.

Codec not found. And other errors on fresh install.

I just upgraded to a new 8 core Mac Pro from a 15" Powerbook G4. I had been cutting some DVCPRO HD material on FCP 5.1 and installed it on the Mac Pro seemingly flawlessly. Now when I try and open my sequences in my (all material was stored on Firewire drives) I get the following two error messages in succession:
Codec not found. You may be using a compression type without the corresponding hardware card.
Followed by:
Error: Out of memory.
This mac pro has 8GB of Mac certified memory in it. I can't imagine what the problem is, can anyone help? All sequences are DVCPRO HD 720p24. Is this the dreaded curse of first generation Macs?
Matt
Mac Pro 8 Core, 8GB ram Mac OS X (10.4.9)

When you originally captured this material, were you using 5.1, or an earlier version? The closest I've had to this problem was that HD DVCPRO files created on an Intel Mac in 5.1 cannot be viewed in pre-5.1 installations of FCP on a G4. It's not the same problem as you're describing, but I think there's some connection.

No External palyback

Cutting compressed DVCPRO HD 720p60 footage using same Easy-setup. If I choose my firewire NTSC external video I only get single frame playback, even though "all frames" is selected. If I keep the Easy-Set up external video playback I get nothing.
Using Canopus ADVC110 interface to connect to the external monitor.
Any suggestions????<<br>
Mac Pro Quad, iBook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.7) FCP 5.1/PRO TOOLS 6.9

I believe you, especially since this is the first time I've used a system w/o a deck. The funny thing is...I swear I had it working two days ago. That was before I had to compress some of the footage to a smaller frame rate to match the rest (thus avoiding having to rendering everytime I manipulated a clip). But even if I go back to the older project file I still can't get the playback. Hmmm??? Any thoughts on that??

Right settings for HDV and PAL editing

I will be editing a HDV piece and I want to use the Apple Intermediate codec. What are the precise settings when capturing? is the pixel aspect ratio square or PAL and do I need to set the Field Dominance to lower like with DV. Please any advice. Thanks

I just noticed that you're cutting on a PowerBook, so that totally makes sense. I'm working on an HDV project where I'm capturing in HDV then recompressing to DVCPRO HD, then doing a final output to DigiBeta. I have a Decklink card so I can convert HD to SD for output.
Cutting in DVCPRO HD is basically the same as cutting in the Apple Intermediate Codec. All the effects and playback work in real time, all the frames are complete, etc.

Dvcprohd or hdv

out of all the recording formats out there, which camera is the best way to go? obviously, that question's too open ended, let's say we've got around $5k for a camera. what will provide the best looking picture? it seems like you've either got hdv with canon, jvc and sony. or you've got dvcpro hd with the hvx200. are there dvcpro25 or dvcpro50 cameras that will give as good or better a picture as hdv cameras?
and which formats are the best to edit in Final Cut? is dvcpro25 or 50 easier then dvcprohd or just the same?
if i were to do a camera upgrade now, should i still sit on my butt waiting for more dvcprohd cameras or take the plunge with hdv? it seems like either you've got $15-20k for a camera or you've got $5k and stuck with hdv.
i need some help from professional opinions please, thank you

let's say we've got around $5k for a camera. what will provide the best looking picture?
HVX-200...without a doubt. There is no denying that DVCPRO HD looks much better than HDV. But be warned...$5k will get you only the camera, not the media in which to record HD onto. I think it ships with 1 8GB P2 card for free, so there is that. But other P2 cards will cost you $1200. Then you will need the means to get the footage off of the cards and onto your system. The new laptops don't work, only the older G4 powerbooks. And most PC laptops have the PCMCIA slot required for the card. Otherwise yo are lookng at yet another $2k for the P2 store or P2 card reader....unless you can live with using the camera to offload the clips, which means losing shooting time. The Firestore hard drive recorder...About $2000. But the firestore now records in the camera's native mode (24pn, 24 real frames per second) so that is a plus.
HVX isn't cheap...$10k+ by the time you are done. But...
which formats are the best to edit in Final Cut?
DVCPRO HD...again...no contest. When working with HDV, the recommended workflow is to convert it to DVCPRO HD as you capture. This means buying a capture card...another $2k for the AJA Kona LH.
s dvcpro25 or 50 easier then dvcprohd or just the same?
Those are STANDARD DEF formats, DVCPRO HD (DVCPRO 100) is an HD format. DVCPRO 25 is DV quality, and DVCPRO 50 is Digibeta quality. The HVX shoots all those formats. HDV shoots HDV...and all the HDV cameras shoot different versions of HDV...gets confusing.
if i were to do a camera upgrade now, should i still sit on my butt waiting for more dvcprohd cameras or take the plunge with hdv?
Do you need a camera now? If so, get one. If you can wait until mid April and NAB...all the better. New stuff announced there every year.
OH, and with all this you need HD monitors and HD cards to view all this HD footage. Jerry Hofmann had a post a while back (wish I bookmarked it) on how working with HDV isn't as cheap as you'd think. By the time you get the camera, the capture card, hard drives, monitor...you are looking at $10-$14k. Not much better with the HVX either. HD isn't cheap.
Shane

Onlining p2 footage to dvcpro hd in final cut pro hd

so i'm gearing up to shoot with two cameras: the panasonic hvx900 and the hvx200. trying to figure out a workflow. i want to end up doing two things: using only dvcpro HD masters in the online (which would require transferring the uncompressed P2 files out to tape) and editing the P2 footage, along with the DVCPRO HD footage, at standard def in the timeline. so...
1) do i have to first transfer the P2 footage to the DVCPRO HD tapes and then do a downres capture from that? or is there a way that i could use the timecode from the P2 footage to make it through to the online using a different source (the DVCPRO HD tape) as a master, which would theoretically have the same timecode as the P2 footage?
2) can you even do downres ingesting? or does it have to be a capture? if it's not possible, then it seems like it's not even worth it to try to save time through ingesting.

hmm. the issue is that we are doing a doc and it's going to be huge, size wise, so we'd like to offline edit in standard def. so we can't really do the edit and be done thing. but we're trying to determine whether or not it's possible to capture from one format (P2 card files) and online using a copy of that P2 file with the same timecode transferred to a tape. or whether it's better to just transfer it to the tape first and then capture into the session from that. it could save us time if it were possible to ingest the p2 files in full HD for later transferring to the tapes, as well as converting to standard def for the offline editing. so i guess the big question is, assuming we get the right version of final cut, is it possible to do a downres ingest? and does final cut pro hd not do ingesting? thanks.

How to change DV/DVCPRO video to 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio in Final Cut Pro X?

I shot some DV video footage on a Canon XL2 in 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio mode. I captured it on a Firestore and imported it into Final Cut Pro X, and it is now being displayed in an incorrect standard 4:3 aspect ratio.
How can I change the aspect ratio of the video within FCPX once I've imported it?
I've tried playing with the Spatial Conform setting for the video file, but that keeps it in a standard aspect ratio and fits or fills the video into a different aspect ratio. So that's not the answer.
I've tried an old trick I used when working with DV widescreen video and iDVD, but this process doesn't fix the aspect ratio in FCPX. Here's the article for your reference:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2179
Did Apple forget that DV/DVCPRO video--although standard def--can be displayed in 4:3 or 16:9? It seems to force it to 4:3.
Thanks.

@daguerratype
The Spatial Conform is one of the things I tried. Unfortunately none of its settings fixed the aspect ratio. When I choose "Fit", it simply shows it as 4:3 and leaves left and right black borders on a 16:9 timeline. When I choose "Fill", it zooms the 4:3 video and chops off the top and bottom parts.
@Thomas Emmerich
This is a decent workaround. Fortunately my clips are named in such a way that I can easily drop them all in the timeline and do a Command-F (Find) to search by clip name, highlight all of them in the search results, then use the Inspector to modify the properties of all the clips at once. I have to change X-scale to 133% and Spatial Conform to "Fit", and now at least it fits the 16:9 timeline properly.
Thanks to both replies. I still hope Apple adds a way to fix the clip in the Event browser so that I don't have to do this workaround.

DVCPRO-HD output from Final Cut X

Hello,
I am working on a project that needs to end as a DVCPRO-HD Quicktime Movie. I am capturing video on a Nikon D7000 in 1920x1080 p full HD (H.264/MPEG-4 AVC compression). What settings do I work in on Final Cut X to maximize quality and assure that I will be able to export to the DVCPRO-HD movie? What does Final Cut X call this, if not DVCPRO-HD?
Thanks much for your assistance!

It's one of the export options,
Russ

Cutting in DVCPRO HD

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