DV to pro-res best quality?

I have a feature-length project shot on standard def mini-DV, and digitized into FCP via Firewire at regular DV-NTSC settings. We color-corrected and then outputted a self-contained Quicktime master that is of the same settings.
I now have a distributor who wishes for our master to be in the ProRes format. How would I convert to get the best quality? Export our master with the setting changed to Pro Res? Or should I convert the timeline, so that titling would be improved?
Thanks!

Got it. All I do is change the compressor setting to Apple Pro Res, re-render and re-export and that's it? Don't need to change anything else?

Similar Messages

Best Quality Export From Final Cut Pro Into After Effects?

So I converted all my footage into Apple Pro Res 422 (24 p, 1280 x 720) for use in FCP and want to export edited parts into After Effects. What is the best quality export to bring into After Effects and also export from After Effects back into FCP?

zikade wrote:
Depending on your storage and what you're up to with your footage I'd recommend uncompressed. Large files but you won't loose any quality. Animation is also lossless if you want to compress your footage. If your drives are not fast enough, go for ProRes HQ from FCP to AE, and Animation the way back...
Since you've converted to 422, stick with that. You cannot gain anything by exporting from FCP to a codec that has a higher bandwidth such as PRHQ or Animation. You just don't want to go down.
Rendering out of After Effects going back to FCP jsut use the same base codec. Again, you will gain nothing by using a higher quality codec. However, you may want to use PR4444 or even Animation if you must have an alpha channel. PR4444 uses trillions of colors and you will get an interesting warning when you try to render to it. You can dismiss the warning.
PR4444 has the distinct advantage of being realtime in FCP7 and X. Animation requires rendering back in teh FCP timeline.
bogiesan

Quality loss when converting pro res to mp4

Hi
I have a problem with the workflow from After Effects to a final .mp4 video.
I have been editing time lapses in After Effects, and exporting them as Pro Res HQ- all good so far. However, I can´t seems to be able to convert the Pro Res file to a .mp4 (or quick time .mov for that matter) without significant quality loss. This happens if I convert using adobe media encoder, or if I import the Pro Res files to Premiere and export through Premiere.
However, if I import the original JPG/TIFs to Premiere, and export using the exact same setting- I get a better result. Also, when I have uploaded the original Pro Res HQ file to vimeo, they do a much better job of converting it than Media Encoder or Premiere do when I convert to .mp4 (I´m aware that it is not the same conversion, but still..).
So my conclusion must be that AME and PP does not convert from Pro Res to other codecs very well? I have to work on my files in AE, and I need .mp4 as the final product (requirement for uploading to a stock site). How do I do this without getting lower quality video than if my workflow and export was only in Premiere? After Effects does not render out .mp4 very well it seems...
A screenshot showing the setting I use when exporting from PP or AME. The settings produce a good result when exporting other files from PP, but not the Pro Res files I have exporter from AE.
Thanks for your input!

Figured it out after testing various settings. I read an article describing the keyframe interval setting at 1 as the best option- clearly that was wrong! After searching I found a better description of keyframe interval: "Having too many keyframes severely reduces quality, because the efficiency of reusing image areas from previous frames is completely lost at each keyframe – the encoder has to "start over" at every keyframe. Therefore, we want as few keyframes as possible to achieve the highest quality for the given target bitrate."
Tested with keyframe settings 25 and 75- both seem fine.
Thanks for the feedback

Quicktime PRO-RES 422 Files... What is the best format for output in Adobe Premier?

I have recently enrolled on a university film makers course and up until this point i have been a Windows user. At the university everyone uses Final Cut Pro as this seems to be the standard software, at least at my level. My question is this; I have a bunch of Quicktime Pro-Res 422 files and i was wondering what would be the best Adobe Premier preset to export it as, In order to achieve the best quality possible?
Jak.

I have a bunch of Quicktime Pro-Res 422 files and i was wondering what would be the best Adobe Premier preset to export it as, In order to achieve the best quality possible?
You're going to have to clarify this a bit more. Do you have ProRes files you want to edit with in Premiere? If so, you don't need to convert them--as long as you have QT installed, you can edit them, even on a PC.
Or are you saying that you've already edited, and now you want to do a final export for viewing, or for editing elsewhere?

Does Pro-Res codec yield better quality from AVCHD files than AIC?

Hi folks,
I use FCE4 and ingest AVCHD for editing. I'm wondering if, for example, I ingested with the Pro-Res codec (eg. such as when using Final Cut Pro or FCX), would that be a higher quality transcoder than the inherent Apple Intermediate Codec that is part of FCE4? In other words, if I upgraded my software, would I likely get better quality?
FYI: I shoot with a single chip AVCHD camcorder, in case that matters.
Thanks,
Vixter

If you are running Lion, then FCPX is the only way forward unless you go with a non-Apple editing suite. For what it's worth, I think FCPX has gotten a bum rap overall. It's quite powerful compared to the old FCE even with its current limitations. Apple will continue to improve the program over time, and no one should discount the foresight that Apple actually does have in its product lines. The FCPX user interface and the method of editing is quite different compared to FCE, and takes a lot of adjustment if you were familiar with FCE or FCP. For general purpose editing, even prosumer editing, FCPX is quite an application, even if it's not quite ready for broadcasters & professionally employed editors.
The best way to find out is to try it out - it's available as a free 30-day trial so you can see for yourself whether or not it works for you. You can read all about it elsewhere and of course people in these forums have their opinions one way or the other. As I long ago discovered about wine, there is no definitively good or bad wine ... just wine that we ourselves like because it satisfies our individual tastes and conditions. I don't concern myself with Robert Parker's opinions. In fact I think a lot of his 95+ rated wines stink! If you follow my drift ...

Pro Res in Final cut express How do i get a good quality SD DVD

I recently bought final cut express and have suffered getting a good quality SD DVD out through the workflow from my cannon XHA1.
On screen its fine but when i author through imovie to DVD the quality is poor.
So reading the various threads it would seem that i need to use Pro res and the ingress codec... But cant find this option in express ?
Question is. Is pro res codec available in express and if not can someone suggest the optimum set up for HD capture to SD DVD output
Many thanks

Use either of these techniques to get good quality DVDs from AIC.
1. Edit your HDV/AIC in the timeline. Then create a new DV-PAL (NTSC) Anamorphic sequence. Copy your edited HDV/AIC to the new sequence. Do not alter anything. Render the sequence ..... this will take a long time - up to twice the length of the project. Then File>Export>QuickTime Movie (Not Self-contained).
However, if you use the QT Movie in iDVD you will get a squashed 4:3 movie, so first of all you must make QT stretch it out to its proper 16:9 dimensions like this:-
+a. Open the exported movie file in the QT Pro player.+
+b. Go to Window>Show Movie Properties.+
+c. Select the "Video Track" and in the "Visual Settings" panel uncheck "Preserve Aspect Ratio".+
+d. In the "Scaled Size" box set the width to 1024 pixels for PAL.+
+e. The "Video Track" will have turned grey, so click it to make it blue again.+
+f. The opened movie file will jump to 16:9.+
+g. Close it with the red button and click Save.+
2. This method is fast. Set your camera to "Locked DV" which means that FCE/FCP will capture it as anamorphic DV and edit it as standard definition anamorphic DV. (Use Easy Setup ... DV-PAL (NTSC) Anamorphic).
You can then Export>QuickTime Movie to be used in iDVD and use the stretching technique mentioned above.

I recently purchased a MacBook Pro with Retina. Which adapter do I purchase to connect it to a Samsung TV for the best quality?

I recently purchased a MacBook Pro with Retina. Which adapter do I purchase to connect it to a Samsung TV for the best quality? Thanks.

Doesn't matter. All HDMI cables should work, some are considered better than others, I had a $5 ebay cable work just as good as a $20 monster HDMI cable.

Why is the finished DVD so low quality despite having chosen best quality for Pal. Compared to Pro Show Gold its rubbish !

I am VERY disapointed with the quality of a finished DVD. As a proffesional weddig photographer the program quality is just not proffesional in quality. Compared to Pro Show Gold by Photodex which unfortunately is not available in MAC format. Can anyone offer advice and proove me wrong for deciding on MAC over PC !
I have chosen the best quality and burnt using Toast 11

Hi Nigel.
nigelfromlewes wrote:
What can I add other than I followed the instruction to the letter and have purchased a suggested
Application Toast11 .
You can add plenty (and probably remove a bit as well ). As you recompose your question(s), keep in mind:
the respondents on this site are just users helping other users. Apple sponsors the site (for its own ends) but does not participate in any of the discussions or provide any compensation of any kind to any participants.
whining and threatening (typically: "Lightroom is looking better and better", but your "proove me wrong for deciding on MAC over PC !" is up there) lower your chance of receiving helpful advice.
no one here knows what you are trying to do, what you have done, what the result was, how that differed from what you expected, or anything about your current software and hardware set-up other than what you tell us. Being pointed and specific is a very good way to help us help you.
What were you trying to do?
What specific steps did you take to achieve it?
How did the result differ from what you expected?
What steps have you taken to achieve a different outcome?
Did that work?
What hardware and software are you using?

Best quality dvd-premiere pro or encore

hi all-some advise needed.
I want to make the best quality professional wedding dvd for a client nd I have a few options and i just want to get feedback on which is the best method.
pc=win xp, prem pro 2 and encore 1.5, PAL, 4x3 plenty of hard disk space, 2gb RAM
wedding is 2 hour long but am I splitting in 2 to get the best quality
I think have 3 options-which is the best?
Option 1 build the DVD in premiere pro via DVD layout (nice wedding menus as well)
Option 2 export the encoded wedding via the encoder (media concept i think) and then just import and build the menus and dvd in encore
Option 3 export an uncompressed avi file via file-movie-export into encore and let encore do the encoding and build the dvd.
What do you guys think? Am i missing any other better options?
I would really aprreciate any advise or criticism,
thanks
Paul

labrisher wrote:
IIf in laying out the DVD in Encore you find that you'd like to change something in the Premiere file after you've imported it into Encore, you simply make the change and re-export the movie to the same name/directory etc. i.e. overwriting the previous file.
I cannot stress how strongly I disagree with this method. You should never, ever overwrite an asset that is used in Encore from outside of Encore. That is asking for big trouble, and if you don't get bitten by it right away, you will get bitten by it eventually. Instead, you should add a version number to the modified asset, and then use the Replace Asset command. Another good method if you're using an all-Adobe workflow is to use Edit Original, which will open up the program used to create the asset. When you finish the modifications, saving will update the asset in Encore, and make sure that all links to all supporting files are maintained.
The worst thing that can happen using labrisher's workflow is that your Encore project will crash with the dreaded PGC error, or some other fatal error, and you will never be able to recover and build a finished disc, disc image or set of DVD folders. You will then have to rebuild the project from scratch.
-Jeff

I'm going to save my old Hi8 tapes on a hard disk using final cut pro x, to save it for the future. But how shall I export it, and in what will be the best quality to save it in?

I'm going to save my old Hi8 tapes on a hard disk using final cut pro x, to save it for the future. But how shall I export it, and in what will be the best quality to save it in?

Hi Carsten...good luck with your project.. I had just about as many Video8 & Hi8 tapes as
you that I digitized and eventually brought into FCPX..took me many months not weeks
to do so,BTW, as each tape was 60-90 minutes in lenght...and many hundreds of
gigab ytes of storage ( uncompressed AVI files)..it's tedious work unless you plan to farm
it out to a processing house...also regarding eventual storage format...remember
Hi8 is 400 lines or about 540X480 in todays resoultion metrics..you can't make hi-def out
of source that starts out as 400 lines...in my case I rewrapped the avi files into .mov
containers and imported the mov files into FCPX where I got rid of the hundreds of
minutes of Colorado mountain landscapes to get to that one minute shot of the kids
on horseback ( late 80's for most of my archives)..so its a job..scouring thru 30X90 min
of source to not miss those precious memories takes diligence and hard work but its worth
it; eventually I encode the uncompressed video I want to save in H.264 format Staandard
Def not HiDef

Quality loss converting Pro Res to mp4

Hi
I have a problem with the workflow from After Effects to a final .mp4 video.
I have been editing time lapses in After Effects, and exporting them as Pro Res HQ- all good so far. However, I can´t seems to be able to convert the Pro Res file to a .mp4 (or quick time .mov for that matter) without significant quality loss. This happens if I convert using adobe media encoder, or if I import the Pro Res files to Premiere and export through Premiere.
However, if I import the original JPG/TIFs to Premiere, and export using the exact same setting- I get a better result. Also, when I have uploaded the original Pro Res HQ file to vimeo, they do a much better job of converting it than Media Encoder or Premiere do when I convert to .mp4 (I´m aware that it is not the same conversion, but still..).
So my conclusion must be that AME and PP does not convert from Pro Res to other codecs very well? I have to work on my files in AE, and I need .mp4 as the final product (requirement for uploading to a stock site). How do I do this without getting lower quality video than if my workflow and export was only in Premiere? After Effects does not render out .mp4 very well it seems...
A screenshot showing the setting I use when exporting from PP or AME. The settings produce a good result when exporting other files from PP, but not the Pro Res files I have exporter from AE.
Thanks for your input!

You should ask in the forums of the programs you are using
The Cloud forum is not about using individual programs
The Cloud forum is about the Cloud as a delivery & install process
If you will start at the Forums Index https://forums.adobe.com/welcome
You will be able to select a forum for the specific Adobe product(s) you use
Click the "down arrow" symbol on the right (where it says All communities) to open the drop down list and scroll

Best quality export to DVD Studio Pro for HD

Sorry if this has been resolved before but I am totally confused.
I am using FCP with a Sony HVR-Z1E. I aim to make the highest quality clips on my dvds prefering to have many short high quality dvds than having fewer long low quality ones. I would be very grateful if someone would sujest the best setting for this or to create a new one.
Thanks for any help
Regards Alf

Compressor has some presets for making high quality DVDs, I'd start with those. Take a short sample of your footage that you feel best represents the visual quality of the piece, and start testing different configurations. There is no one magical setting that is going to work for everyone. You'll also probably reach a point where you really can't tell the difference between one high bitrate and another higher bitrate. This can be a good indication that you've found the best quality option.
Using CBR encoding will give you the highest, consistent quality, but larger filesizes. Using VBR will maximise your quality to filesize ratio.
Do be aware that DVDs do have a bitrate limit of 9000 Kb/s. This includes both your audio and video. If you're audio and video bit rates add up to a sum greating than 9000 Kb/s, DVD SP will throw a weird error when you try to build your project.

Issue with Pro Res sources when encoding in Media Encoder.

There seems to be a big issue with Pro Res sources in Media Encoder. I've noticed that when exporting using the 'software only' mode my graphics and titles look horrible, they are pixelated around the edges and the compression looks bad. This issue only happens when it's being made from a Pro Res source, if I make the exact same file Uncompressed this issue is resolved. If I use the 'Cuda' option (which I already know is the better option) this issue is resolved. The thing is, in a work environment not all of our systems are Cuda enabled and I would like to use Media Encoder as a exporting option overall. I love Media Encoder, it's fast and easy to use but this Pro Res issue is huge because the majority of the time we are working in Pro Res. I also did a test out of Avid Media Composer to Media Encoder, I sent a reference file referencing the Avid MXF material and the issue is gone, this seems to my knowledge to be a Pro Res only issue. The settings I am exporting to is 960 x 540 h.264 and also .mp4. This is coming from a 1080p source and yes I do have the 'maximum render quality' checked for best scaling. I understand that Software only vs Cuda and Open CL use different algorithms when scaling but this seems crazy to me that it would look this much worse.
Anyways if somebody can please look into this that would be great, this seems to be an issue where I can't continue at this moment to use Media Encoder. Making my source files Uncompressed every time to do an export is just not a real workflow I want to do.
On a side note I've also recently noticed on a clip that had text over a grey background that there are lines going all down the screen evenly when exporting to even a non scaled 1080p .mp4. Once again, this issue goes away with any format but Pro Res. The weird part is this happens even with Cuda enabled. This is why I am thinking Media Encoder is having some sort of issue with the Pro Res codec.
I am on a current new 27'' fully loaded iMac with the latest Adobe CC updates.
Has anyone else experienced this?
thank you

No, it is why advance users do not use the wizard.
Have a look at OpenOffice.org and its form creation. Once you add your fields in OpenOffice.org, just export to PDF and the form fields will be named just like you named in them in OpenOffice.org and the drop down values carry over.

FCP Pro Res Super 16mm -- Compressor -- DVD Studio Pro (Nightmare Workflow Critique)

Hello,
I figured I post here rather than the DVD Studio Pro forum; I've posted on Creative Cow as well but haven't gotten any responses yet.
Before I mention my problem, I'd like to mention that I've tried several types of compression methods and bitrates and unfortunately, my disk still freezes in my player, generally around the same area.
(I have two, minute long clips with Smoothcam there).
I'll try to be as specific about my work-flow as I can and I've posted the photos of my FCP and Compressor settings below.
30 Minutes. Super 16mm.
2K DPX Scans -- > Graded In Color --> Pro Res 4444 23.976 --> Sent To Compressor --> Mpeg 2 + AC3 --> Build & Format With DVD Studio Pro
I set blue compression markers at the start of each Smoothcam clip.
I've recompressed my footage without Smoothcam as well - with the same end result.
I've sent my timeline to Compressor and used both the 5.5-7 VBR setting and the 6.5 CBR settings (with everything under Frame Controls set to the highest quality).
(I've also used the 6.2-7.7 built in settings with the ninety-minute high quality preset).
I am using Sony DVD-R disks. 16X/1X. When I play them in my PS3, the film freezes at different points in the first two-three minutes - then skips ahead exactly to the same point in my film - about halfway.
I've set Chapter markers and it skips to the halfway one; from there it plays fine.
1. I wanted to ask if I should maybe export my entire sequence first through FCP (an .mov file) and try Compressing that?
(I've done this and the result is still the same)
2. Should I set it to Pro Res 422 HQ first?
(I've done this and the result is still the same)
3. Perhaps I should just try to Compressor with the 90Min-HQ setting without changing anything?
(I've done this and the result is still the same)
4. Should I remove the Smoothcam?
I'm currently compressing the entire sequence void of all Smoothcam.
When I bring the files into DVD Studio Pro, I see under preferences that Studio Pro also has VBR settings. Do those have any effect on my DVD encode? There is no CBR there - only VBR set from 5.5-7.
5. Is there anything I'm doing wrong with regards to my workflow? There are several options that may be causing this; I'm not sure if its the progressive footage to interlaced standard definition disk, or modifying field dominance, gop structure, etc.
Any help would be greatly (that's greatly) appreciated.
Thanks!
-Boris

My first impression is you're trying to make this too hard...
You have a high quality timeline which is downconverted to 1080, no problem. Once rendered, SmoothCam
should not represent a problem. If anything, SmoothCam will reduce the sudden movement that can cause problems. Any scenes where you have a high rate of change per frame (like in an explosion or a background of leaves flapping in the wind) should be marked with compression markers.
Export as a QT movie using sequence settings (include markers for DVDSP) so you have a completed source file for compression. I'm not aware of anything that will improve the quality beyond what is in the timeline, so current sequence settings are fine. Test this for playback issues.
If you are having playback problems with the sequence after export and compression, the most probable cause is excessively high bandwidth requirements. Try using the DVD: Best Quality 90 minutes preset. It generally produces a very good quality product. Any attempt to increase the quality will likely increase the bandwidth requirements that are the probable cause of the skipping.
While Sony is a big name, their DVD substrate is only mediocre. If you think the substrate is a problem, switch to Verbatim or JVC/Taiyo-Yuden.
If you are dissatisfied with the quality of the Compressor output, look into the Cinema Craft encoding products.
Hope this helps.

Apple pro res 422 file consuming more space than usual

hi everyone!
I've been working with FCP 7 since 2008 and at the same time I started working with Canon T2 from 2 years ago and I haven't had any problems with my FCP workflow files, editing and output used to be H. 264 based files until I started to have problems with my hd DSRL projects. Recently when editing the audio went out of sync and I was suggested to change the Quicktime video settings from FCP 7 to imovie (which is th application I commonly use to create chapters and share to iDVD) this worked perfectly. It was the first time I which I had to change the Quictime Settings to Apple Pro Res 422 The Out of sync problem was resolved but the space consumed by the file was enourmosly ncreased instead. ie. A 5 min project usually would take like a 500 mbs quicktime file and now using the Apple Pro Res 422 this 5 min project went up to 5.3 Ggs!! And also the exporting process is taking forever!! For instance I'm working with a 30 min project and the Quicktime conversion never ends. It's taking about 12 hrs and is not taking more than the 20% of the process. Is there something I'm doing wrong? I need help in a extremely urgent way! Thank you all guys! And best regards from Mexico!!
Mac Pro early 2008
Processor 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon
Memory 10 GB 800 MHz DDR2 FB-DIMM
Graphics ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT 256 MB
Software OS X 10.8.4 (12E55)

>using the Apple Pro Res 422 this 5 min project went up to 5.3 Ggs
That's about right for a ProRes 422 file. High quality video takes a lot of space. It's sufficient to use the lighter ProRes LT for the footage from your T2 by the way. Your MacPro can also have up to 4 hard drives for plenty of storage.
Why are you using QuickTime Conversion?
Exporting to QuickTime with current settings and self contained is the better way. Then you use Compressor to make your delivery format from that master. Compressor is faster because it can take advantage of multiple cores - FCP doesn't. It will also give you far more control and choice over the encoding.

DV to pro-res best quality?

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