Export from HD to SD, better quality??

I am looking for a way to improve the video exported from Final Cut Pro 7 originating in HD (1080/60), to MPEG2 to create standard definition DVDs. I have not been pleased with the results of the quality of both compressor and the flip for mac exports. Fonts and graphics are especially soft.
Any feedback from anyone using the latest Sorenson product, Squeeze 6 for Final Cut Studio??
Thanx in advance.
~Nemo

The problem on the Apple platform is the rescaling - the mpeg2 encoding is terrific, even in Compressor, but you cannot feed it HD res as it's scaling is atrocious as you've found.
Episode encoder might worth try - I haven't tested it yet, otherwise a free, but convaluted solution that results in prestine looking SD DVD uses Pc utils (Bootcamp)
http://www.precomposed.com/blog/2009/09/hd-to-sd-final-cut-pro/
Mark

Similar Messages

How to export from iMovie HD without losing quality?

I created a movie in iMovie HD made from clips from my camera which records great quality HD video, and now I want to export it and save as a movie file so that I can import it into iMovie '09 as part of a larger project. However, every time I try to export it, the resulting file has noticeably worse quality than when I view it in iMovie HD. I have tried the "full quality" option which exports as a .mov file, but the quality is much worse. I have also tried "Expert settings" choosing DV, AVI and MPEG-4 and have changed the settings to the best options I could find, but still the quality is worsened every time. How can I export my video without losing quality??

Do you mean import what I have in iMovie 09 into iMovie HD/06 instead? I suppose I could but I wanted to add some of iMovie 09's titles and adjustment effects to my iMovie HD/06 project, so it could get quite complicated trying to piece it all together. I may have to do that as a last resort, but does anyone know any way I can get around this?
I would think there must be some way to save my iMovie 06 file as something other than an iMovie file without losing quality... but things aren't always that easy are they?

Want ProRes export from After Effects. Bad Quality. What possibilities do I have?

Hey guys,
I've got a question...
I'm working on a project in After Effects and want to export it now as a quicktime movie with prores.
The movie I get, has got a bad quality and seems blurred.
I can export as animation but is there another possibility?
Need more information? Please ask!
Best regards
MumpitzOne

Did you mean to ask this on the Premiere Pro forum? Your post mentions After Effects. Are you looking for a solution using Premiere Pro or After Effects?
Also, when asking about poor quality, it's best to post an example (such as a screenshot) so that we can see what you're referring to.
It also helps if you give details about what version of the applicaiton you're using, what operating system, and so on.

Can't crop PDFs exported from Pages anymore

Dear all,
first of all: I'm aware that the issue is not truely a Pages one, but it's related and I think the right people for an answer follow this forum.
Short history: All starts with the problem that Pages somehow defines a minimal page size, often larger than the figures I'm creating for my thesis are. The usual workflow so far was: Export to PDF from the Pages print dialogue; open resulting PDF in Preview; make and copy the figure part; in Preview create new PDF from clipboard.
Recently, I switched to using the Abracadabra quartz filters to export PDFs from Pages, to get better quality shadows, which seems to work fine. However, now the above workflow does not work anymore. After copying the selection in the resulting PDF, the new PDF from clipboard still has the same paper dimensions as the original, not as the selection. I also tried Skim in any way, no success so far.
Does somebody have an idea? Thanks!
Oliver

creating for my thesis
1. You do not need to flatten transparency while you are setting up the design space and populating it with graphic data, only when you save to ISO 15930 PDF/X-3 or ISO 19005-1:2005 PDF/A. Transparency was first supported in Apple QuickDraw GX in 1994, in Apple Quartz in 2000, and in Adobe PDF 1.4 in 2001. Adobe PDF 1.3 and Adobe PostScript level 1, 2, and 3 use an opaque imaging model.
1. You need to think about whether you want your typography to be searchable if you plan to distribute your thesis for paper-less publishing. Half or more of the glyphs in an intelligent font are presentation forms that cannot be directly depicted onto characters in ISO-IEC 10646. Presentation forms can be composed in Apple system type services, but they cannot be decomposed for search after saving to Apple system PDF services.
/hh

How to increase sound quality of GarageBand 1.3 exports from iPhone

I'm a new iPhone user.
I bought the iPhone over Android specifically to use garageBand.
So, I've created this song in GarageBand 1.3 on my iPhone.
It's got a a couple vocal tracks (from apogee MiC) and one guitar track (from apogee JAM).
I don't own a Mac or any other iOS device.
I want to listen to the song on an external device.
I know how to export the song to email, but the thing is, the m4a that is produced is very poor quality.
Is there a setting or a method that can be used to get better quality on the export?
thanks in advance for your help.
Bob

Instead of choosing the Mail option, choose the iTunes option to share then choose iTunes again when the "Choose Format" window comes up. Under Audio Quality, choose AIFF.
You'll have to connect your phone to a computer that has iTunes installed to access the resulting file.

Is there a way to control the quality of my pdf file when exporting from a .pse file?

Is there a way to control the quality of my pdf file when exporting from a .pse file?
Hi,
I have 2 pages in all in a .PSE file.
When I try to export it as .PDF, the quality is very poor. I cannot change it to a better quality.
Please advise how I can export the file so that i can have better quality.

Rik Ramsay wrote:
To expand a little on what Jongware said, normally choosing vector over bitmap will decrease the filesize. If the vector art is very complex though, this will not be true.
Yup, a logo as bitmap takes up more space than the same as a vector -- unless the vector image is bitmap heavy (think Drop Shadow, Outline Glow; these are actually bitmap effects).
Also, check your PDF version. "Older" versions do not support live transparency, the latest do. Then again, you cannot use live transparency if you suspect your viewers may be using Mac OS X, because Apple's own PDF viewer sucks big time.

Export from QT Pro as AVI reduces quality of video drastically

I need AVI for poor PC users in family.
Original video is AVI from a Samsung digital still camera, saved and edited in QTPro 7.2 on iMac.
Export as AVI using Default or Highest Quality Settings, results in a severe degradation of colour tonal gradation - which was OK in the original AVis (viewable in Quicktime), and in QT.
It looks like the number of colours has been reduced from thousands to hundreds ( ? 256)
Filesize is similar- MOV 41.6 MB, AVI 39.5 MB.

The only detail given in the Samsung Pro 815 manual is "file type .avi (MJPEG)". I used default Cinepak compression to export as .avi
Now we're getting somewhere. Motion JPEG is a common video codec used by certain digital camera manufacturers in the AVI container. It is a moderate compression/higher quality codec. Cinepak is an older, high efficiency video codec probably better suited to smaller resolution use. Comparing CinePak to MJPEG would, in some ways, be like comparing MPEG-4 to H.264. In both cases the video data rate of your final "Cinepak" AVI needs to be on the order of 2.0-2.5 times the data rate of your original "MJPEG" AVI file for equivalent quality. While I do not normally deal with such files, a previous poster ask for help in converting his Casio (MJPEG/DVI ADPCM) files for use in iMovi '08. Wile the original file is not of the highest quality, I prepared a clip to compare the original "MJPEG" AVI video track with the final "Cinepak" AVI track. (For comparison purposes, these two tracks were stored in an MOV file container so they could be compared on a "frame-to-frame" basis.) If interested, here is the URL for this comparison.
http://homepage.mac.com/jrwalker4/.Public/CIMG8145Comp.mov
For QT7 Pro to edit the original .avi clips, they have to be saved as .mov.
Strange. I can convert directly from the "MJPEG" AVI to "Cinepak" AVI file.
This is instantaneous, and causes no quality loss. No file conversion or re/de/compression seems to occur.
Correct.
Exporting Cinepak .avi obviously requires considerable processing, so it seems that the codec used in the Samsung .avi is native to QT
This codec basically sequences a series of still JPEG photos in either the AVI or MOV file container. As such it is compatible with probably any system capable of viewing JPEG photos and opening either file container. This compatibility is probably the reason this codec was selected in the first place by the camera manufacturer.
The issue is clearly that the QT7 >Cinepak .avi export process (?deliberately) degrades video quality, without reducing file size, even though it claims to be using "Best" quality and "millions" of colours.
Each codec has its own characteristics. If a small file is what you want, then reduce the resolution of your movie or accept the reduction in quality at its current resolution. If quality is your main concern, then increase your video data rate so it can store as much of the original quality as it can at the current resolution or simply switch to a more modern codec, Microsoft ended support for the AVI file container a decade ago.
Is there a secret QT setting, or plug-in, which will do the export without loss of quality, to an .avi or other format which bog-standard WMP on XP will play?
As demonstrated in the sample file above, the only setting that needs to be changed is the data rate. As to other possible compression formats, you could use more modern codecs like WMV 9 (Flip4Mac) or DivX 6.

How do I produce the highest quality DVD from MOV exported from iMovie

What is the best method in iDVD11 for burning to DVD, an imported HD 720p or HD 1080p MOV file exported from iMovie11?
I have successfully exported a 5.5GB (66min) HD 720p MOV file from iMovie. I then used iDVD to import this MOV file and burn it to DVD. When I played the DVD the quality was nowhere near that of the imported HD 720p MOV file as played on QuickTime. The DVD also shows captions at the edge of the 16:9 TV screen instead of further inside as per the QuickTime screening of the HD 720p MOV file.
How can I improve quality and maintain borders in iDVD for the DVD output?

Hi
How can I improve quality and maintain borders in iDVD for the DVD output?
Quality.
• Use iMovie up to HD6 or FinalCut - as iMovie'08 or 09 or 11 - just delivers every second line to iDVD = less resolution
• There are no HD-DVD in real life - DVD is as standard SD-Video
• If You must use iMovie'11 then do not use "Share to iDVD" BUT "Share to Media Browser" and as Large (Not HD or other resolution - as result will suffers)
Border
• May be turning on TV-Safe area in iDVD can help a bit. ?
• If this is IMPORTANT - Then You have to re-do Your movie in FinalCut and here turn on TV-Safe area and shrink the movie area to within this. Now it will show all on an old CRT-TV - but with a black frame due to that no two CRT-TVs show exactly the same area and then TV-Safe must be less than this.
My - Un-specific notes on DVD-Quality. If You are interested.
DVD quality
1. iDVD 08, 09 & 11 has three levels of qualities. (vers 7.0.1, 7,0.4 & 7.1.1)
iDVD 6 has the two last ones
• Professional Quality (movies + menus up to 120 min.) - BEST
• Best Performances (movies + menus less than 60 min.) - High quality on final DVD
• High Quality (in iDVD08 or 09) / Best Quality (in iDVD6) (movies + menus up to 120 min.) - slightly lower quality than above
About double on DL DVDs.
2.Video from
• FCE/P - Export out as full quality QuickTime.mov (not self-containing, no QT-conversion)
• iMovie x-6 - Don't use ”Share/Export to iDVD” = destructive even to movie project and especially so
when the movie includes photos. Instead just drop or import the iMovie movie project icon (with a Star on it) into iDVD theme window.
• iMovie’08 not meant to go to iDVD. Go via Media Browser or rather use iMovie HD 6 from start.
3. I use Roxio Toast™ to make an as slow burn as possibly eg x1 (in iDVD’08 or 09 this can also be set)
This can also be done with Apple’s Disk Utilities application.
4. There has to be about or more than 25Gb free space on internal (start-up) hard disk. iDVD can't
use an external one as scratch disk (if it is not start-up disc).
5. I use Verbatim ( also recommended by many - Taiyo Yuden DVDs - I can’t get hold of it to test )
6. I use DVD-R (no +R or +/-RW)
7. Keep NTSC to NTSC - or - PAL to PAL when going from iMovie to iDVD
8. Don’t burn more than three DVD at a time - but let the laser cool off for a while before next batch.
iDVD quality also depends on.
• DVD is a standard in it self. It is Standard Definition Quality = Same as on old CRT-TV sets and can not
deliver anything better that this.
HD-DVD was a short-lived standard and it was only a few Toshiba DVD-players that could playback.
These DVDs could be made in DVD-Studio Pro. But they don’t playback on any other standard DVD-layer.
Blu-Ray / BD can be coded onto DVDs but limited in time to - about 20-30 minutes and then need
_ Roxio Toast™ 10 Pro incl BD-component
_ BD disks and burner if full length movies are to be stored
_ BD-Player or PlayStation3 - to be able to playback
The BD-encoded DVDs can be playbacked IF Mac also have Roxio DVD-player tool. Not on any standard Mac or DVD-player
Full BD-disks needs a BD-player (in Mac) as they need blue-laser to be read. No red-laser can do this.
• HOW much free space is there on Your internal (start-up) hard disk. Go for approx 25Gb.
less than 5Gb and Your result will most probably not play.
• How it was recorded - Tripod vs Handheld Camera. A stable picture will give a much higher quality
• Audio is most often more critical than picture. Bad audio and with dropouts usually results in a non-viewed movie.
• Use of Video-editor. iMovie’08 or 09 or 11 are not the tools for DVD-production. They discard every second line resulting in a close to VHS-tape quality.
iMovie 1 to HD6 and FinalCut any version delivers same quality as Camera record in = 100% to iDVD
• What kind of movie project You drop into it. MPEG4 seems to be a bad choice.
other strange formats are .avi, .wmv, .flash etc. Convert to streamingDV first
Also audio formats matters. I use only .aiff or from miniDV tape Camera 16-bit
strange formats often problematic are .avi, .wmv, audio from iTunes, .mp3 etc
Convert to .aiff first and use this in movie project
• What kind of standard - NTSC movie and NTSC DVD or PAL to PAL - no mix.
(If You need to change to do a NTSC DVD from PAL material let JES_Deinterlacer_3.2.2 do the conversion)
(Dropping a PAL movie into a NTSC iDVD project
(US) NTSC DVDs most often are playable in EU
(EU) PAL DVDs most often needs to be converted to play in US
UNLESS. They are playbacked by a Mac - then You need not to care
• What kind of DVDs You are using. I use Verbatim DVD-R (this brand AND no +R or +/-RW)
• How You encode and burn it. Two settings prior iDVD’08 or 09
Pro Quality (only in iDVD 08 & 09)
Best / High Quality (not always - most often not)
Best / High Performances (most often my choice before Pro Quality)
1. go to iDVD pref. menu and select tab far right and set burn speed to x1 (less errors = plays better) - only in iDVD 08 & 09
(x4 by some and may be even better)
2. Project info. Select Professional Encoding - only in iDVD 08 & 09.
Region codes.
iDVD - only burn Region = 0 - meaning - DVDs are playable everywhere
DVD Studio pro can set Region codes.
1 = US
2 = EU
unclemano wrote
What it turned out to be was the "quality" settings in iDVD. The total clip time was NOT over 2 hours or 4.7GB, yet iDVD created massive visual artifacts on the "professional quality" setting.
I switched the settings to "high quality" which solved the problem. According iDVD help, "high quality" determines the best bit rate for the clips you have.
I have NEVER seen iDVD do this before, especially when I was under the 2 hour and 4.7GB limits.
For anyone else, there seem to be 2 places in iDVD to set quality settings, the first is under "preferences" and the second under "project info." They do NOT seem to be linked (i.e. if you change one, the other is NOT changed). take care, Mario
TO GET IT TO WORK SLIGHTLY FASTER
• Minimum of 25Gb free space on Start-Up hard disk
• No other programs running in BackGround eg EnergySaver
• Don’t let HD spinn down or be turned off (in EnergySave)
• Move hard disks that are not to be used to Trash - To be disconnected/turned off
• Goto Spotlight and set the rest of them under Integrity (not to be scanned)
• Set screensaver to a folder without any photo - then make an active corner (up right for me) and set
pointer to this - turns on screen saver - to show that it has nothing to show
Yours Bengt W

Aperture Exporting JPEG's from RAW: file size and quality questions?

Hey Everyone,
So, I'm using Aperture 2 and I've got some questions about exporting from RAW to JPEG. I shoot with a Nikon D70 so original RAW files are 5-6mb in size. After doing some basic post processing when I export the pics at "full size" with picture quality of 11 out of 12 then the resulting JPEG is about half the file size of the original RAW file. For example a 5.6mb RAW becomes a 2.6mb JPEG. The resolution in pixels per inch and and the overall image size remain unchanged. Have I lost picture quality due to the exporting JPEG being smaller in file size?
My friend who works with me prefers to edit in Photoshop and when he follows the same workflow his saved JPEG from the identical RAW file in Photoshop is minimally smaller in file size, say 5.6mb to 5.3mb. He's telling me that my Aperture edited photos are losing quality and resolution.
Is he right, are my pics of lesser quality due to being a smaller file size? I've always been told that the quality of a picture is not in the mbs, but the pixel density.
I've bee told that Aperture has a better compression engine and that the resulting files are of the exact same quality because the PPI and image size are the same. Is that what explains the much smaller file sizes in Aperture?
I tried changing the picture quality in the export menu to 12 out of 12, but the resulting JPEG then becomes larger than the original RAW at over 7mbs.
Can someone please help me understand this better? I don't want to lose picture quality if that is indeed what is happening.
Thanks in advance for your help.

mscriv wrote:
So, I'm using Aperture 2 and I've got some questions about exporting from RAW to JPEG. I shoot with a Nikon D70 so original RAW files are 5-6mb in size. After doing some basic post processing when I export the pics at "full size" with picture quality of 11 out of 12 then the resulting JPEG is about half the file size of the original RAW file. For example a 5.6mb RAW becomes a 2.6mb JPEG. The resolution in pixels per inch and and the overall image size remain unchanged. Have I lost picture quality due to the exporting JPEG being smaller in file size?
JPEG is a "lossy" file compression algorithm. Whether Aperture or PS, *every time a JPEG is saved some loss occurs*, albeit minimal at the 11 or 12 level of save, huge losses at low save levels. Some images (sky, straight diagonal lines, etc.) are more vulnerable to showing visible jpeg artifacts.
My friend who works with me prefers to edit in Photoshop and when he follows the same workflow his saved JPEG from the identical RAW file in Photoshop is minimally smaller in file size, say 5.6mb to 5.3mb. He's telling me that my Aperture edited photos are losing quality and resolution.
*Both of you are losing image data when you save to jpeg.* IMO the differences between the apps is probably just how the apps work rather than actually losing significantly more data. The real image data loss is in using JPEG at all!
Is he right, are my pics of lesser quality due to being a smaller file size?
I doubt it.
I've always been told that the quality of a picture is not in the mbs, but the pixel density.
The issue here is not how many pixels (because you are not varying that) but how much data each pixel contains. In this case once you avoid lossy JPEG the quality mostly has to do with different RAW conversion algorithms. Apple and Adobe both guess what Nikon is up to with the proprietary RAW NEF files and the results are different from ACR to Apple to Nikon. For my D2x pix I like Nikon's conversions the best (but Nikon software is hard to use), Aperture second and Adobe ACR (what Photoshop/Bridge uses) third. I 98% use Aperture.
I tried changing the picture quality in the export menu to 12 out of 12, but the resulting JPEG then becomes larger than the original RAW at over 7mbs. Can someone please help me understand this better? I don't want to lose picture quality if that is indeed what is happening.
JPEG is a useful format but lossy. Only use it as a _last step_ when you must save files size for some reason and are willing to accept the by-definition loss of image data to obtain smaller files (such as for web work or other on-screen viewing). Otherwise (especially for printing) save as TIFF or PSD which are non-lossy file types, but larger.
As to the Aperture vs. ACR argument, RAW-convert the same original both ways, save as TIFF and see if your eyes/brain significantly prefer one over the other. Nikon, Canon etc. keep proprietary original image capture data algorithms secret and each individual camera's RAW conversion is different.
HTH
-Allen

Quality problem exporting from FCE

Hi,
i have a quality problem exporting from FCE. I have finalized a 30 minute movie and want to send it to friends on DVD or CD-ROM. when i use "export as quicktime movie" the file has 6.5 GB and won't fit on a DVD-ROM. when i use "export with quicktime conversion" and choose quicktime movie with H.264 compression and highest quality the movie goes down to 4.2GB. Now it would fit on a DVD-ROM, but the quality is not good. The picture looks blurred and i see some type of interlace-effect.
which type of export format do i have to choose to avoid the interlace and blurred pictures? is there a magic format that does not cost that much quality and reduces the movie by 30-40%? or would a video DVD work better? how do i create a DVD? with iDVD?
thanks for your help!

or would a video DVD work better? how do i create a DVD? with iDVD?
That's what Id do.
Export as QuickTime Movie (reference file is OK) and drop the export to iDVD.
You will get 1 hour of FCE Timeline on a single sided disc using Best Performance (iDVD setting).
Two hours using Best Quality (iDVD setting)
Al

How can I get a higher quality export from Imovie - QT & iDVD came out bad

The playback on my imovie came out corrupted but it transferred ok to Quick Time and I also burned a DVD but the quality is not very good. Any suggestions on how to get a better version. Please keep in mind that the imovie file is huge - 29Gig and the QT file compressed it down to 350Megs. The whole movie is running around 43 minutes. Any suggesstions are appreciated.
iMac Mac OS X (10.4.6)

sorry, dogma, but you compressed your project by a
factor of 1:100, and complain quality... ? did you
use a preset of iM, or did you select any "Expert
Options"?
and hopefully, you didn't try to use that crunched
file for usage in iDVD??
store/save you project in your Movies Folder, launch
iDVD, select from the media bin your project - done.
last questions: is your project set as "mpeg4" or
"dv/NTSC"; did you import from miniDV (what iM is
made for...) or did you use any.. other formats?
happy holidays
Hi - Yep I did use the crunched version for the dvd and have tossed it. I am now transferring a new version from imovie to QT under the pre set of high quality. Since this is the first time I have done a movie I am not sure what settings I would use under expert options - suggestions? I would love to tranfer the imovie right to idvd but at the moment I only have 8G left on my Mac so this would likely be a problem. The movie was exported from a mini DV.

Exporting QT Conversion "Uncompressed 10-bit 4:2:2" Gives Better Quality?

A friend who does not believe that File>Export>QT Movie gives the best results has told me that she has experimented with "Uncompressed 8 and 10 bit", also H.264 and got better quality when viewed on her computer.
I don't think she has tried to view them on anything else as she is looking for ways to backup her material.
I can't believe it myself and feel that there may be something odd about the way she is viewing these on her computer.
Here is part of the email she sent me, so feel free to comment on any of the points:-
+While experimenting I've found that making uncompressed QT8 or QT10 bit files result in a much clearer image, fuller colour and better depth but also produce files that are 80Gb and100Gb respectively for an hour of film, much too large to store. Exporting a simple QTM file uses about 14Gb.+
+So I decided to export to tape and I'm happy with the quality on these. Then, for back-up, I thought I'd make QTM movies and also H264 (which is supposed to be the format with the longest life - viewed from this point in time) which are of course small files by comparison.+
+This I did and compared the quality using Quicktime playback. The H264 films were clearer and had better colour depth than the QTM films (not nearly as good at the 8 or 10bit ones though). But - the ratio is different! The H264 films appear narrower in the QuickTime Player window than the QTM files! A comparison of the file info shows the same dimensions - 720 x 576. (Original film is 720 x 576)+
I think her comment about the narrowness of the H.264 images will be connected with square and non-square pixels?

Your friend is talking about standard definition video. Yes, uncompressed will produce better results, but unless you have the hardware, like a very fast RAID, to support it, it pretty pointless, especially if you're going to recompress it.
H.264, while very good, will not produce better results. I have no idea where the view that this codec has the longest life has derived from. H.264 is a line of codecs that go back to H.262 and H.263. There is a successor to AVCHD called HEVC, which is H.265 I guess, and within a few years there may be an H.266.
H.264 may show better color for computer display, but the original format is DV PAL, which is designed, not for computer display at all, but specifically for television display.
Indeed the aperture needs to be adjusted on the images to make them match in aspect ratio.

Poor quality exporting from iMovie to iDVD

When I export a dv movie from iMovie to iDVD, the quality drops significantly. A nice clean movie imported from a dv camcorder to iMovie becomes horrible pixelated mess once exported into iDVD and actually burned into a DVD. No matter what quality settings one uses.
It seems like many people experience similar problems, judging by postings (unanswered, as far as I can tell). It also appears that basically everyone using iMovie has this problem, but most people are content with poor quality DVDs, or are they?
Does anyone know why this is so, and if there is any workaround? You know, the simplest way out is to switch to a PC and use one of their standard movie editing software, but isn't Mac supposed to be better for this purpose?

Hi
A.
If You included photos into Your movie and used Share/Export to iDVD. iMovie
asks to render the material = Destructive in two ways:
• Losy iDVD project
• Original iMovie IS HARMED: Photos needs to be re-imported and re-edited.
• Re do the import and editing.
• Close iMovier
• Open iDVD
• Drop iMovie project icon (with a Star on it) into iDVD
Done.
B.
There are a major difference between a Mac Monitor and a Standard TV (much less
sharpness due to 525 - 625 lines (NTSC or PAL))
I connect my Camera to my Mac (via FW) and analog out to a TV so that I can monitor
the process during iMovie editings. (iMovie preferences set Playback via Camera)
Yours Bengt W
Yours

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

Significant quality loss and jagged diagonal lines when exporting from FCP

I've been working on this problem for several days and I'm going insane! Every time I export my movie from Final Cut, there is a significant quality loss. It is most noticeable in two ways: diagonal lines become very jagged (looking somewhat like diagonal lines in an older video game -- more a diagonal sequence of blocks); also, in some areas such as faces, the colors get a little blurry and there seems to some "pooling" of colors around the edges of the face.
I'm pretty sure the problem's not in capture: the Quicktime clips that I captured from the camera are all pristine. When I play them in Quicktime, I can blow them up several times their original size, and they maintain their sharp lines. (I also Reverse Telecined them all with Cinema Tools, if that's relevant.) I also know the problem's not just my computer monitor; when I play these movies on my external monitor and TV, they look bad too. The clips look bad after I bring them into Final Cut, and while I'm editing, but at first I figured that was because Final Cut sometimes doesn't show full resolution in the timeline. Still, when I export, the quality of the original captures just isn't there.
Some details:
Captured from 24A progressive, Sony HVR V1U HDV.
Using Final Cut 6.0.1, Compressor 3.0.1, Quicktime 7.2.0, OS 10.4.10 (all the most recent versions I believe).
I've exported in many different ways: using Compressor (and have tried a number of different settings: the DVD Best Quality 90 Minutes default Setting, as well as using a variety of bit rates from 3.0-8.0, One pass CBR, Two pass CBR, Two pass VBR, Two pass VBR best; Video Formats NTSC, HD 1440x1080...I have tried many combinations. Regardless of the size of the m2v created, the files seem to have the same problem over and over. I've also tried exporting from Final Cut as a Quicktime Movie and with Quicktime Conversion. Same result. I also tried using different compressors with my Final Cut sequence: Apple Intermediate Codec (which I used when capturing -- you have to with the Sony HVR), HDV 1080p24, HDV 1080i60, Apple Pro Res 422, H.264...
What's happening? Why is Final Cut turning my nice pristine captures into jagged foulness? What can I try that I haven't yet?

Welcome to the forums!
Unfortunately, you seem to have tried everything I can think of, and I don't have the latest versions of FCP to know if it is a bug. However, in the off chance that you haven't given this a shot:
Take a problematic 10 second section of your timeline (set in and out points) and the Export -> Quicktime (not QT Conversion) and make sure that you have it on Quality settings that you captured, and select the "Make Self Contained" box.
Look at that in Quicktime and see if it's bad. If it's not problematic, use that video file in Compressor for your render.
Hope that helps!
~Luke

Export from HD to SD, better quality??

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