Final Cut Express to H.264 MP4 HI DEF Workflow - My quality is bad

Hi, all
I have some hidef footage that I am editing in FCExpress. My source is 1080p - 1920x1080 and looks great. It looks like the bitrate of my MPEG2 source is around 9MB/s.
When I export using Quicktime conversion in my final project, I tell it to use MP4, H.264, 1920x1080 at 10MB/s but my quality is markedly worse than my original footage.
The output info shows 1920x1080 but I am seeing very bad "jaggies".
What should I be looking for to correct the issue?

OK. It is certainly not my bitrate. I cranked that to 50MB/s and I still have the grain.
So maybe this is whats going on - if I selected DV in easy setup, dragged in clips without changing format and did my whole project, if I output to high resolution, I assume it is simply blowing up the DV quality.
If I indeed did this, how do I tell FCE to convert the project to HD?

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If you export as a Quicktime Movie then you are getting exactly the same export quality as the Timeline.
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However if you need to play the export somewhere other than your Mac your will require the file to be Self-Contained.
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Final Cut Express 4.0.1 How do I convert MP4 to a usable format without loosing quality

If you shoot in one of the following modes you should be able to Log & Transfer directly into FCE:
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1080/60p (PS mode) seems to be the default mode in your camcorder. FCE only supports progressive video in 720p50 or 720p60. That's probably why you have had to import via iMovie.
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http://vimeo.com/1067235
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http://vimeo.com/1655414?pg=embed&sec=1655414
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It sounds like you didn't change the settings after you made the DV video. Did you switch it back to 1280x720 and make a new sequence in that format? Check item properties for the sequence you edited. What does it say? Also check item properties for any media you captured since working in DV.

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In order to use .mts video in Final Cut Express, you need to convert the video to QuickTime/Apple Intermediate Codec before importing into FCE. .mts video files are typically H.264 video, highly compressed and is not something that FCE can edit. Ditto for "MP4 format for FCPX or HighDef MP4 format". If iSkysoft cannot convert to QT/AIC then I suggest Clipwrap
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Tom Wolsky wrote:
Shoot and edit in standard video formats and use Graeme Nattress' Film Look plugin.
This? http://www.nattress.com/Products/filmeffects/filmeffects.htm
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I have an external hard drive full of .MTS files from my JVC camcorder that I cannot open with Final Cut Express.
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In a previous post, I was recommended Clip Wrap, but having downloaded it, it will not let me open my .MTS files to convert in the first place. I have contacted Clip Wrap Support about this, but am yet to hear back.
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I am not very computer savvy, Im afraid, so can any technical jargon be explained as best as possible please! Just for reference, in case it helps, my camcorder is a JVC GZ-HD10.
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MarkTrif, if iskysoft isn't working, use mpeg streamclip to try again, it is free. or get another good third party MTS converter like HD Video Converter for Mac, specially designed to convert HD video formats like AVCHD (mts, m2ts), H.264/AVC, MPEG-2 (ts), DivX, HD WMV, MPEG-4 to SD videos like AVI, MPEG, WMV, MP4, DivX, MOV, my friends recommend it to me, it's safe and works pretty well for me. keep the video image quality. If you are interested in it, here is a step by step guide about how to use it
http://www.flash-video-soft.com/blog/?p=459
I wish you haven't any problem too!

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Imac hardware info:
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Model Identifier:          iMac7,1
Processor Name:          Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed:          2 GHz
Number Of Processors:          1
Total Number Of Cores:          2
L2 Cache:          4 MB
Memory:          1 GB
Bus Speed:          800 MHz

It's not clear to me what you're describing about the upload process. It could be a problem of YT's uploader.
trakaddict wrote:
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Have a read here:
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chuckz33 wrote:
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