HD and Standard Definition footage FCE4

Hey everyone well i have just bought Final Cut Express4 and am ready to start logging HD Footage as well as Standard Definition Footage,
i want all my project in the timeline in 4/3 Aspect!
so is it possible to log HD Footage as 4/3 aspect in FCE4? if this is possible then what should should i set my Easy Setup Menu as?????
Basically i am a full rookie and want to have a timeline all in 4/3 aspect.
i have a Sony FX7 HD Camcorder if that's any help?
i really need someones help!!!!
many thanks!!.

Hi(Bonjour)!
You can mix HDV and DV in a project, but the con-conform one have to be scaled to fit the screen.
So Capture all your material in thier respective format (easy setup).
Now, to edit your 4:3 DV sequence: choose easy setup DV NTSC.
Put your DV clips in the timeline as usal but when your insert your HDV one, set the scale to something like 30%. The HDV clip should fit the screen at top and bottom, but you'll loose the right or left edge because of the 16:9 aspect ratio. Use the wireframe view to position (pan) such clips to best suit the compisiton in canvas.
You'll need to render intensively with a such process.
Michel Boissonneault

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Incorporate standard definition footage in a high def sequence

Hi everybody
Hope someone can help me out on this one.
I have to incorporate standard definition footage 720x576 PAL 25fps, in my HD sequence 1920x1080 25fps (my HD is XDCAM EX 1080p25 in .mov files)
What's the best way to do this?
Unfortunately I don't have a cool AJA Xena 2KE to do the upconversion via hardware
so all I'm left with is "software"
Do I simply import the PAL footage on my HD sequence and upscale it? (something like 250% you can immagine what the footage looks like!)
Do I need something like Magic Bullet instant HD?
Can I upscale with after effects or media econder?
Pleaz help
Thank you!!!
p.s. I captured the PAL from BetaSP tapes

hi joe
thanks for your reply
actually my question about hardware was just out of curiosity
I will download the Instant HD trial version and see some results
It's a pretty discomforting thing trying to mix SD and HD!
And in the end we end up with an IMX tape
take care

Hi I just updated from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion. I write DVD's using Final Cut Pro, creating a DVD that plays HD and Standard Definition on one disk. My problem is when I used load the disk on my G5 it would ask if you want High Definition or Standar

Hi I just updated from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion.
I write DVD's using Final Cut Pro, creating a DVD that plays HD and Standard Definition on one disk.
My problem is when I used load the disk on my G5 it would ask if you want High Definition or Standard Definition, now it just defaults to Standard Definition.(I'm using Apple's DVD Player)
Can I fix this problem?

Addendum: I read on a post here (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=420169) about removing some kext files in order to trick OSX into thinking that there were no FireWire ports.
I followed the instructions and removed from /System/Library/Extensions/ the following files:
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The System Profiler says "No FireWire ports were found."
So this tells me that the FW port is probably the culprit and is messing up the installation.
So how do I hack the Mountain Lion installer and tell it to ignore the FW port, which is obviously quite dead? Or is there something I can do to the Base system that is similar?

16x9 and Standard Definition

Is it possible for FCE HD (or 3.5) to create a movie in 16x9 with Standard Definition (not HD)?

Hi(Bonjour) Larry,
If you put a 4-3 clip in a 16-9 sequence, you will get an image not large enough to fill the entire width of the screen (we call this pillar box).
If you scale it unproportionnaly to fit the entire screen, you'll get a stretched image . If you scale it proportionnaly, you'll get an image cropped in top and bottom with much lost of resolution.I'm sure that you do not want those results.
Keyframing is a way to adjust (and varying) some settings over the time (motion, position, filter-in fce3.5- etc). It's not intended to stretch the image for all your sequence. For this you don't have to use keyframe. Just set scale (motion tab in clip viewer) to something that fit your needs, and voilà.
To get true 16:9 with DV resolution, you must shoot in 16-9 if your camcorder allows this operation.
Michel Boissonneault

Difference between DCT-700 and Standard definition box

What is the pricing difference, the quality difference, and the difference in what you get between the DCT-700 and the Standard Definition box.

a few dollars, same picture quality, DCT700 does not get a full on screen guide, no VOD, no widgtes, no HD, no LED display for the time and such
basically you gett all of your SD channels and a smaller cheaper box
Bob Robertson - Lighter Klepto - I steal lighters, not bandwith

Fios TV signal loss in HD and standard Definition

I am losing FIOS tv signals in HD and standard Def.
I have disconnected and reconnected the cables, I am still losing signals.
What else can I do?

Can you be more specific?
Does it happen on all your boxes (do you have more than 1)?
If so, try coax connections starting at ONT.
make sure they are all tight.
What indications are you getting?
Do you get an error message or just loss of audio/video?
If a forum member gives an answer you like, give them the Kudos they deserve. If a member gives you the answer to your question, mark the answer as Accepted Solution so others can see the solution to the problem.

Standard Definition Footage

I'm working on a documentary shot in SD and I'm integrating motion graphics into the video. I'm out of practice with SD but I remember it being quite a lot of trouble.
The footage is pulled-down 24P on the DVX edited in FCP. I'm sure I can get the import working correctly, taking out the pulldown and such. Now I've got the 24P footage in a 24P comp.
Question: for outputting back to FCP, what's the most streamlined process?

hi joe
thanks for your reply
actually my question about hardware was just out of curiosity
I will download the Instant HD trial version and see some results
It's a pretty discomforting thing trying to mix SD and HD!
And in the end we end up with an IMX tape
take care

Can I use a mini display port to VGA adapter and then a VGA to av adapter to connect my MacBook pro to my standard definition tv?

Can I use a mini display port to VGA adapter and then a VGA to av adapter to connect my MacBook pro to my standard definition tv?

No. You need a converter box like this to go with your MDP-VGA adapter:
http://www.amazon.com/PC-To-TV-Video-Converter/dp/B001CJOLBW/ref=pd_cp_e_2

Standard Definition to High Definition and iTunes Upgrades

If you have already purchased something in standard definition, is it possible to upgrade standard definition to high definition tv programmes without paying the full price?
Also, I had purchased the Downton Abbey soundtrack by John Lunn, however it has been re-released with new tracks. If I want these additional tracks, can I be entitled to an upgrade, and pay the difference as I would like them all on one album and not on two separate albums.
Regards,
Tristan

Sorry but no, there is no upgrade from SD to HD movies or TV shows. Nor can you "upgrade" an album if it was re-released as a new version with new content. The content owners do not allow these services.
Regards.

Using widescreen and standard screen in one project.

I am making a film and just found out that about a quarter of the footage was taken in widescreen while the rest in standard. I would prefer to keep all of the footage in standard. Any ideas on how best to adjust the widescreen footage without distorting its quality?
Thanks.

If the widescreen footage was shot in standard definition eg on a DV camera set to "widescreen" mode then you will unfortunately lose a little quality. This can't be avoided as you need to blow out the letterbox and crop some of the image to get it back to 4:3. Just drop the widescreen footage into your 4:3 timeline, double click the clip (in the timeline) to load it into the Viewer window, then switch to the Motion tab and set the Scale value to 134%. That will produce whats called a 4:3 Center Cut version of you widescreen clip. For best results you;ll probably want to reframe each of these clips to esure none of the important action is lost through cropping.
If the widescreen footage was shot in high definition eg on an HDV camera, then there should be quality hit perceivable in the SD project (because the HD source already has more than enough pixels to compensate for the rescale ). Just drop the 16:9 footage into the 4:3 timeline as before, but this time increase the Scale to 67% and reframe as needed.

Acvhd to standard definition DVD vs. Standard definition to DVD

Hi,
If I shoot with a good acvhd camera and then make a standard definition DVD, how would the quality of the DVD compare to shooting with a good mini DV camera such as a Canon GL2 and making a standard definition DVD?
Thanks

IMO the GL2 to DVD will look better.
If you burn to Blue ray the AVCHD footage will knock it's socks off.
Blue ray however is not as universally excepted as DVD at the minute.
Al

High Definition or Standard Definition Timeline?

When editing a program for cable TV playback that will be shown in standard definition 4 x 3 aspect ratio, MPEG2, 720 x 480, what settings should be used for the timeline? It seems to me that it should be some sort of standard definition timeline 720 x 480 non-square pixel. I would like to see in my client monitor what the home viewer will see. Is there any reason to use a high definition timeline, then convert it? There will be no reuse of the program on the web or in future reruns. No fancy animations or pans and zooms. Source material will be mixed. It seems to me that graphics made on a high definition timeline will also look bad when converted for standard definition playback.
Would DVCPRO50 be the best choice, can ProRes be set up for this, or something else?

If we shoot HD then we edit in HD and we prefer PR422 to most alternatives most of the time.
I would edit in whatever you have the most of. DVCPro50 and PR422 are both codecs. It is one or the other.
What do you have the most of? codec? HD? SD?
We prefer to convert any and all source footage that isn't PR422 to PR422 when working in PR422. I wouldn't bother with DVCPro50 unless that is what most of your footage is. Is this on tape/card? How are you getting the footage into FC? DVCPro50 is a SD codec while PR422 can be either. If most of your footage is HD you will have to render all HD footage that you are adding into a SD timeline.
Converting HD to SD is not a guaranteed quality hit.
Setting all the frame controls to best in Compressor will usually solve most conversion/quality issues but depending on the length of your show this can take a lot of time compared to good or better(and the results are never as good).
An alternative:
We have had success with exporting our HD sequence(self-contained or reference)/reimporting into FC and then adding it to a 16x9 or 4x3 SD sequence and rendering. Export your new SD master and then compress for your final deliverable.
Keep in mind that HD is rectangular while SD can be rectangular(16x9) or square(4x3). When you down-convert to your SD deliverable you will have to letterbox your HD or 16x9 footage into a 4x3 SD window(unless you plan to render and/or scale all of the footage as you add it into a 4x3 sequence).

Interlacing and High Definition

When you playback HD video on your iMac screen in full screen mode and you get noticeable interlacing primarily on moving objects. Of course you can use the de-interlace filter but what I am wondering is if you were able to get that project onto blu-ray disk of HD, to watch it on a High def TV would you still need the de-interlace filter?

Hi(Bonjour)!
Broadcast safe filter is needed if you add external elements like stills or title or composite mode with "non broadcast" range of color.
This filter doesn't tweak interlace form of your footage. It just limit the color value to "fit" the broadcast color safe space.
Now, if you burn HDV (1920 X 1080) on standard definition DVD (720 X 680), you reduce by 6 times the pixels in each image. You downscale your material. When you display downscaled material on HD TV set, the monitor handles video signal to "fit" the large screen (1920 X 1080), so the material shows many degradation.
Make this test: edit your HDV content and pritni it to tape on your HDV camcorder. Use it as a VCR connected to your HD TV set and see the different: huge.
When HD DVD or Blue Ray burner/authoriting app and Hight def DVD player for home will be available, you'll get this kind of image.
By the way, HDV is the distributing format for HD content used by local cable company or satellite one.
See this link about HD distribution workflow:
http://www.digitaljuice.com/djtv/segmentdetail.asp?sid=163&sortby=&page=4&kwid=0&show=allvideos
Michel Boissonneault

Preserving Standard Definition Anamorphic Settings in iDVD

I shot two simple, pockets-up static interviews with a Sony PD-150 set to record in anamorphic [16:9] v. standard definition [4:3].
Initially I had problems getting Final Cut Express 4.0 to recognize the PD-150. Then I couldn't import the video from the PD-150 to FCE 4.0 in any other format except 4:3... which made the footage look like I'd interviewed a couple of cone-heads.
So I loaded Final Cut Express 1.0 on the Macbook Pro. The software regognized the PD-150 right away, and I was able import the video into FCE 1.0 in anamorphic format...
But now I can't get iDVD to import the edited video in anything but the cursed 4:3 format, and I'm back to a product that really, really doesn't look right.
Help?

This approach might work .... Take a look here if you haven't already:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=7082258&#7082258
http://imovie08.blogspot.com/2007/08/how-to-add-chapter-markers.html
http://support.apple.com/kb/TA40250?viewlocale=en_US
if not, just come on back. Good luck!
Message was edited by: SDMacuser

Why isn't my high definition video converting to standard definition?

What I'm describing here, I've successfully accomplished many, many times using Premiere Pro CS5 and now Premiere Pro CS6. Now, for the first time ever, it's not working and I'm completely baffled. (This is a high-end Windows 7 64-Bit machine with 16GB RAM running Premiere Pro CS6.)
Here's a basic summary of my workflow. Nothing out of the ordinary here.
1. I shoot my video using a high definition camcorder (the same one I've been working with for the past year or two.
2. I import my high definition video into a 1920x1080 sequence in Premiere Pro CS6.
3. I edit my sequence until I'm happy.
4. I enter and name my Encore chapter markers in the sequence.
5. I create my Encore project and import the sequence as a timeline and set up my menus and such.
6. I build my Encore project, first into a standard definition DVD image file (so I can later burn SD-DVDs) and then build it again into a high definition Blu-ray image file (so I can later burn Blu-rays).
The Blu-ray burn is turning out just fine.
But the video in the DVD burn is all black. I can jump around from chapter to chapter and I can hear the sound, but the video doesn't show up!
I tried this a couple times thinking that maybe Encore just messed up the SD-DVD creation process but I got the same result each time. When I preview the project in Encore, it all looks just right.
So I figured, okay, something's not working when I import the sequence.
I went back to Premiere Pro thinking I'd just export my 1920x1080 sequence into a widescreen standard definition AVI and create a new sequence just for the standard definition DVD.
The exported AVI is black as well!!
I don't get it. Why on earth won't my high definition video convert properly to standard definition?
The high definition sequence looks completely normal in Premiere Pro. What could I possibly be overlooking??
One final note. Just as another test, I copied and pasted the sequence in Premier Pro, truncated it to a couple minutes (the full sequence is 90 minutes long), and exported to a widescreen AVI again.
It just finished, I tried playing it back in Windows, and it, too, is all black, sound but no video.
Like I said, this is nothing new for me. I've done it countless times with other projects. I could really use some assistance with this one.

So I exported my completed high definition sequence to an MP4 and re-imported back into Premiere Pro. Right-clicked it and created a sequence from the clip. Then I imported my chapters from the old sequence into the new one.
I returned to Encore, modified my project to work off the newly created sequence (what a pain having to recreate all the scene links) and voila, it had no trouble making a DVD this time.
So I guess I'll get out of the bad habit of my old routine and create a sequence the "right" way from now on. Funny how we get used to doing something one way and stop thinking outside the box after a while.
Jim, I don't see how that's necessary. As long as I create an Encore project based on a good high definition sequence, I have never had to do anything other than have Encore build a standard definition DVD based on the high definition sequences. It has always done the conversion for me and produced really good DVDs. Once I create a DVD image that I'm satisfied with, I simply have Encore build a Blu-ray image using the exact same project, and that works perfectly as well. I suppose I may be missing something here but it all works and works well, so I don't see a reason to create two projects when one works well.
On a separate note, is it just me or doesn't everybody think it's high time that Adobe offer a feature to import markers from one sequence into another. I can do it automatically but I have to use a macro that I created separate and apart from Premiere Pro. For that matter, I think Encore should also offer a feature to remap all scene links to a new sequence instead of forcing me to fix them one by one myself.
Anyway, thanks to all of you for pointing me in the right direction!

HD and Standard Definition footage FCE4

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