HD to SD downconverting issues

This is a project we have been working on for a client and shooting on the Sony EX1 and they have been having another party edit the project.
We have been shooting everything in 1080p 24p along with slo-mo in 720p. We give them the unwrapped Mpeg4 clips. They unwrap the clips using the Sony XDCAM Transfer program. They edit in an uncompressed progressive time line...they do not edit in Apple Pro-Res. They take the time line to a colorist to color grade each shot.
After the color grading they down convert the spots. They have tried two different techniques:
1. Render to 480i in Final Cut...performs 3:2 pull-down at this time.
2. Colorist puts HD SDI signal from the Mac into an AJA Kona 3:2 SD downconversion
The Final Cut technique softens and stair steps the image. The hardware downconversion works but adds occasional frames that have to be manually removed.
Can anyone give us some suggestions for the best workflow to convert 1080p 24fps Sony EX1 highest quality images to SD and keep them as sharp as the original HD image?
Ray

Raymond Opheikens wrote:
Can anyone give us some suggestions for the best workflow to convert 1080p 24fps Sony EX1 >highest quality images to SD and keep them as sharp as the original HD image?
I can only offer the obvious that SD will never look as sharp as HD. Also progressive digital to interlaced with a size reduction is going to have problems with edge resolution.
o| TOnyTOny |o

Similar Messages

Aspect Ratio issues getting 16:9 to look right, what is the best workflow?

Hi all,
I am having trouble getting my 16:9 footage to look right when I export, especially when playing on DVD. I shot the footage with a Sony HDR-HC1 which apparently shoots in 16:9 anamorphic. Originally when I imported the footage it appeared it the FCP viewer and canvas in 4:3 letterboxed form, the image did not look squeezed or stretched but appeared with black stripes on top and bottom.
I have tried several experiments with exporting this footage to dvd with the following results:
Using Compressor with 4:3 setting in export:
DVD Studio Pro track settings to 16:9 looks extra squashed vertically
DVDSP track settings to 4:3 image looks in proper aspect ratio but displays with black stripes on all 4 sides.
Using Compressor with 16:9 settings in export gives the same results.
In conclusion, if it appears in 4:3 letterbox in FCP viewer and canvas there is no way to get it to export and display in DVD with proper 16:9 aspect ratio.
I have also done some experimenting with re-capturing some of the footage from the tape.
For one sequence I recaptured the footage and it displayed in 4:3 without the letterboxed effect (filling the whole screen) but appeared squeezed, I am guessing that this is because of the anamorphic nature in which my camera captures the footage. No pixels were missing. In the FCP viewer and canvas it looked squeezed and did not display in the correct aspect ratio, however when it was exported via Compressor in 4:3 and then in DVDSP Track Settings put to 16:9 Letterboxed, it is displayed perfectly (letterboxed vertically, the image filling the width of the screen without the extra stripes on the sides).
So I thought that I had my solution here, although that did involve re-digitizing and batch capturing all 18 tapes used in the project, so its not exactly a quick fix.
This is where it gets a bit confusing. In order to understand where I had originally gone wrong in my workflow I did some more experiments, this time with the settings on the camera (which I use for a deck in batch capturing). I found the function on the camera where you can set the "TV Type" to either 16:9 or 4:3. I switched the TV Type to 4:3 and when batching it went back to the original letterboxed look (in the batch preview screen that you see while capturing), however when put into the viewer and canvas it was too letterboxed and looked squashed vertically. So then I switched back to TV Type 16:9, now it looks 4:3 squeezed in the batch preview screen (no letterboxing, no missing pixels), however when it goes into the viewer and canvas it becomes letterboxed like the original footage that I had described earlier.
So now even though I have switched the camera back to its original settings it will not display in that 4:3 squeezed look in FCP viewer and canvas.
So after all that my main questions are, in 16:9 can I view it in the FCP viewer and canvas in its correct (anamorphically converted) aspect ratio and still export it without the black bars on all sides?
(The FCP canvas seems to only display in 4:3)
If not, what setting do I need to capture in FCP in the 4:3 squeezed look I have described earlier?
(This is the only setting that I have found that displays properly when anamorphically stretched via DVDSP)
I know that this is a long essay so thanks for making it this far. I have spent weeks experimenting trying to find the best solution so please help me if you know how! I will be very appreciative.
Thanks
Liam

Hi there,
I am not sure if it is necessarily a bug, but its a matter of understanding all of the settings needed. I had the same problems for a while but after a fair bit of trial and error have found some workable settings.
It probably has more to do with the export settings rather than what viewer options have selected (I don't think that viewer settings affect your export).
What program are you using to export?
I am using compressor to export with aspect ration set to automatic 16:9. Then use DVDSP with the track set to 16:9 letterbox, it seems to export to DVD with the correct aspect ratio that way.
I am having trouble with the image strobing, looks like some kind of interlacing problem, but at least I have got it in the right aspect ratio.
Its typical video, solve one problem and it just creates another.
I am yet to find the absolute best workflow.
In response to Andy above, the original letterboxed footage probably did have something to do with the downconverting settings on the camera, as when I import without downconverting it does not letterbox. In the HDR-HC1 there is an option in the menu called "TV Type" with options of 4:3 or 16:9. I was reviewing my footage on a 4:3 television so I most likely had it set to 4:3 which created the letterboxing in the viewer when I then imported the footage.
Importing the footage in HDV solves the issue of aspect ratio, but creates a new problem with the image strobing.
I hope this was some kind of help to you.
Liam

Downconverting DVCPRO HD to DVCPRO 50

Hello all,
I searched the forums on this broad issue but no posts seemed to discuss my specific prob.
I shot on the HVX-200 in 24PN and began downconverting my imported footage (DVCPRO HD 720PN 24fps) to DV50 23.98. I noticed that media manager could do the job fine but the one issue was the slight aliasing that would occur in the newly downcoverted DV50 23.98 quicktime. It's not even that bad (i.e. It looks less aliased than when you de-interlace an interlaced clip, but it doesn't look right, none the less). I tried downcoverting it several times, experimented with selecting interlaced and progressive settings, among everything else I could think of but the could not figure out the aliasing issue. Then I tried exporting from the Viewer (with the HD clip open in it), no change. Finally I placed the DVCPRO HD clip in a matching sequence (DVCPRO HD - 720p24) and it FINALLY downconverted to a DV50 23.98 quicktime WITHOUT the subtle aliasing.
I had an online editor check it out to see if I was crazy and the only explanation at the time he could think of is the issue was connected to the simple fact that FCP is best described as "field based" and only when the clip was exported from within its matching sequence would it downconvert without the aliasing issue.
The frustrating thing about this is I'd have to manually downcovert every single clip from the timeline, or dump them ALL into a timeline and downconvert, THEN bring in that newly DV50 23.98 downcoverted clip and start subclipping just to get all my footage seperated into clips again.
And no, laying all that footage to tape isn't an option. Shouldn't have to be since I can successfully downconvert, but just can't do a batch process.
Does this all boil down to Media Manager's "recompress" is not technically the same thing as "downconverting" and doesn't guarantee perfect results?

Hey Jx,
For production purposes, there are features in camera such as the varicam overcrank/undercrank ability and others as well that I wanted to take advantage of (I believe 24pNative is only available in HD mode as well, which mainly I just used for it's smaller file size as I was using P2 cards). And the use of P2 cards, eliminating capturing.
For post production purposes, I wanted to be able to deliver my show (a music video) HD down the road and deliver SD for the time being. Plus, I do all the VFX shots with the HD clips for the reason of just working in higher res (cleaner, easier compositing), plus I then have the ability to reframe (i.e. rescale shots) with the HD clips at their 960x720 frame size down to NTSC's 720x480. E.G. I wanna zoom in 20% to crop out a boom mic, etc. I can do it with (essentially) no quality loss.
That's all I can think of at the moment. Hope you buy some of these reasons cuz they were advantages for me. Also, I can't technically explain it but common belief seems to be the downconverted (from HD) DVCPRO 50 shot will look better than the in-camera DVCPRO 50 shot. That statement might be false "a priori" but it wouldn't be the first time I say something foolish. Thanks for posting.

Still image issues (I've already read the other similar post- didn't apply)

Still having issues with still images in my timeline. Viewer they're fine, Canvas they're repulsive.
Seq. settings are NTSC, 29.97, 48k. I have tried several different extensions for the stills and have even tried importing them at different sizes. I know I'm not the first person to incorporate stills in my timeline - how do I solve this? (I followed the advice on a similar thread from a few days ago).
Also, I exported a small clip and viewed it on a different computer as a QT file and it was just as bad.
Please help. I'll make you a mix cd or a burrito if you can help me out. Thanks.

#1 Transitions "Insufficient Content"
Shane's Stock Answer #1: Trying to add a Transition and get the error "Insufficient Content"
A full 1 second cross fade reaches 15 frames into each clip. So, if you want to change a cut to a cross fade, there has to be at least 15 additional frames of each clip. Say you're trying to cross fade from one clip into the very first frame of a second clip. FCP cannot 'create' 15 more frames of the second clip to do a cross fade. If they're not there, you're out of luck.
What you are running into is that you are marking an out point at the far edges of a clip then adding a cross dissolve, say 30 frames (one second) in duration. Since the dissolve is centered on the cut, it will start 15 frames before the cut, and try to go 15 frames AFTER the cut...which it can't do. What you need to do is plan how long your dissolve will be and back-time your cut so that it works.
You need to make sure that your clips have enough media (called 'handles') at the beginning of the incoming clip and at the end of the outgoing clip for the transition. For example, if you have a 1 second (30 frame) dissolve, your in and out point need to be at least 15 frames from the edge of the clip.
I have them all here:
http://library.creativecow.net/articles/rossshane/fcpfaq.php
http://library.creativecow.net/articles/rossshane/fcpfaq2.php
http://library.creativecow.net/articles/rossshane/fcpfaq3.php
Most of them...I keep adding.
one of the most popular is number 8:
Shane's Stock Answer #8: External Monitor Viewing
If you are working with DV, this is simple. First connect your computer to a camera or deck via firewire, Then connect the camera/deck to your TV/Monitor via RCA or S-Video.
Then start up your camera and tv, then open fcp.
Go to the View Menu, choose > External video > all frames
VIEW>Video playback should be Apple firewire NTSC (If you are using an NTSC set)
VIEW>Audio playback should be Audio follows Video
Techinially, this should send synched video to your TV
If for some reason you can't view your timeline on your external monitor, there are a few things to try:
1) Make sure that the camera/deck is connected and powered on BEFORE you open FCP.
2) In the Final Cut Pro menu select AUDIO/VIDEO Preferences and make sure your signal is being sent out thru Firewire DV.
3) Go to the menu and select VIEW>EXTERNAL>ALL FRAMES.
4) Click in the % box above the image and select FIT TO WINDOW.
5) Go to VIEW->refresh A/V devices
6) Make sure the Log & Capture window is closed
If you want it to play in both the canvas and the external monitor you need to go to the FINAL CUT PRO menu and select AUDIO/VIDIO settings and make sure MIRROR ON DESKTOP is selected under the PLAYBACK OUTPUT section.
If you are working with HDV footage, FCP 6 allows you to view this via firewire, but ONLY as downconverted DV. It won't look the best, but you can see it. To do this,
If you need to view any format other than DV at full resolution, then you need to look into capture cards. Several standard definition and high definition models are available from www.aja.com and www.decklink.com. With these options you'll need a proper monitor to view full broadcast colors, but all models allow for realtime standard definition downconvert, allowing you to view HD on an SD monitor.
The Matrox MXO is another option that is output only, but allows you to view your footage on an Apple Cinema Display at full broadcast quality.
Shane

Best compressor settings for HDV downconvert -- attention hanumang

Reposting this bit because it differs significantly from topic of thread where it appeared.
goal: the best possible HDV-DV downconvert using final cut studio (hitch: I have added problem of converting resulting film from PAL to NTSC)
previous method: the best luck I've had is Quicktime converting from HDV to 10-bit PAL SD and compressor converting that to NTSC DVDPRO50
Hanumang recommended using compressor for first conversion. My response:
What settings?
By coincidence I decided to try the initial conversion (HDV to 10-bit) this morning on compressor (but I didn't change the frame rate; i didn't know they were relavant for HD downconvert; I only change them for the PAL-NTSC conversion).
At first glance, the compressor 10-bit conversion doesn't seem any better than the quicktime conversion (due to the frame rate settings?). I don't know for sure because I haven't sent it back to compressor for PAL-NTSC conversion and on to DVD SP.
One issue I'm worried about is the dimensions. quicktime's 768 x 576 (preserve aspect ratio checked; letterbox selected) was the only dimension setting that produced a film that looked right (on the dvd; it's squished in final cut). I don't see that option in compressor. I suppose I could type it in the frame size boxes.
I would be most grateful for help in this matter. I've spent a few weeks on this. I just plod along, zombie-like, trying a few different things every day, hoping to hit the jackpot eventually. I've been planning on trying to downconvert using my HDV/DV deck (print to tape in HDV; then change settings to downconvert and capture as DV). Would that help?
how do pro studios handle downconverting? What kind of hardware do they use? I'm an independent filmmaker, working on a small budget, but eventually, once the film is finished and (hopefully) I have more money, I''d happily pay for a good pro conversion. Do you know what that costs? The film will be 80 minutes long.
thanks again for your help.
What compressor settings do you recommend?
The best workflow I've come up with is qucktime conversion from HDV PAL to SD 10-bit PAL, then compressor conversion from 10-bit Pal to DVDPR0 50 NTSC.
By coincidence I decided to try the initial conversion (HDV to 10-bit) this morning on compressor (but I didn't change the frame rate; i didn't know they were relavant for HD downconvert; I only been change them for the PAL-NTSC conversion).
At first glance, the compressor 10-bit conversion doesn't look better than the quicktime conversion (due to the frame rate settings?). I don't know for sure because I haven't sent it back to compressor for PAL-NTSC conversion and on to DVD SP.
One issue I'm worried about is the dimensions. quicktime's 768 x 576 (preserve aspect ratio checked; letterbox selected) was the only dimension setting that produced a film that looked right (on the dvd; it's squished in final cut). I don't see that option in compressor. I suppose I could type it in the frame size boxes.
Anyway, I would be most grateful for answers to these questions. I've spent a few weeks on this and am past the point of frustration. I just plod along, zombie-like, trying a few different things every day, dimly hoping to hit the jackpot eventually. Actually, I've been planning on trying to downconvert using my HDV/DV deck (print to tape in HDV; then change settings to downconvert and capture as DV). Would that help?
how do pro studios handle downconverting? What kind of hardware do they use? I'm an independent filmmaker, working on a small budget for the time being, but eventually, once the film is over and (hopefully) I have more money, I'll be willing to pay for a good pro conversion. Do you know what that costs? The film will be 80 minutes long.
thanks again for your help.

My bad, I was out in the afternoon and didn't get a chance to pick up on your reply to the last thread. Sorry to hear that your first attempt with Compressor was so disappointing.
Just so we're clear, you're using what exact versions of the software? FCP 5.1? Compressor 2? (For Compressor, in particular, 2.0 vs 2.1 vs 2.3 is important.) And, what are your sequence settings in FCP? Finally, we're to understand that you're actually working in PAL HDV? Or are you working in AIC?

Premiere Pro CS4: Timecode issues (Scene Detect, Free Run)

Hi folks,
I am most familiar with Premiere Pro CS3. In the past, I have created multi-camera sequences that are synchronised by timecode. I have been shooting using the Free Run timecode feature across all cameras, as to maintain a sync'd timecode.
Now that I am using Premiere Pro CS4 at work, I am running into a few issues in preserving my timecode values during capture. I have recorded HDV footage using two Sony Z7's. I downconvert the HDV footage into DV upon capturing - this is so that I can use the scene-detect feature, and still supposedly preserve the timecode for each media file. I captured all of the tapes using scene-detect, and the timecode values were correct for each media file captured.
Having saved, closed, and reopened my Premiere Project the next day, the timecode values for the majority of the media files have been reset (ie, they all start at "0:00:00:00". This is very odd! Only a few of the media files have retained their correct timecode values.
Has anyone else experienced this? Could they please shed some light on this problem or quirk? Am I taking the wrong approach in capturing/organising media? I am following the same procedure as I had done in PPro CS3.
I have since deleted the Media Cache/Preview Files, requiring Premiere to re-index, and re-conform the media files. The timecode values are still incorrect. When I select all of my media files and tell them to go 'offline', the correct timecode values re-appear.
Many thanks for your help,
Andrew

Does anyone have an answer to this problem?? I think I am having the same problem. I don't have as much experience as the others on the
forum, but basically what I tried to do was filming a multi-camera event in free run timecode, then
captured in HDV split, and assumed I could get Premiere to align the clips accordingly. Anyone have any idea how to do this????
Any help is appreciated,
Thanks,
Aaron

Banding due to automatic downconverting of RAW files to 8 bit

I'm running into an interesting problem that I can not solve on my own.
It appears that Photoshop or the Adobe Camera Raw Editor is automatically down converting my 14 bit Canon RAW files to 8 bit depth.
I took some photos to illustrate my problem and maybe someone can shed some light on the issue.
So here you can see some very serious, very bad banding. In my workflow options at the bottom you can see it says "16 bit". You can also see that this is a CR2 RAW file. It says 16 bit but it's plainly obvious from the extreme banding that the photo has been down converted to 8 bit.
As a comparison I opened up the same photo in Canon's "Digital Photo Professional 4" software. There was no visible banding and I exported the photo to a TIFF. Here is that photo being displayed in PS:
So, the exact same RAW file processed through "Digital Photo Professional 4" to a TIFF shows no visible banding. It appears that Adobe Camera Raw is downconverting my RAW files to 8 bit automatically.
It is clearly not a display (dithering) issue, as you can see it looks fine in the file that was processed with Canon software.
I have done a lot of searching and have not found a solution but I do not understand what is happening here. I have found threads where people have the same issue but none of the answers provided actually solve the problem.
If I do not find a solution my only option will be to do RAW processing in the Canon software which is not as intuitive, nor do I like as much, as PS. I would really prefer to do my RAW processing in PS but it will not be an option for my unless I can get this automatic down converting of bit depth figured out.

I was kind of hoping maybe you would ascertain from my writing that I have a level of technical knowledge that puts me well ahead of a solution of "playing with HSL sliders"...lol
Look at where the blue light hits the upper left corner of the forehead. Or the blue light on the white shirt. It should be a smooth gradient but instead it is banded very heavily. I don't understand how it is possible that you could not see this. It is very blatant and obvious.
I am not referring to any oversaturation. I haven't pushed or pulled HSL at all. Pushing or pulling won't do anything. Heck, if I convert to grayscale it will still look like crap because it's banded...
I am referring to the sections of color that should be smooth gradients but are instead blotchy patches. It is where blue light and red light meet and mix.
You can see it very clearly here:
If you can't see it there something is definitely wrong with your eyes or monitor. Maybe your GFX card has some automatic intelligent dithering to it... I dont know... Looking at this on 3 different displays it looks the same on all of them.

Mpeg2 issues new thread

woodwizer,
the mov export is here ( final test export )
http://rodneybauer.com/whiteboard3.htm
right click and use 'save link as" option...and you can save the file
the web upload ( youtube which is not so great quality wise...but thats youtube ) is here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGm1VEG8zxs
-------------using other web site related video ( not youtube ) delivery will give better results...and you can adjust bitrate on export too...make it nicer...I only used 2300kbps----------
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGm1VEG8zxs
as you can see , different things happen on web delivery than other formats...and the uploaded file I used is the one you see on the above link...the letterbox format inside the 720x576 4:5 space...
this didnt require any re-capturing of tapes and so on...just exporting mov wrapper as progressive etc as explained in my confusing earlier posts...and avoids the problems with dv avi or avi exports and so on...because of the hd anamorphic 1.333 original source...
subsequently, you can convert all footage from HD to the mov wrapper and then edit, and then export your edit, and then upload to web and then have a pretty decent product, I think....
If you go interleaved with dv pal recapture in sd my opinion is that you will lose half your vertical resolution going to progressive when you go to the web....you can see the "web" handles it differently maybe from the above link to youtube... ?

I will start with the camera
Its a Canon A1 which can shoot in progressive but puts the footage as interlaced on tape.
1440x1080 with non square pixels and a PAR of 1.33, also known as anamophic widescreen.
As Woodwice has an underpowered laptop there is no way he can edit 8 tapes of hdv with several houndereds of clips in CS4.
CS4 cannot handle large projects. Or he has to make every tape into a project.
He did mention he was able to edit SD without any problem.
So problem solved. Convert the already captured footage or recapture as SD with the camera.
Downconverting in the camera will often give a better result than most software converters.
Using a converter like Aunsoft wont do the job because its for AVCHD (tapeless stuff) which has the extention of MTS/m2ts and is quite
different from HDV footage which Woodwice captured with HDV split and gave him m2t. Premiere gives .mpeg but no scene detection.
Using AME to get HDV to SD in CS4 will give you small vertikal lines this is because they (Adobe) changed the PAR. So CS4 handles convertion
somewhat different than CS3. The second converted avi which plays wonky is imo probably corrupted by K-lite codec pack).
All of John's suggestions but one are unusable.
Corel is a NLE
Womble is an mpeg editor
Magix is a NLE
NCH will convert to dv avi but not from m2t
Daniussoft is a dvd ripper
Deskhare will only convert SD.
Topshoftware dvd only
DVD decrypter dvd only
Squared 5: finally one that can do m2t to dv avi.
Super can do it probably too, but gives you all sorts of codecs you do not want.
Finally mpeg virtual dub. You will not find this on the regular site.
Its specially made, you have to Google, and it does not handle m2t (changing extention makes it crash).
IMO TMPGenc 4 Express is a good converter but not cheap.
Proxy editing is out of the question if one has to render and export on the same underpowered rig.
MPEG Pro HD 4 Plug-In could work but is expensive. 160 dollars.
Have my doubts about Cineform on this rig.
PAL or ntsc dv avi can never be progressive.
the only dv avi that can be progressieve is 24p.
DV avi can never have square pixels.
A dv avi pal is always lower field, non square pixel either 4:3 or widescreen and 720x576.
CS3 has a different par for the dv avi then cs4/5 does.
If you want square pixels in a pal widescreen sequence you will have to use a different codec or uncompressed and change the dimensions for cs3 its 1024x576 for cs4/5 its 1050x576.
In my opinion mov is for the Mac. avi is for PC.
Now for choosing a sequence setting.
HDV: 1440x1080, pal is 25 fps and widescreen 1.33 non square
CS4/5 has ready made presets for this type of footage (and so has cs3 i believe). There is no need to go and make one yourself, especially if you do not know what you are doing. If the footage does not play well its usually the HW.
As the A1 puts its footage interlaced (two fields) on tape there is no need to choose 25p. An interlaced sequence will work just a well. No harm in using a progressive timeline.
Converting HDV to SD (dv avi) can be done in AME (not Premiere, AME is a seperate programm now, you can fill it with footage and batch convert) but it will give you the narrow black bars on each side (see my screendump somewhere in the thread, post 26) This is not an 'issue' in CS3 because it still has the old PAR settings. In CS4 you can crop the footage in the export settings but that will take even longer to convert.
If you capture the HDV footage as SD in the camera you will have no issue with the black bars. One gets clean SD widescreen footage.
Post 52: these are invalid settings will never work for dv avi.
Now when the whole project is edited in a SD widescreen pal lower field first project.
One can export to dvd or the web.
The export to dvd stays interlaced. For the web one can choose e.g. wmv or mp4 both will need deinterlacing on export.
Hope this helps.
PS never going to write a long post as this again

DVCPRO HD firewire output audio issue

Hi, having a few problems with DVCPRO HD audio
Here is the situation
Shoot DVCPRO HD 1080i50 using P2 camera (HPX2100).
Edit on a 1080i50 DVCPRO HD timeline using an intel Macbook pro.
When monitoring the audio on the mac all is good.
Crackles appear on the audio when the timeline is played back to a P2 camera or deck (both set to DVCPRO HD 1080i50)
This has been the case with several Macbook Pros (Leopard and Tiger) and a Mac Pro tower.
When using the Mac Pro tower, playout was also fine when using the internal AJA HD-SDI card.
I think I know that this is a firewire issue, but I am now a bit lost as what to do about it.
Anybody had the same problem or know any answers.
Thanks
David Rees.

The only way to get your timeline to tape via firewire is if your sequence is a DVCPRO HD sequence. If it is Uncompressed 10-bit, the signal will not go down the firewire cable...only out via a Decklink card.
We are recording onto a standard 66 minute DVCPro Tape and the deck is(supposed to be) upscaling the SD footage to DVCPro HD 1080i.
Uhm...no. The deck can record a DVCPRO HD signal that is being fed it via firewire, or an HD signal that is being fed to it via a capture card. It is the job of the CARD to convert the footage, not the deck. If the card has that option. My Decklink HD card doesn't. But I do not have the Extreme card, so I don't know what options it has.
http://www.decklink.com/products/multibridge/
It mentions that it can DOWNCONVERT from HD to SD, which mine can...but nothing about upconverting SD to HD in real time. I don't think there is a card out there that can do that...output SD to upconvert to HD. That is something you have to do in your timeline, or via a Terranex box at a post facility.
In other words...I don't think you can do what you are trying to do.
Shane

Best format for downconverted Quicktime file?

These are video files from a still camera that are running so slowly on my system as to make them unusable. I would like to downconvert them so I can work with them and edit in FCP. I'm in MPEG Streamclip. Initially it comes up as 1920x1080 unscaled. What is the best format to downscale to for editing? I converted some to Motion JPEG A 100% quality. Most of the files I have worked with are NTSC DV. This is the first file of this type. Thanks
Message was edited by: editgrrl

Googleing "Canon 5D and Final Cut Pro" is a good start. And then searching these forums for the same thing..."Canon 5D"... will bring up all the times people have asked "how do I work with Canon 5D footage in FCP?"
The biggest issue you have is that all the answers will be related to working with the 5D in FCP 6 or 7. Which you don't have. So ProRes will be the codec that is mentioned all the time. You don't have that. You have DVCPRO HD and Uncompressed HD. Best to go with DVCPRO HD. Or you can try Apple Intermediate Codec too. I think that is part of FCP 4.5. But DVCPRO HD might be the easier bet.
Time to upgrade, if you are going to try to keep up with the current formats. And yes, we too have to remain on the ball. How? I read these forums (and others) daily (obviously). THis way I see what people are shooting and trying to work with.
Shane

Strobe - shift fields issues; HDV to SD slowmo and mpeg-2 to DV25 conv?

1)Shift fileds FCP and PAL SD?
I have problem with shift fileds. I use mpeg-2 PAL
material converted to DV25 by using the free software
MPEG Streamclip 1.8. It is material from
www.thenewsmarket.com I put the converted clips on an
PAL SD timelie in FCP. This I mix with DV PAL material
filmed with a Canon XH-A1. FCP should fix the field
order but still I get strobe effect.
What shall I do?
2) Strobe problem downconverting HDV to SD slowmotion
clips?
When I downconvert HDV material to SD buy changing the
HDV timeline to a new SD timeline, what has been
edited with a slowmotion effect, the sd material in
slowmotion strobes like it has a field order problEm.
If I remove the clip and put the HDV material to the
sd timeline directly the same happends. What is it?
How do I solve it?
Studio 2 PAL and Canon XH-A1
3) Software that shift fields of mpeg-2 clips?
I have used MPEG Streamclip 1.8 to convert mpeg-2
clips to DV25 but it doesn´t work when I have mpeg-2
clip that has wrong fieldorder ( I want lower fleld
PAL)
Is there a software that shift fields of mpeg-2 clips
for MAC?
Kind regards

1)Shift fileds FCP and PAL SD?
I have problem with shift fileds. I use mpeg-2 PAL
material converted to DV25 by using the free software
MPEG Streamclip 1.8. It is material from
www.thenewsmarket.com I put the converted clips on an
PAL SD timelie in FCP. This I mix with DV PAL material
filmed with a Canon XH-A1. FCP should fix the field
order but still I get strobe effect.
What shall I do?
what you should do depends on the nature of the problem. a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. are you certain that the issue you are looking at is one of incorrectly interpreted field order? if it is, then you can manually apply the Shift Field filter to correct for this.
2) Strobe problem downconverting HDV to SD slowmotion
clips?
When I downconvert HDV material to SD buy changing the
HDV timeline to a new SD timeline, what has been
edited with a slowmotion effect, the sd material in
slowmotion strobes like it has a field order problEm.
If I remove the clip and put the HDV material to the
sd timeline directly the same happends. What is it?
How do I solve it?
again, what you should do depends on the nature of the problem. indeed, HDV and DV do not have the same native field order, but are you sure that is th eproblem in this instance? how slow is this slow mo? how did you create the slow mo? it may be that the strobing effect is the natural result of the slow mo.
Studio 2 PAL and Canon XH-A1
3) Software that shift fields of mpeg-2 clips?
I have used MPEG Streamclip 1.8 to convert mpeg-2
clips to DV25 but it doesn´t work when I have mpeg-2
clip that has wrong fieldorder ( I want lower fleld
PAL)
Is there a software that shift fields of mpeg-2 clips
for MAC?
the orginal MPEG2 files already have the wrong field order? and you want software that can correct for that field order problem during the conversion process? try DVDxDV Pro or Cinematize (both commercial). alternatively there is JES Deinterlacer for after the fact correction.

Sony GV-HD700 issue

I'm having issues with FCP using the Sony GV-HD700 for video playback. I cannot get it to run as an HD playback device. DV seems to work ok, but the options for HDV are all grayed out.
My sequence preset is: HDV-1080i60
Capture preset is: HDV
Device Control Preset is: Sony HDV firewire
I'm trying to use a firewire connection. On the deck itself my settings look correct.
I've set the HDV/DV Sel to HDV. My i.link conv. is turned off, and my A/V-DV out setting is turned off.
I've tried handfuls of settings and have not had success yet.
Any ideas?

#25 HDV external Monitor Viewing
Shane's Stock Answer #25 - HDV external Monitor Viewing
To view HDV on an external monitor you are going to need to purchase a capture card, like the ones Decklink (www.decklink.com) or AJA (www.aja.com) offer. They will both play out HDV in real time. The catch is that you cannot view this on a regular TV or NTSC monitor. Since this is HD, an HD monitor will be needed. HOWEVER, both cards are capable of down converting the signal so that it can be displayed on an SD monitor. This won't be color accurate
HDV cannot be played out of FCP via Firewire because it's Long GOP structure is too taxing on your processors to spare the system resources needed to drive an external monitor.
The best option you have is the Matrox MXO...$1000. This coupled with an Apple 23" display gets you color correction quality...but, it isn't compatible with COLOR yet. www.matrox.com
And there are the Decklink Intensity and Intensity PRO cards as well.
You can view HDV out firewire as DV...as stated in page 220 of the manual:
"For example, you can preview a 720p30 HDV sequence via an NTSC DV FireWire device
connected to an external monitor. The output signal is letterboxed and downconverted
to NTSC video. You can also use a third-party interface to view any format supported by
Final Cut Pro—as long as the frame rate of your clip or sequence matches the frame
rate of your current output device."
But I haven't a clue how to get that to work. Manual doesn't say as far as I can tell. THis is for external viewing only...not good for color correction.
Shane

DownConverted HD to SD Premiere Pro CS4.1 now what?Please HELP!!!!

Hi I have followed Jeff B's tutorial downconverting HD to SD using Maximum Render etc.. excuse me for being dumb but now what? How do I get that onto DVD in best possible quality. Do I import the avi file into Encore? Or do I Start another Premiere Pro project paste this sequence onto timeline & then export to Encore? What settings do I choose in Encore?
Sorry for being so untechincal but was used to CS3 & SD and am having all kinds of trouble with HD, downconverting & authoring DVDs.
Thankyou

Jan,
I would Import the AVI into Encore as a Timeline, and let Encore do the Transcoding on Automatic. When the authoring is done, Burn to Folder, and use a DVD software player, like CyberLink's PowerDVD to test it. Look especially close at the areas where you have motion, either camera, or subject. How does that look? You could also Burn to Disc, and use an RW, to test in a set-top player (no "coasters" that way). If you have any issues, you can go back, clean the Media Cache and manually set the Transcode settings, but Encore does a good job.
Some feel that other encoders do a better job, than PrPro, or Encore. In that case, you would use one of those to do the MPEG-2 Transcoding. I think that most of those are stand-alones, and not plug-ins for PrPro.
Good luck,
Hunt

Timecode Break Issues when Importing, but plays back in camera fine?

Hello,
I am having several timecode break issues. The tapes play fine on the camera in "playback" mode but once I try to import through firewire into final cut express it gives me multiple clips. I have tried using Imovie and QuickTime Pro for importing the footage. Imovie gives me delays in the footage and so does QuickTime Pro.
Why am I getting timecode breaks when importing through final cut express, but then it plays back fine in the camera? I am using a Macbook pro with Maverick and a Sony HVR Z5U camera.
Any helps would be great. The footage is in DV.
Thanks

Why am I getting timecode breaks when importing through final cut express, but then it plays back fine in the camera?
Because the camera basically ignores the timecode when you just play back a tape in the camera. While it may display the TC on the LCD screen as the video plays, the camera really doesn't care about TC during plain old playback. However, with 3 different apps all encountering problems capturing the video, it would appear there are actual TC breaks.
Questions
Is this a problem with one or a few specific tapes, or all tapes you try to capture from?
Also, the HVRZ5U is an HDV-DVCAM-DV camcorder ... are you downconverting HDV material to DV?
Do you have *ANY* other FW devices connected to you Mac when you try to capture video from the camera?
In FCE, you might try using the DV NTSC DV Converter easy setup, which ignores timecode, instead of the default DV NTSC easy setup.

Ridiculous itunes syncing issue

So, I've had my shuffle for about 11 months now and it's generally been problem free until recently. Now, for some reason, it's giving me this stupid syncing issue. Everytime when I sync my ipod in itunes, it for some reason feels the need to resync a large number of the tracks, which takes FOREVER (sometimes it will go for many hours without finishing because it just syncs and deletes the same tracks over and over). Sometimes it will just finish syncing the tracks and be done, but then if I copy another file, it'll try to resync everything, but other times it will just enter an endless cycle of sync, delete, sync delete, etc. It seems to happen with the same tracks everytime, so I'm not sure what the problem is. No, there is definitely not a problem with the files on my computer; it is either an issue with Itunes or my Ipod, probably Itunes because I've been able to sync the tracks using other programs without any problems. However, I don't know of another free program that will convert the tracks to 128 before syncing which is very important for me, so I can't really just use another program. The files are not corrupt, I have Itunes 7.5, my Ipod has been updated. Itunes already MASSIVELY blows with Vista... Is it possibly a compatibility issue or something? Basically, can anyone help me? This is getting so frustrating that I'm about ready to throw this thing in the garbage and switch to a different brand of Mp3 player...

I'm having the same thing too. I'd resync my iPod overnight (to downconvert to AAC) and I will come back the next morning and it will not have completely filled up the Shuffle. Then just before work I'd delete one song from it that I didn't want and it would suddenly resync another new 57 songs automatically without even asking!
I've once took it one morning anyways even though it didn't fully resync, and I noticed that when randomly playing a song it would intermittently start the beginning of another song for a fraction of a second, then whatever song would play.
I am now spending most of my time resyncing my Shuffle and hardly ever use it anymore.
This seemed to have occurred with the latest iTunes update.

HD to SD downconverting issues

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