Hdv 1080 50i footage down-converted to PAL DV query

Hi,
I've captured a bunch of tapes down converted from the original HDV (through a Z1) to PAL. I'd now like to recapture these tapes as HDV footage. Would it be simply a case of copying the edited sequence, pasting it in an HDV 1080 sequence and reconnecting the clips to the new HDV media files after recapturing the tapes, or is it going to be more complicated than that?
Cheers,
Ant

I've never done this, but I think you're going to have some issues, depending on how you captured the DV version. If you took it as one long capture, the HDV clips won't be the same and you won't be able to relink.
You might end up having to replace all the clips one at a time. At least the timecode will match.

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Unknown whereabouts of Log and Captured HDV 1080 60i footage?

Final Cut 5.1 user: I am having problem with my Final Cut Pro software after making some adjustments after listen to a Final Cut tutorial on Lynda.com.
Now, when I Log and capture new footage directly from my camera (Sony HDR FX-1), the footage does not appear in the logging bin, which I created, and I designated as the project's logging Bin. However, the footage is appearing on my Lacie hard drive. In a folder I designated as the project folder.
Help... I'm shooting a wedding this weekend.
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First set the correct drive. Final Cut Pro > System Settings. I always just set the drive and do not designate a folder. FCP will take care of that by putting media in a Capture Scratch folder, in a folder named the same as your project. Now, in FCP you should be able to set the correct logging bin.
--Bob

1080 50i disadvantages and editing problems?

I am about to buy cosumer camera Sony HDR CX350ve. It records in AVCHD 1080 50i footage. I am in big doubt because of this interlaced scaning and all of discussions about film-like or no film like look. What it is all about?
How Premiere CS4 deals with 50i during editing? When i will see artifacts? What is the best way to convert to progressive scanining?
What i will see on 1080p LCD? Is this interlaced scaning really worse than progressive?
I really like this camera but I don't want to regret buying it while editing footage. Please help.

Nothing worth mentioning. But let's be practical, many users only edit and export interlaced material, you have no way to export to 25P on BRD or DVD, PC players like VLC or MPC automatically correct interlaced material for display on a progressive monitor, just as flatscreen TV's do.
Jeff's tutorial is great in NTSC land, but not in PAL land to introduce that "Filmic / Stuttering" look. The software solution is the best approach in NTSC land to create the stutter, not here. IMO even a software solution is only a band-aid, and does interpolate between fields to create a frame which will always entail mathematical inaccuracies and errors. If the information is not there, you can't create the information in post. So it will by definition look softer than the original. Converting i material to P will work reasonably nice on static shots, but not on fast moving shots or fast pans.

*** Do I choose "squeeze" or "letterbox" when down-converting HDV footage

I'm not sure which setting to choose here so I'm hoping somone can help. I have printed my HDV footage to tape and would like to bring it back into FCP down-converted. I'm working from the Sony HDV deck. I know to go to iLink and change the settings there, but do I change them to "squeeze" or "letterbox"?

What are you hoping to do with the downconverted footage?
If you'll need to make Anamorphic DVDs - or fill any type of 16:9 display, for that matter (even if it is from tape, projector or computer) - you're best off choosing "Squeeze."
You can then drop that footage into an Anamorphic timeline and be good to go.
If you choose letterbox, you'll have a 4:3 image with black bars as part of the image. I suppose that's not an issue if you're only producing material for 4:3 masters but considering how many 'how do I make my 4:3 material fit a 16:9 TV' threads we've had here in the last month, I'd personally avoid that.

Premiere CS4 Cineform HDV to SD down convert

Has anyone tried http://cineform.blogspot.com/2008/12/mastering-24p-dvds-from-hd-using.html using Premiere CS4 and Cineform Neo Scene? In my tests the down converted Cineform SD file was corrupt. The clip only plays the first few frames and the preview goes black. Anyone had success with Cineform HDV to SD down converts with Premiere CS4?

Maybe you'll be so kind as to point me where on Cineform's site they say any of there products are CS4 compatible?
Everywhere I see they say CS4 coming "late January" or "by Febuary".
http://www.cineform.com/products/NeoScene.htm
"* CS2 and CS3 are currently supported. CS4 support will be available in February 2009"
and this
http://www.cineform.com/products/Prospect.htm
"Until the time we release Prospect HD for CS4 (around the end of January 2009), all Aspect HD customers may upgrade to Prospect HD for $199 at our online store. All upgrades prior to our release for CS4 will be to Prospect HD v3. All PHD v3 upgrades will also come with a free upgrade to Prospect HD v4 (late January) that will support CS4."

Converting HDV 1080i 60 into HDV 1080 p 30

Hello guys,
I have HDV 1080 i 60 video. All I need is to make it progressive, so it would play good on computers.
I did import the file into Compressor and choose - High Definition/HDV 1080i 60.
In Inspector i go to Encoder tab and set COMPRESSION TAB to: HDV 1080p 30, KEY FRAMES to: All.
Now, is this enough or do I still need to go to FRAME CONTROLS and change Output Fields to progressive?
Or what would be the easiest way of doing this?
Thanks

When you say play on the computer, a HDV file may be kind of glitchy for many computers.
Usually reducing the size of the movie (not full HDV size) and using H.264 or other Codec is one option (though H.264 on larger movies on older computers often is not all great shakes)
For general computer playback I will usually go to 1/2 or 1/4 size and tweak the Frame Controls. Usually start with a preset for QuickTime 7 LAN then in frame controls resize "better" and deinterlace "better" to start with.

Down-Converting 1080p to 720p

I shoot AVCHD 1080p form a verity of different cameras - but 99% of all my final projects are for the Web or DVD - no big screen and no blue-ray. I want to shoot what I can in 1080p for future use or projects. My question is what is the best solution (free or nominal fee) for down-converting my footage to 720p for storage and editing?

Can I ask a related question here? (maybe in the "dumb question department) ...
I'm also shooting with a brand new NX5U -- which lets me shoot 1080 and 720 simultaneously (one to chip, the other to a flash drive). My projects also end up on the web and non-blueray DVDs.
So is the quality going to be better if I work in 1080 timelines and then import the final into a 720 timeline? Or is it going to look the same if I work in 720 right from the start?
I haven't run any tests to judge rendering time, etc. I'm assuming higher rez means longer processing time. But maybe it's worth it for better quality.
Anyone have any advice about this?
Thanks in advance!

Canon hfs20 1080 50i vs 25PF Final Cut Pro X Project settings

I apologise in advance if this is a newbie frustrating question....
But I have been searching and reading....and reading....and just cant seem to work it out.
I have a Canon hfs 20 legria (PAL version) camera.
I have purchased Final Cut Pro X.
The camera highest quality settings are 1080 50i or 1080 25pf.
Now, I think I understand the difference between interlaced and progressive (did some reading on the net).
What confuses me, is when I import the footage from the camera...into final cut pro X
I shot some footage at 1080 50i. ( it is intended to be used as a music video, eventually)
When I imported the footage into FCPX i let it set the project properties, taking it from the footage shot.
Expecting the project would set itself, to 1080i 50i.
I check the project properties, and they say its 1920 X 1080i 25i ( now from my reading, i assumed if it was gonna set 25 anything, it would have been 25p)
I then copied the project, and manually set its settings, to 1920 X 1080p 25p
When I play either project, and look at them in the viewer, I cant see a difference. (Now that is probably attributed to the fact that I am a newbie and dont know what I am looking for in the first place)
Now, also during my searching, I came across a plethora of people, selling coversion software, for the canon hfs20 to get it into FCP. Now I cant tell if this was prior to FCPX , and now FCPX handles my cameras footage. To be honest, from what I had read, I kinda didnt expect my footage to import, and was pleasantly surprised when it did.
So, on to my questions, you say...8)
My cameras highest quality settings, are 1080 50i or 1080 25p
I wish to get the best footage I can, and have it set so it works well with FCP X.
I dont shoot, sports, hummingbirds etc...its mainly me, sitting playing the guitar, long walks on the beach, looking longingly into the distance...8)
Which settings would work best, and what should my project be set at , in FCPX to deal with those settings.
Final delivery, will be, internet, Beta tape for TV broadcast, possibly DVD but that is a distant 3rd.
Look, I know this is probably a frustrating question, but I would really love some help. Audio, i get, Video makes my head spin..8)
thanks in advance
Wiz

Hi Tom
and thank you very much for your reply.
Okay, I will shoot in 25FP from now on...8).
I also made the change to the viewer settings, though I cant find anything in the online help manual about what it is or what it does...
thanks mate
cheers
Wiz

*** Question for down-converting Z1U or FX1 users

I am importing some HDV material that I am down-converting in the camera into DV into a sequence that is 720x480 anamorphic.
I want to guarantee that when people view the 16:9 footage on their square tv that it automatically is shown as letter-boxed and not stretched vertically. Currently, I am having problems because when I preview my 16:9 footage on a square tv, unless I set the tv to 16:9, it stretches the image. If the wrong client who doesn't know any better does this and it stretches it will look horrible. Is there any way to bring in down-converted footage and guarantee that it will be properly framed on a square tv.
Currently I am bringing in the footage and down-converting with the "squeeze" setting. Should I be using this, or the "letter box" setting? My understanding is that using the letter box setting will actually crop off the top/bottom of my 16:9 footage which ISN'T what I'm looking for.
Any assistance that anyone could give would be much appreciated!

Well, it's usually a bad idea to use 16:9 Pan-Scan & Letterbox because it depends on how your client has set the TV Shape setting on their DVD player.
If the DVD player is connect to a 16:9 TV (and therefore the TV Shape setting is 16:9), there is no issue - the anamorphic image fills the screen.
However, for 4:3 users, the TV Shape setting provides two choices: 4:3 Pan-Scan (sometimes labeled at 4:3 Normal) and 4:3 Letterbox. When you use the 16:9 Pan-Scan & Letterbox display mode in DVDSP, your footage will have the edges cropped off if the player is set to 4:3 Pan-Scan. The edges will be cropped off because you cannot specify Pan-Scan vectors in DVDSP or Compressor (Pan-Scan vectors being an element of the DVD spec that companies have been unable to implement). As you might be able to guess, if the player is set to 4:3 Letterbox, your footage gets letterboxed.
Now, this wouldn't be a problem except for 2 factors:
Most of the time, cropping the edges of your video is not what you intended (it makes you look bad when something important is cut off)
Because most commercial DVDs use the 16:9 Letterbox display mode - where it doesn't matter which 4:3 TV Shape setting is used, the 16:9 image is letterboxed - most users don't know the difference between the two 4:3 settings. This can lead to unexpected results when you send them a disc encoded as 16:9 Pan-Scan & Letterbox. (And let's just say that most users are really confused by the setup menus on DVD players)
Of course, I preface all of this by saying usually. If it's worked for you in the past - or you compose your shots in such a way that cropping off the edges is no big thing - don't let me cramp your style.

1920x1080 to 1440x1080 Down Converting

Hi,
I shot a wedding with my Canon 5D Mark II and a Canon HDV30. The 5D Mark II is 1920x1080 and the HDV is 1440x1080 and I want to edit both on the same time line. I'm pretty sure I have to down convert the 1920x1080 footage to match the 1440x1080 footage but I don't really see where I can do this in compressor. Sorry I'm new to all this and can't figure it out on my own.

I think I figured it out here http://www.kenstone.net/fcphomepage/compressor_h-264_moviesfcp.html
I'm going to change the dimensions to 1440x1080 and see what happens. If anyone else has any tips let me know. thanks.

How to down convert iMovie HD imported in Full 1920x1080 to Large 960x540

I have a Canon HD camcorder which captures video in 1080i format. I have been downloading my movies in iMovie using the Full - 1920x1080 option instead of the Large - 960x540 option.
But now I am running out of space!!! Also I don't see a big difference in quality between the two formats.
I want to down convert all my downloaded movies to Large - 960x540 format ... Can someone tell me how to do that in iMovie. I have already deleted the movies in my camcorder. Help!

I don't think that what you're trying to do is possible without reimporting the footage, which I understand is deleted. You can down convert to 540 on export without a problem from 1080, but you original footage will remain 1080.
The good news is external HDs are really cheap these days, so you can pick one up to store your footage with a very minor investment. Now you can switch to importing 540 as Apple recommends and you'll save a ton of space, and processing time, moving forward. As you've already seen, the quality difference is very minimal versus the space and processing cost.

Down Converting

Hello,
I'm using a G5 with final cut studio. I have two Sony Z1u cameras and recently purchased a Canon Xl-H1. With the Z1u's, it's easy to down convert. I just filmed some footage with the Canon 24p HDV and I can't seem to down convert when capturing. It keeps capturing it 16:9. I need it in 4:3. Does anyone know how to downconvert with the Canon Xl-H1 or how i can do in in Final Cut Pro to render it as 4:3 using cropping. I am not aware of how to follow through with the technique.
Thanks

Hello there,
Down-converting refers to the format of the video (HDV -DV), not the aspect ratio... When you capture your media (down-converted) with the Z1 doesn't it also come in as 16:9/Anamorphic?
When you say... render it as 4:3 using cropping, do you mean that you want it cropped top and bottom (letterboxed, which will happen automatically when you drop your 16:9 media onto a 4:3 timeline), or do you mean that you want to scale in and lose the sides of your image (pan-and-scan)?

Down convert or wait?

Hi, I'm just about to capture fotage HDV the end project is to be a dvd.
So i.m not sure which way to go for the best result.
1. do I capture HDV edit in hdv and then let compressor take care of the down convert to dv
or
2. with my new HVR-M15 let it convert to the fotage to dv from hdv
all the best
yes it's hot indoors today.

> Also I would squeeze it
(and edge clip),well my new deck will do that i ask
I don't quite understand what you're trying to achieve and where you want to start from. If you want to edit in HDV, then yes, you can use the hardware downconvert to achieve the aspect ratio you want.
Try this topic for some excellent advice particularly from Hanumang:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=514970&tstart=0
> what would
the diffrence be if I conv to dvcam or sd again I
think dvcam would be best and that also works in the
dv-pal seq.
From what I gather , there's little or no difference between DV and DVCAM once it's Captured. I could be wrong but I think DVCAM is a slightly more reliable tape format (less dropped frames for one) than DV.
Andy
G5 Quad. 8 GB. 250 & 500 GB Int'l Drives. G-Tech G-Raid 1 TB. FCP 5.0.4 (Studio) Mac OS X (10.4.6) Sony HVR-Z1E . . . I mark my questions Solved or Helpful - and I LOVE FCP.

IPhoto converts AVCHD to MOV files - is it down converting?

I just bought a new camera yesterday. It is a Sony Cybershot WX150 which records HD video (1080i) in AVCHD format. When I import the files into iPhoto - which are then later exported as "originals" they are very small .MOV files. I am wondering if my AVCHD files are actually down converting or if they are just small MOV files because the AVCHD files are already compressed? Basically I want to make sure I'm not losing quality on import. Ultimately I would prefer that I had the original file instead. Does anyone have any input on this? Thank you.

The resolution that iPhoto of the exported photo from iPhoto is 1080 but that does not mean that it hasn't compressed or down converted. I know the resolution i am shooting at is 1080i. I would just like to know in the conversion process of AVCHD -> MOV if it is just re-wrapping or if it is actually converting. I am ok with a small MOV file like it gives but I do not want the original quality adjusted at all.
Unfortunately comparing the two on a computer screen may not tell the whole story and might look ok even if it is compressed.

Does iDVD actually convert NTSC/PAL?

I was just dozing on the bed and had a moment of clarity...
Well, I've recently got a new iMac and got into this DVD thing I shoot movies of my family and send them back home on DVD. I'm in Japan (NTSC) and the family's back in England (PAL). My camera and iMac are all Japanese-bought.
I put my movies into iMovie then iDVD. I've made 3 or 4 movies so far. What I've been doing is rather troublesome, actually, but I've put the movies through to iDVD twice. The first time with iDVD preferences set to NTSC (my copy), then set to PAL (family's copy). This requires setting up the DVD menus, etc., twice in iDVD. Well, it's two completely different projects. A drag. Intuitively I feel this is wrong or unneccessary, so part of my query is whether this is necessary?
I've only had feedback on one movie so far - the first one. For that one I sent both an NTSC and PAL version back to see which worked or were better, etc., as I don't really understand the technology yet. Now according to my brother there was no difference between them (obviously he can play NTSC on his PAL player).
I've made a few more and sent PAL for the simple reason that England is a PAL country...
Then this 'moment of clarity' I just had was: that option in iDVD to set between NTSC and PAL, is that only to reflect the original tape and NOT to convert?? Have I, in fact, been sending NTSC DVDs only?? Or does it tell iDVD to convert to PAL when I send it an NTSC iMovie?
If it DOESN'T convert, that would explain why both were the same on my brother's player. In that case, does that mean I can only send inferior quality DVDs (I'm assuming PAL plays better than NTSC on a PAL player)?
On the other hand, the fact that they appear the same could be simply that the quality of both is not so good (the movies are just under an hour, with transitions and a little music).
Sorry, bit rambling, but I have a lot to learn, especially if I want to ensure my family get a good record of our lives here.
I remember when digital watches and calculators first became available. That was the height of technology. People were happier then...
Thanks in advance for any info and advice.
James
PS please reply as to an idiot

IDVD uses different templates depending on which format you choose. PAL and NTSC are different formats, not only in frame size, but color resolution, and frame rate.
Yes, PAL is superior to NTSC. However, some regions of the world can only play NTSC, others PAL... some can play both formats.
You must specify the format BEFORE starting a new iDVD project because you can change that setting over and over again after having started a project and it will actually only use the setting that it was set to when the new project was started. As in, change your video standard preference, then File > New... not the other way around.
As for transcoding... many apps do transcode, but by mistake, not by design. What I mean is, if you take NTSC footage (720x480 29.97 FPS Non-square pixels) and tell it to output it as PAL footage (720x576 25 FPS Square pixels), it will. It will convert it by stretching the pixels vertically and reducing the frame rate. Most may not even be able to notice the difference, especially when viewed on an analog device such as a TV... it might be more apparent on a digital device such as a computer. Another example would be to take a 320x240 Quicktime move and then add it to iDVD directly. It will stretch the content to fit the format that you have chosen. Now there is a drastic change in viewing quality because there was a drastic change in frame size. PAL and NTSC are quite close to one another by comparison.
All in all, you should shoot in PAL if you wish to output PAL DVDs and conversely shoot in NTSC if you wish to output NTSC DVDs. This will result in the best outcome.
NTSC is jokingly referred to as Never Twice the Same Color... meaning that NTSC has some of the worst color rendering out there. It is one of the primary reasons why the U.S. is FINALLY switching to HD... to say goodbye to the archaic format that has existed in the U.S. for well over 50 years. PAL too is going away. Cheer the arrival of HD... it is superior to both PAL and NTSC on a grand scale.

Hdv 1080 50i footage down-converted to PAL DV query

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