NTSC- CCIR 601 vs. Square Pixels

Hi,
I've digitized hours of 24p advanced footage shot with my DVX-100, and noticed between tapes that the aspect ratio goes from square to letterboxed. My editor notified me that the "Pixel Aspect" in some shots are "NTSC- CCIR 601" and other shots are "Square".
We are currently using Offline RT for the edit- I first captured with "DV NTSC 48 kHz Advanced (2:3:3:2) Pulldown Removal" then downconverted to Offline RT with Media Manager as I could not capture Advanced Pulldown removal 24p Offline RT footage directly.
I would appreciate any advice to prevent this anomaly when we go to the online full rez DV version. I believe it is a FCP digitizing issue or Offline RT issue and not due to a camera problem.
Any info much appreciated.
Alexander
Specs:
Powerbook G4
FCP HD 4.5
Offline RT (23.98 preset)
DVX-100- 24p Advanced Mode (F6)

Did you ever find an answer on this one? I have the same issue and was curious to find out why some download as Square Pixels and others not.
In anycase you can fix it, go to item properties for the clip, don't have the screen in front of me right now but the first tab (think it is there), right click over the Square Pixel Aspect setting and it should give you a drop down of other choices. Then the clip will display correctly. I found that quite by accident. It works for a number of the other options in the Item properties window.

Similar Messages

Converting NTSC - CCIR 601 to square

I'm working on uploading video to vimeo. I have some video that is shot with the pixel aspect ratio of ntsc - ccir 601. All the videos that were square pixels are fine and I know vimeo changes it to square, I do believe. The ones that are ntsc - ccir 601 look squished a little. When I change them in final cut, they get squished a little. Is there a way to convert the pixel from ntsc - ccir 601 to square without changing the image around?

You can see an example of what I'm talking about on vimeo if that helps.
http://www.vimeo.com/9077646

AE square pixel output interpreted as NTSC CCIR 601 by FCP

I'm rendering an uncompressed 24fps 640x480 After Effects composition with square pixels.
When I import into FCP and inspect the clip's properties the Pixel Aspect is NTSC CCIR 601.
Can someone please explain why?

The sequence preset was indeed DV NTSC. I've created a custom preset to match the AE render settings and set it as the default but when I import the clip the pixel aspect is still reported as CCIR 601. I guess FCP sees 640x480 and assumes the clip has NTSC pixels.
It'd be nice if FCP would automatically detect the square pixels but changing the pixel aspect in the browser appears to do the trick so at least I can get on with the task at hand.
Thanks for the replies.

Does Final Cut X's Project Properties have an equivalent of FCP 7's NTSC CCIR 601 (anamorphic) Sequence Settings?

I work with a lot of remote freelance production vendors and manage productions that they are doing for me. I am not yet working in FCX, and only one of my vendors is using it.
The issue is that none of his footage is HD, but a lot of it is 16:9 SD anamorphic, or SD 4:3 footage that he might choose to stretch or enlarge to fill the widescreen frame. He created his project as a 1080 HD project. I am concerned that putting all this SD footage into an HD timeline will distort the footage from the get-go by blowing it up unnecessarily. I can't see anything good happening by blowing up footage only to shrink it back down to resolution for DVD encoding.
Final Cut 7 allows you to keep such footage at its native resolution through the NTSC CCIR 601 (anamorphic 16:9) Sequence Setting. Does Final Cut X allow you to do the same thing, and how do I talk my producer through the steps needed to do it? Does he need to start over with a new project?

Go to the Project Library and right click the project then choose "Show Properties" from the drop-down menu to bring up the Inspector. Click the little wrench icon to bring up the settings dialog. Change the settings to SD Anamorphic or 4:3 and the appropriate framerate.
Upscaling to HD is completely useless when dealing with SD footage going to DVD.

Render out square pixels?

When I render out of After Effects CC 2014, I ask for
640X480 apple 422 square pixels (current settings)
I get
Pixel aspect NTSC - CCIR
But I WANT
pixel aspect square
When I render out of FCP7 using Compressor, I can get all of the above WITH SQUARE pixels.
I import a Compressor rendered clip into an FCP7 sequence with settings as above, and no render within fcp is necessary, and the Properties shows pixel-aspect Square
I import an AE (with effects added to that SAME clip) rendered out with CURRENT settings into that SAME sequence and render IS necessary and Properties shows NTSC-CCIR
Any way to render out with square pixels? I understand default in AE is square, so...
What am I doing wrong?

Yes, I've been advised that 640 X 480 deinterlaced 422HQ Sq. is the best format for me to project from my laptop at a special screening. It really looks beautiful.
But that's not my question.
I'm asking why Compressor will give me that format and that apparently AE won't.
I'm using the a clip from the CORRECTLY formatted footage. I bring it into AE in order to add an effect. But when I render it out at CURRENT SETTINGS I get NTSC - CCIR not square.
Question, how can I add an effect in AE without destroying the existing formatting of my clip?

Square pixels in an NTSC DV timeline

I have supplemental footage that is both H.264 and prores (square pixels) that I need to add to an NTSC 601 DV (720x480 anamorphic) timeline . I can resize/distort the images manually but I'm worried about quality loss on the export, what should I convert them to? Or rather shoudl I convert my DV footage to accomodate them?

A few things need to happen here:
a. Your 4x3 picture (the H264 clip) needs to conform to 16x9 picture.
b. Your 16x9 picture needs to conform to anamorphic DV NTSC.
Also, is there any chance that the H264 clip was exported from a source clip with better compression (you're taking a hit just for using H264 instead of Apple ProRes 422, Animation or Photo-JPEG at best). If so, use that instead.
It might be easiest to create a custom 16x9 Sequence with Square pixels at 640x360 with ProRes compression. Add your 640x480 and nudge it up or down if needed. Also, apply the Deinterlace filter if needed. (If it's 480i30, do this. If it's 480p30, skip it).
Add the custom 640x360 Sequence to your DV NTSC Sequence, adjusting the Scale and the Distort values as needed to get the picture to fit tha 720x480 anamorphic frame size. You'll have to open the nested Sequence as a clip in the Viewer to make these adjustments (control click the nested Sequence for this option) under the Motion tab.
-Warren

Converting DV-NTSC to DV CCIR 601 NTSC?

We're trying to provide some footage to a group who is asking us to convert our Final Cut Pro DV/DVCPro NTSC sequence to DV CCIR 601 specs (basically 720 x 480 to 720 x 486). They also included in their specs that it be encoded to Photo JPEG, lower-field dominant, 44.1 Khz audio.
We've complied and found the resulting video file, when imported into FCP, has a strobing effect-- especially where there is movement. Is there a better way to do this?
Would an export of the sequence to DV/DVCPro NTSC work? They see it as a bit soft and I tend to agree (but displayed from Final Cut on an NTSC monitor, its kind of hard to tell).
What would be the best way to provide someone who has Final Cut Pro a file that they can use without much or any loss and one they don't have to render?
Thanks!

One thing I've found, (which might relate to your workflow attempts so far) is that the edited/locked/unrendered DV sequence, has to be dropped into the 8bit sequence for rendering/exporting. IOW, I can't export a DV sequence, then drop that in an 8bit sequence, because the disparity in scan lines between 720x480 vs 720x486 will 'tear' graphics apart...particularly text.
So I'm on the same page: I shouldn't export a DV sequence (File>Export>Quicktime Movie>Self-contained movie) and suggest that he place it into a 720 x 486 Final Cut sequence? Or there will be "tearing" issues? (We're kind of seeing that with the Photo JPEG files)
Info to get more specific answers...like...
-how are these digital files expected to be delivered...tape? hard drives? ftp site? (we used to upload our DV shows by ftp, but the uncompressed 8bit are way to cumbersome, so we sneaker-net them on external harddrives).
We're trying to provide our video as digital files via a server/download rather than driving two miles to deliver it on a Beta tape. Since both organizations have FCP, we thought we could expedite-- and save gas, time, etc.-- by providing a serviceable digital file. The question here is: in what flavor?
-what format would be best for cross platforms...FCP/Avid/Premier/Vegas/Velocity/Edius..etc.
The cross platform format question is so they can post the resulting file to a web site so others can download it and use it as a source file. Of course, they'd like to provide in a good quality codec but need to consider bandwidth as well as quality. Their solution is the Photo JPEG approach-- I'm asking, +"Is there something else?"+
-what lenght are these clips expected to be...1min. / 1 hour / various
The length is under two minutes. Never more than that.
-who are the ultimate end users and how will the media be used
The ultimate end users are broadcast news stations and their affiliates. We surmise it won't be long before the satellite uplink delivery is no longer cost-effective and video news packages will be shared like photographs that users can download and use in their publications. But for right now, we're just trying to get our packages over to them and let them decide what flavor they want to serve.
-what additional compressions might take place throughout the pipeline...QT / WMV / Flash / RM
A station might download a segment, use some footage from it and post their resulting package from their web site. Or they could post the entire package as their own news story-- nobody has an issue with that as long as it's seen and used. They will post it as Flash video, as that's what I'm seeing a lot of news web sites using (CNN, NBC, Fox News, etc.)
-"IT / server folks" sounds to me, more like PC based systems...will this ultimately be web delivery / YouTube / output to tape / broadcast / projected in a theater...or other end deliverables.
The IT-server folks control the servers and are concerned about the bandwidth. A larger file equates into more demands on the bandwidth and they don't want the download delivery of a 2 minute package affecting the bandwidth of the server. The pipe is only so big, they say.
Ultimately the end deliverable(s) will often drive the workflow, so please clarify what you/your client are trying to accomplish.
The above describes what it is we're trying to do. We supply our local client with a finished product and they, as a gatekeeper, supply it to the broadcast audience. Their default delivery is a satellite uplink and they're alternatively providing these as on-demand web downloads. Since that delivery is Photo-JPEG, CCIR 601, it seems they're asking us to provide our videos already encoded in that flavor. What we're saying is, "We'll provide you the product as an export from Final Cut-to-Quicktime movie, and you make the flavor you want to provide it in."
THANKS for your helpful consideration!

Resizing an 1920x1080(square pixel) 16:9 footage to 720x576 16:9

Dear all,
does anyone know how to create an H.264 (in an mp4 wrapper) video using compressor that will allow me to resize an uncompressed 1920x1080i (square pixel) footage to 720x576, whilst still retaining the 16:9 aspect ratio and not needing to use padding.
Many Thanks

Very easy.
Load up the PAL 16:9, in the Presets window, there's a Plus Sign menu, choose QuickTime Movie from it. You're making a custom preset (because Apple for some stuipd reason left out all the presets in 4 that existed in 4.5).
For Video, click Settings button. Set compression type to DV PAL, aspect ratio to 4:3, OK.
Go to the Geometry tab, and set Dimensions for 720x576, pixel aspect to PAL CCIR 601, which should be set automatically.
Go above that to Source Inset (Cropping), and put in how many pixels each side needs to be cropped by.
Here's a neat trick. In the top right of the Preview window, you can switch between the original and the compression target versions. Left button is original, look at the bottom left of screen, look at it's width, write it down. Switch to compression target version, and it should say 720, minus what the original is, devide by two, that's what you should crop by.

Convert DV to Square Pixels?

QuickTime X has some trouble interpreting my rectangular-pixel exports, and ends up squishing them. Rather than tell the client to install QT7, is there any way, in either FCP or Compressor, to make square-pixel versions? While maintaining the aspect ratio and not screwing up the interlacing?
I don't need to stay in DV, going to ProRes or H.264 would be fine if necessary.
Thanks!
Zak

Sorry, was there a reference to DV-anamorphic?
If you are looking to export to a DV-anamorphic format select NTSC 720 x 480 16:9
If your sequence is HD then output H.264 and select the appropriate Size: Dimensions for the project perhaps you need the HD 1440 x 1080 16:9 preset. If you force the image size (custom) you will want to Preserve aspect ratio using: Fit within dimensions.

720 480 sequence with square pixels for web delivery only

i'm on fcp 5.0.4. i've done some text qt exports and all seems to be fine, just want to double-check here. i am editing a sequence of stills. i want my seq settings to be 720x480 square pixels (you can choose 'custom' for this but it will change back to ntsc dv 3:2) because i like the 1.5 (720x480) pixel aspect ratio.
usually when i do 720x480 projects i'm working with dv/non-square footage and when i export for web use i'll choose the 640x480 setting so that it displays correctly on computers.
so the question is: any foreseeable trouble with my using 720x480 with square pixels seq settings if i want to export a qt at those same specs, and it's NOT going to broadcast, just web delivery?
i'm also using compressor - jpeg as part of seq settings unless someone can tell me there's a better compressor to use. (yes i know tiffs would be better but am using jpegs here.)
thanks.

Yes, there are foreseeable problems of applications assuming that your 720x480 video should have D1-sized pixels, as you've already experienced.
But once you finally end up with a 720x480 square pixel QuickTime movie that you are going to embed into a web page it should play properly.
Just make sure you host the video yourself so you can control its presentation. I bet if you upload it to Vimeo or YouTube those services would also reasonably assume that your video had non-square pixels.

Square Pixels-Rectangle Pixels: Still Confused...

Ok I've read the manuals. Read the books.
The whole square pixel thing still escapes me.
Here's my situation:
Im working on a project in FC and Im bringing in Quicktime movies exported from Keynote (which since it came from my Mac, it is square pixel), regular DV NTSC footage from my camcorder (which is Rectangular), and Photoshop files (which are square pixel, but could be prepared in the Photoshop preset size designed for inclusion in FC).
My final out put will be a stand alone Quicktime file which willl be played back on a Mac through a digital projector and it will be put into a DVD using DVD SP or iDVD.
Given all that, it is hard for me to keep track of what my settings should be for Square Pixel or Rectangular.
Is it just me or is this hard to understand?

Thomas,
I'll take a crack at this since I did something similar about a year back. My first suggestion is to rather play back from the dvd through the projector (in other words don't play the file from the desktop, rather insert the DVD and play that from the laptop.). The projector should compensate for the SQ vs Round (Rectangle) issue as everything is going to be round. (Check the projector settings.)
You might as well re-format the aspect ration of the PSD files to NTSC DV, as you are going to edit in NTSC (and output a NTSC DVD eventually.) As for the Keynote QT files, I'd first check to see if there is an export setting in Keynote to NTSC DV. Secondly I'd try importing them and see if FCP will render them correctly. And as a last measure you should resize the files using the motion tab. In the FCP manual they describe the exact process of re-sizing. (Sorry I'm not at the edit suite at the moment, so its not on hand.)
I hope this helps a little.

Do all HD formats have square pixels?

including HDV, DVCProHD, EX, HDCAM, all of them really?
Much Thanks, Matt

and just to make it a s'kosh more troublesome, those pixel aspect ratio's (PAR) can even vary depending on whether you're 720 or 1080, and PAL or NTSC frame rates :-/
HDV at 720 has square pixels (1.0), but at 1080 its non-square using a 1440x1080 PAR (1.33)
DVCPro HD (PAL) at 720 and 1080 is non-square using a 720x960/1440x1080 PAR (1.33) but the NTSC frame rate version uses a 1280x1080 PAR (1.5)
XDCAM HD follows the HDV pixel aspect ratios regardless of shooting mode (LP,SP,HQ) as does XDCAM EX in its SP mode, but in its HQ mode it always uses square pixels
HDCAM is non square (1.33) but HDCAM SR is square (1.0)
heres a handy reference for you: http://www.moviola.com/hdaspectconfusion

Square pixels X rectangular pixels

Im having problems keeping the project in square pixels, even though all the videos in the project are square pixels, when I simulate or burn the DVD it all changes to rectangular.

It's a DVD - there's no such thing as square pixels. What exactly are you expecting to be square-pixel? The only thing that might be square-pixels is the converted preview you see in the viewer, menu editor, or simulator. However all your assets, tracks, menus, photoshop files, build, burn, etc. should all be in the pixels aspect ratio that corresponds to your format - PAL/NTSC ; 4:3/16:9
Hope this helps -

How to edit 1440 x 1080 with SQUARE PIXELS?

Yes, I know it's weird. I would like to edit 1440 x 1080 with square pixels - HD with a standard aspect ratio. Unfortunately, any preset in 1440 x 1080 (HDV for example) is anamorphic and won't let me change it to square pixels. How do I create a project in 1440 x 1080 with square pixels?
I know I can alter the aspect ratio on export, but that would squish the images, so that won't do. I need to maintain square pixels from start to finish.

Ah, but it is not coming from a camera. I am creating it from images. In fact the main purpose of creating this video is
so the projectionist can adjust zoom and focus to bring the projector back to optimal "standard" settings while the audience has something funny to watch. Sure, I could create it in DV 4:3 format, but my images are already sized for 1080 height (I made a similar video for adjusting the zoom/focus for widescreen, which is really 4:3 with the top and bottom offscreen since the projector doesn't do 16:9). It is an older projector before HD standards and 16:9, but is higher resolution than the typical 4:3 formats. Another reason I want to use higher resolution is because I previously made the video at 720 x 480 resolution and it looks much better in HD.
So the question remains - how do I set custom resolution with square pixels?

Quality issues converting Uncompressed 10 bit 4:2:2 to H.264, Square pixels

I need to convert my uncompressed SD 10 bit 4:2:2 video for use on the internet. Specifically, a client wants the resulting QT or MP4 file to be Video Codec: H.264, square pixels, size 1280x720. I feel as though I've tried every possible way in FCP exporting through QT conversion, but everything looks terrible with artifacts. I need help, I know it is possible to make professional SD video look good on the internet!
Can people recommend a tried and true workflow for making this conversion, including relevant setting I should use? I am clearly missing something. Thank you for any tips, advice.

Where is it going on the internet? Youtube? Vimeo? Have you checked what specs are recommended for the delivery location?
Is the footage even 16:9 to begin with?
1280x720 is HD not SD. Unless you have a Kona card that can up rez you will be trying to take a recipe for 8 and make it feed 12. Does your client understand this or could they just be reading a specs page?
640x360 is SD/square pixel/16:9 and accepted by YT and Vimeo
640x480 is the 4x3 version
A H264 compressor preset can be tweaked to meet your SD needs - try 2000MB for a video rate. Use AAC audio at 128. YT can accept videos up to 1GB if not 2.
You can use these specs to uprez to 1280x720 but results will vary.

NTSC- CCIR 601 vs. Square Pixels

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