Quicktime conversion in FCE 4

Hi, am uploading 5 mins of film to a website, so from FCE 4 use quicktime conversion to compress and prepare. 2 queries if anyone has advice. I understand that Sorenson video 3 is a good codec to compress, and thought it was a standard option. It doesn't appear in the drop down list. Should it? And if not, is it the best anyway? Secondly I have prepared this file using MPEG-4 codec, medium quality slider, size 480 by 360, key fps 25, key frame rate 250, audio on mono - first time it looked good. Then I decided to tinker with the settings and have NEVER been able to achieve the same quality, even by going back to the original settings. It's unfocused, choppy (like there a key frame problem or quality slider needs moving), and the file is half the size. Can't work out what has changed, or whether it's the machine. Any ideas?

Try exporting to a H.264 .mov file.

Similar Messages

Aspect ratio problem with Quicktime Conversion from FCE HD 3.5

I have a FCE 3.5 HDV project (16:9 aspect ratio) which I am trying to export using Quicktime Conversion for eventual web-streaming. I have tried various settings including "maintain aspect ratio" and the "letterbox" options. After every multi-hour attempt, the end result is just what I need, except the aspect ratio is always 4:3 and vertically squeezed.
What settings should I use for a small to medium sized version of my movie for streaming on a website, but in the correct aspect ratio? I'd prefer a 16:9 Quicktime frame, or at least a 4:3 Quicktime frame with black bars.

I too have been having some problems, same software. Export to iPod completely ignores the intended aspect ratio and is non-adjustable and squeezes the footage. It looks fine on the canvas but gets messed up on export. A 4:3 video that should be 640x480 ends up being 640x426, and a 16:9 video that should be 640x360 looks to be getting 640x426 as well.
Currently, my work-around is to export to DV file, then export to iPod. Being a double encoding, it is quite wasteful in terms of time and processing power. Is there something else I can do?

Is it possible to create a new preset for Export/Quicktime Conversion ?

Hi,
I was wondering if there is a way to make a new export preset for the Export with Quicktime Conversion, in FCE HD 3.5
I am working on preparing a file for YouTube, and finding that some of the video effects render differently when exported, so I am having to render a couple of tests, but with YouTube's new 640x360 16:9 format, there is no easy way to do this other than checking the settings at each export. If one could make a new preset, it would be much easier. Any ideas?
Thanks,
t

thankyousir.
I think that Apple could add this, easily, as a feature to what, essentially, is QT Pro, and its embedded brother in FCE. Apple could also release a tiny update for QT including the new YouTube format... I haven't checked if iMovie knows about this new resolution, though it does upload directly to the tube itself.
Thanks for your time,
T

FCE Crashes on Export Quicktime conversion

Have captured and edited DV PAL. All goes well until Export-Using Quicktime Conversion. Software shuts down. All data lost from project. Anyone any ideas?
Running FCE 4.0.1 in Leopard on an intel macbook with 2ghz of ram.

Exactly what QT Conversion settings are you using?
Just in case there is a problem with FCE, delete the user preference files as described here:-
http://support.apple.com/kb/TA24195?viewlocale=enUS&locale=enUS
Note that you will have to reset your Easy Setup and any special preferences you may have configured.
Message was edited by: Ian R. Brown

KNOWN PROBLEM BUT NO SOLVING: FCE CRASHES ON QUICKTIME CONVERSION EXPORT

Hi to all,
i'm an italian new user. I already use FCP on my Mac Pro 2007,and i purchased FCE for my new MacBook 2008 3GB Ram.
I use Snow Leopard for both machines. FCE is installed only on MacBook. The issue is:
When i put ANYTHING on timeline (effect,clips of ALL formatsetc) indipendently from Sequence presets,FINALCUT EXPRESS CRASHES IMMEDIATLY WHEN I TRY TO EXPORT TO "QUICKTIME CONVERSION". No messages,no report,nothing.
I searched and read many pages of this forum,i found a similar thread where the suggestions were the erase of preferences in Libray and reinstalling. I DID THAT but FCE crashes again.
I'd like to resolve the problem on this machine,because i will use FCE on this computer.
Follow, there is a sample video of my problem,i captured it for this thread. I hope will help you to understand exactly i want to repair:
http://www.zshare.net/video/658799979072b569/
FCE CRASH.mov - 34.38MB
Thanks in advance
Lamberto from Italy
Message was edited by: LamProds,Inc
Message was edited by: LamProds,Inc
Message was edited by: LamProds,Inc
Message was edited by: LamProds,Inc

Tom,
This is an excellent tip. I really learnt something I wasn't aware of. FCE always seemed to render anyway but it takes longer if you did not render first. But you are right. The manual mentions it as well.
Anyway, it does not explain really why, with Quicktime X installed, I and others experience FCE crashes. Before with Leopard , FCE really never crashed.
Contrary to what I mentioned, I still experience crashes, also after full rendering. Strangely enough, it does not happen all the time. It seems difficult to reproduce the circumstances when FCE crashes on export. Any suggestions?
Jan

FCE quicktime conversion too Light

When I export a FCE move to quicktime using h.264 it comes out a least one shade too light.
Am I doing something wrong?
I am exporting "Using Quicktime Conversion..."
Thanks in advance for your help - Sam

Thank you Tom for your quick response.
I am viewing the converted movie on the same machine and monitor I use for Final Cut Express.
I have viewed the movie in both Quicktime 7.6.6 and Quicktime 10. The movies both look too light compared to the Canvas window in Final Cut Express.
When I open a new project in Final Cut Express with the converted movie it looks fine.
The settings when using quicktime conversion are:
H.264
Best Quality
Any insight you can give will be appreciated. I have tried to use the Brightness adjustment, but it chokes my mini mac.
Thanks again - Sam

Exporting FCE project to Apple Pro Res 422 HQ Quicktime conversion file

Hi Folks,
I have recently tried exporting an FCE project (HD 1080 16:9) as:
1. Quicktime file
2. Quicktime conversion using Apple Pro Res 422 HQ
and noticed that the Pro Res file is 2Gb. larger than the standard Quicktime file.
Does this mean the quality is 2Gb better? (it certainly looks crisp and clear)
Should I be doing this everytime I export from now on?
Any information much appreciated. Regards.

Transcoding your material from one codec to a higher quality codec will not improve the quality of your source material. You are always limited by the quality of the image prior to the transcode.
If you have a pair of shoes you want to store, you can put them is a shoe box, or you can put them in a shipping crate - but neither method will improve the shoes.
The shipping crate will just take up more space.
The only possible advantage of transcoding your AIC sequence from FCE to ProRes would be:
1) you force the need to repeatedly decompress and recompress the file - ProRes will bear this better than AIC
or
2) you plan to use the file in an edit system that supports working directly in Pro Res.
MtD

General error on Export Using quicktime conversion

I have created a film that I am able to export using the Quicktime movie feature.
but if I use the Quicktime Conversion feature I get a "general error" (no number)
I am trying to export the files in a smaller form for CD's.
The film was in HD.
FCE Version 4.0.1
OSX 10.5.6
Imac 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2
3 GB of Ram
over 300 GB of hard drive space.
Any ideas would be great.
Thanks

Al,
I have a project with three films in it.
Each film is about 3 min long, all shot in HD format.
All footage imported via FCE.
The films all of a product with a screen. I have made a duplicate of the video layers. Put a 4 point mask in with a feather to adjust the screen colour (gamma adjustments).
Also the into to the film is some text done directly in FCE.
Thanks

Exported Project via Quicktime Conversion-Some scenes "tear" at the top

I have completed a 17 min project made up mostly of photo/stills. Some have motion added some dont---it doesn't seem to matter to my problem: when I exported the project using Quick Time Conversion I noticed as I checked it prior to using iDVD to burn it to DVD that during cross dissolves and some other transitions there was a "digitized tearing" or pixels slow in locking into place in the upper 1/5th or so of the screen. I had not noticed this problem in previewing the rendered project prior to export. Using FCE v3.5HD. Anyone seen this problem? Is there a problem with some of the transitions or was it something that occurred in the export? I tried to burn to DVD via iDVD so I could see if the problem was off the top of the screen, but apprently I did something wrong during use of iDVD. When the iMac ejected the DVD after burn, I tried playing on a set-top and it wouldn't play, nor could I get it to play in the iMac. I also had difficulty getting the iMac to eject this DVD.

It sounds as if you have multiple problems here. The first problem is that QuickTime Conversion is not the way to export to iDVD. You should export to QuickTime Movie.

Quicktime Conversion for PS3

I have the HV-20 and a PS3, I'm trying to put a test clip on a USB drive then watch in HD through my PS3. Sony says the PS3 can only use MPEG-4 format, so I used FCE to do a quicktime conversion and export the clip into the correct format. It comes up under MP4 (ISMA) but I could only get the custom field under image size to come up using just MP4. I messed up and used the 1920x1080, when the HV-20 only does 1440x1080, but still when I played it on the PS3 not only did it look horrible it was also in 4:3 instead of 16:9 ratio. Why is this? Can you tell me which settings will give the correct look on playback with the PS3?

OK, I just tried a size "passthru" export encoding and got a "unsupported data" error on the PS3 with 2.1 firmware! I believe these files had previously played back in 4:3 format (literally 1440X1080 with no horizontal expansion) using previous firmware.
The coding times are so long it is difficult to run through all of the possible combinations in a reaonable amount of time.
The file does play back in 4:3 in QT player. Evidently, the 2.1 firmware either disabled 1440X1080 video or added a check to refuse playback with no anamorphic expansion flag set.
In a way it kinda makes sense that QT would play it because it has to support odd sizes such as that, whereas 1440X1080 non-anamorphic would not be a standard HD format.
I opened the file in QT-PRO and scaled the horizontal width as follows:
window-->show movie properties-->select video track-->visual settings-->uncheck "preserve aspect ratio" -->revise horizontal "scaled size" to 1920 -->file-export mp4-->options-video format "passthrough"-->save
The file now plays in 16:9 in QT, but still shows as "unsupported data" on the PS3.
from searching the web, I get the impression that the mp4 specification for horizontal scaling has somehow diverged from the original QT method. From there it seems to digress to people resorting to low level HEX editors to sort things out (good grief!).
reference---http://forum.doom9.org/showpost.php?p=988006&postcount=2838
Actually, I am not sure why a scaling flag would even be required for true HD since there is no legitimate 1440X1080 4:3 aspect ratio format in the AVCHD spec
http://www.avchd-info.org/format/index.html

Export Quicktime Conversion

What would be the best all around specifics for an exported movie file that contains only JPegs (about 300+) and .aiff music files?
It's basically a slide show of sorts, but the last time I exported it to check out how it would look on tv, the images would come out with blurry or sharpened sides as they would transition into eachother, and would sometimes turn black and white momentarily.
Also, it's looks a little "stretched" on the tv screen. Kind of like Violet Beauregarde that the end of Willy Wonka :P
Thanks!

Since you are using FCE you should first choose the +sequence format+ for your movie depending on your TV (whether standard or HDTV) before importing your jpegs.
Assuming you'll show your movie on a standard TV your sequence format should be either DV-PAL (25 fps) or DV-NTSC (29,97 fps), I'm not sure what's used in Perto Rico. If you want a 16:9 format you should instead choose either DV-PAL Anamorphic or DV-NTSC Anamorphic.
Then after importing your jpegs and editing the timeline you should *Export/Quicktime Movie* (not Using Quicktime Conversion) and import the resulting .mov into iDVD.
Some notes for SD:
- the resulting quality will always be lower than the original jpeg quality, since the SD resolution is very likely lower than the original jpeg resolution
- don't rely on the quality as shown by Quicktime Player, because this is not meant for interlaced video but progressive video; also the FCE Canvas cannot show the final quality on a Mac progressive monitor
- you could check the movie quality while editing in FCE (without exporting and burning DVDs) by connecting your Mac to your TV through the firewire connection and a converter, or your camera used as a converter, from firewire to analog.
- you may then fix each image and check right away how it will appear on your final TV by applying any useful filter: blur, antialias, etc.
If instead you have a HDTV you may use a sequence formatted with one of the Apple Intermediate Codecs available in FCE, and for sure you will get a better final quality.
Piero

Quicktime conversion for moving subjects

Hi everyone,
I have filmed cricket and football matches and exported from FCE using quictime conversion (h.264) and then burned a dvd with Toast. The end result is that rapidly moving balls and arms and legs etc seem to flicker and a double image is seen. The rest of the pictures (slow moving/stationary objects) are crystal clear. When i viewed the exported quicktime files on the TV monitor they looked fine. I am wondering if there is a better option than H.264 for rapidly moving subjects, or is the problem more likely to be within Toast? (I burned at 8mbps and 4x)
Thanks for any help!

Export to QuickTime Movie not to QuickTime Conversion.

Missing with chapter markers after Export Using QuickTime Conversion

I have my FCE workflow setup as follows:
I create the sequences using relatively large video source files, in Apple Intermediate Codec (AIC).
Then, I use Export -> Using QuickTime Conversion to H.264 Codec, but my chapter markers are lost.
If I use Export -> QuickTime Movie, the chapter markers are preserved, but the codec is still AIC.
I need a compressed file with chapter markers. What am I missing?

One more time: "Where are you looking at the exported file? After making a DVD or somewhere else?"
Can you answer this for me? How are you looking at this material? Off the DVD you've burned? Is that what you're saying? Comparing the QuickTime Movie export to a DVD burned from a PhotoJPEG export? Or are you playing it from the computer to HDMI? If so are you using the QuickTime player? Is the QT player set to high quality playback? Yes, PhotoJPEG (not JPEG Photo) is a very large file especially at full quality. You probably don't need any more than 75% quality. I'd be very surprised if you say you can see the difference between 75% and 100%.
The length of the video is important not the size of the disc. iDVD's compression is fixed by the length of movie and the amount of content that has to be encoded.

Difference between Export as Quicktime and Export as Quicktime Conversion

If the desired end result is a Quicktime file, compressed with the default h.264 "for broadband" preset, should there be any difference between:
1) exporting a sequence with "Export as Quicktime", then opening up that file in Quicktime Pro and compressing it with the preset.
or
2) exporting the sequence with "Export as Quicktime conversion" with the preset.
I had expected these to be equivalent, but I've found that method #2 gives me dramatically sharper text in titles. Can anyone explain why? I'm using FCE 4.

Well I reckon it's because you are crunching numbers twice, in #2 it's once.
Despite digital transfers being said to Lossless, I call it Lessloss.
Al

No Audio when I export using quicktime conversion

Hi,
This problem has just started. In my time line my movie places with both audio and video. When I try to export it using quicktime conversion I get a file with video but no audio. If I go to the audio settings button and click preview, I hear nothing. I have exported using the exact same settings many times before without problems.
If I export the file using quicktime movie, I get both audio and video.
This is driving me crazy, Can anyone help? Thanks!

I got no audio on the DVD when I exported from FCE using the Quicktime Movie setting. I finally determined it was because my audio was at 44.1k Hz. I upsampled to 48k and there was sound on the final DVD. This is not normally a problem when input comes from a camera, but if you are doing a DVD of a Keynote presentation and adding separate sound to it from a CD, this becomes a problem.
Certainly no more than a little annoying that there's nothing said during the FCE export that this audio won't be exported. It's just not there.

Quicktime conversion in FCE 4

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for