Taking 1080i AVCHD and making a 720p video/project?

Question

So 1080i is a little bit overkill for me, especially since I dont actually own an HDTV or anything so i was just curious as what the workflow would be for going down to 720p?
Can I just make a new 720p sequence and drop the 1080i footage in there and let final cut deal? Or should I render out a new 720p version in compressor (if so how)? Or is there a way to bring it in at 720p during the LOG&TRANSFER process?

Answer 1

You cannot do this via Log and Transfer. You have two choices, either transcode the footage immediately after from 1080i60 to 720p60 and then edit, or edit your sequence as 1080i60 and then transcode.
You can do this in Compressor or you can use JES Deinterlacer. I wrote a tutorial on how to do this using JES and I've also posted a droplet that'll do this conversion for you, into ProRes 422 (LT)
http://tiny.cc/fv47u
Basically there are three important settings
1) Under the encoder pane --> video settings --> frame rate 59.94. I also suggest transcoding into an intermediate codec (like ProRes 422 LT) rather than trying to go from 1080i60 to 720p60 in a production format like h.264.
2) Frame Controls on with Output fields set to Progressive and deinterlacing set to whatever you're willing to wait for.
3) Under Geometry set frame size to 1280x720.
Message was edited by: wallybarthman
Message was edited by: wallybarthman