Transcoding h.264 to edit in FCE

Hello
I have movie files shot on a canon5D. I understand the 5D codec is h.264.
Can someone please tell me the compression setting I should choose to edit in FCE.
As it is now I can't make any changes such as adding titles etc without having to render everytime. impossible to work.
Thanks for any help I'm learning as I go, so I'm grateful for advice.
H

Hello
Now my question is what settings to use to export so the file will be small enough for You Tubes 2GB max. I exported a 8:26 video with quick time conversion apple intermediate 1280x720. The avi file was 4.6 GB my sound file was 470MB after the export my quick time movie was 2.08GB. Is there a better export setting thanks?
H

Similar Messages

HD video from still cameras for editing in FCE

Can anyone provide insight into my questions of the different hd recording formats for conversion to edit in FCE? Meaning, still cameras that shoot HD range from avi, mpeg4, h.264, motion jpeg and avchd lite. Is one of these better to use than the others? Is there significant quality loss after conversion? And are all conversion programs the same or is one better than the next? Thank you,
Bill

All those formats are designed for delivery, meaning shoot it then watch it.
To edit in FCE all HD footqage including HDV will be converted to AIC (Apple Intermediate Codec).
Which converter works best on what is like saying how long is a piece of string. My answer is, "double the length of half of it".
The thing is until you know specifics it's pretty much guessing or user opinion.
Regards AVCHD Lite: I believe it works on the latest iMovie directly. You could confirm that in the iMovie forum from users there.
This app is free, works well and covers a lot of bases:
http://www.squared5.com/
Al

I've been giving HD videos in MTS format and convert the for editing in FCE. Looks good in the program, but when I export the finished film, quality had been noticeable diminished. Is there any way to prevent FCE from lowering the output quality?

Hello -
I've been sent HD footage in MTS format and converted it to Mp4 for editing in FCE. It looks good in FCE but when I export the movie, the quality is noticably diminished. Is there any way I can prevent FCE from lowering the quality on export?
Thanks.

>I use Foxreal video converter for Mac to convert the MTS using the Apple intermediate codec setting and the problem is that I don't get image, just audio
My thought would be to NOT use Foxreal video converter.
Use MPEG Streamclip or Clipwrap.
-DH

I have converted m2ts files to .mov to edit in FCE (4.0.1) When I drag the clips into the timeline they need rendering, as much as a minute for a 30 sec. clip. Is this normal? I am using OS 10 . My easy setup is apple intermediate codec, 720p30. Any help

I have converted m2ts files to .mov in streamclip, for editing in fce 4.0.1. When I drag them into the fce timeline the clips need rendering, as much as a minute for a 30 second clip. Is this normal? My OS is 10.6.8. My easy setup in fce is apple intermediate codec 720p30. Any advice to avoid the rendereng would be helpful. Ann

To what codec, frame size & frame rate did you convert the files in Streamclip?
If it isn't AIC 720p30, you'll need to render.
x

Video quality Archos 604 when editing via FCE v3.5

I have been looking at the ARCHOS 604 line of PVRs and DVR Travel accessory that records in MPEG-4 SP with ADPCM stereo sound, resolution VGA (640x480) @ 30 or 25 f/s, in AVI format. File sizes I would record would run 2GB+ and I would use the "video in" connection (no audio).
However, I'm concerned how that quality would translate after I convert it so I can edit in FCE v3.5. Anyone have experience with this device? It sounds ideally suited for recording some medical images that from time to time need editing, but with quality good enough to withstand being projected onto a large screen for conference viewing. If not this device, any suggestions regarding other PVRs with at least 30GB?
iMac Dual Intel Core Mac OS X (10.4.7)

"What I'm doing is capturing video from a PC, converting that video into an uncompressed AVI file, bringing the AVI file to my MBP and trying to edit it there."
it would be much simpler to just capture it on the mac in the first place.

How to transcode H.264 to apple pro rez 422

What's the best way to transcode H.264 video footage from a Canon DSLR to Apple ProRez 422 and inport into FCP 7?
thanks,
Eve

No problem. In this screen shot, the disclosure triangle has been twirled open so you can see more details for the plug-in.
Good luck.
Russ

Cut videos before editing with FCE ?

Hi,
This might be a dumb question and I may tackle this the wrong way : basically, I have several Video cameras (HD, non HD, etc etc) and when I shoot something, I usually store it all on my Mac and save it for later editing. Problem is that amongst all the footages, a lot is not usable but I keep it all anyway and as a result :
- It takes plenty of space on my HD
- it makes it painfull to edit in FCE when I want to make a project later.
As such, what I want to find is an easy (and cheap) way to roughly cut raw footage as soon as I transfer it on my IMac and keep only the usable things (I also thing it is a good thing to do it when the "event" is fresh in my memory). It will save space and make it easier to edit. Of course, I could do that with FCE but it's quite long to open and use and I feel it is a bit painfull to use it for such a simple task. I see that QuickTime alows to trim the footage but you can only cut from the start and from the end, not to cut a piece in the middle and also converts it to .mov after trimming while I'd rather keep it in the original format as I'm affraid to lose quality on HD videos.
Also, I was wondering what wa sthe best format to use to edit video in FCE ? because depending on the format (.mov , .mp4 ,...) it can be very long to render.
Anyway, is this makes sense and if anyone as an idea, it;ll be welcome,
Cheers,
Jean

>what wa sthe best format to use to edit video in FCE ? because depending on the format (.mov , .mp4 ,...) it can be very long to render.
That is most likely the reason you feel FCE is too difficult to work with for cutting footage. FCE only works with DV and AIC. All other formats must be converted to one of those two BEFORE importing into an FCE project.
Once you've converted the footage to the proper format, cutting in FCE will be a breeze.
-DH

Best Streamclip settings for iPhone 4 Video - to edit in FCE

First, the problem: iPhone 4 records HD video in h.264. But Final Cut Express doesn't have sequence settings for editing h.264 or iPhone video clips.
The solution: I'm using Streamclip to convert all of my iPhone 4 videos to a format FCE lets me edit in.
Question: What are the optimal settings to insure that my final output retains quality almost equal to the original video shot on my iPhone? (More specifically, I plan on uploading to Youtube as a HD video).
I've read somewhere that I should convert to Quicktime Movie format, with Apple Intermediate Codec 720p 30fps. Is that the best compression type to convert to for editing iPhone 4 videos in FCE? If so, how should the other settings in streamclip be jiggered? For instance, does it make much difference if I set the Quality slider to 100% (As opposed to the default at 50%?) What about audio compression settings?
(P.S. I think it's very annoying that I can't directly edit a video from iPhone 4 on another consumer Apple product, the FCE. Does FCP let me directly edit h.264/iphone 4 videos?)

The slider makes no difference as AIC is variable bit rate within a specific range. No audio compression in FCE ever. Uncompressed stereo 48k, the video standard sample rate.
It would be truly miraculous if FCE worked with iPhone media as the current version predates it by three years, which in computer lifetimes is two generations, basically the equivalent of your grandfather having developed an app for a smartphone when he was a young man. FCP is a mere year old, well before the iPhone did video. Furthermore, if you'd read the forums, you'd see that H.264 is an acquisition and delivery forward. It is not used in production. The codec is not suitable for efficient production and really should never be used there. It's very unfortunate that camera manufacturers have taken the cheap way out and used this codec, rather than actually developing and using a suitable intraframe production codec.

Converting H.264 for Editing in Premiere Elements 9

Hi!
What is the best way to convert my MOV H.264 files off my Canon T2i for editing in premiere. I've heard several people say that H.264 is NOT an editing codec, and it seems to be true. I am editing a shoot with the files directly off the camera and IT IS SLOW! When you go to export in Premiere it says that AVI files are what you should use for editing in Premiere, but my problem is that I don't know which is the best codec and quality to use. I want Full HD but I'm not sure how to transcode without losing quality. Any suggestions? Please help! Thanks.

Unfortunately, video from the Rebel series isn't supported natively in Premiere Elements 9. (Though it's worth a try. Have you tried one of the DSLR presets that matches your video's resolution?)
The BEST solution is to convert the video to a 1440x1080 MPEG/M2T using Quicktime Pro ($29 from Apple). 1440x1080, as you probably know, is the anamorphic version of 1920x1080, so it is the same resolution.
A 1440x1080 MPEG/M2T video should work perfectly with Premiere Elements' HDV project preset.
Remember: The test to see if you're using the ideal preset is that, when you add the video to your timeline, it will appear without a red line above it.
If you are seeing no red lines above your video but your video editing is still slow, it is most likely an indicator that your computer is not powerful enough to edit hi-def video or that it is not properly tuned.
If you're interested, there are much more detailed explanations for all of this in my books, available on Amazon and at Muvipix.com.

Can Canon 5D Mark II footage be edited in FCE at 1080p?

Can Canon 5D Mark II footage be edited and outputted in FCE at 1080p?
I am converting the raw 5D footage to Apple intermediate Codec using MPEG Stream Clip and then importing into FCE. Playback during editing is fine. Then I notice that in the easy set up options there doesn't seem to be an option to choose 1080p. Does that mean that FCE cannot edit/output 1080p files, or does it just mean that there is no easy setup for 1080p? What should my easy setup settings be for editing these files in FCE?
Thanks for your help

I converted to apple intermediate codec using MPEG streamclip to make it easier to edit in imovie (plays back smoother) so assumed it was best to do the same with FCE. Not necessary?
The converted file data is
H.264, 1920x1080, AIC, 16 bit, big endian, FPS30, 64.62 mb/s
The original file data is
H.264, 1920x1080, 16 bit, little endian, FPS30, 39.77 mb/s
Thanks

Ripping dvds to handbrake and editing in FCE

I am trying to rip DVDs using Handbrake and edit them in FCE. I am not sure which settings to use in Handbrake to ensure the ability to open the file in FCE. I ripped an hour long DVD to an AVI file which took 9 1/2 hrs., but when I tried to open the file it was empty. I also tried MacTheRipper, but FCE won't work with MPEG 4 files.
I'm not sure what Codecs are in Handbrake, but there are 4 options and I'm not sure which is the correct one to select (MPEG-4 video/ MP3 Audio, MPEG-4 Video/AC-3 Audio, AVC/H.264 Video/MP3 Audio, or AVC/H.264 Video/AC-3 Audio).
How can I make this work? I'm unfamiliar with most of the different setting options as a whole in Handbrake.
Please advise.
iBook G4 Mac OS X (10.4)

DVxDVD will convert your MPEG2 files(DVD) to DV files that work in FCE. It is not a free program, but it is fairly cheap (around 40 bucks Cdn I think)
Another way to go is hook a DVD player up to your Cam via analog cables and hook the Cam to the puter via Firewire and capture that
When ripping, even with a solid program like DVxDVD, there will be some quality loss, especially if you are going back to DVD at the end
MPEG Streamclip is a free program that can do what you want but you need the Apple MPEG-2 Playback component which you can purchase (around 30 bucks Cdn) on this website

H.264 Container / Edit

Hi All -
I realise this question's been asked many times before, but it appears from all my searching most of these questions were posted some time in the past - so an update may have occured to the package since then, or a new workflow invented which makes what I'm trying to do possible.
How does one NATIVELY import and edit H.264's without needing to transcode via Compressor first?
I have quite literally hundreds of files in HD H264 that I want to use as source, and I really don't want to have to transcode the lot of them.
I realise FC isn't happy working natively with H264's, but since this appears to be an issue that crops up so often I was hoping somebody out there had found a workaround either via process or via a plugin.
It's the one thing that Premiere does so well, but I'm not ready to stop using FC because of that one (annoying) thing.
Thanks all.

kryten2002 wrote:
I have quite literally hundreds of files in HD H264 that I want to use as source, and I really don't want to have to transcode the lot of them.I realise FC isn't happy working natively with H264's, but since this appears to be an issue that crops up so often I was hoping somebody out there had found a workaround either via process or via a plugin.It's the one thing that Premiere does so well, but I'm not ready to stop using FC because of that one (annoying) thing.Thanks all.
Looking back over the development of and the popularity of H.264 and comparing that against the history of NLE product releases, I see that FCP is way behind the curve. Who knows why? The current version of Adobe's suite benefits from many years of FCP's history of failing to meet the needs of a certain niche of users. Perhaps the decision to put all development energy into FCPX at the expense of adding advanced codec handling functions to FCP7? It's a bummer for lots of us that FCP7 came up so short and has now been effectively killed.
Only time will tell if people like you and me will switch to acquire functions we need now or adopt the new paradigm and see if things evolve.
bogiesan
bogiesan

What are the benefits (if any) to transcoding to an intermediate editing format for post-production?

I have been searching for a definitive answer to this for days and cannot get anything useful.
My video camera records to AVCHD format which is 24mbps H.264 plus audio (I record audio separately so audio is not a concern). I use the Adobe CC suite on Windows. I do a lot of green-screen work.
I have read about many intermediate codecs designed for editing video. These include Avid's DNxHD, Apple's ProRes, GoPro's Cineform, MXF OP1a, among others. From what I understand, these formats provide excellent features to help video editors do their work.
I have been able to edit AVCHD files directly using Premiere Pro and After Affects.
My question is, what benefits, if any, would I get if I transcoded my content from AVCHD to one of the intermediate formats before I begin editing? Would it speed up Adobe's software? Would it provide better quality in the end? Would it make various effects function better?
Ultimately, all the video I make is going to be encoded in h.264 for web distribution.
Please note: I am not asking for the easiest or most obvious workflow (which is to just to work directly with AVCHD files). I want to know if I can gain benefits in transcoding to another format before I being post-production and what those benefits are specifically for each of the various intermediate codecs.
Thank you.

Like almost everything, there's tradeoffs. Transcoding to a really high-end single-file codec like Cineon or Cineform would mean that say the file size could be somewhat larger on disc ... more data to read ... however, LESS work by the other subsystems to get those io oo ii oo oo io io io oi bits changed into "video" on the monitor. There are several articles and tutorials out there on this that give really useful information. And there are a LOT of people that put something out because they personally think this or that codec is THE proper way a professional should work, and any other codec is nearly obscene in use. Right, whatever. They're all tools.
As shooternz showed ... properly shot AVCHD can be green-screened beautifully, and as there are a LOT of the "pro" cameras in use shooting that wrapper, there are a lot of people that simply process in that. There are others that automatically transcode everything to ProRes 4444 before editing because they feel that gives them the best, safest "space" for their pixels to live. Pick any major codec/wrapper, it will have adherents.
I've tried just a bit of greening just to play with it ... and got rather intriguing results. It reminded me of starting out trying to do good still portraits on high-key sweep backgrounds without getting "haze" or scatter from too-much-light coming back at the lens while getting the right exposure on the subject and keeping the entire high-key area of the sweep the same white ... it's rather daunting at first. After we mastered it, we could do it at will ... first time every time. Green-screening is a similar thing. Perhaps on steroids, but similar. HOW it's shot is incredibly important to being able to post-process both cleanly and quickly. I've seen quite a few comments about this here and elsewhere ... and though there are clean-up & masking techniques one does need to master, clearly ... one needs clean footage to be able to quickly get clean post work. So many people have noted that after spending so much time working on their masking & color-correction of bits here & there they also got their shooting skills up. And found that suddenly they didn't need anywhere near the clean-up skills or time spent.
So I'd think off-hand that the AVCHD isn't the most pressing problem here ... that a bit of experience in the absolute tight control of exposure and lighting in the shooting setup may well take care of much of the post problems. And then you can concentrate on those skills you do need ... the fine techniques of this particular process ... to get your work completely polished.
And listening to shooternz on this isn't a bad thing at all ... his techniques are tight & fast. I've asked him for a number of things and have adopted every one of them.
Neil

Keyboard for video editing in FCE

Hi all
I am looking for at video editing keyboard to go with FCE. Preferably with a shuttle weel, coloured keys and light in the keys. Was looking at the Bella Prof. Series 3. Has any of you experience with this keyboard or any other keyboard that you could recommend.
Berit

Looks good to me... No experience using it or any other but the symbols seem to be in the right places!

Do I need to render after finished editing in FCE?

I'm finishing my very first FCEHD3.5 project (the whole audio & video editing part). DO I HAVE TO RENDER ANYTHING befor recording to the camera, using the method that you described?
(I used some photos in my project and they look "funny" while played from the timeline and watched in the canvas; photos are funny in terms of flickering, moving pixels along edges of objects, etc. - would any rendering help with this?).
And, in general - what about the rendering? -(this is my 1st project, so I have no experience there)Do I need to render anything? Or should I just print to camera, and find a way to burn the project in iDVD..?
MacBook Pro 17 inch Mac OS X (10.4.7) 2GB RAM, 100GB7200HD, Super Drive, FCEHD3.5, PanasonicPVGS500, G-Raid ExtHD320GB

The easiest way to do this is, first make sure you don't have any clips at all selected in the timeline, then just do the Render All > Video and the Render Only > Mixdown. FCE will take care of things from there.
The length of time it takes to render the video depends on a whole lot of factors ranging from what kinds of effects/generators you used in your clips, how many there are, how long they are, whether or not any are already rendered, etc. plus all the hardware specs/capabilites of your Mac ... all of which makes it really hard to estimate how much time it will take.
Mixdown audio takes all your audio tracks and builds an 'audio render' file that contains 1 stereo pair resulting from all your audio tracks. It goes a lot faster than rendering video does ... and btw helps reduce/eliminate problems with dropped frames.
Your MacBookPro has great specs, you should find this goes pretty well, but I still really can't estimate your render time. Take a look at your timeline - over how much of it does the red 'needs rendering' indicator line show? That would give you some indication - at least short vs. long.
Good luck!

Transcoding h.264 to edit in FCE

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for