Upconvertig DV into HDV

I have a Sony VX2000 excellent standard DV camcorder, and FCP software for montage.
My video construction in FCP using the optimum compression rate sugested by Larry Jordan is nevertheless giving a disapointing look when viewing the DVD constructed with DVD Studio Pro on a high quality HDTV 72 inch screen (despite the fact I am using an high brand DVD player wich is upconverting the DVD signal into 1080i signal with HDMI connection to my HDTV).
I am wondering if the outcome would be much better if I up-convert the standard DV constructed video wit FCP into High Definition format and burn the outcome with a Blue-Ray burner and view it with a Blue Ray DVD player connected with HDMI connection to my HDTV ?

The first question should be "why do you need to up-res in the first place?" are you making an HD DVD? Blu-Ray disc? HD Broadcast master? In any of these cases, HDV would not really be a recommended intermediate format - it's lossy, and a bit tempermental to work with.
A hardware device such as an Io HD may be able to a better job of upconversion directly from FCP than upconverting in software. However, if you really need to upconvert, and have to do it in software from FCP, you have a couple options that can give you the bes possible quality.
If you nest the SD material into an HD sequence, it will be scaled up to fit the frame. At this point, the scaling quality can be optimized by setting the Motion Filtering Quality to best (in the video processing tab of the sequence settings window).
You can also upconvert the SD sequence directly to HD by using Compressor. In the Compressor presest, you would set the resize filter in the frame controls tab to "best".
In either case, you are asking the conversion to analyze more adjacent pixels, or even compare between frames, to create the new pixels it needs. Both options will increase the time it takes to render or export.
What is your motivaiton for up-rezzing?
Hope this helps -
Max Average

Similar Messages

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.

Still Image conversion into HDV

I am doing a project in HDV format. Today I started laying the images in and they are all sized wrong.
Does anyone know the best way to convert those to HDV

Those?

HDV 1080i50 to SD MASTER Workflow

Hello all.
I am working now on a documentary, shot on Sony HDV 1080i50, 70 hours material, to be delivered in DIGIBETA PAL, and I am looking to the best approach to edit and finish it. Coming from the AVID World (yes, I confess...) and having worked not so much with FCP, I really need some help with this project. I will tell you what I do have in mind, and I kindly ask you to tell me if I am crazy or it makes some sense. I do have some specific questions as well. Thank you for your help. Here is my plan:
1 – CAPTURE.
70 hours captured in DV (already have!) in order to monitor easyly and work without long GOP.
2 – OFF LINE EDITING.
Normal documentary editing. I will zoom/resize the picture a lot. As I shoot in HDV and will deliver in SD PAL, I understand I have a big margin to zoom in an image without any quality loss when downsizing back to PAL. For instance, I only made one wide shot for the interviews. I will use this shot and then zoom the picture for a close up of the face... That is the main idea. How should I do these frame resizes, direct with FCP or should I use some special plug in?
3 – ONLINE.
Recapture all material in the Sequence in HD. Now I do not know if I should do it on HDV (remember: we are going back to SD for output) or should I use one of the PRORES 422 Apple codecs. What do you think? All the frame resizes and picture effects will be kept on the recapture, or?
4 – IMAGE FINISHING.
Do the colour correction and image finishing (with the HD material). Control and finish all the image movements, zooms and resizes. Apply effects, we do have to make some face blur and things like that. Should I do the colour correction on HD or should I make it once I have already downsized to SD, after step 5?
5 – RENDER TO SD FOR OUTPUT.
Here I do not know how to do it, but I want to convert my HD (HDV or PRORES 422) Sequence to an SD Uncompressed PAL 4:2:2 10bit Sequence. How do I do this? Here I do not have nay idea… Could you please help me? Will all the resizes and zoom be kept with the correct resolution when I downsize?
6 – AUDIO FINISHING.
Audio mixing and audio effects.
7 – OUTPUT IN SD
Export of a Quicktime SD Uncompressed PAL 4:2:2 with 10bit and print to tape.
Should I export direct from FCP or use Compressor or something?
That’s it!
Please, I would ask you to take some time an help me. If thewe is something that is not clear or you need more information, fell free to write me or post and I will answer as soon as I can. Thanks again.

Fantin,
Not the exact answer to your question but hopefully helpful.
My workflow with HDV is as follows:
-Capture as HDV (same data rate as DV so might as well)
-Do a basic picture edit, avoiding anything fancy (long render times with long GOP as you know)
-Use Media manager to up convert to DVCProHD
-Apply all my dissolves, effects etc.
-Do sound mix in FCP
-Use FCP and Color to grade
-Export to SD DVD using Compressor via FCP timeline.
or you could presumably
-Drop onto tape using a Kona or Blacmagic card
Don't think you'll get any better quality going 10 bit uncompressed if you're starting with HDV - might as well stick with DVCProHD.
In terms of zooming into HDV footage to achieve a good quality SD frame, Im not sure the method above would accommodate that. I've always done this in the past by dropping my HDV footage directly into an SD timeline and then zooming from there - this might mean of course that you'll need to export you're entire project as DV50 Anamorphic and then replace the zoomed in wide shots onto that.
I suspect if you just zoom into the HDV on a HDV or ProRes timeline this wouldn't translate well in SD.

Seeking advice on moving up to HDV editing

I appreciate folks on this forum who have assisted me in the past when I’ve had questions about iMovie, editing, burning DVDs etc. Karsten, Lennart, Bengt and others from around the world have been very kind and helpful. I am now seeking advice from anyone regarding “moving up” to the HDV world of video editing.
I recently "retired" my 2003 iMac G4 800 MHz flat screen and replaced it with an iMac 2.8 GHz Intel core 2 duo with a 320 GB hardrive and 4 GB of upgraded RAM. I have a 250 GB external drive as well. I also replaced my old Sony TRV-30 digital camcorder (a great old workhorse which is still going strong after 8 years) with a Canon Vixia HV40 that has high definition recording capability (uses mini DV tape).
I had been using iMovie HD 06 to edit my video projects along with iDVD and Toast 6 to burn them to DVD. I would like to start shooting HDV video with the new Canon, edit and burn the projects to Blu Ray high definition discs. MCE Technologies (among others, I believe) offer both internal and external Blu Ray burners. I don’t believe that the internal Blu Ray burner would work in my new iMac, but I may be wrong on that. (Does anyone know the answer?)
I believe that the MCE external Blu Ray burner would work with my equipment if attached to one of the Firewire ports or possibly through one of the USB 2 ports. (there is both a 400 and 800 Firewire port on this iMac model.) I was planning to acquire Final Cut Express as the editing program with Toast 10 Pro (plus the Blu Ray plug in) to burn the edited projects.
Will this work? Is there anything I should know before I plunge “headlong” into HDV editing? Any advice would be most welcome. Thanks in advance.
Message was edited by: scooper

scooper wrote:
.. iMac 2.8 GHz Intel core 2 duo with a 320 GB hardrive and 4 GB of upgraded RAM. I have a 250 GB external drive .. Canon Vixia HV40 .. external Blu Ray burner .. Final Cut Express .. Toast 10 Pro (plus the Blu Ray plug in)
Will this work?
I'm jealous.. wow! MY set-up..
HDV is supported by IMHD6.. just to mention that. so, HDV-editing is same as SD..
iMHD6 Export 'FullQuality' creates a file, which is HiDef too, for your Toast/BR workflow ..
HDV creates on import (IMHD6/FCE) huuuuuge files, 40-60GBs/h .. 250 extHDD = 6h, full..
actual price for extHDD with 1TB <100€ ..
keep in mind: internal harddrive has to offer any time 10-20GBs free..
not every BR-standalone-player accepts homebrewn disks..don't be disappointed...
Toast and iDVD can burn DVDs (=which offer SD only) from HiDef projects.. no need to 'convert'.. both apps downsize automatically...
FCE has a (very) steem learning curve.. totally different to iMovie.. no one-click-only, no templates, no ready-mades.. but zillions of options, 101% control.. (simple example: ken burns with zoom-to-zil and rotation and moving out of frame...)
buy a book of FC Mastermind and AppleDiscussions-Level5 supporter *Tom Wolsky* - he's a sensei, in-depth-knowledge, hands-on (=no tech blabla), easy to read and understand.
don't start with a project, start with 'tests for the trashbin'..

Non-Controllable HDV Ingest?

Hello all,
I'm working in my first ProRes project, but because I'm coming from HDV, I'm only going to ProRes LT, not ProRes 422 HQ or even just normal 422. Because of this, I can't do the simple HDV->ProRes option that automatically transcodes HDV to ProRes 422. Instead, I have a Sony 1080i HDV project setup, and I plan on importing into HDV, then using Compressor overnight to transcode to LT. Problem is my last tape has a glitch about 90 seconds into it, and I want every frame I possibly can, but FCP keeps making a new clip on the timecode break. I've told it not to via "Create new clip on Start/Stop detect". Now under User Preferences->General, "On Timecode Break" there's no option to do nothing, save for Warn After Capture, so I have that option selected and Abort capture on dropped frames turned off. It still either stops the import or makes a new clip.
Now I'm trying as a non-controllable device, but can't seem to get HDV to import as non-controllable. I've searched here, and googled, and the best result I got was this blog: http://fcproducer.com/2008/09/capture-now-with-hdv/ with the same problem as me. We both get a message that says "To capture HDV source material, both the Capture and Device Control presets must be configured for HDV; otherwise, to capture in another format, both must not be configured for HDV." I want to import as HDV, but I don't care about timecode as 1. I figure transcoding to ProRes will throw away my original TC anyways and 2. I won't be going back to HDV tape or recapturing anything.
What is the easiest way to get HDV to capture straight through timecode breaks and tape glitches into one single 63 minute file?
I've had a rough day already and FCP is not my friend today, so I sincerely appreciate the help,
-Brian

Brian,
I have occasionally run into the same thing capturing as HDV and it is so very frustrating. Often times the timecode break seems to happen in different spots. And no, I can't capture over it and ignore the timecode either.
Is there a spot after the break where you can start from with good continuous capture? Start with that, if for no other reason that to get a better outlook on the project. Then get as close as you can with that spot and hope you can use a cutaway.
Do you know anyone that can capture directly as ProRes that you can beg them to do that section for you? I have an AJA IoHD I use to capture most of my HDV as ProRes. Usually works good even on those pesky tapes that capturing as HDV says has those timecode breaks. Go figure. Finicky HDV.
Just for grins try a different FW cable. That helped once.
Sorry I'm not more help. Been there, no fun. Good luck.
Sharon
Message was edited by: SSteele

Codec for HDV to share between apple and pc??

our boss got us 2 G5s and a PC workstation, we can now only share movie files in uncompressed format between different platforms which costs a lot of disk space
is there a CODEC which can be used in both APPLE and PC that encodes HDV in relatively smaller file?
G5 Dual 2.7GHz Mac OS X (10.4.7) FCP 5.04

i'm sure there's codec that use RLE could be
lossless: ]
but this is not what i want.
i just need the codec that could be shared between
mac and windows and keep most of the quality of HDV
and compression ratio is close to HDV codec itself,
When analog signals are converted into HDV digital data inside the HDV camera, your video is no longer lossless. It's not lossless because HDV is based on MPEG-2, which is not lossless. So, I don't mean to insult you, but your comment is self-contradictory.
or may i ask is there a HDV codec which could be use
both in mac and windows?
HDV is a codec, so the answer is HDV. Or... As I said before, H.264 may be used to further recompress high-definition video.

Apple HDV "uncommon codec"?

I edit footage mostly from a Sony Z7 camera, shot in HD 25p onto Compact Flash cards. The FCP (sony) plugin imports this footage via "log and transfer" and turns it into AppleHDV and I use that codec for my timeline. My finished edits are exported as self-contained AppleHDV, ready to be transformed into whatever format is required.
I've been told the Apple HDV codec is an unusual codec (by Sorenson as it happens). I will go to Prores if I'm using other formats or doing color correction of any significance. In fact I prefer Prores in most ways but I cannot transcode to Prores via "log and transfer" so I tend to stick with Apple HDV as a matter of course.
Am I unusual in working this way?
Anyone else working with this codec - surely I'm not alone?
(for the record, it turns out in Sorenson Squeeze 7 there is a bug that makes horrid results when transcoding HDV to anything H.264 - I think thats worth taking note of!)
I'm just wondering if I'm weird

This is true, but it takes a heck of a lot longer to transcode all your footage to prores than to edit straight into HDV. I'm using a pretty speedy mac and I can't say the timeline renders have been any trouble.
I would consider ProRes if I could transcode during "log and transfer" but it seems there is no way to do this without transfering all clips to HDV first.
I could also just work with a ProRes timeline - but then I'm not sure how this would work much differently to exporting my master movie as ProRes from an HDV timeline (apart from every clip would be screaming for a render all the time during the edit.).
My thinking seems to tally with Ken Stone - that if your outputting to web/dvd formats and not doing much color correction or graphics you might as well as stay in HDV.
The problem with this idea is highlighted when you discover that the pricey compression software you bought to take care of all your compression needs wont transcode HDV to h.264 without making a right old mess of the picture - due to a bug involving this "unusual HDV codec".

HDV 1080i60 or 1080p30?

I'm considering changing my HDV project to use 1080P30 instead of 1080i60 which I use now. I don't need the "film" look, so I don't need 24p, especially given the interesting ways it seems to get packaged into HDV tapes.
I use a Sony HVR-V1U camera; projects don't include sports, but almost always stage productions (no special effects other than rather poor lighting: there is never a special performance just for taping); the eventual target is NTSC standard definition DVD; BluRay is a ways off yet.
So, from the experts who do this for a living (I do not: it's a gift to the theater department), what are the pros and cons, especially in the areas of image sharpness, imperfect lighting conditions, motion (mostly slowish pans and zooms, and actor movement), editing complications?
I am most appreciative for any comments and suggestions.
Eddie O

Just to close and follow up (using FCS 2: FCP 6.0.3, DVD SP4.2.1, Compressor 3.0.3)
I did some pretty extensive testing of the Sony HVR-V1U shooting 1080p30 with the type of play I'll be using it on: actual lighting, sound, etc. (dress rehearsal). I shot about an hours worth of tape in various stage lighting conditions; wide establishing shots, medium close ups, and tight close ups.
The results are great. I captured to ProRes 422 and used the AV settings under preferences to set interlace OFF. The ProRes files are progressive. The capture was via firewire directly to ProRes 422 (it works like a capture now) and on my G5 Quad to a FW 800 7200RPM drive (OWC Mercury Pro 1TB), it occurred in real time. Each camera start/stop resulted in a new clip, and when the tape was out near the end (55 minutes), nothing bad happened and I hit escape. One a shorter test clip earlier, if I let the tape just run out, it just puts a dialog up and nothing is lost. There were NO dropped frames.
I put all the clips (10 of them) into a FCP ProRes 1080p30 time line (the default when FCP preferences are set to capture that way), just did a few "cuts," then rendered: no rendering required, time line entries were all dark gray. I then exported to a reference file using the sequence setting and got a small file quickly that when shown in Quicktime confirmed it was all still 1080p30. There was a chapter marker at each clip for testing.
I put that file into Compressor with no filters, no frame controls, set to standard definition, 4.5 average, 7.5 max., audio to AC3 stereo. It compressed in about real time.
It took those files into DVD SP4, created one menu item with 30 seconds of the video as it's background asset, and all that menu did was to start the video.
I burned a DVD image to my hard drive: it worked fine on the computer; I burned that image to a DVD-R (Discmakers Ultra 16x printable silver which turns out to be Taiyo Yuden) at 4x on a Primera Bravo II (Plexstor 716A). The DVD played well in Samsung, LG (DVD-R(W)/VHS combo), Denon 2900, and Playstation 3 DVD Players to a 17" Sharp LCD (set to accept 480p from the player), a Pioneer Plasma 505 (received 480i composit from the LG and upscales to 1280x768 progressive) and a Meridian (JVC internals) 1080p60 projector through a Faroudja scaler from Denon 480i YUV component.
They all worked flawlessly, and the quality was very good. I especially don't miss interlacing jaggies during fast movement; I prefer the blur instead: looks more like film. SInce my shutter speed was fairly slow 1/30 or 1/60, depending on how much light, there was no "judder." With higher speed shutters, you would get more judder, and if the f-stop was also pretty high (this camera goes to F11), you'd have a deep depth of field. As in most theater applications, lighting was not abundant for video work, so the f-stop was pretty low, and the shutter speed slow as indicated. But with the 1/30 shutter available, the cameras gain was kept respectfully low (never greater than 6dB except during blackouts between scenes), and only 6dB when a lone actor was standing against a black back drop and I was on a wide shot. (Note: I used the "spot light" automatic setting to avoid blowing out face highlights: it works well.)
I hope this helps those considering 1080p30.
Eddie O
Message was edited by: Edward A. Oates

Importing HDV QT movie problem

I am using Adobe Image Ready to convert a stream of still images into HDV 1080i 50 quicktime movies lasting only a few seconds each. I then want to combine a whole sequence of these into iMovie HD to ceate a longer movie. The problem is that when I import the Quicktime movie the width is compressed giving a black band down the left side of the screen and a distorted image.
The original still images are 1920 x 1080 pixels. It looks correct in Image Ready, and the exported movie looks ok when viewed in Quicktime Pro which gives the movie size as 1920 x 1080. The project size in iMovie is set to HDV1080i. I can even import the original stills into iMovie and they are dislayed correctly. I know I could create the whole thing in iMovie but Image Ready gives me other tools I would prefer to have access to.
Any thoughts anyone?
thanks
steve

Tony... I know they are trying to help you here... give you a fish or give you a fishing pole...
But based on the other post you had here and the amount of 'splainin' we (I) had to do...
It would be helpful to us if you read the manual and did the tutorials.
That said. I just drag the clip from my FINDER to the NODE window in shake. But that just answers your question and doesn't address the issues you will still have by not knowing what question to even ask.
Good luck,
CaptM

HDV/4:2:0 and DVCProHD/4:2:2

I have been debating getting an AJA Kona LH capture card to improve my HDV editing perfomance.
AJA suggests that one advantge is that you can capture the HDV source material over the analog HD camera/deck output as DVCProHD. Then you can work in 10 bit 4:2:2.
I believe HDV color sampeling is 4:2:0. So if the source material is 4:2:0, is there any real benefit from the 4:2:2 color space you supposedly get after capture?
G5 Dual 2.5 GHZ, 4.5 MB (cause WinXP Can't), GeForce 6800 Ultra, Sonnet SATA 4+4 Mac OS X (10.4.7)

If all you want is a speed up in editing, why not use Apple Intermediate Codec (AIC) HDV, instead of Native HDV ?
Use the easy setup, select AIC HDV, capture, wait a long time for the transcode to complete, then you have a DVC Pro HD like codec (high data rate, independent frames that edit and scrub easily).
You also have a route back to HDV tape, once again, not a very fast one, but it does work.
Personally, I stick to native HDV, and 'suck it up' regarding the poor performance. Once I have a cuts only edit, I put that back to tape (nearly lossless - footage is left alone apart from around the cuts), and then consider what to do next with it. Transcode, re-import as DV, title and post, etc. etc.
The trouble with HDV to DVC Pro HD, aside from the fact the 4:2:0 will end up being rendered into a 4:2:2 codec (without the benefit of a 4:2:0 filter), is that NTSC DVC Pro HD has a native res of 1280x1080, whereas HDV is 1440x1080 (they are both 1440x1080 in PAL) so you have that added complication too.
Unless it is a mixed format project, or your output has to be DVC Pro HD, I would stick with your (majority) source format.
What are you going to make from this, by the way ? If you clear the render cache, and export via compressor, when you have finished, then all your effects and titles will not be re-encoded into HDV, so the argument put forward above, about artefacts, is also not true.
edit: Ignore the 4:2:0 filter part, what the sales guy suggested (analogue capture) would be filtered. You would not gain colour space, but you not be worse off either.

HDR-HC1 - import as DV from HDV footage

The HDR-HC1 is able to export HDV footage as DV through in-camera conversion. However, when I try to import as DV into iMovie I get no image.
Can anyone else get the HDR-HC1 and iMovie to import HDV footage as DV??? If so can they please post the magic setting you need to use in the camera and the sequence of steps to setup a new iMovie project so that it can accept the DV stream?

It's slightly tricky to solve, but with a bit of logical thought it can be done (..I've just tested it for you ..but I'm sure you would have found the answer with some persistence..)
Firstly, of course, set the camcorder (..in the 'Standard Set' menu..) to "i.Link Conv - ON (HDV>DV)" ..so that it converts HDV to DV as the video finds its way out down the FireWire cable.
Then create a New Project in iMovie 5.0.2 (..that's what I'm using for this test..) as 'DV Widescreen' ..because that's the 16:9 shape of the original HDV.
When you connect your camcorder, iMovie will show that it's incompatible with the project! ..Why? ..Because the camcorder's own screen is showing "HDV1080i" in the top-left corner, because that's the original tape format which it's playing. (Make sure, by the way, that the 'Standard Set' menu is also set to "Auto" in "VCR HDV/DV", so that the camcorder isn't forced into HDV playback, but just plays whatever format is on the tape.) Make sure that the camera is NOT connected to iMovie - yet!
Now scroll down the camera's menu to "TV TYPE" and choose "4:3". [..I found that if I was set to the - obvious - 16:9 (i.e; widescreen) the next step gave a squeezed playback in iMovie..]
Start playing your movie on the camcorder, and - while it's playing - with iMovie onscreen, plug in your FireWire cable. Wait. The project should be fooled into thinking there's simply a camera - e.g; an iSight - connected, and will display your video onscreen, and instead of an 'Import' button onscreen, it should show a button marked 'Capture from camera' or similar wording. Click that button, and it'll import.
Don't be dismayed if the footage appears to be squashed in the 'thumbnail' picture in the right-hand clips pane of iMovie. When necessary, click on the 'Capture' button again to stop importing, stop the tape by touching the HC1's screen, and wind forwards or backwards to the next clip you want to capture, then touch 'Play' on the HC1 screen, and click 'Capture' again on the iMovie screen.
The second or third thumbnail clip should display in proper widescreen shape in the right-hand clips pane. Don't stop till you've finished all* your capturing/importing, though you may click Apple+S to Save your project from time to time.
When you Save, or finally Quit after importing all the footage you want, and you then then restart iMovie, any squeezed thumbnails should expand to be their proper shape in the clips pane. You can then play and edit clips as normal ..though they may at first 'overflow' the normal iMovie playback window, and temporarily obscure the Timeline counter.
I mentioned, above*, to keep going till you've captured all your clips, as you probably won't find it possible to import more clips this way once you've Quit from that project ..because once iMovie has labelled the project as "iSight" (..because you've fooled it!..) it will say that you're using an incompatible camera when it next detects your HC1 camcorder.
So you have to fool it, and then - during that period of importing - import all the footage you want.
That's what's just worked for me, anyway.
In summary; there's a bug: even though you set the camcorder to convert the HDV footage to DV, nevertheless, iMovie 5 seems to read the original format of the tape (..what appears on your HC1's playback screen..) and thus believes that what you're sending it is not DV but is HDV. I don't know if the bug is in iMovie (..a possible failure to read the format that's coming down the FireWire cable..) or is Sony's fault (..possible failure to deliver the correct info from the camcorder). So don't necessarily blame Apple without knowing the reason for this camera-to-program communication error.
You may try sending a bug report to Apple - via iMovie Feedback - but Apple's already on iMovie HD version 6, so little may be done to adjust iMovie HD 5 now.
iMovie HD 6.0.1 has a very similar bug (..not absolutely identical, as it may display 'HD' just below the Timeline - having detected it - but may accept that the camera is set to 'DV'..) and so a bug report to Apple, just describing your versions as plain "iMovie HD", may produce an improved version 6.0.2, but I've no idea if they'll update version 5 to remove this apparent inability of iMovie to recognise that the camcorder has been set to deliver DV from the original HDV footage.
So experiment at 'fooling' iMovie HD 5. I managed to do it ..but "your mileage may vary"..

Using Still Pictures In HDV Sequence

Hi, I have some great pix taken with my Nikon D200 I would like to integrate with my HDV footage. I have dropped the pix onto the timeline and FCP has done a wonderful job resizing. They do not, however, fill the HDV frame and leave empty space on both sides (L&R). I would like to crop the pix to fit the HDV frame but have run into the pixel aspect ratio dilema. It boils down to square vs. rectangular pixels. Can someone share the correct procedure for cropping standard, digital (JPG & TIFF), pictures into HDV (1440x1080) frames without distortion? If you use square pixels, the frame does not match (square), if you set to 16x9 pixels, the frame matches but the picture is distorted (width)... any suggestions? Also, would like to add some motion (without keyframing every picture), tried iPhoto but can't find 16x9 setting. Also thought there might be a way to drop the full frame photo into FCP and then "drag" the picture behind the 16x9 frame border until I get the correct position. Thought this would be possible using layers but cant figure it out. Any suggestions? Thanks.

What is the resolution and aspect ratio of the still images? If they don't have the same resolution and aspect ratio as your FCP Sequence, you'll have to live with having it NOT fill the frame or having it distorted. By the way, there's no rule that says you HAVE to fill the frame. If you don't like the black background of the unfilled area you can always place a color matte or other clip on a video track below the image.
-DH

ADODE MEDIA ENCODER CS5 TAKING FOREVER????

Hello
I have just noticed that AME is not encoding fast enough as it used to. I recently changed my set up to the following,
C : Seagate Momentus XT 500GB (2.5" 7200rpm)
D : Areca Raid Controller 1110 (3 x seagate momentus 7200rpm 2.5" Raid 0) Media Files
E/F :TB32 Raid Controller ( 2 x Seagate 3.5" 7200RPM hdd Raid 0 Partitioned) Stock footage, Media Cache and Exports
I converted my two bay workstation to 4 2.5" HDDs
The sequence I am currently exporting is 23 minutes long and is Matrox HDV 50i, with Matrox colour correction, Magic Bullet Looks and Adobe Auto contrast. This export is taking forever and it has just rendered a sixth of the sequence for 2 hours 27 minutes and indicates that 11 hours 23 minutes remains to render. CPU is not maxed out never had such awful long renders before with my previous setting which had only two logic HDDs.
This was my previous HDD set up
C : Bios Raid 0 (Western Digital Caviar Green 3.5" 7200 x 2 partitioned into C & D)
E/F :TB32 Raid Controller ( 2 x Seagate 3.5" 7200RPM hdd Raid 0 Partitioned) Stock footage, Media Cache and Exports
So currently I am not sure whether I have gone for the better or I have just worsened. I have just exported some clips with after effects and the CPU was maxed out without any sluggish perfomance.
SYSTEM
HP XW6600 Win 7 Pro 64 bit
Dual Xeon 5450 3ghz (8 virtual cores)
32 GB RAM
GTX 285 2GB GPU
Matrox RT X2
Areca 1110
I have got lots of jobs coming up and perfomance has become of paramount importance. I am considering RMA of the 2.5" HDDs here, don't know what to do really? Check out this picture which shows the perfomance I am suffering here.

Ann Bens wrote:
You need to establish if this is AME or Matrox.
Place your project in a non Matrox project and render again.
Mind you Looks and auto contrast take a lot of rendering.
Best is to ditch the auto contrast and use the Brightness and Contrast.
Effects with auto tend to make a mess of you video.
What preset did you use i find your settings somewhat odd.
I copied all the footage in the matrox timeline and pasted it into HDV timeline. There was no change, the render speed is just the same. The first clip in this sequence is a quicktime mov file 1920 x 1080 (Opening sequence 30 sec long no effects), AME renders this one faster than real time and max out the CPU to over 95%, but when it hits the main content with the filters, the CPU usage drops tremendously. This happens on both matrox and HDV sequences, which leaves with no alternative but to think that the slowness render issue lies with the Red Giant plugins.

A Good Work Flow For FCP 5.0 using Canon's HV20

I am using FCP 5.0 on an intel iMac, 1.8ghz, 1gig of RAM, running FCP 5.0
I'd like advice on a good work flow in terms of the proper project settings,
capture settings, and compressor settings for a good burn to DVD.
I use the 24p element on the HV20, but I am not really interested in editing native
as I won't be going back to film, just DVD.
Pointers anyone?

There's this:
http://creativemac.digitalmedianet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=188809
And this:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=306389
But yeah, you have to get FCP 6. 5.1 was only released to those who shipped off their 5.0 disks, so finding copies for sale will be tough. And FCP 5 was BARELY into HDV editing...forget 24p. You need to get a later version of the software.
Shane

Upconvertig DV into HDV

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