URGENT - FCP exporting for UK broadcast

Hi everyone,
I have a really urgent question that I'm hoping someone in the know can answer - it concerns exporting PAL 16:9 video (with audio) from FCP, in such a format/compression that is acceptable for UK broadcast.
I have recently started a video production business, and we've just been asked (at short notice) to film & export footage for broadcast on regional news in the UK (it only broadcasts in SD - so we've filmed in SD. It's going out on the BBC and ITV). It was filmed on a Canon XH-A1s, and the audio was recorded with a Rode NTG-2. We've got it all shot, captured and edited, and we now need to render it out.
Thing is, we're faced with so many compression options, we don't know which one to choose! We've only ever really used H.264 .mov for web/YouTube videos, so we're totally new to the concept of exporting for broadcast. I assume it needs to be as uncompressed/high quality as possible? Or is there something totally different I should be thinking about?
If someone can please do me a huge favour by providing the correct export settings for this situation, I would love you forever. Also, would the same principle apple if the footage is in HD, or would it require different settings?
Many, many thanks in advance.
- Josh.

Here are the settings required by ITV if you're going to FTP your media ... or DVCAM tape?
1) Windows Media Video v9 (.wmv)
Bit Rate 4Mb/s
720 x 576
25F PAL
Lower Field First
Windows Media Audio v9
160Kb/s
48KHz
Stereo
2) Quick Time H264 (.mov)
Bit Rate 4Mb/s
720 x 576
25F PAL
Lower Field First
ACC
160Kb/s
48KHz
Stereo

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Exporting for Broadcast Question

Hello Folks,
Very simple question that I cannot seem to find sifting through the forums. We helped film some interviews for a broadcast station. They have requested that we send them digital files in .MOV format and .AVI format.
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Alistair
Earlybird is exporting H264 ... the Key Frames setting is determining the GOP length. This value should really be determined based on the complexity of the video, to my understanding, the actual frame rate has no bearing on it. If you have very complex fast moving content then a low Key Frame rate is advisable to ensure good image quality (although it will adversely affect the filesize) whereas if you have slow moving or static content (like an interview subject) then a higher Key Frame rate will still produce a good image but at a smaler filesize. The default of 24 should be pretty much fine as a catchall starting point.
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http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/hdv_timeline_to_sd_dvd.html
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Thanks a lot, this did the trick.
Yeah I'm doing a dual layer dvd, but I'm sending it off for replication so from what I've read it sounds like I have to build and format the dvd, then burn each Layer to it's own dvd. Do you have any experience with this? The break point is kind of confusing me right now because it sounds like just a lot of trial and error.
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Exporting FCP movie for DVD Studio Pro

I am finished with my movie. I am confused now on the exporting to DVD studio pro. How do I do this? My viewer also would like it to be in widescreen because they had just bought a HDTV widescreen.
So how do I go about this. I have made many with iDVD but this will be my first with Studio Pro.
How do I export for DVD studio Pro?
PowerBook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.8) 2GB - 100GB Hard Drive

The most important thing you can do to help us answer your question is to give us the specs on your project. Open Final Cut Pro and click into your sequence. Then go to the menu "sequence" and go to "settings" or simply hit a command-0 (the number not the letter). Then tell us the frame size and the compressor used. From that information, we can get a better idea on how to help you: it is best to start any post with this information.
To export the best quality, go to file -> export -> QuickTime Movie...
From there, export using current settings, include audio and video, and make sure the bottom two boxes are checked (recompress all frames and make self-contained)
Once that file is created, import into DVD SP and you're done. Don't worry about compressor or other formats right now. This will give you the best picture with the minimum amount of headaches. Let us know how it turns out.

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I'm using FCP 4.5 (upgrade next year!) and complete newbie to FCP/video post.
I've captured video from a Sony PD150 using "DV PAL 48KHz". Now when I play back the video is horribly blurry and pixelated. When playing, but when paused it's nice and sharp! Is this just the "Canvas"?
When I export the clip to "Quicktime Movie" using "Current Settings" the video also comes out blurry - although according to the manual it's supposed to be "broadcast quality". If I change output settings to "Uncompressed 10-bit PAL 48KHz" it's way better.
My questions are - why is the default export so blurry? And what format/codec do I need to export for hi-quality DVD playback - i.e. format/codec to import into DVD Studio Pro or iDVD?
Thanks!

No render bars are showing. I don't believe I've changed the footage in any way. This is all working off a brand new project and straight after capture. To give you an idea..
This is a still frame in FCP when it's not playing:
http://img835.imageshack.us/img835/4552/stillw.png
This is when it is playing:
http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/9269/moviee.png
And this is an export to DV - PAL:
http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/4733/dvpal.png
What format do I need to be exporting to plug into DVD authoring? If I can export ok to this format maybe I don't need to worry, although I'm still confused why export to DV - PAL is giving such a poor picture since I thought that was like the lossless format for post editing?
Message was edited by: musictechnz

More trouble with exporting for web

Alright,
Sorry to say but I am still having trouble converting/exporting my film trailer to the website for PC users to be able to access it.
I converted it to a quicktime movie film from FCP, which plays beautifully but apparently PC users can't see it still.
I have tried exporting to Compressor and tried every format there (mobile devices, web and so on...) they all came out pretty blurry.
Does anybody have a full proof plan for converting/exporting for website viewing (PC and Mac compatible)?????
P.S. It may help some of you to see the problem on the page http://www.inthelandofsmiles.com/Site/Film_Trailer.html
THANKS IN ADVANCE!

I will second the Flash suggestion. Great a .flv file and play it on your site with a flv player. Some are more difficult than others to use.
NOTHING is fool proof with this kind of stuff. Flash has the highest install rate on all computers and is as close as you can get to fool proof. You can also put a link on you site to download the latest flash player. The other plus is that it tends to have the best results with low file sizes. This is what YouTube and similar sites use to play their video.
PS. I highly suggest this flv player... It's free for non-commercial use and almost free for other uses...
http://www.jeroenwijering.com/?item=JWFLVPlayer

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I have completed an edit of a 7 minute teaser for a feature film and need to export it to be displayed online in a flash player. The footage is HD 1080i, 29.97fps and edited in the Animation coded. My experience with best exports for flash conversion is very limited so please bare with with.
1) Is it possible to export directly from FCP to a flash file? If yes, would that be a good idea, or should I use third party softwares for better results?
2) Which third party softwares are recommended for flash conversion? And what export compression should I use in FCP for best flash conversion results?
3) Any other tips and tricks to get the best quality for flash video display?
Any help would obviously be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

When I have quality HD video that I want to export for flash, I compress it with h.264 codec. Then, with the new version of Flash, you can swap out the .mp4 extension for .f4v and your good to go in Flash. Quality looks pretty good at a fraction of the file size.

URGENT - FCP exporting for UK broadcast

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