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Avid Media Composer Codec & Filter Questions
B”H
Dear All:
I’m a fairly new Avid user and own Media Composer 3.5.4 (for Windows), software only, with Boris FX Continuum Complete 5.0.4. I recently shot my first 60 minute film on four Sony Z1-U HDV cameras, using the HDV 1080i 59.94 format. Here are my questions:
1. I used HDVSplit to capture the footage directly into M2T files (I found it faster and more accurate than the Avid capturing) from a Sony deck.
When importing my M2T files into Avid, which codec do I use: DNxHD 145, 220, or 220x, and with which parameters, RGB or 709HD, and upper or lower field?
A. Thus far I noticed that when I used the 145 or 220 codec it seems that the MXF file created is simply a 7MB file that must be referencing the original M2T file (i.e. indicating that no conversion was performed). On the other hand, when I use the 220x codec, the Avid media file is created with a comparable size to the original M2T file, indicating that Avid converted the format, but also saying that the 220x is essentially the same as the M2T file. Which codec should I use? Is there any difference in quality (even if it is slight, I do want the highest quality)? Could it be the the 145 standard is the perfect one, because it is simply referencing the original M2T file?
B. I tried importing both with RGB & 709HD color spaces, but again, in looking at the images & at the wavescope, everything is seemingly identical. the 709HD does not limit itself to 16-235 colors, and all colors seem to be mapped identically. What standard should I use, and to what standard should I output (if I inted to go both to 1080p for TV & theatre displays)? Doesn’t RGB give me a better range — i.e. 0-255? Should I be limiting my color space to 16-235 by performing color legalization, or should I allow colors to go from 0-255, thereby getting true white & true black?
C. From what I read, I should be using the Upper Field first, as is standard to HDV & HD — Am I correct?2. I used the BCC DeNoise & BCC DeInterlace filters with pretty good results, when cleaning up some torch-only lit knight shots. Are the Topaz Enhance equivalent filters (used on After Effects) more powerful & worth my investment?
3. Should I be setting my rendering at 8-bit 16-bit, or Automatic? Do the bits refer to 8-bit color, 10-bit color, 12-bit color, etc. — 16-bit is way beyond, if so. From what I gather 8-bit color is 8-bit per color channel, i.e. 24-bit. I would like to get the best final gradation/continuous tone. I’ve set all my final output to 220x, for 10-bit.
4. I’m still worried about graininess (especially on the blue channel) when I increase the gain, and also about loosing the opulance of my night images. Can you suggest BCC, Avid, and or other filter usages to increase the brightness/gain and avoid loosing detail & contrast/blackness? Also, can you suggest ways to decrease graininess?
Best Regards & Many thanks!
Dan.
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1 Reply
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Dan,
Coming from HDV, which is an acquisition format, you should be fine with DNxHD 145, which is Avid’s mastering codec. You won’t see much if any loss, and the resulting file takes up much less bandwidth.
Since you have multiple applications for your finished product, stick with video instead of RGB, and, yes, it is Upper Field first.
I have found the BCC filters to be very powerful for what you are correcting. While the Topaz filters are terrific, you seem to be getting what you need with BCC.
You should be able to get the most out of your images using the Avid Color Correction first and then applying BCC as needed. Avid’s CC allows you to work with the blue channel independently, if that’s what you need to wrangle. I often use a slight “S” curve on the Master Channel in the Curves window to add a little punch to low-light, grainy or night shots.
Regards,
Joe Womble
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