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EX-1 footage in FCP shows 4.4 VBR – how do I get the 35 VBR image in FCP?
Hi All,
I am a new user of the EX-1 and have gotten some very helpful advice on workflow thus far.
But I’m encountering a new problem in FCP I’m hoping someone can help me solve.
I used Clip Browser to CRC copy from SxS to firewire. I used XDCam Transfer to import and the clips as they play in FCP (in a timeline set to match the clip) seem to have fairly heavy compression added to them. In clip properties they say they have a 4.4 variable bit rate, whereas the wrapped quicktimes when played in QT player look much better and play back at 35 Vbr – is there something I’m missing? Is this just a playback issue and it will look all right when I export and compress to DVD or quicktime?
I don’t necessarily mind editing at this rate but would like the option to playback at the “good” resolution in certain cases and definitely need to export quicktimes and ultimately DVD’s without the ugly 4.4 VBR compression.
Can anyone enlighten me on this?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Jim
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6 Replies
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35mbits = 4.4MBytes
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Hi Craig,
Thanks for the technical clue-in.
But to the naked eye the footage looks much worse in FCP than in QT. Played back in each case at 50% of the image size, in QT a blazer is a blazer, clean image. In FCP it’s got cycling “noise” and fuzz all over it and the only way to describe it is to say it looks much more compressed. I can imagine the color looking slightly different from one software program to another (which it does though I can’t understand why) but the overall quality?
Do you not have this experience?
Do you use FCP?
Is there the possibility XDCam transfer or FCP has a setting that I’m overlooking?
Thanks for your help,
Jim
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I’ve been using FCP and EX since Dec 2007. There is no change in quality in FCP other than the shot is scaled to fit in the viewer/canvas window. To see the original set the window to 100% (but that’s HUGE). I’m not sure what you’re seeing.
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Hi Craig,
Thanks for your help.
It’s very strange. I know about the sizing and mentioned that just to say that this was “apples to apples” looking at a 50% size image.
Basically I just see a flickering “noise” – kind of like what you’d see in an imperfectly compressed DVD. Nothing outrageous but not the pristine look of the quicktime as viewed in QT player.
I tested an export and it too is fine in QT, but plays ugly in FCP.
I’m glad to see it’s not embedded in the export but am a bit mystified by all this.
Do you do anything for your sequence settings besides cutting in a clip and letting FCP suggest that it match the settings to that clip?
I may try FCP board and see if anyone’s had this issue.
Jim
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I just use the Easy Setups and change Render Control to ProRes. That wouldn’t impact playback though (except renders).
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As Craig points out there is nothing wrong with the footage. May be your system or the FC play back setting.
Change your sequence codec to Prores and check “Render all YUV material in High precision”.
Export a Self contained movie and bring it to Compressor. In Compressor set the “Frame Control: ON” and Better for the downscaling options.
Cheers,
Rafael
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