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Transcoding DVCPRO HD 720p/24 to DV NTSC 29.9 FPS
Hi All,
I have a project that was shot in DVCPRO HD 720p/24 fps and I need to transcode it to DV NTSC 29.9 FPS. I’ve tried it in FCP and it looks like crap. The internet gods have told me that using After Effects is the best way to do this, but I can’t figure it out for the life of me.
If anyone could point me in the right direction, it would really save me!
I have CS3, but the way.
Thanks!
Danny
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5 Replies
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All you have to do is drop your 720p 23.976 clip into a standard NTSC DV sequence, but with Field Dominace set to None. This will scale it down and letterbox it.
FCP will add the pulldown during playback, and when you export the sequence using Current Settings.
The motion will be visually indistinguishable from 23.976 when played back.
The is similar to how 24 fps films are converted for standard tv. -
Hi Dave — thank you so much for your help! I’ve followed your instructions and I’m still having a bit of trouble.
The picture quality doesn’t look terrible, but it does look a bit interlacey when the subjects move (horizontal lines trail from the movements). Also, for some reason it’s not rendering out the audio, but that might just be a silly newbie mistake.
Thanks again for all of your help.
Danny
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Solid insight. Here’s my workflow:
The video was shot on DVC PRO HD 720p/24 (on a HVX-200 via P2 cards) and edited in FCP. Now I need to output it into NTSC to be transfered on a beta SP tape for television.
I do not have access to a video monitor today (working everything out on my laptop from home), but is that interlacing typical when viewing NTSC on an LCD?
Also, any idea about the audio?
Thank you so much again, you are really saving my ass.
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Hey Dave,
Just to clarify: The project was indeed edited on a 23.976 timeline in final cut pro. Now it needs to be transcoded into a format that can be transfered onto a beta tape.
I was under the impression that footage transfered onto beta sp tapes had to be in NTSC format and running 29.97 FPS. Am I mistaken about that?
Through researching this topic I have surmised that the best way of transcoding DVC PRO HD 720p 24 FPS into DV NTSC 29.97 FPS is through AE.
When I attempted the workflow that you suggested, I ran into the problems that I described previously.
Do you maybe have any other ideas that might help me out?
Thanks!
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Boy was I out in left field on this one, revealing a fundamental misunderstanding of the pulldown process. I thought that it worked with whole frames, rather than fields.
I thought that the resultant repetition of every fourth or fifth frame in the 29.97 timeline was what was meant by FCP adding pulldown “on the fly”, and had somehow convinced myself the the resultant motion was acceptable.
FCP can add pulldown on the fly over firewire to DV tape, but from, as Dave said, a 23.976 timeline, not a 29.97 one.
My apologies for the misinformation.
I wish I had invested in Chris and Trish Meyer’s Videosyncracies a few years ago.
Anyway, thanks for the clarification, Dave.
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