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Converting FCP .MOV (HDV) to .MP4 for Premiere Pro CS6
All I’m trying to do is convert some FCP captured HDV footage to a suitable format for use in Premiere Pro cs6. I have achieved this without problem before but now I’m having strange resolution issues. Here’s what I did before…
1 – Capture in FCP to HDV 1080i
1 – Use Handbrake to convert the file and deinterlace the source footage for accurate chroma key.
2 – Import into Premiere and editSimple, right? Well not this time around. This time I used the same camera, tapes, capture deck, capture settings etc. The .MOV files created were precisely as expected in 1440×1080 HDV codec. So I started converting them and Handbrake wants to change the resolution to different integers each time I restart the software. This time it wants to convert it to 1869×1038. Other times it wants 1440×800. I can set a custom anamorphic dimension but Handbrake always applies automatic cropping and changing one number always changes another somewhere else. The number in the display width box doesn’t seem to have any relationship with anythign else, and it’s always more than 1900. This is confusing the hell out of me.
So I went ahead and converted a file. It plays back in VLC, QT, WMP as 16:9 and is definitely deinterlaced and has retained the image quality of the original file. “Great” I thought. So I imported it into PP CS6 and no matter what sequence preset I use I always get a notification telling me that the sequence settings are wrong and do I want to change the sequence settings to match the file. To which I say yes. The footage is now previewable in PP but displays in a 4:3 aspect ratio. The footage is definitely 16:9 and the last thing I want to do is transform the footage in PP when I know the file is 16:9.
Does anyone have any idea what the hell is happening here? I’ve never experienced such a ballache over a simple video file. Here’s a few specific questions I would like answers for…
a) Why is Handbrake coming up with non standard resolutions that are of no use to man nor beast?
b) How can I convert a 1440×1080 HDV .MOV file without suffering a complete loss of my sanity?
c) Why is Premiere Pro CS6 forcing 16:9 footage to preview in 4:3?Am I overlooking something really fundamental here? Like I said previously, I’ve done this process before without error. If anyone can suggest a better process for taking FCP captured footage to a CS6 PC workstation then I will be your best friend forever.
Many thanks!
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6 Replies
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[Matthew Hale] “If anyone can suggest a better process for taking FCP captured footage to a CS6 PC workstation then I will be your best friend forever.”
Transcode the footage to 1920×1080 square pixel Prores or DNxHD or if your I/O can capture straight to Prores then do that. Handbrake is pretty neat if you need to make small files to handheld devices, but I wouldn’t use that in this case.
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[Matthew Hale] “All I’m trying to do is convert some FCP captured HDV footage to a suitable format for use in Premiere Pro cs6… If anyone can suggest a better process for taking FCP captured footage to a CS6 PC workstation then I will be your best friend forever.”
Apple’s QuickTime HDV codec is included with Final Cut Pro. It is only available on Macs.
I think you have three options.
1) Buy the Calibrated{Q} XD Decoder [link] so you can read the original FCP HDV MOV files on a PC. There’s a trial available so you can make sure it works as expected.
2) Transcode the HDV footage on a Mac that has FCP installed to a more cross-platform format (ProRes MOV?)
3) Use a tool like ffmpeg/ffmbc to rewrap (without transcoding) the HDV MOV as an MPEG2 transport stream, which Premiere should read natively on either platform.
Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
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Thanks for the info. I was reluctant to use Handbrake for the same reason, but it was the only transcoding software that would recognise it as a video. Adobe Media Encoder wouldn’t have it and Compressor on the Mac at work needs re-installing, and no discs. Old Mac. Nevertheless thanks for the help.
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Wow great advice. Thanks for taking the time. I looked into your suggestions. XD Decoder is a little too expensive for me and I wouldn’t know where to start with ffmpeg. A little too advanced for me. Transcoding is my only option so I’ll go with that. Would CS6 prefer ProRes .MOV over something else? I don’t want to go over the top with 1080i footage from a pretty awful camera.
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I’ll take a bit of that back. DO NOT CAPTURE STRAIGHT TO PRORES. It seems to be making visible jaggies in edges. I guess Final Cut can’t handle the anamorphic to square stretch. If your setup goes through a proper I/O then it’ll probably look a bit better.
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Digital Media Converter Pro will convert your MOV file and output it in MP4, or whatever other format you need – https://www.deskshare.com/audio-video-converter.aspx
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