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Conform vs. Import – Quality
We recently got a Sony HD Camcorder and I have about 300 shots I would like to take from it and edit in the Media 100 (Suite 1.1.1). The files are AVCHD and I am using Final Cut’s Log and Transfer window to convert the files to a codec recognized by the Media100. These video files are being used in an SD show. I am transferring the files to the ProRes 422 codec, then importing those into Media100 using the Media 100i SD codec. It doesn’t look very good at all when importing to SD for some reason. However when I import the file as is (fast import) then drag the clip onto the SD timeline to “conform” it, it looks fantastic…but it also takes a lot longer than the slow import conversion. Is there something I am doing wrong on the import? I have over 300 shots that I need in a bin, so it would be nice to just import them rather have to drag them all onto a timeline, and then back again. What would be the difference between importing to SD and conforming to SD?
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5 Replies
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It looks like they use different conversion algorithms. You could select all your HD files in your bin, and then right-click one of them and use “Conform Selected Clips…” instead of dragging them all to a timeline and back. Should give you the same result, only quicker.
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When I import the HD clip with the media standard set to 525i 29.97 (16×9) the image doesn’t look good – it is very crawly and the colours are oversaturated. Also there appears to be 2 sets of Audio Tracks (ie. under the little speaker in the bin thumbnail it says A1A2 twice. As well as there are 2 A1A2’s in the channel mapping.) When I try to drag this clip onto the NTSC 525i 29.97 (16×9) timeline it gives me an error message until I disable one of the identical sets of audio channels. Very strange.
When I import the HD clip as is (Apple ProRes 4:2:2), then drag it (and conform) onto the NTSC 525i 29.97 (16×9) timeline it looks exactly like it should…great.
It also takes much more time to conform the file than importing.
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[Ben Masterson] “It also takes much more time to conform the file than importing.”
Then at least it is good that the conform gives a better quality. Would be more problematic if the conform took longer and the result would not be better.
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Thanks for the response Floh, that is something I missed. I am wondering why they use different algorithms. Does this mean we should not trust the import feature to downconvert or upconvert?
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Thanks Floh. You gave your response as I was typing my update. You’re too quick 😉
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