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Converting source PAL to NTSC – FCP or tape house?
I need to convert source video on PAL DV-cam to NTSC for use on an FCP NTSC or HD timeline (not sure yet of the aspect ratio).
Which would produce better quality:
1. Capturing the DV-Cam PAL from a PAL deck into a FCP PAL sequence, then using QT conversion to convert that PAL to a QT NTSC file for edting.
2. Having the PAL converted to NTSC at a standards-conversion/ tape house either to NTSC tape or digital file and then ingesting it to FCP as NTSC?
Thank you for your response, and if you’ve experienced this same issue before, I’d love to hear how it turned out. I understand that a tape house can do such a thing as a 6 field or 8 field standards conversion — but I’m confused as to what this actually does. I’m also concerned about encountering interlacing issues in FCP NTSC on both of these processes.
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2 Replies
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QT Conversion does not really do standards conversion. Usually results in stuttery frames, as it just does a quick and dirty frame rate change.
You can use Compressor for this, but the render takes a very very long time (days for a long piece).
Standard Conversion plug-in is available from Nattress.com. Reasonable render time, excellent quality, and inexpensive ($99).
The best quality would still be getting the footage converted on a good hardware standards converter (Alchemist). Hardware dedicated to this still does the best job of all.
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I recommend you the same work-flow than Jhon. Just set your PAL footage in a NTSC time-line and drop the Nattress Standar Conversion plugin. You can do it with Compressor, but a good satandard conversion take ages. And use QT conversion only when the quality is not an issue.
Cheers,
Rafael
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