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Down Converting DVCPro HD to Standard Def using KONA
I have DVCPro HD Footage Captured and now edited (Sequence is in DVCPro HD 60i 29.97).
I have a KONA LHe.I need to down convert my project to SD.
I’ve been trying this on various projects for over a year, and here is what I discover…
If I let FCP do it by exporting a QT mov, then It doesn’t look that great- no matter what codec I use.
Also if I export it from FCP and use my KONA, I get the same basic results.
If I use compressor, I still do not get satisfactory results.
The only way I get a clean looking SD Version is if I play the HD sequence to SD tape and down convert using the KONA… OR… if I Play out to DVCPro HD Tape, then recapture the footage and down convert it on the way in with KONA.
Bottom Line is this… I would like to keep a high quality QT mov of my projects both in HD and SD and not have to go to tape. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Joel
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5 Replies
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How does Apple suggest you use HD material in an SD sequence?Probably copy and paste your HD clips into an SD sequence or nest HD seq in SD seq, then export from that. This would let FCP do the scaling instead of Quicktime or Compressor. What exactly is wrong with the quality in the Compressor method you have tried?
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Why not just keep the HD version and make an SD version when you need it?
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I would assume that he’s making an SD version because he does need it. Whether it be for SD deliverables, which almost all of the corporate clients I’ve done work for where I’m at want, or for some other reason.
Without putting down the big bucks, and I’m sure someone out there knows of programs that can do what you need for the right price, you have to go to tape. I’m not even very impressed by the conversion that the Kona 3 card does. It is definitely better than Final Cut, QT or Compressor, but it still isn’t as good as what it could be. Where I work, we use our Sony PDW-F70 XDCam HD decks to downconvert, rather than the Kona. It just looks better.
Sorry I can’t help you find the software that you need. We simply don’t work that way, we keep tape masters (both HD and SD, for the HD work that we do) of everything.
Best of luck finding something that works, but my guess would be that if you want something better than Final Cut’s down-conversion, you’ll be stuck going to tape.
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[Randy Lee] ” I’m not even very impressed by the conversion that the Kona 3 card does”
Are you sure you have it setup correctly?
I understand having Sd deliverables, but if it’s not going to tape, why keep an sd version? THere are plenty of ways to make an SD digital file from an HD one, you just have to know what buttons to push and how to handle field order, frame size and frame rate.
Jeremy
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Yes, we have it set up correctly, and we ran quite a few tests when we picked up 3 Final Cut suites here, and decided to do all the up- and down-converting with the XDCam decks, because they just look better than the results that we can get any other way. We even had a FCP Certified Trainer in, who looked over our workflow and agreed that the PDW-F70 just plain does a better job.
As for SD versions on tape… it just works better for our workflow. We produce several shows that air regionally, and each airs 3 times, with new commercials inserted each time. None of the stations in the Midwest here take HD masters, so we ship out new Beta SP and DVC Pro tapes every week to 15+ stations. Keeping an SD master works much better. For our workflow, anyway, not everyone is doing the same sort of work or has the same needs.
Regardless, I’m not satisfied with the result that we get using anything in the Final Cut Studio 2 suite to do the down-conversion. If it works for others, thats great, but its just not as clear as the footage we shot, and not as clear as using the right hardware to do the conversion. If anyone knows any software that can do a better job, I’m not sure we would implement it here, but I would definitely be interested in learning about it. That seems to be half the job in this industry, learning about all the new toys that are always coming out 😉
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