-
DigiBeta QC and Delivery Specs – Quick Turnaround
Hi, I have a quick question regarding what a little jargon means. A client’s delivery specifications state, within SD deliveries:
“Please note that only 480 lines of video will be captured starting at line 22, field 1. This means the first line of video should be on line 22, field 1.”
I’m hearing rumors that QC may have rejected an output, with keywords “didn’t start right.” Haven’t gotten the official report back, yet, but I wanted to get a jump start on how one goes about starting on line 22, field 1. Is that engineer jargon for “deliver full screen anamorphic”?
My process of mastering was: Output 23.98 HDCAM master (which passed QC with flying colors), then set the HDCAM deck to do a downconversion on the fly to a DB deck, NDFTC, 4:3 letterbox (the content was 16:9 HD, obviously, so I chose to letterbox to the DB, rather than squeeze, as it was not stated in clear English anywhere whether there was a preference, and I thought that would be easiest for authoring.) By being letterbox with black bars above and below, is that not “starting on line 22, field 1?” In other words, must the video fill the entire 4:3 frame in order to start on line 22, field 1? Or is it something else entirely?
It’s easy enough for me to lay off in squeeze mode from the HD house copy, but I just don’t know if that’s what the problem is. How does one get the video to start on line 22, field 1? Program starts exactly on all the TCs they requested, beginning with 01:00:00:00.
Thanks!
-
5 Replies
-
And like I said, it may have something else on the actual QC report… I’m just trying to be proactive, and I’m also curious what that technicality means for future reference.
Thanks again!
-
Aha, turns out I did deliver it precisely as requested. Error on the part of QC. Wonderful. It’s satisfying to see that my initial efforts toward precision weren’t in vain.
But, I am still curious if anyone out there knows what the English translation of line 22, field 1 is.
Thanks again, and happy editing!
-
[Joel Fisher] “I am still curious if anyone out there knows what the English translation of line 22, field 1 is.”
There are lines reserved above video content for data, typical VITC (vertical interval timecode). What they QC people are expecting is that content starts on line 22. This is a throwback to the analog way of measuring the 525 scan lines of NTSC or 625 lines of PAL. In a digital world, that line measure is not often used in pixel jargon. If you are using a Kona or Decklink card, you should have no worries.
Field order is the next part of the equation. This is tricky as fields are referred to as upper or lower in FCP jargon. In TV land they are usually called field 0 or 1. 0 = upper 1 = lower. So they are expecting the digi beta to be lower field first.
On the issue of squeeze versus letterbox, it ultimately falls on the broadcaster to nominate. Personally, I have always delivered anamorphic (also called squeeze or full height to further confuse the issue). Letterbox, throws away a lot of resolution which in standard def is usually not desirable. On DVD it is better to let the player output a letterbox from an anamorphic, rather than punish those who have bothered to get 16:9 TVs. Again there are dozens of opinions on this but that is my practice.
Hope this helps.
-
Great, thanks. I basically trusted that with everything set up correctly on the LH, the HDCAM deck, and the Digi, everything would be technically good, as it always had been in the past… and it was. I also knew a bit about the upper and lower fields, and again, trusted that the correct settings would provide the proper output, even if I wasn’t fully knowledgeable of the science. Thanks so much for writing it all out in such a helpful way.
I knew that about anamorphic, but am always nervous when it comes to delivering that way. Once saw a pretty high profile featurette for a feature film end up on even Apple’s site squeezed… appalling. You just never know who’s on the other end. Maybe I should deliver anamorphic anyway, and trust there’s someone competent/caring on the receiving end. Thanks for pointing out the short end of the stick that 16:9 set owners receive!
-
A few weeks ago a series of ads on TV that were FHA instead of letterboxed. Oops. They’ve sense fixed them though.
-A
3.2GHz 8-core, FCP 6.0.4, 10.5.5
Blackmagic Multibridge Eclipse (6.8.1)
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up