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The Best Way To Export???
First, thanks to all who have responded to past questions. Very helpful and much appreciated.
Ok, I am converting an edited documentary on landmines in Cambodia (that was shot on mini-DV PAL) from PAL to NTSC so I can put it on DVDs that will play here in the US.
I tried the Traditional Method PAL to NTSC Conversion as suggested here: https://www.macworld.com/article/49306/2006/02/marchcreate.html
The end result of video quality was pretty decent, but the subtitles flickered and shook whenever there was any motion in the video.
What is the best way to maintain good quality video and deal with this flickering text problem???I am now trying to use the Slow-PAL method to convert the video (which requires conforming in Cinema Tools also described at the above site). I’ve read a number of other posts here on converting PAL to NTSC and while all were informative there were nonetheless conflicting suggestions. Can someone please help put this issue to rest. Of the suggestions I’ve seen, which of the following is the best way to begin the conversion of DV PAL to NTSC? Which will give me quality video and solve my flickering text issue?:
– Export>QuickTime Movie>DV PAL 48 kHz setting
– De-interlace>set sequence to high-precision rendering>Export via Compressor using the ProRes 422 (HQ) PAL 48 kHz setting
– Change compressor in sequence setting to 8-bit uncompressed>re-render sequence>Export via Compressor using the uncompressed 8-bit PAL 48 kHz
– OR anything else???After this point I think I can follow the rest of the steps to conform the video and then re-compress it.
Please forgive my ignorance.
After months and months, well years really, of working on this project and being so close to the end there is always more to learn.Thanks.
Mark
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5 Replies
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DV is tough enough to work with and keep titles clean, and NTSC to PAL transfers never look quite as good as the original IMHO… but the best I’ve ever seen is done with hardware, not software. Is there a place near you that has such equipment? It’s a matter of a dub of the video through the box, and out comes PAL…
Jerry
Apple Certified Trainer, Producer, Writer, Director Editor, Gun for Hire and other things. I ski.
8-Core 3.0 Intel Mac Pro, Dual 2 gig G5, AJA Kona SD, AJA Kona 2, Huge Systems Array UL3D, AJA Io HD, 17″ MBP, Matrox MXO2 with MAX Cinema Displays
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No, I can’t go to a place, I need to use FCP or Compressor.
But I need to improve the quality of the text subtitles. They were atrocious when there was video motion.
Which of the options that I listed above would be the best?Thanks
Mark -
Well…
Might try the conversion SANS the titles, then put that exported file in a PAL DV sequence, then add the titles back to that…
Jerry
Apple Certified Trainer, Producer, Writer, Director Editor, Gun for Hire and other things. I ski.
8-Core 3.0 Intel Mac Pro, Dual 2 gig G5, AJA Kona SD, AJA Kona 2, Huge Systems Array UL3D, AJA Io HD, 17″ MBP, Matrox MXO2 with MAX Cinema Displays
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Hi Mark,
I’m in the same boat as you, and I’d be curious to know if you ended up figuring out a solution to creating a high quality NTSC DVD with crisp subtitles.
I’m editing in DVCAM PAL and used the same traditional PAL to NTSC conversion method mentioned from the same MacWorld article. The image is fine when I’m done converting, but the area around and behind the text looks highly compressed/fuzzy and the text flickers when there’s motion in the footage behind it.
The best workaround I’ve come up with so far is to duplicate the PAL sequence, disable all the subtitles (be careful that you don’t have any already-disable subtitles when you do this or they will switch on when you disable the rest), and then convert to NTSC using the traditional method from the MacWorld article.
After that, I import the NTSC version into an NTSC timeline in FCP and paste the subtitles from the PAL sequence into the NTSC timeline. The real time-suck is having to manually readjust all the in and out points of each subtitle to match up with the NTSC version. The resulting NTSC DVD is decent, but the subtitles still have compression fuzziness around them and tend to flicker ever so slightly.
So that’s my stop-gap measure for now, but I’m still looking for more inventive, time-saving ways to get better results. I’d love to know if you ended up figuring out a solution and if you wouldn’t mind sharing it.
All the best,
Erin
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Well the text shouldn’t be atrocious even with Compressor if you’re setting the quality high enough. But honestly, even at the absolute best settings in Compressor, text usually is just a tad soft.
If you want the absolute best text for your DVDs invest in BitVice from Innobits. Hands down the best compression tool for MPEG-2 videos I’ve seen.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Editor, Colorist, Director, Writer, Consultant, Author, Chef.
HD Post and Production
Biscardi Creative Media“Foul Water, Fiery Serpent” featuring Sigourney Weaver coming soon.
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