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Exporting HD to Sd
Hi, am hoping for some advice. I have edited a project using footage from an XDCam. I have exported it as a Quicktime HD file and am now trying to export it as an SD file (720×576). Can I do this using Compressor and if so, does anyone know what settings I should use? Any help would be very much appreciated. I’m currently exporting using Quicktime Conversion and it’s telling me it will take 7 hours. I’m using Final Cut 7. I also read that I may be able to import the HD file I have created into Compressor and export it to an SD file – any thoughts on this?
Thanks again!
M
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3 Replies
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Yes you can import the HD file you already have made into Compressor.
Just drop it into the job area window and then drag your chosen settings.
In terms of settings its hard to give you exact instructions as the best codec to use will depend on what you need the file for.
The fact it says 7 hours kind of makes me guess you are making an H264 file, as they tend to take quite a time to transcode.
There are presets for H264, if thats what you need. (Remember that if you want to change a preset you must duplicate the setting first and you can then modify the copy setting.)
Make sure you are not accidently modifying the frame rate or the aspect ratio.
You seem to be creating a 720×576 anamorphic file. Thats fine, it should display at 1024×576 if everything has been set correctly.
(You could always try 1024×576 which will automatically look right)Since its quite a long transcode I would just export a short section of your timeline, say 10 or 15 secs. Then transcode just that short HD section to SD.
That way you can check all is fine before going for the whole file.Hope thats helpful.
best wishes
Neil
http://www.patience.tv -
Hi Neil,
Thanks for the reply. My client has asked for the HD file which he is outputting to a bluray and also for the SD file (not sure why he wants this – most likely to have the option to output to dvd as well as bluray). So I don’t need the file to be H264 (I don’t think). Does that information help in regards to any advice you can give me for the settings? Thanks for the reminder about duplicating the presets – I’d totally forgotten about that.
M x
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Hi Maggie
So it seems that both the files that you need to create are for DVD use, either BluRay or standard DVD.
Well if your client is going to be making the DVD you have a couple of options. Might be worth asking them if they have a preference.
You could give then a good quality H264 HD Quicktime movie and a similar SD Quicktime movie. They can then encode the files for the DVD to their requirements using your QT files.
Or you could make files ready for use in whatever DVD authoring programme they intend to use.
Compressor 3 has presets for both options. (Not sure about earlier versions) If you look in the settings window inside the Apple folder you should find a DVD folder.
Inside that you will see various options for standard DVD which is MPEG 2 categorised by quality and duration. I would go for best quality.
For BluRay there is an option to create BluRay when you first open Compressor in the template menu, you can also access this from “file” – “new batch from template”
(Dont use the HD DVD settings, this is not the same as BluRay.)Both of these options will create a Video file and a separate audio file.
These can then be used by a DVD authoring programme to create a DVD.
Just a quick word of warning, I have, in the past, been asked to provide similar files by clients who think that they can just copy the files onto a DVD and it will play.
They get very confused when separate audio and video files arrive and have no real clue what to do with them.It might be worth a quick check to see if they are happy with Quicktime or want you to encode MPEG2 and H264.
best wishes
Neil
http://www.patience.tv
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