1080i to 720p downconvert issues

[Digi07]

Also- my final output will be an MPEG- Transport stream file played back on LCD progressive monitors

[Walter Biscardi]

[Digi07] “I am running FCP 5.1.4 with a Kona 3 card- I brought in uncompressed HD footage via a D5 deck and now I need to downconvert to HD 720p for a client.”

That’s a cross-convert not a downconvert.

The Kona 3 will do this in realtime during output, you do not need to do this in an FCP timeline.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.com
HD Editorial & Animation for Broadcast and independent productions.

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[Digi07]

The Kona 3 cross-convert will only be effective if I am outputting back to D5 our another tape source correct?

We do not need to lay back to tape, rather just provide a Teleport steam Mpeg-2 file.

[Arnie Schlissel]

[Digi07] “The Kona 3 cross-convert will only be effective if I am outputting back to D5 our another tape source correct?”

The Kona 3 can also do the cross-convert on capture. If you still have the deck, you might want to re-capture as 720.

Arnie
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[Michael Gissing]

Perhaps using a smart deinterlace (like the Nattress filters) on the 1080i sequence first before dropping into a 720p sequence might help.

Are you making the transport stream using a software convert? I have an external encoder with HD SDI so using the Kona to convert on the fly would be applicable, (although I have the Decklink HD Pro in my case).

[Digi07]

I can give the Nattress filters a try- thanks.

We are going to do the transport stream in Compressor; Will I get good results using compressor? This is our first HD project and also have not done transport streams before.

[Michael Gissing]

I haven’t tried Compressor to make a transport stream but I have used it for mpeg encoding for DVD. Compared to a high qual hardware convert, I would be surprised if it would look better than say an external Tandberg encoder and the killer is render time.

Real time hardware encoding is bliss but expensive.

[Graeme Nattress]

I’d deinterlace and then set the 1080i timeline to field order none, and then nest into the 720p timeline and render, with high quality motion scaling turned on in the sequence tab.

Graeme

– http://www.nattress.com – Film Effects and Standards Conversion for FCP

[Bob Cole]

[Graeme Nattress] “deinterlace and then set the 1080i timeline to field order none, and then nest into the 720p timeline and render, with high quality motion scaling turned on in the sequence tab.

Graeme”

I have a similar issue, though I have the LHe card. I have 1080i 59.97 footage and 720p60 (which I think is actually 59.97, though FCP calls it p60). I will need to edit them together, and I’d like to use 720p.

Graeme, without fear or favor, I would like to know what you recommend, including your own products, for crossconverting the 1080i to 720p.

I plan to upgrade to FCP 6. Would FCP6 be able to handle the two formats in one timeline well, or should I bite the bullet and crossconvert?

Thanks!

— Bob C

[Graeme Nattress]

I don’t think FCP does a 1080i60 to 720p60 conversion. It’s quite tricky. I can sorta do something with G Map Frames from the conversion pack though. The new universal timeline is cool, but it still just drops and duplicates frames for it’s conversions.

Graeme

– http://www.nattress.com – Film Effects and Standards Conversion for FCP