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best format for combining/editing/mastering mixed-format home videos
Hi all,
I’m about ten years behind on editing my family home movies, but I’m feeling the itch to get organized. I’ve been away from video for awhile, so my legacy system is FCP-6 and DVDSP-4.2 and Compressor-3 on a Powerbook G4.I’ve got a bunch of different format originals, everything from 320×240 at 15fps, a bunch of miniDV both 4×3 and anamorphic, a bit of HDV (with no way to play it unless my DSR-10 will), and most recently some 1080p (h.264) stuff at 24fps. I’ve tested the ProRes422 codec for my 1080p clips and they play just fine in FCP-6. So, I’m thinking I should just up-convert all source to that codec, leaving black on the sides of my 4×3 material, and have one format for the editing.
My questions:
What would be your end format, for home viewing use? I’ve never used HD-DVD, though it looks like my DVDSP and Compressor apps are built to create it. Which codec for this (Compressor has presets for h.264 and mpeg-2)?
If I broke up the material to pre-HD and post-HD sources, would it be better to let the living room devices upscale a standard size image, or should I just do it with my edit?
What would be the best archive format? The ProRes422 edit master file, or some sort of disc or tape? Are folks archiving to solid-state drives now, or an SD card of some sort?
Thanks for your time,
-Corbin Supak -
1 Reply
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Well, the format HD-DVD is dead and gone. It lost the war with Bluray.
They never updated DVDSP in that regard. Ignore it.Frankly, long-term, they’ll be no discs for playback. It’s all streaming, online, digital file. You could just make digital masters. Back em up to a couple of hard drives.
Alternatively, you can make Bluray (HD) masters from your HD edits. You’ll need a Bluray burner. Then make DVD (SD) from your SD and smaller stuff.
But, yes, FCP works well with Prores. Apple created it.
Chris Tompkins
Video Atlanta LLC
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