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best source file for editing in fcp… dvd or dv avi?
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this forum is so awesome!
thanks nicole!
i’m talking to them again later this afternoon. i’ll ask for everything, including a sample clip to test, and i’ll report back on this thread.
🙂
s
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I work on both Macs and PCs daily and have for my entire 20-year career so my opinion is that the issues at hand have nothing at all to do with Mac shop or PC shop.
[subbu arumugam] “i originally asked them for the files as .mov’s – their “guy” said that the quality would be terrible”
Their “guy” obviously hasn’t a clue what he is talking about. The fact is that both MOVs and AVIs are identical in one very important way … they are both simply wrappers that can contain media encoded with any of many dozens of, if not hundreds of, possible codec choices … codecs (not wrappers) can be lossless or lossy and one AVI or MOV working on a particular system is unrelated to whether one with a different codec will work on that system. So, the same potential for compatibility and/or quality issues apply to both formats depending entirely on the codecs used.
Personally, regardless of the platform I’m working on at a particular moment, I do all video work with QuickTime files (for specific reasons that apply to my typical workflow).
Personally, I’d avoid DVDs like the plague and would try to get copies of the DV tapes so my work isn’t dependent on someone else’s knowledge/skill (or lack thereof). That probably won’t happen so, if they don’t know how to make good QT files, as someone suggested, get a test AVI from them and see if your Mac can work with it.
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Hi Subbu,
I just wanted to chime in here as there seem to be a few things that are wrong in your post which haven’t been clarified.
[subbu arumugam] “i suppose if i get it in a dvd format, i’ll need a program like dvdxdv to get editable files for fcp – i’ll need a program to do the same to convert avi files to an mp4 format – i guess this is the step where i may lose quality.”
It’s not so much a case of where you’ll lose quality in the conversion process, rather it’s what quality they can give you to begin with that will determine the outcome.
If you get a DVD I’d recommend using MPEG Streamclip to do the conversion. It will convert the DVD files to whatever codec you want, and does so quickly and reliably. What it, or any other software, WON’T do is make it any better than the quality on the DVD. That said, this is something I’ve had to do many times and clients have always been happy.
However, if you can get the AVI files I would use Compressor, which is part of Final Cut Studio, to convert them to a MOV file to edit with FCP. You might choose DV as the codec, or to maintain better quality use ProRes 422. This will yield the best results, short of being given the actual tapes, or at least a dub from the originals.
Someone else has mentioned using the AVI files in FCP. This isn’t something I’ve done so I couldn’t comment. Try it though, if you get the AVI files as it’ll save you converting them if it works.
Good luck,
Alex ElkinsSalad Daze Films – Freshly Tossed
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Thanks Alex – I’ll ask them about the original DVD quality. During my earlier call with them today, they seem to suggest that it will be their best quality.
I’ve got a list of questions to ask, so I will add this to it!
Also, thanks for the tip on MPEG Streamclip – I’ll definitely check that out.
Best,
S
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[subbu arumugam] “I’ll ask them about the original DVD quality. During my earlier call with them today, they seem to suggest that it will be their best quality.”
This won’t be the best quality. I think the other posters in this thread are right – a DVD is just what’s quickest for them. It isn’t BAD quality, just not the best.
Salad Daze Films – Freshly Tossed
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I’ll chime in here as well for good measure. A DV AVI is generally assumed to be an AVI file that uses the DV25 codec. Since it is a standard codec whether you use MOV or AVI as a wrapper FCP can see it and use it. Older versions of FCP used to complain and give a warning when importing DV AVIs saying that the performance may be degraded. Newer versions no longer display this warning.
Now, if they are using DV AVI as a generic term you might need to dig deeper into the whole codec thing as the previous poster’s opinions are certainly valid.
I say all this with some certainty since we acquire anywhere from 20 to 70hrs of conference footage a week. We do work in FCP, Premiere, and Vegas. Sometimes we directly contract the crews and sometimes we will receive content from outside vendors. But when working in SD we always specify DV AVI or DV MOV as the delivery format since it plays well within our cross platform infrastructure. HD is a different story all together.
As a side note… The particular crew you are working with might be under the impression that DV MOV files are lousy since the default QT player config on a Windows machine is to show the file at lower quality. I assure you that if they were to check the box that says “Use high quality video setting when available” in the preferences they would see just as nice an DV MOV as a DV AVI.
As I have deal with a wide variety of crews and post-prod facilities I find it counter productive to do finger pointing as to who is the worst offender, Mac or Windows users. I’ve seen serious ignorance of formats on both sides. I just try to help all of those whom I work with get me the files and formats I need to get my job done and get paid.
So, if you get a DV AVI you should be good to go but, as already mentioned, it never hurts to get a test file first.
Best of luck!
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[Brian McCartney] “A DV AVI is generally assumed to be an AVI file that uses the DV25 codec. Since it is a standard codec whether you use MOV or AVI as a wrapper FCP can see it and use it. Older versions of FCP used to complain and give a warning when importing DV AVIs saying that the performance may be degraded. Newer versions no longer display this warning.”
There’s your answer. Nice work Brian!
Salad Daze Films – Freshly Tossed
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