-
Changing optimized Media settings
-
Whichever ones you point Resolve to, assuming you use automatic import and check “ignore extensions.”
-
In My Own Understanding and FWIW
– You can input any original (nativ) media that FCPX can handle but as far as internal transcoding Apple knows that anything under ProRes422 , be it ProRes LT or proxy which are optimized for playback, will not however support lost less (multi generation) renders as required in many editing operation and then depending on input codec succeed to output a good faithful “Master File”…
In fact if you can pre transcode your material to these lower quality codec they will not degrade further if you choose the internal ProRes 422 transcoding, however if you need internal proxy generation from FCPX you will get “half size ProRes proxy clips”… which are meant for offline work but not for good quality output (Master).
i guess you can’t always get what you want because sometimes it’s not a good idea for FCPX to offer bad choices. If you are inputing very high quality sources the temporary proxy setting will be great for swift creative editing (old offline concept). This proxy setting will yield accurate xml for reconforming in finishing applications (Grading or VFX). You will be able to reconnect to any proper source media be it 4k DPX sequences …
ZAP
-
Thank you all for your thoughts and valuable info!
Really appreciate the effort.
Thnx.Sascha Engel
TIME BANDITZ Productions
http://www.youtube.com/taikang -
Bill,
So before finalizing a project and exporting to where-ever, X is optimizing only how it is viewed (unless it happens to be an unsupported codec)?
Even on import no actually transcoding is done? Really? I thought for sure in the inspector it says the file is in the codec I choose upon import? No?
By way of example, it has always been my habit to transcode HDV to apple pro res 422 not because it’s going to improve the original footage but because pro res is a better editing codec and plays better with effects and graphics.
Could you give a concrete specific example of what is taking place under the hood?
Thanks
Mac Pro, macbook pro, Imacs (i7); Camcorders: Panasonic AG-HPX170/AG-HPX250P, Canon HV30/40, Sony Z7U, VX2000, PD170; FCP 6 certified; write professionally for a variety of media; teach video production in L.A.
-
[Craig Alan] “Even on import no actually transcoding is done? Really? I thought for sure in the inspector it says the file is in the codec I choose upon import? No?”
It depends on the source material codec and your settings.
Sometimes codecs get transoded, sometimes the card structure is simply rewrapped to .mov from avchd or MXF without a transcode, sometimes the movie is simple imported.
The manual lists which codecs do not need to be optimized and remain native.
If you choose to proxy media, the footage is obviously transcoded.
If you use optimized media, some footage is transcoded, others won’t transcode (see manual).
When you export, only the visible frames of your Project get transcoded to the destination movie in the desired codec, but the media in the Events and Projects remains as is.
Hope that make sense.
There’s a preference in the playback settings to use proxy or original/optimized media. If no proxy media is created, X will show the clips as offline.
Jeremy
-
ahhhhh. That is very interesting and been puzzling me for a while.
So when you export it exports from the original files and not from the Pro Res timeline?
In which case why bother to ever transcode to Optimised instead of just cutting in Proxy all the time and then outputting.exporting from that?
-
Very Very good question.
That’s the reason, why I still not convinced about this “it will export the best anyway” thought – cause it would make optimising to ProRes totally unnecessary.
Isn’t there some written documentation somewhere that elaborates in detail about this subject?Sascha Engel
TIME BANDITZ Productions
http://www.youtube.com/taikang -
Yes so the workflow would be “Create Proxy Media” and use appropriate (“Use Proxy Media”) playback settings in preferences and then before export change playback setting to “Use Original or Optimised Media” (we would be using original because we have not transcoded to Optimised…just proxy) and then in project properties change render format to Pro Res HQ or 444.
Then export.
If this workflow makes sense it does make the notion of “Create Optimised Media” when importing media completely redundant.
I think I must be missing something surely.
-
[James Ewart] “So when you export it exports from the original files and not from the Pro Res timeline?”
It all depends on what you have done upon import, and what your original codec is.
Some codecs do not optimize as FCPX doesn’t need to.
The Project setup (proRes, 4444, etc) is for render files, it is not for source files.
When you export, you choose a codec, and that is what your final output movie will be. It does not change your clips in the sequence.
[James Ewart] “In which case why bother to ever transcode to Optimised instead of just cutting in Proxy all the time and then outputting.exporting from that?”
That’s your choice. Creating Proxy media take a long time. It also reduces the files in half (1920×1080 material becomes 950×540). FCPX handles all of that translation in the background and it is the root of all the new spatial conform options (fit/fill/etc). Proxy media is just that, a Proxy. I would not use it for anything but rough reviews.
If drive space is an issue then proxy might be worth it for you. If not, why go through the trouble of transcoding every frame to Proxy?
R3D files are hard to work with natively, and in that case, it might be worth it to transcode to optimized (not proxy) so that you are working with high quality ProRes files. H264, being a hard codec to decompress, might be worth letting FCPX create optimized media for you. This means that you will have faster exports, potential performance gains, and generally a better editing experience.
There is no one way to work, but people seem really hung up on FCPX doing everything for you. It doesn’t, and you actually have to investigate which way is better for you, and that really comes down to source material and how you want to work with it.
Jeremy
-
[Sascha Engel] “That’s the reason, why I still not convinced about this “it will export the best anyway” thought – cause it would make optimising to ProRes totally unnecessary.”
Not necessarily. Again, it is all about your source material.
One more time, it is all about your source material.
If you are working with R3D raw, or umpteen hours of DSLR h264, creating optimized media will make your editing experience much more enjoyable.
If you are using XAVC, ProRes Alexa files, XDCam HD, DV, DVCPro HD and a few others, then Optimizing won’t even be available.
Jeremy
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up