Convert 720 24PN footage to DV

[Shane Ross]

Use COMPRESSOR and the ADVANCED FORMAT conversions…Standard Definition has the DV codecs.

Shane

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[Ian Liuzzi-fedun]

I am aware of this setting/feature in compressor. I just want to make sure it will preserve the film like look/frame rate. Will it or will I have to select the appropriate frame rate?

[Shane Ross]

Choose the DV option and in the INSPECTOR, make sure that the frame rate is maintained.

Shane

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[John Fishback]

And in the Encoder tab of the Inspector have Frame Controls turned on and choose the highest quality settings. This can take a while to encode.

John

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[Tom Brooks]

And, as with all software conversions, test it with a short piece to make sure you’re getting what you need. It’s not entirely clear in your post whether you want to add pulldown. Assuming not–that you want 23.976 progressive–you are looking at only a scaling issue here. Test to see whether frame controls has any effect on the results.

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[Ian Liuzzi-fedun]

So I am in compressor but the only options for the DV NTSC anamorphic conversion are 24 frames, no 23.98. I am assuming I am doing something wrong as when I look at the original footage in the inspector it tells me it is 23.976.

[Tom Brooks]

That’s just a lack of accuracy in the terminology in Compressor. DV will always be at so-called “video rates.” 24p is really 23.976 and normal interlaced NTSC is 29.97 frames per second, sometimes referred to as 59.94 fields per second. So, anytime you see DV and 24p together, it’s really referring to 23.976. We are dealing with a real mess concerning multiple video formats and frame rates these days.

[Ian Liuzzi-fedun]

Thanks for clearing that up there. However, if there is just a 24 frames instead of a 24.976, why is there a 29.97 and a 30?

[Tom Brooks]

I had to go into Compressor to get on the same page with you. I see what you’re saying. Under Video Settings, the frame rate drop down lists 29.97, 30 and 24, but not 23.98 or 23.976. In that case, I’d select “custom” and put in 23.976. Also specify “Progressive” in that dialog.

I’ll test it with some 720pN24 that I have. The basic idea is to match the original frame rate exactly. I’ll let you know what I find on my end.

[Michael Betz]

I did my little test. I should have said that you can select “Current” in the frame rate selector. In that case, Compressor makes the exact same frame rate as your source video has. So, for 720pN24, the “Current” frame rate is 23.976 and that’s exactly what you get. If you select 24 instead, you get exactly 24, not 23.976. Use “Current.”

Note that you can go directly to a progressive 23.976 fps MPEG-2 file for DVD as well. Just use the regular DVD Best Quality 60 minute setting.