Desparate – Two problems using FCP to Compressor to DVDSP

[Michael Sacci]

[Timothy Anderson] ” field set to Progressive”
What is the sequence setting and the clips, are they progressive. What is the frame rate?

Since you have a lot of specs left out here are my general guidelines. “etc…” is useless if you want help, type in what etc is.

Export out of FCP as self contained with current settings. Take that movie into Compressor and add a m2v preset. Make sure the frame rate and field dominence is the same as the source. So if the source is Upper first the m2v needs to be upper first. Do not de-interlace if the footage is interlaced.

Change the encoding method to CBR, it will take a lot less time and it will look better if you are able to use such a high bitrate.

If that does do the trick, try send to Compressor (or Export with Compressor in FCP6) Do a short 2 minute test with the graphics. Use the same compressor settings. This may give you a better result but it takes longer to get there,

[Timothy Anderson]

Hi Michael,

Thank you for the response. Sorry, here are native sequence settings in FCP 7, please let me know if there’s anything of importance left out:

Codec: DVCproHD 1280X1080
Base/frame rate: 23.98
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Field Dominance: None
Rendered at High Precision YUV

I have already tried exporting as self-contained QT and bringing that into Compressor, the results are the same as direct send to compressor.

In compressor, I am not touching the de-interlace and have also tried a CBR as well as the VBR two pass with the bit rates at what I originally wrote – the VBR actually yielded slightly better overall results for the show as a whole, but the problems with the titles and that pulsing scene persisted in both occasions.

In compressor, I have the field dominance to Progressive. What are your thoughts?

Thank You,
Tim

[Timothy Anderson]

Hi –

Sure am – Pixel Aspect Ratio is native at 1280×1080 HD – what is so strange about that?

Codec is DVCproHD 1080p

Tim

[Michael Sacci]

Okay, two things to try.

Nest the sequence in a SD ProRes anamorphic (make sure it is 720×480 and not 486) framerate needs to stay 23.98, and field to NONE. Then try the export and compressor or send to compressor.

or

Take the HD QT and in compressor turn on Frame Control and set to best. You can set In and Out to just do a sample of the problem area. This is a long encode, I would test with CBR then if you get good titles and want to go back to VBR you can do it overnight.

The pulsating is something I don’t know about. Closed GOP should have nothing to do with that. I assuming you have not changed the GOP structure.

Let’s see if any of that helps and we will go from there.

Also how are you viewing the encodes?

[Timothy Anderson]

Hi Dave,

Yeah, the 1280×1080 is actually a native codec for DVCproHD and mostly Panasonic. The 23.98 fps – this is an HD feature – is native to the footage, not of my creation in FCP.

As for monitoring, I am using both a 16:9 television with standard DVD player and an external HD ASUS monitor – both display the problems with the titles and the pulsing…

Tim

[Timothy Anderson]

The ProRes anamorphic SD nesting is an interesting idea – I will give it a go – my only concern is I did try a sample export of the problematic title sequence at 720:480 ProRes 422HQ to see if FCP may scale the HD titles down better than compressor, but NOPE! Same problems – I am just wondering why the downscaling is a problem since the titles were originally vector graphics in Illustrator before becoming motion QTs…just stumped. Surely there is a way to get HD titles to look proper scaled on SD DVDs…

As for the QT HD into compressor option – I have already tried that to the same results once compressed into the MPEG-2 – bad titles and pulsing…

I am viewing the encodes initially on DVDs on both a 16:9 flatscreen TV with an SD DVD player and an external ASUS monitor, both showed the problems nearly identically. Now, as I trial and error, I have learned I can simply import into compressor and simulate the DVD to see if the problems are still present, which the simulations show thus far that they do in fact still persist.

[Timothy Anderson]

Michael –

I have discovered the problem of the pulsing problem – the VBR 2 pass seems to be the cause. I just trailed several scenes on the own and it seems while the VBR yields a better result on the whole DVD, the scene having the pulsing is strictly due to the VBR. When just that scene alone is encoded both with a CBR of 7.5 and a 2 pass VBR of 6.4/7.7, the pulsing is eliminated with the CBR, but persists at the VBR. (Sigh). I cannot encode the entire show (TRT 89 mins.) on DVD at a CBR, however. Thoughts?

Still no solution on the HD titles looking like absolute hell on the SD DVD. Completely befuddled – what’s the point of vector film docs in Illustrator if they are downsized like bitmaps? Want to yell!

Tim

[Michael Sacci]

can you email the title source file and I will see if I can come up with something.

onthecow (at) michaelangelodv (dot) com

The only way to do some parts as VBR and some at CBR would be to encode the sections and then join them with a program call mpeg append. You will need to be very careful that you don’t duplicate a frame or leave one out.

[Jeremy Garchow]

1280×1080 is DVCPro HD 1080 frame size.

Just a guess, but is this pulse happening on your computer monitor?

Have you looked at it on a real tv yet from a real DVD player?

[Timothy Anderson]

Hi –

The title source files are Illustrator stills created at the film 1080×1280 setting, then individually brought into Motion to position and bounce as QT with sequence matching codec/settings – each QT was then laid into the sequence like a clip.

You want the Illustrator file of one of the title cards?

Tim