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DVCPro HD resolution shift in AE 8
I spent the last two weeks working with DVCPro HD 720/60p footage in AE 7 Pro. And the entire process from FCP to AE to FCP worked flawless.
Today I just installed AE 8 (CS3) along with all the updates and after opening the project I created in AE 7, I am finding an odd problem with the way the two versions interpret my DVCPro HD footage.
Here’s what’s going on.
AE 8 sees my HD footage as 960 x 720, while AE 7 sees the same footage as 1280 x 720. Quick Time also verifies the footage as 1280 x 720 (though I exported the footage from FCP with native settings).
Therefore what happens in AE 8 is all my comps have my footage squished to 960 x 720. I tried changing my comp settings to match 960 x 720 but this just makes the comp window smaller and the footage is still squished. I’ve even opened a new project and imported the footage and AE 8 interprets it as 960 x 720 (which I understand from many entries that this is the correct pixels for DVCPro HD).
My big question is why are the two versions of AE looking at the footage differently? Why does Quicktime confirm that the footage is 1280 x 720? And yet why does FCP instead tell me the footage as 960 x 720? (I exported the footage from FCP using the native DCVPro HD settings, so why did it change?)
I was all very happy with AE 7, but I wanted to upgrade to AE 8 with the understanding that it takes better advantage of the dual core processor in my MacBook Pro.
So I’d like to continue working with my original project from AE 7 but in AE 8 without going thru and re-doing everything.
Any advice & enlightenment?
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6 Replies
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What does it report in the Interpret Footage dialog?
Are you able to change it there?
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Interpret Footage dialogue verifies the frame rate (59.94) and the Pixel Aspect Ratio (1.33). And options for pulldown. There is no option to change the Pixel Aspect itself. And the pixel aspect is not included in this menu item.
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The footage didn’t change, it was just interpreted differently.
AE 8 was upgraded to recognize the correct PAR (pixel aspect ratio) and size of 720p footage. QT Player might not be able to do that, or it might choose to interpret it that way for square-pixel playback. (remember, it’s a Player, so it might have its own agenda, playback-wise)
1280×720 square-PAR should drop into a 960×720 non-square-PAR comp, and vice versa. They should give the same result. (assuming you’re also using PAR correction in the comp window)
When you changed your comp sizes to 960×720, did you change the comp PAR to the DVCPRO PAR as well?
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When I changed my comp sizes to 960×720, the comp PAR was already selected for the DVCPRO PAR (1:33).
And still my footage is squished. I did not shoot anamorphic.
Still perplexed.
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if interpret footage says the footage is 960×720 with a par of 1.33, then setting the comp to either the same settings as the footage with par correction enabled in the preview window, or setting the comp to 1280×720 with square px should correct the ‘squeezing’ you are experiencing.
i prefer the later option of dropping it in a 1280×720 square pixel comp… if you need to, you can always create a preset for the size, par and framerate that you are working in, to make it easier to set your comps up.
Kevin Camp
Designer – KCPQ, KMYQ & KRCW -
Thanks. Both of these options worked. I went with the later, as this saves re-doing my work.
It is interesting to note that AE selected HDV/HDTV as the default for a 1280×720 square pixel comp.
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