Exporting HD from Adobe

[Joe Moya]

If we are assuming the client wants RAW also means they want uncompressed video… then, you are restricted to uncompressed video. If that is the case, then your problem is the media to which to copy this uncompressed needs a LOT of storage capacity. If so, then copy the uncompressed footage to a hard drive and give the client the video that way… DVD (in most cases) will not have enought storage space. Another option could be to use tape as a storage media,… but then you are assuming the client has a way to copy the tape to a digital storage system.

Also, I do believe Cineform has a way of exchanging Cineform compressed video into uncompressed so clients can view the compressed cineform format without having to uncompress the original footage… but, still… you will need a lot of storage capacity to uncompress the original video. And, if I read your post correctly they want RAW/uncompressed footage.

Bascically, you can’t fit a round peg into a sqaure hole… you can’t give a compressed HD format and meet the criteria of the client wanting uncompressed HD format. That being said… there are compression options that will be… what they call “lossless”… but, the reality is this… compression looses quality – period. Exactly how much is considered an acceptable “loss” of quality depends upon what the final output needs.

What is the “best” compressed formats? … Well,… that is a question that only trial an error through the massive number of options available will determine. Video compression is more of an art and is never consistant in it’s outcome. However, in your case… it appears the clients wants to have all their options open as how to compress the original footage… and, the only way to achieve this is to give them uncompressed video.

BTW… I just re-read your post… why not just capture using something other than Cineform… and, give that HD capture to them. That is about as RAW as it gets.

[Vince Becquiot]

I usually bill the client for an external harddrive (and work to put it on) and hand it out to them that way (or amortize it over several projects if they give it back to you on the next one).

Putting uncompressed HD on DVDs is not feasible and would cost much more in time that the cost of a small drive.

Vince Becquiot

Kaptis Studios
San Francisco – Bay Area

[Jeff Brown]

the reality is this… compression looses quality – period.

Not true (period). PNG is lossless compression, TGA, TIFF, and PSD files also employ lossless compression (most commonly a variant of RLE). ZIP files are compressed, and obviously lossless. And note we are not speaking of “visually lossless”, the above compression schemes lose no data at all.

Just wanted to clear that up.
-Jeff

[Joe Moya]

Well thanks for clearing that up… I probably didn’t post this concept very well…But…

When I think of the term “lossless”, I think in terms of visual lossless as the definative benchmark… while data may not be lost… imho, lossless is defined by visual appearance not data.

Visual loss is what counts and most “lossless” formats (including the ones you mentioned) will work just fine for most instances… but, I am not going to assume this since I don’t know what the final output requirements are for the client nor what their computing capacity may be.

On the otherhand, when you reference storage compression… then, yea…as you mentioned… they can be uncompressed into the exact format they originated… but, in video this uncompression is frequently accompanied by some visual loss… and, it is not because of the original compression format looses the data but rather because of the camera, NLE or application/hardware limitations in thier ability to uncompress the data at a rate that the hardware/software can facilitate.

If anyone wants to have uncompressed format… then, that requires uncompressed format. And… to work in uncompressed format, you a bad “mamma jamma” of a computer to meet the data rate requirments.

[John Frey]

If you have (and your client has or will have) a BluRay Burner, you can output between 25 and 50 GB to a single disc. I recently converted and stored multiple AVI files for a client archive this way just using Nero for the burns.

John D. Frey
25 Year owner/operator of two California-based production studios.

Digital West Video Productions of San Luis Obispo and Inland Images of Lake Elsinore

[David Hare]

Thanks for all the replys, there all useful. So just so im clear if i export from a HD timeline using uncompressed avi is that the highest quality i can get? I’m just worried that for years ive been using what is now a very simple to handle SD format and i want to export in the best quality i can.

Just another quick question, i use adobe cs3 is it worth upgrading to cs4 for HD exporting?

Cheers

http://www.harebrainedfilms.com

[Rob Lagerstrom]

When I was shooting SD I considered an .AVI export to be my master.

Now with Hi-def, I too am learning what is the master file flavor to export. I have read on some of these forums that by exporting to MPEG2 Blue Ray gives the smallest file size and the least amount of image degradation unless you san bill the client for an external drive and rendering times for an uncompressed file.

HTH, Rob. I, too would like more info on this subject