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FCP for Broadcast
Hello, I use FCP 7 and I have no export for DV25. I need to send video to a News Station that uses DV25. What is the best way to export my file so that the quality looks good on air. Even when I give them quicktimes uncompressed they say the quality is bad. Any help would be great. Thanks
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14 Replies
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What kind of file are you editing and starting with? DV? HDV? uncompressed HD or what?
Any DV camera will allow you to record DV to BTW, and you have this ability right now if you have one.
Jerry
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Ok, first off, what’s the format of your original material?
What format are you editing in?
How are you viewing your edited material? On an external broadcast monitor fed by something like an AJA Kona?
How are you color correcting / legalizing your material for Broadcast?
DV25 is just DV.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
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I am Shooting and Editing on a Sony XDCAM EX 1080 60 fps. and editing on the native format.
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Format is native Sony XDCAM EX which is HDV. I have a black magic decklink HD extreme card. Color correction done in final cut with broadcast safe.
The problem they say is on there end when they import a quicktime it compresses the file then they have to blow it up in Newscutter so that it fills the screen. Which is strange because I am sending them the file in the largest possible size I can.
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[Jason Ingersoll] “I am Shooting and Editing on a Sony XDCAM EX 1080 60 fps. and editing on the native format.”
So you need to downconvert this for delivery to broadcast. You can’t do that in FCP. You need to use Compressor at the very least, or something like an AJA Kona board to get the absolute best quality.
When you’re done with the downconvert, your external monitor should be showing you exactly what your material will look like when the station gets it.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
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Then export it as DV through Compressor (don’t change frame rates from 29.97 either)… then lay that out to tape with any DV camera in the world, or send them a file…
If this is what you’ve been doing, then you better start looking at your video externally to a calibratable video monitor and color correcting it accordingly. If it looks bad after that, then better start shooting more carefully.
Looking “Bad” is relative… looking bad how? Not leagal? Full of artifacts or what?
Jerry
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Hi,
Your source footage is excellent. How did you guys come up with the DV25 deliverable? Is this what the news station requested or just what you’ve been sending them in the past?
I would also ask them to be specific about what looks bad with the video quality.
By the way DV/NTSC is the same as DV25.
Misha Tenenbaum
Editor/ Trainer
http://www.MishaPost.com -
I am not sure how they are looking at it. Its a NBC station so I assume they have the ability to view it properly but they said the biggest hurdle is mac to pc? But I dont think that should be a problem. I work for a non profit so right now we cant really afford to get full HD monitors. I will try exporting DV in compressor and see how that goes.
It looks bad on there in “blurry, blown up look” on my end it looks flawless. The lighting and camera work is great.
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[Dave LaRonde] “On the tiny-little FCP viewers which were never, EVER intended for judging the quality of any kind of video?
Or are they looking at a video monitor, which is the ONLY way to judge the quality of video in FCP?”As he mentions “Newscutter” that tells me Avid Newscutter workstations.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Editor, Colorist, Director, Writer, Consultant, Author.
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[Jason Ingersoll] “It looks bad on there in “blurry, blown up look” on my end it looks flawless. The lighting and camera work is great.”
This means a bad downconversion. You’re dropping HDV down to DV so you’re taking material that is compressed 25:1 and adding another 5:1 compression.
Plus you have to reverse the field order from Upper Field First (HD) to Lower Field First (SD). Hardware like the Konas doe this best. But I’ve heard Compressor does a decent job with this.
My guess is that they want a 4:3 center cut image from your HD original. So be sure you’re cutting off the edges and giving them a full frame, 720×480 image (DV is 720×480) and not a letterboxed image. If you’re giving them a letterboxed image, this would explain the “blown up” look as they would have to scale your video back up about 125 to 150% to fill the screen.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Editor, Colorist, Director, Writer, Consultant, Author.
HD Post and Production
Biscardi Creative Media“Foul Water, Fiery Serpent” now in Post.
Creative Cow Forum Host:
Apple Final Cut Pro, Apple Motion, Apple Color, AJA Kona, Business & Marketing, Maxx Digital.
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