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FCP HD codec without rendering – Conforming
I’m looking for a codec that is easy to cut with in FCP that has simiar file sizes to HDV but without the lengthy render/conforming times.
This is in regards to advancing HD in a broadcast news environment. So time is a critical factor, as is the cost of disc space. Obviously quality is important but I’d like to hear opinions as to what would work as the best mastering/finishing format.
Thanks for any input
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13 Replies
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ProRes.
The trick to reducing rendering is getting everything into the timeline in the same format.
And what do you mean by “broadcast?” SD, HD?Non-linear: all the time and nothing but.
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ProRes Proxy
Steve Eisen
Eisen Video Productions
Vice President
Chicago Final Cut Pro Users Group -
Not sure if I’d go right to proxy, though I’m having great luck with it—it’s fixing huge issues we had in conforming from other “offline” formats. LT certainly if it’s news
Non-linear: all the time and nothing but.
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ProRes LT is 4 times the data rate of HDV.
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Better quality, works better with the computer (lighter in that sense) and if you’re referring to the 1920, well yes, a considerably larger and more compliant frame size.
Non-linear: all the time and nothing but.
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oh, I didn’t miss any of it (old new dawg here). I have no problem using Proxy for news (I can tell you stories) but some station get uppity about it. If they want to broadcast 1920, giving them 1440 h-dv won’t cut it. And rendering out at the end is a time killer. ProRes, proxy, LT, whichever.
Whenever someone would use the term “broadcast quality” my response was “you mean blue, out of focus with color bars popping up?” Kind of a loose phrase.
Non-linear: all the time and nothing but.
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Play from the timeline
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DVCProHD
reasonable file size: check
lots of RT: check
quality decent enough for news: checkI’d get more storage and go with ProRes LT, but that the best I can come up with, given the constraints.
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I’ll second DVCPRO HD. Not the ugliness of HDV, not the huge file sizes of ProRes, but darn good quality. Best of both worlds. And perfectly fine for news…
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
Example:
If the projects are stored on a server, use an iMac with an MXO, AJA or Black Magic converter to play these projects from one, or multiple timelines. We have done this during our live TV shows. However, we are not a news station. After the newscast is over videos can be conformed and archived. A dedicated FCP playback station is very affordable–news stations had multiple dedicated $40k+ BVW playback decks just a few years ago.With our budget as it is we are always thinking of nonstandard ways to save money and time. All of our broadcast programs now playback from a Drobo. A $900.00 bread box saved us from purchasing a $25,000 server.
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