Final Cut will not export 16:9

[John Pale]

This is likely something you are misunderstanding about the process…the presets all work correctly, though depending on what you are doing you may have to tweak them.

We need a little more info, as the answer will differ slightly depending on what you are trying to compress for.

For starters…

What codec/format would you like to encode to?
What codec/format are you editing in?
Is this for the web…DVD…editing in another system…viewing on a computer..etc??

Please note, that with SD, with many codecs Quicktime Player will display a 16 x 9 image as squeezed into 4:3.

This is normal, as many codecs do not inform Quicktime Player that you are using anamorphic pixels. You can correct this by opening the movie properties (cmd + J) , clicking on the file name, then selecting the Presentation tab. Change the Conform Aperture setting to Encoded Pixels.

[Steve Eisen]

First thing is to convert the mp4 file into an editable codec (DVCPro HD or ProRes422). Bring that file into FCP then edit. Export a QuickTime Movie, bring it into Compressor and select preset.

To make sure your footage matches your sequence setting, choose Easy Setup (Control Q) and select setup. DVCPro HD 1080i60 if your footage is DVCPro HD 1080.

Steve Eisen
Eisen Video Productions
Board of Directors
Chicago Final Cut Pro Users Group

[Tim Jacobs]

Thanks for your reply,

Let me lay this out for starters. I am editing with HD 1080i MP4 clips. I am trying to, for right now, just get it out of final cut as a quicktime in 16:9. I am exporting it using quicktime movie file using current settings.

I will be using many of my videos for the web, and some for DVD, but I am trying to first at least get them out of Final Cut correctly formatted before I go to the next step of sending my videos to DVD studio or Compressor.

Does that help you any?

Tim

[Caspian Brand]

I am having a similar problem.

I am shooting DV in 16:9. I use the DV Anamorphic Preset when capturing into FCP.
FCP Displays the video properly when editing.
When I export a QT Reference or Directly to Compressor, even with the Anamorphic settings checked, QT will not display the output file properly. I am even exporting H.264 .mov and .m4v files.

My intent is to post these to the web, so I don’t need to letterbox.

The only workaround I’ve found is to adjust the frame size settings in Compressor to 853 x 480.
The trouble with Compressor is that it takes forever until the end of time to deinterlace. I’ve attempted to use Handbrake for this (which is much faster and looks good) however, it won’t recognize the modified presentation setting of 853 x 480 from an exported QT file.

What do I do?

Frustratedly Yours,

[Rafael Amador]

[John Pale] “Please note, that with SD, with many codecs Quicktime Player will display a 16 x 9 image as squeezed into 4:3. “

No really. QT by default display every kind of pixels as Square. Your 16×9 look more or less like 4×3, but is not 4×3 neither.
Any DV NTSC open in QT will look 3×2.

[Caspian Brand] “The only workaround I’ve found is to adjust the frame size settings in Compressor to 853 x 480”
Thats is not a workaround. That’s almost the solution.
You should have better choose 864×486 or 848×475. Those are real 16×9.
You need always to keep those proportions when you want your picture to look 16×9 in any computer.
864/16 = 486/9 or 848/16 = 475/9 or 640/16 = 360/9…
The wide divided by 16 must be the same than the high divided by 9.
rafael

http://www.nagavideo.com

[Tim Jacobs]

Alright, so thank you for everyones help. I figured out my problem, and maybe your problem too Caspian.

So i found out that stupidly i did not change the clip and sequence settings to anamorphic before i started editing. Thats the problem with that. As far as how do i fix it with a project i already did without starting over, or in Caspians case? This is how. When you export the footage as a quicktime file, open the video in quicktime and hit command J, then use those settings to manually configure the aspect ratio. 1440 x 1080 or whatever your working with. Then when you try to leave quicktime it will ask you to save those settings. And since quicktime is the basis for almost all Final Cut Suite media, it will lock the settings for wherever you bring the clip.

hopefully that solved another problem, cuz that solved mine.

Thanks guys.