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Having trouble mixing 1080i and 720p
I have a project I’m working on that mixes 1080i60(sony) and 720p24 (jvc) in the same timeline. After reading posts here and elsewhere, it seemed the best solution was to just drop the 1080i into a timeline set up for 720p (at 29.97) and let FCP do the work. However, now when we are exporting the 1080i footage looks fairly poor. What am I missing here? Did we go wrong somewhere? Is there a simple, fast, and effective way to reconform one to the other now that picture is locked? Thanks for your help.
Trip Gould
Editor – Composer – Professor -
10 Replies
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Biggest issue will be frame rate. While you can mix formats, mixing frame rates is a big no no. If one is 29.97 and the other is 23.98, then you have a problem. YOu will need to convert everything to one frame rate.
ALSO…how are you monitoring? Computer monitors are no way to judge the quality of your image. You need to be viewing this on HD monitors in order to see what you actually have.
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
I was told (or I read) that FCP could handle doing the frame rate conversion from 23.98 to 29.97 in the timeline. Is that incorrect? The interesting thing is, the motion looks fine in the timeline despite the mixed frame rates. Also, the final delivery will be for a flash based software program, so however good it may look on an HD monitor, it needs to look good on the computer screen. Also, the footage shot on the JVC (despite the on-the-fly frame rate conversion) looks amazing. Any thoughts? Thanks for responding, by the way.
Trip Gould
Editor – Composer – Professor -
[Trip Gould] “I was told (or I read) that FCP could handle doing the frame rate conversion from 23.98 to 29.97 in the timeline. Is that incorrect?”
This is incorrect. If you want to mix TEMPORARILY…for offline editing, it will work but look all odd and stuttery. But FCP will not do the conversion properly. Neither will AVID for that matter. For both systems it is highly recommended to convert the frame rate before you begin editing.
YOu still need some way to properly monitor your HD, even if it will be converted to flash. FCP lowers the image quality on the Canvas and Viewer in order to ensure smooth playback and zero dropped frames. So what you see isn’t full quality…even for a computer monitor.
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
What I am watching is the output to QT, which is our delivery format. I am using H.264 with a 6mb/s bitrate (per their request) and the framerate is matched to the sequence at 29.97. The JVC holds up well when it goes to QT, but the 1080i stuff becomes very mushy.
Trip Gould
Editor – Composer – Professor -
Also, assuming I do have to reconform things…what is my next step?
Trip Gould
Editor – Composer – Professor -
Compressor.
Look at the ADVANCED CONVERSIONS.
This is as far as I go for free.
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
Okay. That’s what I’ve been working on. Thanks for all the thoughts.
Trip Gould
Editor – Composer – Professor -
A bit off-topic, Shane, but, does this mean that if I play an HD Quicktime from my laptop to an HD monitor or projector through the DVI output, I am not getting full quality since it merely mirrors the computer display?
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[Chris Babbitt] “oes this mean that if I play an HD Quicktime from my laptop to an HD monitor or projector through the DVI output, I am not getting full quality since it merely mirrors the computer display?”
Yup…that’s what it means. If you want full quality HD from the DVI port, you will need the Matrox MXO.
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
Well, that explains it then. Thanks Shane.
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