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HD to SD .MOV
I’m stumped by a simple problem. I’m trying to output what is originally XDCAM EX HQ 1080p/29.97 footage as an SD .MOV file with the 16×9 aspect ratio. I’ve used Rick Young’s workflow successfully to produce SD DVDs but for a grant proposal, they want a .MOV file. I tried outputting my SD sequence (NTSC version of Young’s specs) with CCIR 601 NTSC Sq. (4:3) with the corresponding pixel aspect ratio and anamorphic checked; I’ve also tried it with NTSC (4:3) with and without anamorphic checked. I’ve tried it with QT settings with DV/DVCPRO-NTSC and with H.264. No matter what I do, the result is 4:3 full frame squashed (except for H.264 which has a frame all ’round but is still distorted). I understand that to get 16:9 it will be letterboxed but I can’t even get that. The final format will be a .mov file embedded in a – ready for this? – powerpoint file which they then send around to the judges.
Now, they will also grudgingly accept a straight MPEG-2 DVD, though they prefer the .mov. Should I forget about the .mov and just send them the DVD?
Thanks.
Mac Pro; Macbook Pro; 10.5.8
EX1, rev. 1.1; Sennheiser EW1, 416
FCP 6.0.6 -
7 Replies
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[Bill Kunitz] “they want a .MOV file”
Using what CODEC?
What specific frame size are you choosing for your SD output?
[Bill Kunitz] “I understand that to get 16:9 it will be letterboxed but I can’t even get that.”
It doesn’t have to be.
What application are you using to do this transcoding?
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“There’s no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance.”Steve Ballmer To USA Today
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I tried it with DVCPRO-NTSC and with H.264 from a Final Cut Pro timeline. Maybe I need to use compressor but I thought since I was working from an SD timeline I thought I’d be able to export directly from the timeline. The frame size seemed to be locked to the aspect ratio When I chose NTSC DV 3:2 the frame size came up as 720 X 480. I tried plugging in 720 X 405 but the results were awful.
Mac Pro; Macbook Pro; 10.5.8
EX1, rev. 1.1; Sennheiser EW1, 416
FCP 6.0.6 -
When people ask for a MOV file they are usually also naively are asking for a square pixel file….usually. Any DV (DVCPRO etc) codec is non-square)
You need to send the file to compressor for the best results and I’d probably choose a frame size of 640×360 (which is a 16:9), square pixel, H.264.
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“There’s no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance.”Steve Ballmer To USA Today
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Thank you, Daniel. I’ve slowly come to that conclusion – and thanks for the frame size suggestion.
Bill
Mac Pro; Macbook Pro; 10.5.8
EX1, rev. 1.1; Sennheiser EW1, 416
FCP 6.0.6 -
We’ve experienced a very similar problem using H264 using Apple’s codec and by using Daniel’s suggestion that solved the problem. We output them at 848×480, which keeps them at the same basic dimensions of what an MPG2 would look like played back on a computer.
What’s weird is we can setup a transcode from HD to SD 720×480 16×9 aspect to Quicktime DV, Quicktime JPEG2000 and H264 and the first two play back 16×9, but the H264 plays back full 4×3 and stretched.
So what exactly causes this? Is it the square pixel versus rectangular issue among the codecs?
Chris Blair
Magnetic Image, Inc.
Evansville, IN
http://www.videomi.com -
[Chris Blair] “What’s weird is we can setup a transcode from HD to SD 720×480 16×9 aspect to Quicktime DV, Quicktime JPEG2000 and H264 and the first two play back 16×9, but the H264 plays back full 4×3 and stretched.
So what exactly causes this? Is it the square pixel versus rectangular issue among the codecs? “
Yes. DV is a non-square pixel format. H.264 can be either square or non-square, JPEG2000 is square.
As such a 720×480 frame can contain either 4×3 or 16×9 content – the pixel aspect ratio controls that.
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“There’s no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance.”Steve Ballmer To USA Today
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I shot some HD footage (1080i) for a client,and they want me to deliver all the videos in 720×480 format – there’s no getting out of this. For the life of me, I can’t compress the edited files without it looking squished. I’ve read the forums, and have seen the bit about not using a squared pixel aspect ratio. I’ve tried other pixel aspect ratios, but still no luck. Can anyone help me, please? My settings are below. Also, if there is a thread that can tell me how to compress 1920x1080i to 780×480 using only FCP and Compressor, that will work too. I couldn’t find it.
Jessica
Sequence settings:
Frame Size: 1920×1080
Aspect Ratio: HDTV 1080i (16×9)
Pixel Aspect Ratio: Square
Anamorphic: No
Field Dominance: Upper / odd
FPS: 29.97
Compressor: Apple ProRes 422Export Settings in Quicktime Movie: (I export to quicktime movie so that I can export as a reference file)
Compression: H.264
Quality: Best
Frame Rate: 29.97
Key Frame Rate: 24
Frame Recording: yes
Encoding Mode: Multi-pass
Dimensions: 557×313 (current)QUESTIONS:
Under Dimensions, should I switch from “current” to “compressor native”? If so, which setting should I use, and do I check the letterbox option?Should I export with QuickTime Conversion instead of QuickTime Movie?
Compressor Settings:
In inspector under the Geometry tab, I’ve tried the following aspect ratios w/ a frame size of 720×480:
Default for Size
HDV 1080i (16:9)
NTSC CCIR 601 / DV (16:9)Jessica
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