Highest quality 16:9 output

Apple Final Cut Pro Legacy

Highest quality 16:9 output

Posted by Lucas Young on May 20, 2008 at 8:39 pm

Hi Guys
I have about 11000 1024*576 TIF files and a 48KHz wav file I’d like to combine and output for DVD, MiniDV and AppleTV. (They came from from an Avid). I want the highest possible quality output which I can then transcode to the various other formats I need. What’s the best preset/sequence settings to do this? I guess not PAL DV Anamorphic?
I also need a 4:3 version (letterboxed). Would the best way to do this while retaining quality be to use the sequence from above and drop it into a 4:3 sequence and let FCP do the letterboxing? Or is there a better way?
Many thanks in advance 🙂
Lucas

Russell Lasson replied 17 years, 12 months ago 3 Members · 5 Replies
5 Replies

Dylan Reeve
May 20, 2008 at 8:57 pm

Avid is working with those natively at 720×576 (PAL Anamorphic) – by exporting as Square Pix they have undergone an aspect conversion which is perhaps not ideal.

If you can still get the Avid stuff it would be better to export a QT Animation file at 720×576 (with the correct display ratio selected) – this will avoid any unnecessary rescaling on export from Avid and use in FCP.
Lucas Young
May 20, 2008 at 9:02 pm

Thanks Dylan. The footage came from an XDCam and was edited in Avid in 16:9 and then just exported as a sequence of TIF files… so I think the quality is OK there, I just want to find the best format to use when I assemble them in FCP as DV PAL Anamorphic looks horrible
Russell Lasson
May 20, 2008 at 9:21 pm

I’d suggest using ProRes.

-Russ

Russell Lasson
Kaleidoscope Pictures
Provo, UT
Lucas Young
May 20, 2008 at 9:53 pm

Thanks… do you mean Apple ProRes 422 HQ PAL as the sequence preset, with PAL CCIR-601 Anamorphic 16:9 selected in the Sequence Settings option? (We’re in NZ so I’m using PAL). Would I choose Anamorphic 16:9 if the TIF files are 16:9 anyway?
What about the 4:3 letterboxing… any recommendations?

cheers
Russell Lasson
May 21, 2008 at 5:40 pm

I would create a ProRes HQ sequence that is 1024×576 and has square pixels. From there, I would export it using compressor for DVD.

For your 4×3 version, I would suggest either using compressor to letterbox it or just putting the 16×9 sequence in a 4×3 sequence in FCP or Motion to letterbox it.

-Russ

Russell Lasson
Kaleidoscope Pictures
Provo, UT

Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up

Creative Communities of the World Forums