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Highest Quality DV export?
I’m working in CS6, editing 24pA DVX100 footage. I’m doing all color correction within PP.
I want to export the highest quality file, basically a lossless file of the finished product as a “master” when I’m done. I realize this will be a large file, but the project is only about 8 minutes.
Doing some tests, AVI (Uncompressed) gives me the quality but it seems to stretch the aspect ratio a bit from what I see in the sequence viewer. I choose the 0.9 PAR associated with DV at 720 x 480 (as usual) but it’s definitely “wider” than when I preview full screen within PP…
Basically, I’m trying to get my finished file to look exactly like my fullscreen previews. I know it isn’t HD, but I just don’t want it to suffer any more compression than what the DV has already done to it.
One other thing- I’m editing with the DV24P preset codec. I’ve been previewing everything unrendered since my PC can play it back full quality and full speed. I’ve tried copying and pasting my edited footage into new sequences, but no matter what codec I use to edit and render with, it always looks terrible when I render. Very blocky. I know PP is fairly idiot proof with capturing, and just to make sure I looked at the source files on my HDD and besides the pulldown being present, they weren’t blocky or pixelated at all. So capture and source files seem fine.
I usually edit in FCP so everything is a little different in CS6, and I hate codecs with a passion, so if anyone could help me I’d very much appreciate it.
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4 Replies
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The codec might not be the issue; many media players assume PAR=1.0. What software did you use to view the exported file? Did you try to import the file into Premiere to view?
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I just imported the clip into the project and you are correct- the PAR is back to DV specs.
I tested it on Windows Media Player and VLC player and that’s when the PAR got messed up. Is Quicktime more exact with PAR? If I wanted to give this file to someone as a standalone, should I export as a lossless quicktime? If so, what’s the best way from PP?
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Lossless or low compression codecs are the best choice for your library master. Keep the same PAR as your source/sequence and just realize that it might not be depicted properly in common video players. Among the standard codecs AVI-422, AVI-None, or PNG will produce high quality results. Try exporting a short clip to see which looks best. Exporting QuickTime formats on a Windows PC can be problematic because of QT color management issues.
To export a file for viewing with common media players, try a moderate- to high-bitrate H.264 with Main or High Profile 3.1 and square pixels. Render two short test files at 640×480 and 648×480 to determine which resolution looks right compared to the source footage.
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Thanks Ivan, you probably saved me hours (or days) of annoyance.
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