Insecure Editor

[Mark Suszko]

I still don’t understand where the 3:2 comes in, 3:2 usually refers to “pulldown” for footage shot with a film-like frame shutter applied to imitate a film frame rate of 24P.

3×4 is sometimes used to describe the ASPECT RATIO of the DV standard def old style TV screen. Are you sure you’re not mixing up the pulldown rate information with the aspect ratio?

[Pam Timson]

Yes I must be mixed up. I am trying to confirm the proper Frame Size and Aspect Ratio for DV MIni footage shot in standard. Can you recommend? Using FCP 6.06 NTSC DV.

[Pam Timson]

Yes I must be mixed up. I am trying to confirm the proper Capture Presets for DV mini tape shot on VX 1000 in standard definition. What is correct frame size and Aspect Ratio setting?

[Eric Strand]

He’s not, when I pull up FCP 6 and load the sequence preset DV NTSC 48 kHz, the aspect ratio is NTSC DV (3:2). I’ve always wondered what the deal with that is. Rafael seems to answer it in this thread here: https://forums.creativecow.net/thread/200/889894

@ericstrand11

[John Fishback]

Yes, 720×480 uses rectangular pixels (I think .9 ratio) vs square pixels for 640×480. It’s been a while. You can get totally confused by reading this from Wikipedia.

John

MacPro 8-core 2.8GHz, 16 GB RAM, OS 10.8.4, QT10.1, Kona 3, Dual Cinema 23, ATI Radeon HD 5870, 24″ TV-Logic Monitor, ATTO ExpressSAS R380 RAID Adapter, PDE enclosure with 8-drive 6TB RAID 5
FCS 3 (FCP 7.0.3, Motion 4.0.3, Comp 3.5.3, DVDSP 4.2.2, Color 1.5.3)
FCP-X 10.0.9, Motion 5.0.7, Compressor 4.0.7

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[Pam Timson]

Well that explains it and I did try to research my question through Wikipedia and it did completely confuse me! However I still have this nagging insecurity about my workflow strategy. I want to get the very best from these DV mini tapes. We hope to enter in film festivals. The tapes are old and won’t hold up under repeated play/digitizing. Are the settings kindly provided by Eric in a previous reply i.e. “FCP 6.06 DV NTSC preset” the very best I can get? Many thanks to all for your input!

[Mark Suszko]

I think they are the right settings. Capturing them in pro res wouldn’t add any quality and would just add size. See, in the DV mode, you’re making a straight bit-for-bit transfer, so, either the bits are there, or they are not. Your worry is a carry-over from the analog video days, where you would have wanted the most bandwidth possible to retard the loss of any picture and color information. But those days are gone.

That said, if you want to baby those DV tapes, I would suggest using a Panasonic DVCpro25 deck, if you can access one. They are downwards-compatible with consumer Dv tapes as long as they are not in super-long-play recording mode. They would be kinder to the tape and they have superior error-correction circuitry to help get the most out of old tapes that have wrinkles or patches of emulsion flaking off. Any DV transport will work of course, even one out of a busted camcorder from the thrift shop, but I’m just saying the pro machine would be a bit more reliable, if you can get one for the project.

[Pam Timson]

Great! Now this old dinosaur is feeling the earth again! I’ve digitized 50 hours on a sony DSR-11 as a “capture now,” and settings to ignore drop outs. Footage stays synced. But can not use batch capture. If system fails I will look into Panasonic DVCpro25 deck as suggested. Question: Should I be viewing digitized material through certain hardware / software to make sure alls good, or if it sounds good and looks good on computer its okay and the rest will be handled in post? Can’t thank you enough for the help!