Making SD DVD from an HD Sequence

[Izoneguy]

test

[Izoneguy]

Hello Scott:
export your timeline first as a QT .mov
then close FCP. Open compressor and pick
a DVD set-up…It should be a 16:9 set-up if
coming from HD…
Use the files created in DVD SP
Contact me directly at dvd.pro@verizon.net
Thanks

Mike Schrengohst

[Harryd]

Wouldn’t it be easier (or at least as good) to create an SD sequence and drag the completed HD sequence into that, render, then export a QT reference movie for use in DVDSP or iDVD?

I’m curoius about that, too.

thanks,

HarryD

[Gunleik Groven]

[HarryD] “Wouldn’t it be easier (or at least as good) to create an SD sequence and drag the completed HD sequence into that, render, then export a QT reference movie for use in DVDSP or iDVD?”

Nope. One extra generation loss to no good use.

Let Compressor handle the task (or some other mpeg2-encoder.)

Gunleik

[Harryd]

Thanks for the reply.

However, it shouldn’t be a generation lost. All the files in a reference QT access the original media. But if one outputs to self-contained QT, that renders new media and the link to the original is lost.

So then it would be from FCP > render to QT (1 generation) > render and downconvert in Compressor (1+ generation); that’s 2 generations right there.

If one outputs a reference QT, then to Compressor (or something like iDVD), that should actually only be one generation because the MPEG compression should access the original media files through the reference QT.

Right?

Actually, though, my question was more related to the value of nesting an HD sequence in an SD sequence, as opposed to rendering a QT, leaving FCP and then to Compressor.

A lot of ways to skin the cat!

thanks,

HarryD

[Jeremy Garchow]

What frame rate is your HD footage? Compressor can guess frame rate and field dominance wrong and over compensate. You need to make sure everything matches up. I suggest to start with a compressor preset and then modify it to match your settings (such as a 24p DVD if you are working 720p24).

Jeremy

[Mike Schrengohst]

I understand it, there is a gamma shift bug if you compress a file directly from FCP.
That is why I export the entire program first, close FCP and then use compressor.
I have done it both ways and I have seen a difference in the gamma levels…
try a short test…export to compressor directly from FCP and then do the export to .mov
first, close FCP and then render with compressor….
make a test DVD with both files and see if you notice a difference.

[James Mulryan]

I exported a 23.97 DVCPROHD FCP timeline into a self contained QT movie, kept original settings, then opened compressor, it saw the 23.97P 16:9 settings, and everything looked clean after rendering, even got to use thin titles with no interlace problems. Progressive totally rules. Some of the whites on the DVD seemed hot to me even though my FCP scopes were not near 100. Did not have a card and HD monitor for accurate quality control.

[Uli Plank]

In my experience Compressor is not doing a better job than FCP, but it’s far slower, since it’ll activate it’s so-called “frame controls”. The one thing you need to understand: Any scaling that is not 2:1 (and 1080 : 480 isn’t) needs de-interlacing, then scaling, then re-interlacing if you don’t wont to stay progressive.

Both programs are respecting this, but FCP doesn’t know adaptive de-interlacing and the one in Compressor is slow and not perfect. But with regular de-interlacing you are throwing away vertical detail even where it wouldn’t be necessary, like on background objects when shot from a tripod. The best de-interlacer I know for a decent price is FieldsKit from http://www.revisionfx.com. We were able to prove in our tests that using this you’ll get detail separated after conversion that didn’t separate any more using other methods. BTW, it only works in AfterEffects, FCP can’t handle changes in duration or speed from a third-party plug-in. Plus the whole method is pretty slow too, but yields the best quality we could achieve in down-conversion.

Regarding intermediate codecs: sure, it’s best to go referenced (or uncompressed). But if you use Photo-JPEG at 75% quality as an intermediate codec, you won’t notice any difference after MPEG-2 compression. Just in case you want to move those files to naother machine or anything. Those with MacPros might want this, since AfterEffects is much faster on the PC side 😉

Hope this helps,

Uli

Author of “DVDs gestalten und produzieren”, a book on professional DVD-authoring in German.