My trusty friend FCP 7?

[Bill Davis]

Well, then explain to me how the lower rez proxy file that X is using internally provides a nice clear display image inside the software interface in a window much larger than any iphone display?

If a Proxy File can be used by X that can fill my X interface with a great looking picture – why can’t it produce that same quality picture our something like iPhone export without going back to the RED file and transcoding it anew?

Seems counter-intuitive to me.

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[Jeremy Garchow]

[Bill Davis] “Well, then explain to me how the lower rez proxy file that X is using internally provides a nice clear display image inside the software interface in a window much larger than any iphone display?”

Perhaps different versions of “clear”? An iPhone display is somewhere in the realm of 720p. It’s 1200×600 or something close to that. This means, if you edit a 720p sequence your viewer should be a little less than 100%, which would be pretty sizable in a single monitor fcpx setup.

[Craig Alan]

Great Post, Bill. Thanks.

Quick follow up question:

“85% of them imported directly into X just fine-”

so what did you choose in FCP X’s import dialog window?

Optimize or original or … ? You are suggesting original, right?

Mac Pro, macbook pro, Imacs (i7); Camcorders: Panasonic AG-HPX170/AG-HPX250P, Canon HV30/40, Sony Z7U, VX2000, PD170; FCP 6 certified; write professionally for a variety of media; teach video production in L.A.

[Walter Soyka]

[Jeremy Garchow] “I have a hunch FCPX is recompressing every thing on the way out, but it is hard to know for sure.”

FCPX does smart render (avoid recompression) when possible.

I test with a compression torture test file (random noise) which was guaranteed to show any re-compression artifacts and rendering to ProRes 422. I imported this to FCPX and re-exported, same as source, then compared the two files in Ae with the difference blend mode and an overexposed viewer. There was no difference at all.

For control, I opened the original noise movie in QuickTime Player 7 and exported to ProRes. I compared these in Ae as above and confirmed generational loss.

I added a dissolve transition in FCPX to the noise and re-exported. Of course, I saw a difference between the input and output over the dissolve, but as soon as the dissolve was finished, there was again no difference between input and output frames.

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events

[Bret Williams]

That is great to know!

[Jeremy Garchow]

It’s not that I don’t trust you, Walter, I do.

This a great test, but you have me some ideas on how to test this further.

ProRes is known for its recompression abilities, QuickTime Player, however, is not.

[Walter Soyka]

[Jeremy Garchow] “It’s not that I don’t trust you, Walter, I do. This a great test, but you have me some ideas on how to test this further. ProRes is known for its recompression abilities, QuickTime Player, however, is not.”

By using random noise, I’m using something that only a truly mathematically lossless codec can reproduce without generational loss.

But you’re right that my methodology could have been improved, so I threw a basic title generator over the noise and exported that. Importing that into Ae and doing the overexposed difference test shows changed pixels all over the image there, indicating recompression. If FCPX were able to losslessly recompress in the original test, I’d expect to see clean areas outside the macroblocks containing the title text, but I don’t. This clearly shows a difference between the smart-render and the decompression/processing/recompression entirely within FCPX.

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events

[Jeremy Garchow]

[Walter Soyka] “This clearly shows a difference between the smart-render and the decompression/processing/recompression entirely within FCPX.”

I think your work here is done. Nice job.

Now it’s time to test render files.