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Need to export for broadcast. Unsure of propper AME settings
Client specified the video I’m currently working on needs to be “formatted for broadcast.” I feel like the person I should be asking is the client, but I really should know this stuff already and I don’t want to look like a doofus!
Client wants an H.264 Quicktime and has specified 720 x 480 (DV) OR 720 x 486 (D1) NTSC, and will accept either 16:9 or 4:3 aspect ratios. Since I’m working in a 1080p comp, I figured I’d stick with the widescreen format since the client also wants another file in 1080i.
I experimented some with Adobe media encoder and noticed I can export using the NTSC DV widescreen preset, but I noticed a couple problems with the settings. 1) the frame in the output tab is letterboxed on the sides by probably 10 pixels on each side. 2) the codec for this preset uses “DV25 NTSC” and not H.264. Is the solution to create a different sized comp for the SD export and manually change the codec from the preset setting?
Am I overthinking this?
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4 Replies
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Hi Dave –
Unfortunately “formatted for broadcast” is entirely meaningless. Every station you run across when delivering media has a one-sheeter (usually it can be gotten from the sales manager, or production department) which tells you the very specific audio and video formats required for their playback system. You can often find a pdf of it on the station website.
The doofus is the person asking for this very generic, non-specific, format. At worst, get a list of the broadcast media the video is going to, then get the specs from each station (bill them for your time on this). Ideally, have the person who asked you the question do the legwork – maybe they’ll learn something.
Joe Bourke
Owner/Creative Director
Bourke Media
http://www.bourkemedia.com -
[david ellington] “1) the frame in the output tab is letterboxed on the sides by probably 10 pixels on each side.”
That’s because you’re changing from a square pixel aspect ratio to a non-square pixel aspect ratio. Change the scaling in AME to scale to fill.
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Thanks for the reply. I’ll definitely poke this guy and try to get more info. It’s reassuring to think that I’m not necessarily the one with the problem.
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One more thing David: here’s a link to an example PDF of the type you may get from a broadcast station, just so you know what to look for.
Joe Bourke
Owner/Creative Director
Bourke Media
http://www.bourkemedia.com
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