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Proper settings in MPEG Streamclip to convert D7 to ProRes?
Thanks to the advice I read here, I’ve decided to use MPEG Streamclip to transcode my Canon 7D h264 to ProRes 422 for editing in FCP.
The default Quality Setting in MPEG Streamclip seems to always be 50%.
Should I leave it there, or take it all the way to 100%?
This is probably a dumb question, but does the Quality Slider really do anything? Other than increase file size for no gain in quality?
Apologies if this has been asked and answered. I did search first for ProRes & MPEG Streamclip and was inundated by results.
Thanks,
Jim CurtisJim Curtis
jamesphilipcurtis.comMacPro (Harpertown-Early 2008) 2×4 3GHz; 32G RAM all the same brand; Dual Boot: 10.6.3 & 10.5.8; QT 7.6.6; FCS3; Kona LHi in PCI slot 3 (7.5.1); Primary display: 30″ ACD; Secondary: HP LP2480zx DreamColor (A) via AJA HDP2 SDI to HDMI converter and (B) DVI from MacPro.
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23 Replies
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[Jim Curtis] “The default Quality Setting in MPEG Streamclip seems to always be 50%.
Should I leave it there, or take it all the way to 100%?”
This doesn’t apply to Prores. that works for scalar codecs (PhotoJPEG, etc).
Just chose the flavor that you prefer.
Don’t change nothing else in MPGStreamclip, just uncheck “Interlaced scaling”.
rafael -
Why Streamclip? I’d use log and transfer.
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Thank you, Rafael.
Jeremy, I tried Log & Transfer first, with a fresh install of the latest Canon 7D plug. It wouldn’t recognize my files.
The DP gave me h264 QT movies on an external drive in a folder named “Card 1,” etc. Wrong file structure, I suppose.
Compressor was taking forever with the spinning ball, crashes, and general slowness.
MPEG Streamclip did them quickly and without delays.
Jim Curtis
jamesphilipcurtis.comMacPro (Harpertown-Early 2008) 2×4 3GHz; 32G RAM all the same brand; Dual Boot: 10.6.3 & 10.5.8; QT 7.6.6; FCS3; Kona LHi in PCI slot 3 (7.5.1); Primary display: 30″ ACD; Secondary: HP LP2480zx DreamColor (A) via AJA HDP2 SDI to HDMI converter and (B) DVI from MacPro.
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[Jim Curtis] “The DP gave me h264 QT movies on an external drive in a folder named “Card 1,” etc. Wrong file structure, I suppose.”
Yep, sounds like it.
Have you checked out Grinder yet?
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I’d heard of it, Jeremy, but this is my first 7D experience; I hadn’t looked into it. I have now.
It looks well worth $49. Do the copies it makes retain the original time-code? I’m not clear on that from the RG site.
Our crew used a smart slate, but I asked them to clap it anyway, just for old-school redundancy. My reading on Streamclip and Compressor told me that using anything other than Log & Transfer would reset the code on every clip.
Jim Curtis
jamesphilipcurtis.comMacPro (Harpertown-Early 2008) 2×4 3GHz; 32G RAM all the same brand; Dual Boot: 10.6.3 & 10.5.8; QT 7.6.6; FCS3; Kona LHi in PCI slot 3 (7.5.1); Primary display: 30″ ACD; Secondary: HP LP2480zx DreamColor (A) via AJA HDP2 SDI to HDMI converter and (B) DVI from MacPro.
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Nope…Grinder does not see the timecode. Nor does Compressor or MPEG STREAMCLIP. The only way to retain the original timecode is to backup the FULL card structure and keep all those files. The .MVI files that accompany the H.264 movies is what holds all that information. And you can only get that timecode by using log and transfer.
Here…show this link to the DP: Tapeless Workflow for FCP 7 Tutorial
The first part of this is what they need to pay attention to. BACKUP. PROPER Backup.
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
That’s a great tutorial, and I watched it when I heard I was going to be cutting 7D footage. I recommended ShotPut Pro to the DP, based on this video, but the DP dismissed it, saying it’s not necessary. I guess he likes living dangerously.
This is pretty ironic, but I’ve that Premiere Pro CS5 edits h264 footage perfectly without transcoding. Ironic, because FCP doesn’t.
Anyway, what about using PPCS5 or the Adobe Media Encoder as a batch converter to ProRes? The CS5 release has pretty extensive metadata support. Has anybody tried that? I wonder if the code could be preserved that way.
I can test it later, but I’m pretty busy at the moment trying to get a spot out today (not with this 7D footage).
Jim Curtis
jamesphilipcurtis.comMacPro (Harpertown-Early 2008) 2×4 3GHz; 32G RAM all the same brand; Dual Boot: 10.6.3 & 10.5.8; QT 7.6.6; FCS3; Kona LHi in PCI slot 3 (7.5.1); Primary display: 30″ ACD; Secondary: HP LP2480zx DreamColor (A) via AJA HDP2 SDI to HDMI converter and (B) DVI from MacPro.
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[Jim Curtis] “This is pretty ironic, but I’ve that Premiere Pro CS5 edits h264 footage perfectly without transcoding. Ironic, because FCP doesn’t. “
FCP can…but it gets ponderous after a while. CS5 can because of the Mercury engine…that gets more power from the processors, because H.264 is processor intensive.
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
I found time while rendering my real job today to transcode a few h264 clips to ProRes in Adobe Media Encoder, but I can’t test whether the time-code gets copied, as I just discovered all the h264 clips from the DP start at 00.00.00.00.
I don’t know what he did, or what his process was to convert his files to h264, but I wrote and asked him to just send me the entire media folder next time, and not do me any favors.
Good thing I asked them do clapper slate, or I’d be in trouble.
He turned on his camera mic, but it picked up a very loud hum. I am going to demo Plural Eyes, and see if it can still sync the double system audio for me.
Jim Curtis
jamesphilipcurtis.comMacPro (Harpertown-Early 2008) 2×4 3GHz; 32G RAM all the same brand; Dual Boot: 10.6.3 & 10.5.8; QT 7.6.6; FCS3; Kona LHi in PCI slot 3 (7.5.1); Primary display: 30″ ACD; Secondary: HP LP2480zx DreamColor (A) via AJA HDP2 SDI to HDMI converter and (B) DVI from MacPro.
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Hey Shane,
do you happen to know if that Mercury engine is an inboard or an outboard? Pull start or electric start?
don walker
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