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Struggling with MOD converted footage
I am going a little bit demented at the moment, trying to solve this problem. I’ve scoured many forums and sites tried lots of supposed solutions but nothing as yet seems to help.
I have been trying to work with some footage that was shot on a JVC Enerio to Hard disk. Which was then converted from the native .MOD files to what I thought was quick time .MOV files, using an MOD convertor bought from iOrgsoft.com.
However when I try to work with the footage in Final Cut Pro 7, I have to render the audio on every file I put on the sequence timeline and final cut is very slow and clunky to work with and keeps freezing. I tried to adjust the sequence setting to match the flies but that doesn’t seem to have an effect. It is also especially slow and the play back very jumpy if I adjust the clip speed or color correct levels.
Looking closer at the specs of my clips it is showing that they are actually MPEG 4 Video AAC files. despite still being .mov files – (this is rather confusing for me, are they one and the same?)
So I then tried to convert the mod files to a .dv to see if that would be any better, and then changing the sequence setting, but still no joy.
I am working on my OSX 10.5.8 MacBook Pro, with 1.83 Ghz Inter core duo, 2GB Ram, which isn’t great I know, but I’ve worked using final cut before with mini DV footage and haven’t had any problems.
My scratch disk is a new 1TB, Hitachi XL1000, USB 2.0 (I have a feeling this may not be fast enough).
I have always worked always straight from mini DV before and have not had to deal with the mind field that is using different formats and conversions. If you could shed any light on when I am going wrong, I would be most grateful.
Apologies for the lengthy post.
Thanks,
Danielle
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10 Replies
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First, .MOV is nothing other than a QuickTime file, it can be a ton of things. There are codecs for both video and audio, audio for editing should always be uncompressed and 48K. If you do not learn what are acceptable codecs you will always be struggling. In short most people will use ProRes as the go to codec. A lot of cheaper software convertors will convert it to another form H264 which you do not want for FCP. ClipWrap is a great app that has professional codec choices.
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Right, thanks for that.
MPEGstremclip seems to have helped, if I convert it to Apple ProRes 422, I don’t have to render the audio on the timeline. Though the output quality isn’t the best.
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Thank you for that, though Clipwrap doesn’t seem to convert MOD files, but I was able to use MPGStreamclip, which seems to have helped.
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Hi Danielle,
If you make a pure transcoding (MOD to Prores) keeping all the original setting (Size, field order, etc), shouldn’t be any quality lost.
The best codec available to transcode any YUV 420 codec (like the MOD), is 8b Uncompressed.
The problem is the files size.
rafael -
I would say the quality difference would make up for all the extra space, not to mention that you need a faster hard drive to pull uncompressed.
But as Rafael said there should be no lose in quality if you are converting it correctly. The only thing you what to change is the codec. Resolution, frame rate and field dominance needs to remain the same.
Once you get the workflow done things should move along. The key is getting it right before you start the edit.
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HI Michael/Rafael,
So far the audio render problem is no longer there when converting to Prores, which is great.
However I am still getting a low quality with the output. I am not changing anything but the codec, but there is pixelation with any camera movement on the final output. Though maybe this is just due to the low quality of the original video? (JVC Enviro).
Many thanks for your help.
Danielle
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It seems I am now faced with a new problem.
The color balance of the clips that I converted to ProRes using MPGStreamclip seems to be fluctuating every couple of seconds from warm to cold color within the same clip. The original footage does not have this as it was fine with the previous conversion. Any idea why this has happened?
I’m a bit annoyed that I’ve only noticed this now, and as I have just spent the best part of the day reconverting all my footage! Don’t suppose there is a quick fix?
Danielle
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I take that back, it seems it was in my original footage, and I just didn’t notice it until now.
If it was only a couple of times I’d say it was me adjusting the white balance, but its throughout all the shots, I think I was using auto as the manual function on this camera is pretty hard to adjust, being more of a consumer camera.
Bit off topic I know, but don’t suppose anyone knows how to avoid this in future?
Thanks, Danielle
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Hi Danielle,
I have an Everio too.
Those cameras make really good pictures on good conditions.
When the conditions are not that good, some times the picture is pure rubbish.
but the main problem I have is about workflow.
Re-wrapped files (ClipWrap) makes my FC crash.
Still waiting a fix since a few months.
Curiously MPGStreamclip can open these re-wrapped files but with a big problem of Gamma or clipping (don’t remember now).
rafael
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