XDCam: 1920 Becomes 1440 when imported into a FCP project.

[Deleted User]

The aspect ratio of EX is not square. XDCAMHD is square pixel but EX is I think 1.33. Your footage will show up as 1920 X 1080 once you drop it into a 1080 timeline.

Lee

SAMDOG Digital Post
Calgary, Alberta
Mac Pro 2.66 12-core 16gb ram • FSI LM1760W Monitor • Matrox MX02 • Caldigit HD One 8tb Raid • Euphonix MC Transport • Final Cut Studio 3 • Premiere Pro CS5

• Living my life one frame at a time •

[Keith Mcgregor]

It’s just the old pixel aspect ratio doing it’s thing. It’ll be fine when authored or played by something that knows how to interpret pixel aspect ratios correctly.
-Beef

Reality? What did you make it?

[Alan Okey]

[Lee Warner] “The aspect ratio of EX is not square. XDCAMHD is square pixel but EX is I think 1.33.”

That’s not correct. XDCAM EX is in fact full raster 1920×1080 square pixels. XDCAM HD is 1440×1080 @ 35mbps 4:2:0 and 1920×1080 @ 50mbps 4:2:2.

The EX cameras have a lower quality 25mpbs 1080i mode that is 1440×1080 (HDV compatible), but all of the HQ modes are square pixel full raster formats.

[Gnostic]

I discovered that the XDCAM EX 1R camera will record a 1080X1440 signal at three different frame rates (24P, 30P, 60i) but that is only an option. It also has the option to record at 1080X1920 (Yes, full raster!) at the same three frame rates and we’re talking here about recording onto the flash media. The difference between the internal flash recording and the output from the HD-SDI output is that the internal recording is an 8 bit 4:2:0 recording and the output from the HD-SDI is a 10 bit 4:2:2 signal that can be recorded onto anything that takes an HD-SDI signal. But to be sure, the internal recording can be set to full raster 1080×1920 and the camera sensors are also full raster 1080X1920.

I believe that the problem of the 1920 clips from Compressor, reverting to 1440 when importing into our FCP project, is with Compressor. There is no XDCAM EX choice in Compressor. Instead, it gives one choice with two lines as:
XDCAM 1080P 30_35vbr (and under that is:)
XDCAM HD 1080P with 48 kHz stereo audio

These two lines represent one choice and it is the closest thing to XDCAM EX that there is. Possibly it is in need of a future upgrade?

Michael G

[Gnostic]

Mixing XCAM EX 1440p with other clips on the timeline is impractical.

A 10 second clip takes one minute to render when it is just put on a timeline with 1920p clips. This is a long form doc. and doing anything, dissolves, color correction, etc. would take way too long.

Can’t find any forum, or info as to why when designated 1920 in Compressor, it shows as such in the media drive and then it changes to 1440 when I import it into FCP.

Apparently there is no way to convert interlaced footage to progressive in Compressor.

Mike G

Mike G

[David Roth weiss]

[Mike Gilligan] “why when designated 1920 in Compressor, it shows as such in the media drive and then it changes to 1440 when I import it into FCP.”

Somewhere along the line in your workflow the pixel aspect ratio changed or is being misinterpreted. Full raster 1920×1080 video has square pixels, while 1440×1080 video has non-square pixels. That’s where you need to be looking Mike.

If you follow the dots and recreate you workflow, paying absolute attention to the pixel aspect ratio, you will find the point at which it suddenly somehow was changed.

[Mike Gilligan] “Apparently there is no way to convert interlaced footage to progressive in Compressor.”

Sure there is… Frame Controls has pretty good deinterlacing.

BTW, this reminds me of a situation I investigated a few months back in which I had to force Compressor to create frames properly when it misinterpreted a client’s video source. In some cases you can’t simply rely on Compressor’s “automatic” interpretation of the source media, and you have to set the geometry manually in the geometry tab with the precise specs you require. That may be the case in your situation.

David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor/Colorist
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los Angeles
https://www.drwfilms.com

POST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™

A forum host of Creative COW’s Business & Marketing and Apple Final Cut Pro forums. Formerly host of the Apple Final Cut Basics, Indie Film & Documentary, and Film History & Appreciations forums.

[Rafael Amador]

BEFORE USING A CAMERA IS CONVENIENT TO READ THE MANUAL IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND HOW THE DEVICE WORKS.

The EX-1 records:
– HQ: EX codec (35Mbps) at 1920 x1080 and 720p
– SQ: Standard HDV.

FC is not fooling nothing.
Somebody changed your camera from HQ to SQ (HDV).
rafael

http://www.nagavideo.com

[Gnostic]

Hi David,
The 1440 change occurred when I imported it into a FCP project.

This is what came off the SXS card:
Pixels…………..Square Pixels
Frame Size……1920 x1080i 60 (35 Mb/s) VBR
Codecs…………MPEG-2 Video, Linear PCM, Time Code

This is also what is on the media drive directly out of Compressor.

BTW, this reminds me of a situation I investigated a few months back in which I had to force Compressor to create frames properly when it misinterpreted a client’s video source. In some cases you can’t simply rely on Compressor’s “automatic” interpretation of the source media, and you have to set the geometry manually in the geometry tab with the precise specs you require. That may be the case in your situation.

Thanks, David, this is extremely helpful. I think this explains everything.

Mike G

[Rafael Amador]

[Mike Gilligan] “The 1440 change occurred when I imported it into a FCP project.”
Mike,
I’m working with an EX-1 since more than three years, and never saw that.
rafael

http://www.nagavideo.com

[Gnostic]

What can I say Rafael,

“Experience is the comb that nature gives us when we are bald.”
…Belgian Proverb

Mike G