XDCAM to ProRes422HQ-Timeline or Compressor?

[Rafael Amador]

Sure.
Just play the SxS from the camera.
You can downscale in camera (very good), or in the Kona.
I’ve being doing that lately for downscaling.
Select in FC, upload to the SxS, and capture ProRess.
Works great.
Rafael

http://www.nagavideo.com

[Paul Campbell]

Sorry Rafa, now I’m a bit confused. If my footage is already on the SxS card from the shoot, why do I need to go back to the SxS? (Is this how the Kona works? I would’ve thought the Kona program would just save the converted clips to a folder I designate. Is this wrong?)

Thanks for being patient with me!

[Rafael Amador]

Sorry Paul, I mixed you up.
You only need to play from the camera and capture with the Kona with any of the Kona Presets.
First quality downscaling and in RT.

I just pointed the workflow i’m doing when going SD.
I download from the SxS, cut in FC and upload again to the SxS.
Then I re-capture SD Proress. faster and better than FC or Compressor.

You don’t need to upload nothing to SxS. Just capture. ProRess or 10b Unc, up to you.
rafa

http://www.nagavideo.com

[Chris Borjis]

[Rafael Amador] “For any upscalling Compressor clearly beats FC off course, but for downscalling using Compressor is just a waist of time.”

I’ve done side by side comparisons and found that fcp always introduces aliasing
on down converting. compressor has little or no aliasing at all.

[Rafael Amador]

Hi Chris,
The tests I did I could appreciate small differences when blowing up the picture 4x.
I used the graphics of the Marco Solorio’s web site but I don’t know if is they are the most appropriate for this kind of tests.
rafael

http://www.nagavideo.com

[Paul Campbell]

I just pointed the workflow i’m doing when going SD.
I download from the SxS, cut in FC and upload again to the SxS.
Then I re-capture SD Proress. faster and better than FC or Compressor.

Ok, I think I’m getting it, but let me make sure I understand everything you’re saying about your workflow (I’m good now with mine, thanks for that).

You’ve got HD stuff that was shot on SxS. You use the XDCAM transfer software to convert the footage for your HD timeline. You cut everything in your HD timeline, then upload back to your SxS while still in HD. You then roll the whole thing in RT from the camera through your Kona for the final conversion to SD. Doing it this way gives better quality than simply converting it in Compressor.

Is this right???

[Rafael Amador]

Right. That is the workflow.
The downscaling is AJA quality and in RT.
Rafa

http://www.nagavideo.com

[David Mcguire]

Im having a similar dilemma. Ive made some sequences from my XDCAm in FCP and need to export them as SD and into Adobe PP CS3- on a PC. Im able to export using compressor and import into Adobe CS3 timeline but the clip doesnt have an image after rendering- like it is the wrong frame setting. Audio works.
Im using the DV NTSC Anamorphic setting and the project setting in Adobe is DV widescreen.

Should I be using one of the other compression settings?

thanks
David

David McGuire
Seastewards.org
Media for a Healthy Ocean

[Chris Borjis]

[Rafael Amador] “Hi Chris,
The tests I did I could appreciate small differences when blowing up the picture 4x.
I used the graphics of the Marco Solorio’s web site but I don’t know if is they are the most appropriate for this kind of tests.
rafael”

Rafael I too have found it depends on the material shown. What I’ve noticed
that is really a great acid test for how well a downvert is to look at an angle
(like the side of a house roof for example sloping down) that angle will
look great in 720P. but take that 720P angle shot and downconvert it.

unless your going through a teranex it won’t look perfect at all. the Kona-LHe
does a much nicer job than compressor does, but the teranex is best. in final cut pro
it will be a really chunky aliased line.

[Rafael Amador]

David,
What you have to do is exporting to codec better than DV. At least DV50.
Rafael

http://www.nagavideo.com