Alessandro Capitani
Forum Replies Created
-
sorry guys but for XSan deployments i see no alternative to XServe.
Form factor of Macpro is simply not adequate for mid/large scale deployments (unless you expand your machine room just for that) and macmini is simply ridicolous.In my opinion Xserve EOL is posing a big threat to survival of XSan deployments and possibly questions regarding real Apple committment to Pro market in the future.
My 2 cents.
Ale.“Editing is 80% diplomacy and 20% actual skill”
-
Jon
I have read the entire post and since I am facing the same issue these days, I am completely with you.
First of all, I have not read in the thread of improvements provided by FCP7 (I am still using version 6) so I assume Apple has not worked on improving scaling/interpolation algorithms in FCP/Compressor/Quicktime in latest Final Cut Studio, that’s a bit sad.
Second, since I am in an almost completely file based enviroment, the “pass through baseband” solution (i.e. via Kona/hardware downscaling) sounds a bit ridicolous in my case.
I have taken some time to test some solutions and I have find interesting results. My workflow is implying editing in ProresHQ 1080/50i and creating file masters at PAL resolution (720×576) both “anamorphic” and letterboxed.
First, the “bonsai method”.
This is basically based on disabling the (weird) interpolation built in FCP by setting the “Motion filtering quality” setting in “Fastest (linear)” (not in Better Quality as I have read above, this is exactly where FCP is faulty in the way it interpolates during picture scaling! Apple, are you reading?).Complete detail of the bonsai method here:
https://www.produxion.net/2008/04/08/hd-to-sd-conversion-the-holy-grail/The solution is simple and free but it has its limits. It performs realtively well on “real life” pictures but, being antialiasing completely disabled, can create problems on graphics elements or sharp picture details. By the way it deserves at least a try, it is free and damn simple!
I have tested other solutions, I have got some interesting results with MPEG Streamclip (be sure you set “better quality scaling” in the Export window), but it is not perfect. Whilst 2D scaling is much better that FCP’s one, it seems it uses a 4:1:1 codec as intermediate during processing, so I notice some visible sub sampling artifacts on border of sharp and heavily saturated colours, especially red.
Adobe Media Encoder provided some weird results, maybe I just need more time to go more in depth in testing this solution.
The best results so far are from a brand new conversion solution from Miraizon.
This (new to me) software company has just released version 1 of their format conversion software: Reframe (https://www.miraizon.com/products/products.html). I have tested Reframe (for downconversion to SD only, no standard conversion tests for the momement) and I have got some promising results.If you will test Reframe yourself be sure to set approriate intermediate codec (I ended up on using Apple Uncompressed).
Known downsides for the moment:
– it seems it processes in progressive despite source is interlaced. My source material is psf, so in my case it is not an issue.
– if you have multi-channel Quicktime, take into account output is a stereo pair at a time for the moment.For 129 bucks I think it also deserves a try. Money back guarantee in case your are not satisfied 😉
Hope my findings will help you on getting a solution for your workflow. I will appreciate your opinion on this.
Best,
Ale.“Editing is 80% diplomacy and 20% actual skill”
-
Russ,
thankyou for highlighting this. This is a very nice doc provided by Apple, even if degree of completness is varying depending on topic.
Prores and Redcode seem quite detailed, whilst IMX/MXF (the format I use currently most) for example is indeed basic.“Importing MXF-Wrapped IMX Media Files into Your Project
Once you have MXF files on your hard disk, you need to extract the IMX MPEG-2 media data and store it within QuickTime media files. This process requires a third-party plug-in that extends the ability of Final Cut Pro to import MXF-encoded media. Once your IMX media has been converted from MXF to QuickTime media files, you can import the QuickTime media files into Final Cut Pro”They don’t even mention the name of third party pluging that is required to handle MXF in FCS or third party solutions/methods to manage re-wrapping externally to FCS, so requiring the reader to retrieve this info elsewhere. It is not publicity here, it essential infos in my opinion.
Best,
Ale.“Editing is 80% diplomacy and 20% actual skill”
-
[Steven Gonzales] “Who says the best things in life aren’t free?”
Steven,
I am with you, definitely agree. Little piece of great software.
It’s a pity that the developer has discontinued the development.Alessandro.
-
q[LuckyPaw] “Is there a way to convert logged media on Avid to something Final Cut Pro can read and digitize?”
apart from Steven’s suggestion, there a small nice application that does the job perfectly.
https://www.dharmafilm.com/sebskytools/
credits to Peter Reventlow for the job. The application, amongst other features, allows ALE to Final Cut conversion and vice versa.
Alessandro.
-
[HTedit] “My intention is to build an edl manually using the TC window burned in the reference video provided by the client. That guy digitized the media in FCP manually (without machine control).”
there is a more efficient way to do this in FCP.
1) digitize the material for your editing session without machine control
2) select one clip at a time in the browser and go to Modify->Modify Timecode. Enter manually the timecode using the timecode burnt on the video as reference. You can use either the timecode at current position or the reference for first frame of the clip.Hope it helps.
Ale. -
[Tom Matthies] ” WOW! And the one remaining Sony BVH-3000 1-inch recorder still makes video as well. Man, they built stuff to last back in those days.”
and the 3000 wasn’ as robust as the 2000 series was! No one could match Sony at that time (apart from VPR-3 perhaps, but with other budget figures).
Ale.
-
[Tom Matthies] ” WOW! And the one remaining Sony BVH-3000 1-inch recorder still makes video as well. Man, they built stuff to last back in those days.”
and the 3000 wasn’ as robust as the 2000 series was! No one could match Sony at that time (apart from VPR-3 perhaps, but with other budget figures).
Ale.
-
[Shane Ross] ”
Sorry, but no…you can’t do uncompressed SD (nor HD) work with an iMac.”Shane,
I disagree. I have seen a demo on the Aja booth at NAB ’05 showing a Macmini doing uncompressed!
The unit had a Io-LD on the mini’s FW port and a GRaid disk on the USB2 bus. The result seemed to work flawlessly even if I have to admit that of course the above is far from an ideal enviroment. So if the Mini can do, why an iMac shouldn’t? The iMac is G5 equipped with a more robust architecture.
Again, the statement that you can’t do uncompressed in Firewire 400 is wrong, tha Aja IO has been designed with FW400 from the beginning.
My 2 cents.
Alessandro. -
[Shane Ross] “Cinema Tools does it…and it’s free if you have FCP…”
Sebsky is a free and standalone small app. It does also other conversions in a drag and drop fashion, very simple to use. In my opinion it definitely deserves a try.
Ale.