[Don Greening]

[Michael Slowe] “for encoding SD DVD’s and ask you whether you let BitVice do your downscale HD to SD or do this within your edit software prior to going to BitVice for encoding.”

My version of BitVice (v.1.8) can’t encode HD to SD MPEG2 so I have to export an SD version from FCP first. Having another compression stage before encoding to MPEG 2 probably doesn’t help the picture quality too much but so far I’ve been fairly happy with the result. BitVice is good but the Cinema Craft encoder is best as far as software encoders go. It’s available as a stand-alone app or as a Compressor plug-in. It’s not cheap, either.

https://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/cinema_craft_encoder.html

[Michael Slowe] “I don’t understand Bob’s problems regarding aspect ratio. Surely, if he is shooting in 16:9 with the EX (he has to), all the software he is using will retain that aspect throughout? Certainly BitVice does.”

Keep in mind that you still have to manually check the 16:9 box in BitVice. Modern NLE’s and their companion software will usually interpret the anamorphic flags correctly. When cross or down-converting the trouble comes when there’s a lack of understanding about how it all works and the user starts changing preferences manually instead of letting the software do its job.

– Don

[Don Greening]

[Bob O’Brien] “The resulting SD file looks great playing back in Compressor (properly playing back in 16:9), but in MPEG Streamclip, it is squished to 4:3.”

I don’t use MPEG Streamclip or Uncompressed 10 bit but the problem most likely lies in your SD export settings. EX footage in HQ mode is a square pixel codec and you’re trying to export that to a codec that is non-square because you’ve flagged the Uncompressed 10 bit codec as Anamorphic. There’s two ways to get what you want:

1. Export to the SD 720×480 space but make sure it’s flagged as Anamorphic. Then Compressor or any other compression program will see the Anamorphic flag in the video stream and display it at the proper 16:9 aspect ratio. With MPEG Streamclip you probably have to manually flag your file as Anamorphic within that program.

2. You can do a straight non-anamorphic export using a square pixel aspect ratio of 853×480. This will result in the exact same 16:9 frame as the first method. To take away the potential problems of various programs not “seeing” the Anamorphic flags try it this method and see if it resolves your issue.

I’m probably not the best person to ask because I don’t even use Compressor to encode to standard def. MPEG2 but use BitVice instead. Most of the time when I export using Quicktime Conversion out of FCP it’s just to make downconverts (without rendering first) from 1080p to 720p or for the web.

– Don

[Don Greening]

Luck of the draw I guess. Your EX1 must be N.O.S. (new old stock). You could try returning it to where you bought it if the dealer is local and ask for another EX1 that has the new firmware. Now that you know how to check the camera’s firmware, etc…this way you wouldn’t have to wait while the dealer sends your camera in to Sony for the update.

– Don

[Don Greening]

[Jay Curlee] “How do I check the firmware and then what?”

Turn on the EX to Camera mode:

1. Press and hold the Menu and the SEL/SET buttons at the same time.
2. While those are pressed push the cancel button.
3. The Maintenance menu will come up. Scroll down to IF at the bottom. There you’ll see the camera’s serial number and the firmware version.

If the firmware is earlier than v.1.11 you’ll have to take it back to Sony and get them to do an update.

– Don

[Don Greening]

[Jay Curlee] “Is this perhaps some kind of firmware issue?”

Probably. Check your EX1 firmware. If it says anything earlier than v.1.11 it won’t recognize your Sandisc media.

– Don

[Don Greening]

The moral of this story: The EX camera operator has to be in direct contact with the editor to find out what codec the EX files need to be converted to so the editor can do his or her job. If the camera person chooses to shoot with an EX (and justifiably so) then it’s their responsibility to follow the chain all the way to the editor’s desk and make sure it’s as painless as possible for that person. It’s just good business practice.

Case in point: We were recently contacted by a large corporation (not from here) to shoot an interview. This interview will be just one of many for their project and the other interviews will be conducted by other camera operators in different cities all over North America. Initially they didn’t want the interview done in HD but I pointed out the various reasons why it should be in HD. When I mentioned to the co-ordinator that we would be shooting with our EX I wasn’t surprised at all when I got the usual silence from the other end because most people aren’t familiar with the camera and the new workflow. Yet.

To make a long story not quite so long we got the editor involved in the conversation right afterwards and confirmed what editing platform and NLE they had so I could provide the clips in a format they can use. After asking more questions about the actual shooting style, framing, lighting, 1080 30p, 1080 60i, etc. the parent company has now decided to schedule a conference call early next week which will include all the camera operators. To provide the best product for the client, continuity is king and also makes the editor’s life a whole lot easier.

It also shows the client that you care and that makes the best business sense of all.

– Don

[Don Greening]

Hi Keith,

You could try something like File Salvage to recover your missing 4 minutes:

https://subrosasoft.com/OSXSoftware/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1

It’s difficult to know whether it’s a corrupt file directory on the card or the 4 minutes of video is actually missing. In any event you’re not having much luck copying things back and forth because you’re copying the corruption as well. Try the File Salvage trial version and determine whether or not the program “sees” the missing video. If it does then you may have some luck retrieving the clip(s).

Another way to go might be using the directory repair program called DiskWarrior (if you already have it) to rebuild the directory on the card. This is uncharted territory because I don’t know if the program will rebuild a FAT32 directory, which is the SxS Pro memory card formatting. If you have DiskWarrior it might be worth a shot. DiskWarrior is a Mac-only program but it’s very good at what it does. I went back in your history here at the COW and I see that you’re a Mac/Final Cut Studio user, so you might already have this great program. If you go this route try rebuilding the directory on a copy of the BPAV folder first and not the original one on the card.

https://www.alsoft.com/DiskWarrior/index.html

I’ve been shooting to SxS Pro cards for over a year now and have never had an instance of losing video clips. When it’s time to delete or empty one of my cards I do a reformat of the cards in-camera every 4th or 5th time instead of just dragging the files to the trash with a card inserted into my Macbook Pro. If you’re having a continuing problem with just one of your cards even with good preventative maintenance then I would strongly suggest you return the card to Sony and get another one.

Oh, and make sure you always insert a card into your camera rather firmly to make sure it connects properly.

– Don

[Don Greening]

[Mike Sweet] “Don/Craig. Many thanks. Problem solved and a rather vital shoot in London can now finally be edited here in Athens!”

Glad things worked out, Mike. Feel free to bring us back a little something from Athens.

– Don

[Don Greening]

Hi Raf,

Happy holidays to you as well. Best wishes to you and your family in the coming year.

We got snowed in which is unusual for our area. According to the news reports this is the first time in 50 years that all of Canada had a white Christmas.

– Don

[Don Greening]

[Mike Sweet] “But when I add my 4 parent BPAV folders (BPAV, BPAV2, BPAV3, BPAV4) to the XDCam transfer tool, only one (BPAV) says it has clips (3 – the last being incomplete).”

If the folders that you’re referring to as BPAV2, BPAV3, BPAV4 are by way of explanation that you are dealing with 4 BPAV folders then that’s fine. If you’ve actually named them that way then this is the reason why the Sony Transfer Tool can’t see them as valid container folders for EX files. You cannot change the BPAV folder name to anything else because the Transfer Tool will not see it.

Create 4 folders and name them whatever you like (such as card 1 folder etc.) and then put a single BPAV folder into each one of your named folders. The Transfer Tool will “see” the BPAV folder inside each of your named folders and display the clips for you.

– Don