[Paul Hillman]

I’m seeing a similar issue, but only when transcoding to ProRes422 and ProRes422(HQ). ProRes4444 matches the original video’s RGB parade.

In Premiere Pro CC, I’m laying the MXF camera files from the Sony FS7 (1080p29.97 / XAVC-I codec) in a 1080p 29.97fps timeline and exporting to ProRes. Here’s what the RGB Parade looks like for the original footage (.mxf file) followed by the exported ProRes422 (and HQ) .mov file–notice the missing bands of color in the latter. The ProRes4444 matches the original. What’s going on here? Why are the ProRes422 and 422(HQ) codecs losing colors?

[Paul Hillman]

thanks for the quick tip. Do you think either method makes a difference in terms of quality? Or do they produce the same results? Would using MPEG Streamclip also yield the same, better, or worse quality?

I’m also curious about transcoding directly to ProRes from camera-original SxS cards using ProxyMill. Any quality loss (or gain) using ProxyMill vs these other solutions?

[Paul Hillman]

Just started using an EX1R and will transcode the XDCAM EX footage to ProRes422 for compatibility with a huge library of ProRes footage. Along the way, I like to cull out the garbage footage and output multiple clips into one master file with new, sequential, timecode that is kinda akin to a tape, and then I back up that master file to BluRay disc for archiving. I then subclip this file in FCP for my logs and bin organization.

So my question is, what’s the best way to transcode from XDCAM EX to ProRes. Will either of these options below yield better transcoding results, in terms of quality? I’m not so concerned about speed of transcoding as much as preserving the quality of the footage.

OPTION 1 – put culled XDCAM EX clips in a Final Cut Pro ProRes timeline and export (all audio settings are set to preserve discreet channels).

OPTION 2 – export culled XDCAM EX clips from a Final Cut Pro XDCAM EX (native) timeline, and then transcode to ProRes using Compressor.

OPTION 3 – something else?

thanks,
paul

[Paul Hillman]

Must have had some settings wrong in MPEG Streamclip. The LT file has a bitrate of 45mbps, but when transcoded to LT using Compressor, the bitrate is 100mbps. However, I still got the strange contrast/pixelation issue in Final Cut Pro with either file.

John, willing to share your Frame Control settings for exporting LT through Compressor? 🙂

thanks,
paul

[Paul Hillman]

I did try ProRes-LT, same issue. I can, and will, use ProRes 422 if necessary, just seems like a waste of digital space to create files 10x larger than the original. Even though ProRes and LT may not be as high quality as ProRes 422, they are both higher bitrate/quality that what the GoPro captures.

But if using ProRes422 is the best workflow, than so be it. I am still curious about the contrast (also notice pixelation) issue during playback stoppage in FCP. Seems odd.

thanks for the quick reply.

[Paul Hillman]

Hi, and thanks for spelling out best practices in MPEG Streamclip. I tried transcoding GoPro footage to ProRes-LT, ProRes-Proxy, and ProRes 422. When playing the LT and Proxy clips back in Final Cut Pro, there is a weird effect where the clips seems to playback fine, but once playback is stopped, the still frame of the video in the viewer (or canvas) turns really contrasty and somewhat pixelated. This same effect does not happen with the ProRes 422 clips.

I also played back all 3 clips in QuickTime, and the issue was not there, so seems to be a Final Cut Pro thing–verified on a laptop, my main workstation is a MacPro. My worry is that this issue will manifest itself into something horrible later on. However, I also don’t want to make ProRes 422 clips for all the GoPro media, since the files get 10x bigger from native GoPro to ProRes 422. LT and Proxy files are only 3-4x bigger, so that’s more manageable, but this contrast/pixelation issue in the FCP viewer is troubling.

any tips?

[Paul Hillman]

What codec are people using to edit footage from the GoPro HERO cam? I was hoping to transcode GoPro footage to ProRes-Proxy to lessen the file sizes (compared to ProRes 422), but I get this weird effect in Final Cut Pro with the transcoded files, where the footage looks good on playback, but when I stop the footage, the still image preview gets super contrasty. This makes me worried about issues later on in my workflow.

If I transcode the GoPro footage to ProRes 422 (not HQ), everything works normally in Final Cut Pro, but I’d like to have smaller file sizes since the original H.264 movies from the GoPro are 10x smaller than ProRes 422 and 3-4 times smaller than even ProRes-Proxy.

any tips?

[Paul Hillman]

I think you only have to adjust on each clip if you’re utilizing the Modify Menu/Audio/Pan functions, but if you use the Audio Mixer, as Ralph suggested, that will mix the entire track in the timeline to the left and right.

[Paul Hillman]

Yes, yes, of course! Thank you very much!

[Paul Hillman]

Doh! That was exactly it, I forgot to switch the deck’s frequency over to 23.98 to get it out of the pull-down mode. Thanks a ton Jeremy–it’s capturing smoothly now at 23.98.