Tom Laughlin
Forum Replies Created
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You may want to try and use a different codec version of H.264, you want speed and you mentioned that your speed in encoding is achieved using Apple’s H.264, but why don’t you try downloading “X.264” plug-in, and dragging that into your plugins folder, restarting Final Cut or wherever you’re exporting out from, and change the export option from H.264 to x.264. I found that these “X” versions of h.264 are far superior in quality than Apple’s codec encoder version. It’s better quality all around and it may actually be faster.
I’d also try and change the current time-line compression settings first then exporting, instead of changing it after. If you change your time-line to lets say, DV or HDV, or the equivalent, export out from that, and that may be a way to export faster.
I’d try changing the timeline, then either batch exporting out of FCP, or Compressor to the exact window size you need, and that may also yield some more speed. And the reason I say this, is because a lot of people export out different sizes for web, but only export out to a size tht you know is the exact size of your window, like for me, I export for web video knowing the website’s video player window size, that way all the encoding is based on that, instead of encoding to a smaller or much bigger size that in the end, will be seen at a much smaller window size anyways. Just my 2 cents.
Tom Laughlin
Producer/Editor
Salt Lake City, UT
FCP7/Sony EX-3/Mac Quad-Core Intel -
Yea, i usually do it in the export to 8-bit first, so I don’t have to so it after in AME.
The other things is, we go from a HDV 1440×1080, to an 8-bit uncompressed 720×480(16×9) QT file, so it’s techncially SD at that point, a slight down-conversion, then into AME, so that might be where your file is slightly higher in size HD to AME, we are HDV to SD to AME. Don’t ask me why we just don’t do it right out at 8-bit Uncompressed HD at 1440x1080p, maybe it’s because it would be a huge file size at the end (for an HD 8-bit master file) and take longer to export out of FCP, and then take a while to encode it with AME.
Tom Laughlin
Producer/Editor
Salt Lake City, UT
FCP7/Sony EX-3/Mac Quad-Core Intel -
My editing time-line is Sony EX3’s 1440x1080p-HDV 60i timeline base.
I output an 8-bit Uncompressed, and use this sizing, shown here.
This source file is an 8-bit Uncompressed and output as a 720×480 (16×9) QT file. This is the file I’m encoding from. When QT opens it, it’s default viewing size is like 853×480.
My final video output size needs to be “640×360”.
In AME, I tried a 7 minute clip at “2 Pass VBR”, “Same as Source” and it was about 12MB, and looked phenomenal! So, I think I’m on the right track, I hope, and set to “2” as the min and 7 as the max bitrates. Looked good.
Frame rate and everything else, I left at the default.
Upper or Lower??, in terms of the ‘field dominance’, how does that work, and are there other options to consider?
Feel free to let me know if you’ve got more suggestions.
Tom Laughlin
Producer/Editor
Salt Lake City, UT
FCP7/Sony EX-3/Mac Quad-Core Intel -
Ok, so i’m going to try this. You drag it into compressor, and treat it as you would any other file? A ref QT can be imported into Compressor then? Can you output whatever you want? Does it take less time then, as you mentioned, and how much faster is it once the time-line has been rendered? I thought you could send a file to Compressor via “Share” using FCP7, and it allows you to keep editing, are you talking about tying up FCP in terms of processing, or locking up FCP as in previous versions when you “Export using Compressor” then FCP would lock up during the export, but the new FCP allows you to keep editing after you’ve sent something to be compressed, right?
Tom Laughlin
Producer/Editor
Salt Lake City, UT
FCP7/Sony EX-3/Mac Quad-Core Intel -
I didn’t know you could do that? I thought reference QT had to have the raw compressed into the file, like a self-contained QT, in order to do that? So, you dropped a ref QT into Compressor and that worked, cool, I’ll remember that for future. Also, what was your ref QT saved as, for your compression, was it same as source? Does ref QT just save off your time-line settings the same settings anyway, or did you have to tell it to do that? Anyways, very cool!
Tom Laughlin
Producer/Editor
Salt Lake City, UT
FCP7/Sony EX-3/Mac Quad-Core Intel -
[Daniel Low] No, not quite right. It uses ‘time’ based on the preferences set relating to datarate in the Encoding preferences plane and the size of the DVD you are using.
Um, ok… If you want to go that much deeper into technicality, that’s what I meant. Yes, we all know it’s time based on the data rate. But I don’t think the guy os going to want to mess with this any further, it is a freaking 2 hour clip, let DVDSP automatically default it.
[Daniel Low] You’ve got 99% of the above totally wrong. RTFM!!!
Daniel, I’m not here to say you’re right and I’m wrong. I’m here to help out with the posted question, everyone has a right to response in their way or suggest what to try. It’s worked for me, other things work for you, and nothing we suggest may work for him, but at least give him some bones to chew. Let’s all stay focused on getting him a solution, and not critiquing everything everyone posts that you don’t agree with.
[Daniel Low] If you compress the file with compressor or Episode or any other MPEG2 ‘coder to .M2V + audio, then all DVDSP does it to make VOBs from those files.
Yes, that is what I meant. I’ll be more specific from a technical standpoint next time I post. I apologize I wasn’t clear enough for you Daniel, I’m more focused on trying to help him with his problem. Sorry Jeremy, yes, Daniel is right about that, VOB files are created, it’s not a compression, but yet another process automated in DVDSP.
Good luck Jeremy, I’d ask Daniel more about this if you have further issues. I think he may have more solutions for you at this point. All the best.
Tom Laughlin
Producer/Editor
Salt Lake City, UT
FCP7/Sony EX-3/Mac Quad-Core Intel -
Have you seen side by side comparisons to the look? Can you tell the difference, and how?
Tom Laughlin
Producer/Editor
Salt Lake City, UT
FCP7/Sony EX-3/Mac Quad-Core Intel -
I’d still try to export it out as an 8-bit uncompressed 1920×1080 HD file. Compressor will crap all over this file if you run it through Compressor. Also, regardless of both ways, you’re still going to have to sit and wait for it to export out anyways, and you will need a file for archive anyway right? Lots of people archive uncompressed, they can later go back and create other files from this, or do what some others do, you keep the FCP project and all the 20-50 TBs of Raw content on your computer, and just re-export it out for every time you need a different file format, like for web. You do all the uncompressed file encoding now, it will save you time and quality on the back-end. Drop the file into DVDSP, burn it and see for yourself, Compressor avoided, quality maintained.
Tom Laughlin
Producer/Editor
Salt Lake City, UT
FCP7/Sony EX-3/Mac Quad-Core Intel -
If that is the case, I’d export it the file out as an uncompressed 8-bit QT, as a 720×480 (16×9) file. Or export it out as a Apple Pro Res file, maybe it won’t be as big.
Tom Laughlin
Producer/Editor
Salt Lake City, UT
FCP7/Sony EX-3/Mac Quad-Core Intel -
Jan Ozer “On a completely different subject, MainConcept will also be selling versions of their codec that you can use in Apple Compressor as a QuickTime Export Component, and as a plug-in for Adobe Media Encoder (AME). Prices aren’t firm yet, but they sound like they’ll be in the $500-700 range, available sometime during the summer. This is a huge deal for Final Cut Pro producers, because the Apple codec is slow and has much lower quality than the MainConcept codec.”
6th paragraph down.
Tom Laughlin
Producer/Editor
Salt Lake City, UT
FCP7/Sony EX-3/Mac Quad-Core Intel