[Vicky Weeks]

Scott

Try this:
In FCP, change your sequence setting to Field Dominance: None. Keep frame rate at 29.97, and everything else the same as in the easy setup for the DV NTSC.
Render the sequence. How does it look?

..It should look better than Lower(Even)

Next, export directly from FCP to Compressor. Try the canned preset for DVD Best Quality 90 minutes. Use as is. Do not make progressive.

I know you’ve probably been through a hundred iterations, but test this on at least a portion of your video.

Also, Instead of exporting directly from FCP to Compressor, you could make an QT w/ the Animation codec, highest quality, 29.97, millions of colors, auto keyframe,720×480, and do not check the “de interlace source material.” Then encode in compressor w/ the canned preset. See which one looks best, but I think the one from FCP may win out.

Also, what is the source format of your still images?

Good luck..

Vicky

[Vicky Weeks]

Scott, it is never really going to look great on your canvas in FCP. A couple of questions: what is the majority of the material in the sequence? Are you exporting from FCP directly into Compressor or making a QT first?

[Vicky Weeks]

I’ve had the same issue as Tim at times, it is hard to ID why though. Sometimes, I’m not sure if I’ve done it before or after I’ve tried resarting (start deck first BTW) I do a “Print to Video” – even though I don’t really do the print, I just click OK in the dialog box, then cancel when the video screen appears, and FCP becomes aware of the deck. Sound’s like voodoo, I know….

Vicky

[Vicky Weeks]

As far as I can tell, there is no improvement to the text generators. But now you can drop a Motion project into FCP6 and update the text as needed through multiple iterations. I use Motion most of the time anyway for titles, and this will save the need for multiple Motion project files. Just one Motion file as a template, and mod the text in FCP.

Vicky