Best FCP settings for web (mkII)?

[Macinposh]

Aargh...

So,basically I have now 1080p/25 vid,16:9,6mins,with sound and would like to make best possible quality clip to a web site (either stream and/or download).


The results have been utter *****.

Tried to go the compressor route,but it gave at a 812x5something resolution of 7 days (MP1.1) and the processor useage was at about 25%...
So,via the normal "export via quicktime conversion" I have several problems.
Big sizes (812x512something) is about 120-350Mb,depending on the settings,and it still looks relatively poor.And I guess that sizes would not stream over the interwebs either..
Smaller sizes (576/210 etc) look like utter garbage even if they are sizewise in the range of 30-70Mb...



AND the biggest problem is that most of the conversions give enormous interlacing artifacts,even if the original video is 1080P...



Would be appreciated if someone could give me some pointers on this one...poooping bricks at the moment because every conversion is taking 45mins and FCP is such a useless pile of dung that it doesnt even show the estimated final size of the video...

 

[Pressure]

Export using QuickTime conversion and use H.264.

Vimeo and YouTube accept files up to 1080p.

Do you transcode the H.264 files from the camera to ProRes before editing?

 

[Macinposh]

Export using QuickTime conversion and use H.264.

Vimeo and YouTube accept files up to 1080p.

Do you transcode the H.264 files from the camera to ProRes before editing?

Yes.

camera -> prores422 -> fcp.

The 1080p (or 720p) is not feasible,I am afraid. The bandwidth constraints would be way too high considering the "client" and the "endusers" as they go straight to a website,not under YT or Vimeo.

All the high res exports are just fine and dandy,it is just the lower res that look like ***** and take enormous amount of space. Have seen peoples vids that are 576pix and they look crystal clear and are small files.
So I know it can be done,but how...thats the mystery.

And dont get me started on the interlacing... There is some in the program zooms and tilts and quite a lot of in shot pans,and all those show very bad interlacing when converting to QT.
Let alone when done to a windows media... Looked like an artfilm...

 

[KeithPratt]

Sounds like you have a few settings wrong.

Are you working in a progressive timeline in FCP? In the AV Attributes, has Compressor correctly identified the video as progressive?

Have you got Frame Controls turned on (and perhaps Resize set to 'Better') in Compressor?

What codec are you compressing to? You can set a target data rate based on your internet bandwidth. For SD-sized footage, compressing to H.264, things will probably start getting a little mushy when you dip below 1500kbps. AAC at 96kbps will probably suffice.

I'd recommend you scale and compress separately. Get an acceptable scaled image saved as ProRes, then compress that to H.264. I'd also recommend you Export your video from FCP as a Quicktime movie (not 'Quicktime Conversion') and then open that in Compressor.

And how many cores does your Pro have? A Cluster might speed things up.

 

[Macinposh]

Sounds like you have a few settings wrong.

Thats what my wife says as well..

And how many cores does your Pro have? A Cluster might speed things up.

Hmm...
I have the MP 1.1, 4x3.00.
I tried to cluster it (with external computer ,my MBP) a while ago and I have this slight feeling that it is where the prob lies. That time after few minutes the MP dropped of the line and let the MPB do the whole job..
Have to look into it as well as your other tips.



What I am trying to achieve,is to get a clip out (h.264 atm) that practically all the browsers and OS could watch without problems.It will go out on a website with dedicated end users (100-200 people) who will get a link to it.
So I (we) are dancing around the problem what to do and how.
This is kind of pilot project and we are in no hurry ,but damn,the learning curve has been steep...

Guys,I really appreciate the pointers,will dig into them tomorrow!



Btw,it is not p0rn.So dont get your dirty minds all winded up...

 

[Pressure]

Yes.

camera -> prores422 -> fcp.

The 1080p (or 720p) is not feasible,I am afraid. The bandwidth constraints would be way too high considering the "client" and the "endusers" as they go straight to a website,not under YT or Vimeo.

All the high res exports are just fine and dandy,it is just the lower res that look like ***** and take enormous amount of space. Have seen peoples vids that are 576pix and they look crystal clear and are small files.
So I know it can be done,but how...thats the mystery.

And dont get me started on the interlacing... There is some in the program zooms and tilts and quite a lot of in shot pans,and all those show very bad interlacing when converting to QT.
Let alone when done to a windows media... Looked like an artfilm...

In that case I would take the H.264 file exported from Final Cut and use Handbrake to make a .mp4 using the Apple TV preset.

I have been able to get 5 minutes of 1080p down to 70MB at 960 x 540 pixels while maintaing good looks.

 

[KeithPratt]

In that case I would take the H.264 file exported from Final Cut and use Handbrake to make a .mp4 using the Apple TV preset.

It's not good practice to encode to H./x264 twice.

 

[handsome pete]

It's not good practice to encode to H./x264 twice.

Agreed. Best to export a lossless format using "quicktime movie" and not "quicktime conversion." Then bring that file into compressor outside of the final cut interface.

As for the interlacing you're seeing. Are you sure it's interlacing? Or are you confusing that with compression artifacts?

 

[xStep]

I didn't see anyone state the obvious for when you are testing. Use a small portion of your project. Say a 1 minute clip of a problem area. That will save you loads of time while you get the formula right.