best video export settings for Blu-Ray using FCE 4.0

[DP-Paris]

Hi,

I have recently started to use FCE 4.0 to edit videos from a just bought Panasonic HDC HS300 video camera. I want to edit the video, then export it so I can burn a Blu-Ray disc using Toast. So far, no matter what format I export it in, the quality is rather poor compared to when I either:

1. Burn the ACHD clips directly using Toast
2. Playback the clips directly using the video out of the camera

I really want to edit the videos before I burn them, adding pictures, transition effects, music etc. hence the reason I want to use Final Cut Express (I used iMovie last year to make a video for DVD which was easy and great, though a little limited).


The problems I seem to have are:

1. AVCHD 1080 is converted to anamorphic video aspect ratio, which if I want to output to 1080 has to be up-scaled and stretched. Why?

2. When I try to export in MP4, so I can play direct on my PS3 using my media server, I cannot seem to get good quality video. I set the video format to be h.264 with the maximum bitrate of 2097151 kbits. Stil the quality is crap. What do you recommend I set the output format to be?

3. I get tearing on the mac, which can be fixed using the interlace effect. However, I do not understand why I get no tearing when I play back using the cam or the AVCHD burnt directly onto blu-ray using Toast. Any ideas?

A small niggle is FCE seems to convert the 5.1 surround to 2 ch stereo. I appreciate the quality of the surround is not likely to be great anyway, however, I would still like the option to use it. I was taking some footage on a bridge the other day, with cars behind me. I wanted to see if the surround sound worked, playing the noise from the cars mainly on my rear surround speakers. I could not do this test as it is not supported by FCE.

Thanks....

 

[huntercr]

Hi,

I have recently started to use FCE 4.0 to edit videos from a just bought Panasonic HDC HS300 video camera. I want to edit the video, then export it so I can burn a Blu-Ray disc using Toast. So far, no matter what format I export it in, the quality is rather poor compared to when I either:

1. Burn the ACHD clips directly using Toast
2. Playback the clips directly using the video out of the camera

I really want to edit the videos before I burn them, adding pictures, transition effects, music etc. hence the reason I want to use Final Cut Express (I used iMovie last year to make a video for DVD which was easy and great, though a little limited).


The problems I seem to have are:

1. AVCHD 1080 is converted to anamorphic video aspect ratio, which if I want to output to 1080 has to be up-scaled and stretched. Why?

2. When I try to export in MP4, so I can play direct on my PS3 using my media server, I cannot seem to get good quality video. I set the video format to be h.264 with the maximum bitrate of 2097151 kbits. Stil the quality is crap. What do you recommend I set the output format to be?

3. I get tearing on the mac, which can be fixed using the interlace effect. However, I do not understand why I get no tearing when I play back using the cam or the AVCHD burnt directly onto blu-ray using Toast. Any ideas?

A small niggle is FCE seems to convert the 5.1 surround to 2 ch stereo. I appreciate the quality of the surround is not likely to be great anyway, however, I would still like the option to use it. I was taking some footage on a bridge the other day, with cars behind me. I wanted to see if the surround sound worked, playing the noise from the cars mainly on my rear surround speakers. I could not do this test as it is not supported by FCE.

Thanks....

1. Are you talking about within FCE? I think your sequence settings are wrong. Are you capturing in AIC?

2. Do not export from FCE as mp4, export as AIC. Don't set any bitrates or anything in Final Cut. Do this in Toast.

3. Final Cut is doing this on purpose because it shows you all fields, not just frames. You won't see it when exported to a disc and played in a blur-ray player

Re: stereo, yeah... FCE does not support multi channel audio. One of the things they took away from FCP to make it "express"


Hope this helps.

 

[DP-Paris]

1. Are you talking about within FCE? I think your sequence settings are wrong. Are you capturing in AIC?

2. Do not export from FCE as mp4, export as AIC. Don't set any bitrates or anything in Final Cut. Do this in Toast.

3. Final Cut is doing this on purpose because it shows you all fields, not just frames. You won't see it when exported to a disc and played in a blur-ray player

Re: stereo, yeah... FCE does not support multi channel audio. One of the things they took away from FCP to make it "express"


Hope this helps.

Hi,

Thanks for your reply.

1. I am talking about FCE. I connect my video cam and use 'log and transfer' to import the AVCHD which i believe is converted to AIC.
2. I do not see an option to export in AIC. Can you please tell me how to do it? I go to export in the 'file' drop down menu, where I have 3 options, quicktime, quicktime conversion and livetype. If I select quicktime conversion I get a list of formats but not AIC. I assume as I do not want to "convert" as you suggested, I am looking in the wrong place.

3. ok, good to know, thanks.

D

 

[xStep]

I wonder if your sequence is set incorrectly for the clip formats. Review the Open Format Timeline tutorial at Apple. You should be able to check the format of each imported clip also. I can't remember how to do that, but I'm sure there is a menu selection for that.

To confirm your export is what you think it should be, open it in QuickTime and open the information window (command-I) to review the native size of the file.

AIC = Apple Intermediate Codec

 

[DP-Paris]

I wonder if your sequence is set incorrectly for the clip formats. Review the Open Format Timeline tutorial at Apple. You should be able to check the format of each imported clip also. I can't remember how to do that, but I'm sure there is a menu selection for that.

To confirm your export is what you think it should be, open it in QuickTime and open the information window (command-I) to review the native size of the file.

AIC = Apple Intermediate Codec

I am using AIC 1080i50. When I look for the rendered AIC file, I can find rendered transitions and the original rendered file(s) in AIC format, but not a continuous file that has the original + rendered footage.

 

[huntercr]

Hi,

Thanks for your reply.

1. I am talking about FCE. I connect my video cam and use 'log and transfer' to import the AVCHD which i believe is converted to AIC.
2. I do not see an option to export in AIC. Can you please tell me how to do it? I go to export in the 'file' drop down menu, where I have 3 options, quicktime, quicktime conversion and livetype. If I select quicktime conversion I get a list of formats but not AIC. I assume as I do not want to "convert" as you suggested, I am looking in the wrong place.

3. ok, good to know, thanks.

D

1. OK, just to make sure you're handling that right though, I would follow the advice xstep gave on the open format tutorial.

2. just do the "save as quicktime" option ( not the conversion ). This will render the entire file and save it to a MOV container( using the AIC codec ). Import that file into Toast.

 

[DP-Paris]

1. OK, just to make sure you're handling that right though, I would follow the advice xstep gave on the open format tutorial.

2. just do the "save as quicktime" option ( not the conversion ). This will render the entire file and save it to a MOV container( using the AIC codec ). Import that file into Toast.

Ah ok, thanks. I will try to do so shortly.