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Best way to export HDV 1080i?

R

ryan06

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 30, 2008
7
0
Ohio
What are the best export settings to output HDV 1080i simply to a data file (I can't burn nor watch Blu-ray yet). I shoot on the Sony HDR-FX1, which shoots in 1080i. I'm looking to just get the best quality file (regardless of size and computer requirements). I'm using Final Cut Studio 2 with the latest versions of Final Cut Pro 6, Compressor, etc.

Every time I try this process it looks like I just shot using a VHS camcorder...

Thanks
 
ryan06 said:
What are the best export settings to output HDV 1080i simply to a data file (I can't burn nor watch Blu-ray yet). I shoot on the Sony HDR-FX1, which shoots in 1080i. I'm looking to just get the best quality file (regardless of size and computer requirements). I'm using Final Cut Studio 2 with the latest versions of Final Cut Pro 6, Compressor, etc.

Every time I try this process it looks like I just shot using a VHS camcorder...

Thanks
Click to expand...

Can you explain what you're trying to end up with? For your camera the "best" file for the highest quality while not considering file size is the unedited HDV original. After that, ProRes and Apple Intermediate Codec.

Are you saying what will yield the best results that is playable on a computer? ( just your own computer, or you want to send it to someone, or... )
 
huntercr said:
Can you explain what you're trying to end up with? For your camera the "best" file for the highest quality while not considering file size is the unedited HDV original. After that, ProRes and Apple Intermediate Codec.

Are you saying what will yield the best results that is playable on a computer? ( just your own computer, or you want to send it to someone, or... )
Click to expand...

Since I can't burn Blu-Ray I'm looking to just make a data file - quicktime, to be played on a compatible computer. My camera records 1080i at 1440x1080.

I really don't care what program i use for exporting - Final Cut vs. Compressor, basically whatever gives me the best quality.
 
Quicktime conversion seems to be working decently for me, not HD quality but I guess I can deal with it.

I may have captured my video under the wrong setting - later finding out I needed to capture and edit in HDV 1080i. When I exported, I had tried Quicktime conversion under H.264, deinterlacing. I was told by another user than I wasn't supposed to deinterlace, but not doing that made the interlaced lines very defined and looked bad. I'm also looking at my results on my 15in MBP as I don't have an HDTV.

What are all of you using? I googled and searched youtube for videos under Sony HDR-FX1 1080i, and I was impressed by the video quality - on youtube. That told me I was doing something wrong. My video was near VHS quality, or even just lower bit rate, but still retaining the resolution I exported in.
 
ryan06 said:
Since I can't burn Blu-Ray I'm looking to just make a data file - quicktime, to be played on a compatible computer. My camera records 1080i at 1440x1080.

I really don't care what program i use for exporting - Final Cut vs. Compressor, basically whatever gives me the best quality.
Click to expand...

Sony fx-1 shoot 1080i yes but at 1920x1080 not 1440.
Use apple pro res 422 make sure to change to hq ;)
 
stretching pixels is kind of lame isnt it? Is there any cameras then that keep the proper aspect ratio?
 
djsound said:
stretching pixels is kind of lame isnt it? Is there any cameras then that keep the proper aspect ratio?
Click to expand...
It's only been recently that square pixels have come into the world of video (all standard def video uses unsquare pixels, for example). HD requires wrangling a lot of pixels so going unsquare is one way to make cameras, and post production workflows, affordable and viable. The Sony EX1 and EX3 use full raster (1920x1080) sensors and a full raster (1920x1080, square pixels) codec. Next step up is the Red camera, and next step up from that are cameras that cost as much as a house. :eek::p


Lethal
 
Play4keeps said:
Sony fx-1 shoot 1080i yes but at 1920x1080 not 1440.
Use apple pro res 422 make sure to change to hq ;)
Click to expand...

Thanks. I don't remember if there is an option for deinterlacing or progressive scanning of the frames, if there are, would you suggest using both in the Pro Res 422 HQ 1920x1080 setting?
 
so the cameras that stretch pixels..is the quality alot worse then The Sony EX1 and EX3 ? i think ill get the canon hv30...I'd like a very good hd result but....those ex1's and such cost ALOT dont they?
 
djsound said:
so the cameras that stretch pixels..is the quality alot worse then The Sony EX1 and EX3 ?
Click to expand...

Not "a lot", no. (Though the EX1 picture will be better for reasons other than pixel stretching). The reasoning behind using it is it's a good way of cutting the data-rate without having too dramatic an effect on the picture.
 
ryan06 said:
Thanks. I don't remember if there is an option for deinterlacing or progressive scanning of the frames, if there are, would you suggest using both in the Pro Res 422 HQ 1920x1080 setting?
Click to expand...
That's going to be a bit of an overkill. Using ProRes is going to substantially increase your file size but the quality of the image will remain the same as your source footage.

djsound said:
so the cameras that stretch pixels..is the quality alot worse then The Sony EX1 and EX3 ? i think ill get the canon hv30...I'd like a very good hd result but....those ex1's and such cost ALOT dont they?
Click to expand...
All other things being equal, yes a camera that records 1440x1080 won't have the same image quality as a camera that records 1920x1080. Whether or not the difference is visible, or meaningful, to you is a different question.


Lethal
 
hmm... i wish i could see the difference...

the ex1's are really expensive?
 
the ex1's are really expensive?

Depends. Would you call $7000-$8000 expensive? It's all relative ;).

__________________
These are the sort of windows faces look in at.
 
ohhh.....yes...personally i'd call that expensive haha...i think i'll stick to the hv20 :D
 
you guys know of any sites where I could download maybe a video of each? I just am curious....Id like to compare the stretched pixel cams with the non stretched...
 
djsound said:
you guys know of any sites where I could download maybe a video of each? I just am curious....Id like to compare the stretched pixel cams with the non stretched...
Click to expand...
I don't know of any places that have high quality footage shot by comparable cameras but pretty much everything you've seen on TV or at the movie theaters that originated in HD was acquired in a non-square pixel format up until just a couple of years ago. "Stretched pixel" is an misleading term as there is no "stretching" of the pixel (yes I realize the term "stretched" was in the Wiki article I quoted). It is merely a pixel that is rectangular instead of square.

djsound said:
do the jvc hd enverios stretch pixels?
Click to expand...
From brief reading I've done it looks like those cameras are switchable between square and non-square pixels (w/a non-square pixel option for longer record times).


Lethal
 
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