Best way to transport video without losing quality

[Benjamindaines]

Basically I have to edit some video for a project and when I'm done it has to be transported to the studio in a way that can't lose any quality (or very little). I just found out that my camera doesn't print to tape, which is how I was planning on getting it there, making a DVD is not an option because it would have to be re-imported into Final Cut which would result in quality loss. So here's what I was thinking, I export as a QuickTime file using H264 at the best quality I can and burn the file onto a DVD. That way everything would be all digital so there shouldn't be any quality loss between the file on the DVD and Final Cut. What do you think? Also giving the studio my hard drive isn't an option.

-- Thanks

 

[spicyapple]

Copy the video files to a portable Firewire drive. What is the studio going to do with a H264 file? They can't edit that, nor would they transcode it to an editing codec, thereby losing timecode and all that good meta stuff.

 

[Benjamindaines]

Copy the video files to a portable Firewire drive. What is the studio going to do with a H264 file? They can't edit that, nor would they transcode it to an editing codec, thereby losing timecode and all that good meta stuff.

Like I said I can't spare a hard drive for more than a few days (they would need it for a few weeks) and they don't need to edit it, that's what I do, they just need to throw it into a FCP timeline with a bunch of other videos, that FCP timeline will eventually make it's way to a DVD.

 

[LethalWolfe]

Have you tried doing a "crash record" as opposed to using the "print to tape" feature (a crash record is basically hitting "record" on your camera then "play" on your timeline)?

Compressing it into h.264 will result in a quality loss. If you put it on a drive why do you have to leave it with them? Why can't they just copy it from your drive onto their drive then give you your drive back?

How long is the final product you need to give them? You can fit about 20min of DV on a DVD so you could always give them 20min chunks that way. Just leave them some handles (a second or 2 of overlap between the DVDs) and they can cut it together on their machine.


Lethal

 

[MacFan25863]

Thousands of floppy disks.

Or maybe borrow/buy another external hard drive? You would only need a small one, and they are dirt cheap these days...

 

[Joe K]

Hey Banjamin, you can make a self-contained QT movie and burn that into a dvd, you won't loss quality and it'll be smaller than your entire project. if its bigger than one dvd use stuff it deluxe to span it across several disks, toast can do this too, but I haven't tried it.

 

[PegasusMedia]

I second spicyapple. Get a small FW drive to take over.

I do this with one of my clients using a 300GB drive the size of a paperback. Every Thursday I pick up my drive and the new tapes, and every Tuesday I return the tapes and the drive which now has the captured media and the finished FCP timeline. He dumps it all to his system and we start over again Thursday. It works like a charm!

 

[Macnoviz]

Hey Banjamin, you can make a self-contained QT movie and burn that into a dvd, you won't loss quality and it'll be smaller than your entire project. if its bigger than one dvd use stuff it deluxe to span it across several disks, toast can do this too, but I haven't tried it.

I'd recommend not to use Quicktime. I experienced quality loss even with highest settings. I'd say DV, or avi

 

[LethalWolfe]

I'd recommend not to use Quicktime. I experienced quality loss even with highest settings. I'd say DV, or avi

QT and AVI are just wrappers to "carry" the video information in, they don't determine the quality of the video. For example, FCP is QT based so every piece of media captured by FCP is stored as a QT file. Of course an uncompressed HD clip is going to be bigger and of much higher quality than a MiniDV clip but both will be QT files.

Unless you choose to lower the quality settings a self contained QT movie will be lossless copy of your timeline.


Lethal

 

[topicolo]

Jeez. what's with the complex solutions? why not just zip up the final cut files and span them over a couple of DVD-Rs? It'll probably cost less than $1 and result in no quality loss

 

[Rasheem]

Basically I have to edit some video for a project and when I'm done it has to be transported to the studio in a way that can't lose any quality (or very little). I just found out that my camera doesn't print to tape, which is how I was planning on getting it there, making a DVD is not an option because it would have to be re-imported into Final Cut which would result in quality loss. So here's what I was thinking, I export as a QuickTime file using H264 at the best quality I can and burn the file onto a DVD. That way everything would be all digital so there shouldn't be any quality loss between the file on the DVD and Final Cut. What do you think? Also giving the studio my hard drive isn't an option.

-- Thanks

heres a solution that you wont lose any quality. However if the video is to long the files size will get big.
1. open final cut and get that sequence loaded in the timeline

2. go to File / Media Manager and select the following things delete unused media, Duplicate sected items and place into a new project, include nonactive multiclip angles.


4. Create a folder on your desktop and name it whatever you want.

5. In the "Media Destination" window set the folder you just created
as the destination and let her rip.

6. When that's done burn it to a DVD or you may have to split it up and burn it to a few dvd's depending on file size. or get a dual layer dvd.

 

[ChrisA]

export as a QuickTime file using H264 at the best quality I can and burn the file onto a DVD.

Change the above to this....

export as a QuickTime file using DV I can and burn the file onto a set of DVDs.

The DV format runs at about 12GB per hour. Is it a one hour show? then burn three DVDs.

 

[killr_b]

Jeez. what's with the complex solutions? why not just zip up the final cut files and span them over a couple of DVD-Rs? It'll probably cost less than $1 and result in no quality loss

You're joking right?

Anyway, I'm assuming you have an edited sequence you want to move.

Export to quicktime movie, self-contained, at current settings.

Enable disk mode on your iPod and make sure the available space is greater than the size of your movie. Drag it on.

Or use an external FW drive, same thing.

I agree also with Lethal's method of "crash recording" I believe he called it.

 

[faustfire]

If you really want to keep your project at the best possible quality your should not export as DV format. That adds another generation of compression to your workflow. You should export your project in animation or uncompressed 8 or 10 bit format and then split it among a few DVDs.

 

[lostless]

If you really want to keep your project at the best possible quality your should not export as DV format. That adds another generation of compression to your workflow. You should export your project in animation or uncompressed 8 or 10 bit format and then split it among a few DVDs.

The compression of DV is so minimal, I doubt anyone will tell the differance from the orignal dv stream, to the new dv stream. It's no where near the compression ratios used in DVD or mpeg4. I agree not to use DVD or H.264. H.264 actually leaves more artifacts than DVD (mpeg 2). I say use DV, ive exprted DV from DV, and ive never seen a 2nd genration artifact.

 

[LethalWolfe]

If you really want to keep your project at the best possible quality your should not export as DV format. That adds another generation of compression to your workflow. You should export your project in animation or uncompressed 8 or 10 bit format and then split it among a few DVDs.

Making a self-contained QT reference movie isn't going to add another pass of DV compression. All it does is copy all the media used in the timeline and make it into a single QT movie. No additional compression happens. Exporting to animation or an uncompressed codec will result in a much bigger, yet still DV quality file. If I have 1 liter of water (DV) and dump it into an empty 2 liter bottle (animation codec) I still just have 1 liter of water in a 2 liter bottle.


Lethal

 

[faustfire]

The compression of DV is so minimal, I doubt anyone will tell the differance from the orignal dv stream, to the new dv stream. It's no where near the compression ratios used in DVD or mpeg4. I agree not to use DVD or H.264. H.264 actually leaves more artifacts than DVD (mpeg 2). I say use DV, ive exprted DV from DV, and ive never seen a 2nd genration artifact.

With all due respect, 5:1 compression is hardly minimal, and is very noticable if you look. In a professional workflow it is alway top priority to keep your workflow compression free until compressing for the final destination. Not saying that it will look horrible, but as DV is not really a great looking format to begin with, every little bit of extra quality really counts. I can see going DVC50 to DVC50, but not DV to DV.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[faustfire]

Making a self-contained QT reference movie isn't going to add another pass of DV compression. All it does is copy all the media used in the timeline and make it into a single QT movie. No additional compression happens. Exporting to animation or an uncompressed codec will result in a much bigger, yet still DV quality file. If I have 1 liter of water (DV) and dump it into an empty 2 liter bottle (animation codec) I still just have 1 liter of water in a 2 liter bottle.


Lethal

If he has altered any clips within the timeline such as dissolves or speed changes, fcp will uncompress and then recompress every clip within the timline at export, adding another generation of compression.

 

[theWholeTruth]

If he has altered any clips within the timeline such as dissolves or speed changes, fcp will uncompress and then recompress every clip within the timline at export, adding another generation of compression.

You keep the same compression from import or capture to export. I think that is what Lethalwolfe is alluding to. The problem is that the OP never states what the source material is, so the advice given assumes DV capture; a logical assumption.

 

[faustfire]

You keep the same compression from import or capture to export. I think that is what Lethalwolfe is alluding to. The problem is that the OP never states what the source material is, so the advice given assumes DV capture; a logical assumption.

I was assuming that he captured in DV, but after importing the DV clips, if any clips are altered (besides a strait cut), every clip in the timeline is recompressed when exported, even when exported to DV again. This adds another generation of compression to your final export.

 

[LethalWolfe]

If he has altered any clips within the timeline such as dissolves or speed changes, fcp will uncompress and then recompress every clip within the timline at export, adding another generation of compression.

Going File->Export->Quicktime Movie will not rerender anything (unless of course you do something check the "recompress all frames" checkbox that is unchecked by default). Making a self contained QT movie this way copies the used portions of the master clips and/or render files and assembles them into a single QT movie. It's not transcoding any media it's merely copying the needed portions of existing media.

Now, if you use QT conversion and make a DV file then you'll recompress everything 'cause you are telling FCP, "Hey, take this and transcode it into DV." But using the first method I mentioned doesn't do that. Using that method you basically tell FCP, "Hey, find these ins & outs on the master clips and copy them into one single file."

If you are familiar w/a QT reference movie think of the QT self contained movie along similar lines. But where the reference movie just "points" back to the master media needed for play back the self contained movie actually goes and makes a copy of the master media needed for playback.


Lethal

 

[topicolo]

You're joking right?

Anyway, I'm assuming you have an edited sequence you want to move.

Export to quicktime movie, self-contained, at current settings.

Enable disk mode on your iPod and make sure the available space is greater than the size of your movie. Drag it on.

Or use an external FW drive, same thing.

I agree also with Lethal's method of "crash recording" I believe he called it.

That's assuming he has an ipod with enough storage or FW drives big enough. DVDRs cost pennies