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I'm going crazy! Sequence settings for HDV video

J

jbonante

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 16, 2007
42
0
Hello,

Hopefully someone can please help.

Im recording HD 1080i on a sony fx-7. I understand it records HDV at 1440x1080. Is that right?

If so i've set up my sequence in final cut pro to be 1440x1080. After importing the footage from the camera i check both the sequence setting and the video that has been imported... both claim they are 1440x1080... all good.. THEN once i export i choose Quicktime (keeping settings the same as sequence) once exported and i check the setting of the exported .mov file in qt it shows the video to 1920x1080? WHY?

I just want to record at the highest quality the camera allows. Import to FCP with same dimensions and export raw footage with the same dimensions.

Any advice?

Thanks in advance and if you couldn't tell i'm some what a newbie and have been researching in circles all week.
 
jbonante said:
... THEN once i export i choose Quicktime (keeping settings the same as sequence) once exported and i check the setting of the exported .mov file in qt it shows the video to 1920x1080? WHY?

....
Click to expand...
What is your concern here? HDV records 16:9 HD video using rectangular pixels. FCP converts the video to 1920x1080 square pixels. Since virtually all fixed-pixel displays have square pixels, this would appear to be a good thing. Why do you feel differently?
 
When the video is recorded on Sony cameras, it's recorded at 1440x1080. However this is not full high definition. 1920x1080 is full high definition. So the image is stretched to be 1920 when you export it. This is natural and it is the highest quality export.
 
HDV is 1440x1080 with a pixel ratio of 1.33, compared to the 1.00 of the 1920 output. There's nothing wrong with your export. TVs and computer monitors can't use the rectangular HDV pixels.
 
Thanks guys!

I felt that i shouldn't allow the video to stretch itself to 1920 if i could help it so i was trying to set everything at 1440. I wanted raw footage... So your saying after exporting it's ok to see 1920x1080 for hd? thats considered raw footage for shooting HDV video in HD? Go it!

Can anyone tell me the basic, easiest settings and codec i should set in FCP for a HDV recorded HD format video?

Steps in format for review:

Recorder from camera: HDV 1920x1080
Captured on FCP to what sequence?: (1440x1080) Does this matter or could i have a sequence of 1920x1080i
Exported video: QT file to 1920x1080 (raw)
Convert to FLV for web at: 1280 x 720 / 3500-5000kps / 30fps

Am i close to understanding? lol
 
For capturing you use the same settings as for shooting - 1080i60?
If you have enough drive space, don't capture into HDV, but use one of the ProRes flavors.
Export to web: h.264 - not everyone likes FLV.
 
zblaxberg said:
When the video is recorded on Sony cameras, it's recorded at 1440x1080. However this is not full high definition. 1920x1080 is full high definition. So the image is stretched to be 1920 when you export it. This is natural and it is the highest quality export.
Click to expand...
Wrong on several accounts. HD is defined as 720 progressive scan lines or 1080 scan lines--either interlaced or progressive--at an aspect ratio of 16:9. Fixed-pixel 1080 line displays have 1920 vertical columns for square pixels. Fixed-pixel 720 line displays have 1280 vertical columns for square pixels. A 1280x720 image is by definition high-definition. You take the nonsensical position that 1440x1080 is not HD despite the fact that it has more pixels in every dimension than a 1280x720 HD display.
 
Can anyone tell me the basic, easiest settings and codec i should set in FCP for a HDV recorded HD format video?
Click to expand...

For capture? Just use the HDV 1080i60 preset. And if you're on FCP 6 or 7, it will ask to automatically match video settings when drag the first clip onto a new sequence. No need for manual settings, really.
 
CaptainChunk said:
I probably should have clarified that better. There is a capture preset for HDV and once that's set, the functionality thereafter should be fairly automatic.
Click to expand...
Ok, got you now. Thanks for the clarification.

I have answered the "why can't my FCP see me camera" question too often in other fora so far... ;)
 
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