Re: HD to SD DVD output

Hi, all,

I am trying to make an SD DVD from HD footage (making DVDs of dailies for transcription.) But I get files of 9 Gb per hour (based on testing shorter sections), so something is going terribly wrong.

I am working in FCP 6.0.4 and we shot the footage on the Sony EX1 (XDCam) in HD 1080 24p VBR (35 Mb/s). I started by using the QuickTime to downconvert, but the files were huge and they cut off early (at 45 min of source material.) Then I tried to follow the instructions in Rick Young’s Outputting Standard Definition in FCP from the Sony XDCam EX1, converting in FCP before making the QuickTime, but he’s working in PAL and I’m in NTSC. There are so many more NTSC settings, I don’t know which ones might be overriding others. And I’m not only switching from HD to SD, but also 23.98 to 29.97, and compressing, while keeping the 16:9. So here is my latest path. See if you find the problem I can't see.

My original Easy Setup is -
Sony XDCAM HD
23.98
XDCAM EX 1080p24 VBR

I cut the HD sequence, add a timecode reader effect and render.

Then I reset the Easy Setup to -
NTSC
29.97
DV – NTSC Anamorphic

I make a new empty sequence and reset the Sequence Settings to -
NTSC DV (3:2)
Pixels – square and anamorphic
Field Dominance – None
QuickTime Video – DV / DVCPRO – NTSC
Audio – 48 kHz, 16-bit, discrete channels

I change Advanced settings to -
Compression Type – DV /DVCPRO – NTSC
29.97
Best Quality
Progressive
16:9

I then copy the HD edit into the SD sequence and render.

I Export as a QuickTime Movie -
Setting – DV NTSC 48 kHz Anamorphic
Include – Audio and Video
Markers – None
Recompress all frames is not checked
Make movie self-contained is checked

And I get what would be (if I did a full hour) a 9 Gb file that takes anywhere from 3-6 hours to create. Any thoughts? I’ve been trying various configurations for a day and a half, so I thank you in advance, from the bottom of my heart, for any help you can give me.

Happy cutting…and outputting...
Jule

Hi Jule,

NTSC DV compressed video runs approximately 210 megs per minute, which makes 12 GB per hour. You will be very lucky if your 1 hour DV video file is only 9 GB. But in the workflow you propose you will have to convert this file to MPEG2 anyway to make your SD DVD dailies, so I don't see why the file size of the DV video can be any problem. The real question is: do you really want to do this this way ?

We can propose a workflow for you, but I need to be sure that I completely understand what you want to do. So correct me if I'm wrong:

You work with XDCAM EX 1080 24p footage

You want to cut the footage in HD, then you want to:
1. Keep the HD edit for final delivery as an HD master file
2. Make an SD DVD (MPEG2) copy of the edit with TC embedded for transcription

Confirm if this is correct, then we will be able to help you find the best workflow.

Best wishes,

Ronny

Dea Ronny,

Thanks for your help. That is correct. So it looks like the problem may be in the DVD compression specs. This pass is for transcription, but I'll also use whatever method we come up with for the final feature, so I'll need to put up to 2 hours of footage on each DVD.

Thanks for your help!
Jule

Hi June,

There's one more thing I need to ask to be sure:

When you say your output will be SD DVD, do you mean a regular TV DVD that plays in home DVD players, or a DATA DVD that contains an SD QT video file and which will be opened on a computer with QT player ? This makes a lot of difference regaring your workflow.

Best wishes,

Ronny

Hi, Ronny,

I'm not making data DVDs, but DVDs to play on a home TV.

Per your advice, I've been trying now to make an MPEG-2. I've been trying Compressor for the last couple days, straight from my HD files exported from FCP. The SD DVD setting makes a nice, small video file but without audio. On the other hand, the Program Stream setting, set for MPEG-2, NTSC, 29.97, 16:9 and progressive, and set in Extras to include Multiplexed MPEG 1/layer 2 audio (the only place I can find to turn on audio) makes a file that is 6 Gb per hour. Better than 9 or 12, but still way too big.

I don't see MPEG-2 settings in either QuickTime Movie or QuickTime Conversion in the FCP export.

Your thoughts would be most welcome. Thanks!
Jule

Dear Ronny,

Bless you! Bless you! Bless you! After 5 days of trying everything, we finally have the answer that works! Here's to the folks like you who share their expertise and to Ken Stone for bringing us all together.

One more note to the group. My destination drive didn't come up on the Apple list, so I went to Target - Destination - Other in the menu to assign the destination drive.

Thanks so much,
Jule

Hi Jule,

Happy to hear this works for you. Sorry, I forgot to explain how to set a destination in Compressor that is not in the Default list. But hey, you figured it out. Happy editing !

Best wishes,

Ronny