FCP to Compressor for AVCHD/ProRes 422

I’ve been combing the web for answers, but haven’t seem to come across what is probably a common question:

Log & Transfer (in FCP 7) converts the AVCHD footage from a Canon vixia camera automatically to ProRes 422. The original video is 1080i 29.97fps, 1920x1080. The FCP timeline's sequence settings are HDTV1080i (16:9), aspect ratio: Square, 29.97fps, Field Dominance: Upper (odd), Compressor: ProRes 422

I export to QT self-contained .mov file and bring it into Compressor. Will I get the best quality for a dvd by just dragging the MPEG-2 setting into the batch window, or do I pre-compress to ProRes 422 first (even though it came out of DCP as a Pro Res QT file), then to MPEG-2?

Also, is Compressor better than MPEG Streamclip for this?
When to use ProRes 422, Pro Res 422 LT, or HQ and what is the difference?
If original footage is interlaced, is it better to transcode to progressive, for dvds, or is that just for web?

Thanks,
Nina

Hi Nina,

Take your QT self contained ProRes movie directly into Compressor.

In Compressor there are Mpeg2 Presets that you use.

How long is your video?

--ken

My video was only 19 min. I did use the MPEG-2 presets and it came out OK (after very long compression time), but I just wondered if that was the best way to do it? I guess it is.

Thanks,
Nina

It's a good way to do it.

At 19 minutes you can tweak the MPEG2 preset for a little more quality.

In the Inspector, Encoder tab > Quality tab,set your Average Bit rate to 6.8 and your Max Bit rate to 7.9 (or 8.0).

--ken

Thanks, I'll give it a try.

Nina