Yet another question about encoding a video for broadcast.

[Bob Drummond]

Sorry, gang,

These are the specs that the cable company is asking for. They don't match a simple preset in CS5 AME, and they seem to leave out some important parameters. Please help:


Insight media:
Ftp site address: xxxxx



Place all spots in the folder marked Edgewood_TO_BE_Encoded
o All files need to be in a directory folder
o Other file delivery sites are acceptable---provide site address and user login
information.

Standard Definition Commercial file specs:
o QuickTime.mov with H.264 compression and 48Khz, 16 bit stereo audio
o Upper field first rendering
o No bars, no slate
o Title the spot
o No extra frames of black to exported file

High Definition Commercial file specs:
o QuickTime.mov with H.264 encoding with 48Khz, 16 bit stereo audio
o 1920 x 1080 Interlaced
o No bars, no slate.
o Title the spot and “HD” to the end of the file name
o No extra frames of black to the exported file

Audio specs:
o 0 dB level
o 48kHz sample rate
o 16 bit 2-channel stereo
o 192 Mbps audio bits

Urgent note: If the spot is a HD spot, it is also used as a SD spot by cropping
240 pixels off the left and right sides. Please keep all graphics in 4:3 safe titles.

Please give notification when the spot has been uploaded.

If you anticipate future business, you can download FileZilla at:
(FileZilla - The free FTP solution) and save our information so that you can access it quickly.

Thanks for your help. If you have questions, please call (859) 547-5248 and ask for
Encoding.

[Battle Vaughan]

It's easy enough to create and save your custom Quicktime setup in AME to match their specs, but there's some bits missing... for SD, for example, it would help to know their needs re: bitrate, aspect ratio, frame rate, width and height. Audio, what codec? Uncompressed? AAC?

And "0 dB" --- is that their desired audio output level (which would be abnormally hot, broadcast is often recommended as -20bB or -12dB average) Or do they mean not to exceed 0 dbFS, which is still too hot? I'm also confused about wanting 192K when it's downsampled to 48k anyway. It can't be both, unless I'm missing their meaning.

[Bob Drummond]

Yeah, the audio thing confused me too. So did all the missing info. I've been working with video for years, but this is my first time to actually have something broadcast on television, so I wanted to make sure I gave them the best possible file.

I also submitted it to another channel--an actual network broadcast affiliate, not a cable company, and their specs were even less detailed than the above! I'm assuming in this day and age, a lot of stations are like youtube or vimeo. You give them your best file, and they'll re-encode it to match what they need.

But I also assume garbage in, garbage out. That's why I wanted to make sure to send the best possible file.

Looks like it worked OK. I''ll tell you more once I actually see it air.

[Panagiotis Raris]

Originally Posted by Battle Vaughan

It's easy enough to create and save your custom Quicktime setup in AME to match their specs, but there's some bits missing... for SD, for example, it would help to know their needs re: bitrate, aspect ratio, frame rate, width and height. Audio, what codec? Uncompressed? AAC?

And "0 dB" --- is that their desired audio output level (which would be abnormally hot, broadcast is often recommended as -20bB or -12dB average) Or do they mean not to exceed 0 dbFS, which is still too hot? I'm also confused about wanting 192K when it's downsampled to 48k anyway. It can't be both, unless I'm missing their meaning.

agreed about audio; i would call and verify the 0 DB as well as codec to be safe.