Field Order question

John Hewat · July 14th, 2007, 03:24 AM

Can someone smarter than me please give a definitive answer to this:

How should I export? With upper or lower field first?

Some say it's different for PAL & NTSC, others say it's not. Some say it's different for DV & HDV, others say it's not.

I shoot on a Z1 & a V1 in 50i and export to 50i at HDV.

Sometimes I shrink to SD at 50i.

Othertimes I de-interlace to 25p in premiere pro or I shoot in 25p on the V1 or CF25 on the Z1, which I'm failry certain I'm supposed to set to no fields.

But when editing interlaced footage, what the heck do I tell it to do?

Harm Millaard · July 14th, 2007, 03:36 AM

HDV is UFF (upper field first), SD is LFF, unless you use Matrox, which is UFF.

Bob Buchanan · July 14th, 2007, 07:36 AM

Yeah, keep it interlaced with upper field first all the way through your editing cycle to maintain quality. Then at the very end, you may choose to export more than one flavor from that interlaced source:

1) A DVD for your friends, which needs to converted to interlaced, lower field first
2) A quicktime file for the web: convert to progressive (no fields)
3) Blu-ray, where you'll want the original interlaced upper field first again.

So just leave the render format decision until the very end. Work with native format until then.

Tim Kolb · July 14th, 2007, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harm Millaard

HDV is UFF (upper field first), SD is LFF, unless you use Matrox, which is UFF.

Actually, the issue for years has been that DV is lower field first, while other flavors of SD (DigiBeta, etc...higher end formats) are upper field first.

So...you need to separate the two terms..."SD" and "DV" for purposes of this conversation. The Matrox DV codec is lower field, or it wouldn't be DV spec, all other SD codecs Matrox, Avid, Media 100, and anyone else has are upper field first if they are following suit with broadcast standard equipment.

July 14th, 2007, 03:24 AM	#1
John Hewat Major Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Melbourne, AUSTRALIA Posts: 735	Field Order question - Lower or Upper first?? Can someone smarter than me please give a definitive answer to this: How should I export? With upper or lower field first? Some say it's different for PAL & NTSC, others say it's not. Some say it's different for DV & HDV, others say it's not. I shoot on a Z1 & a V1 in 50i and export to 50i at HDV. Sometimes I shrink to SD at 50i. Othertimes I de-interlace to 25p in premiere pro or I shoot in 25p on the V1 or CF25 on the Z1, which I'm failry certain I'm supposed to set to no fields. But when editing interlaced footage, what the heck do I tell it to do? __________________ John Hewat Mammoth Media Productions

July 14th, 2007, 03:36 AM	#2
Harm Millaard Trustee Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Rotterdam, Netherlands Posts: 1,832	HDV is UFF (upper field first), SD is LFF, unless you use Matrox, which is UFF.

July 14th, 2007, 07:36 AM	#3
Bob Buchanan New Boot Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 11	Yeah, keep it interlaced with upper field first all the way through your editing cycle to maintain quality. Then at the very end, you may choose to export more than one flavor from that interlaced source: 1) A DVD for your friends, which needs to converted to interlaced, lower field first 2) A quicktime file for the web: convert to progressive (no fields) 3) Blu-ray, where you'll want the original interlaced upper field first again. So just leave the render format decision until the very end. Work with native format until then.