I was wondering if you might be able to solve a problem for me in Final Cut Express.

I just purchased a Canon HF10 camcorder which shoots in the AVCHD format. I"m doing a practice project on Final Cut Express and I am having two related, (I believe) problems with the video after export.

One problem is a ghosting "page wipe" effect.. See link below please of a freeze frame. It's almost like the lines are splitting frames.

http://www.ohiobobcat.com/finalcut/pagewipe.jpg

The other problem is on fonts, when I "pushslide" them in or out, I get ghosting. See below of freeze frame.

http://www.ohiobobcat.com/finalcut/fontspushwipe.jpg

I suspect both are the same issue.

I get this problem with any output I have tried so far.

Both effects are clean and normal when viewed in Final Cut. The effect looks bad after export.

I'm viewing the file in my quicktime viewer. This is where the video looks bad.

If I view the exported file in Final Cut Express or Mpeg Streamclip, the file looks fine.

When the file is posted to You Tube, the file shows the issues. You can see that here at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeSPfEs7cRg

Ultimately I plan to post many videos either on my website or You Tube.

The video was shot at 60I at 1080I rez

Thank you,
Bryan
http://www.listentothewind.com

Very common issue. Your footage is interlaced and you are looking at it on a computer screen that is progressive. FCP will do a de-interlace on the preview but quicktime player will not. To get rid of these problems it is best to do a de-interlace during your compression phase. I recommend getting a de-interlacer plug in especially if you are mainly doing internet delivery. Final Cut and most compression software will de-interlace but it can throttle back the quality of your image by removing or blending fields.

I was thinking/hoping it was something simple. Is there a De-interlacer plug in you would recommend?

Thanks
bc

RE:Vision Effects, Inc. : Products: FieldsKit (http://www.revisionfx.com/products/fieldskit/)

That is what i use. Takes a while to render but worth it.

I'm embarrassed to say that I am still not getting this issue solved. I agree that it seems to be the interlacing but when I add the De-interlacing filter from FCE to my video, the problem still persists. I don't want to spend money on the better plugin until I see what FCE does and have the solution.

A few things I might of done wrong at first but rectified. I realized my easy setup was set to DV/video and not AVCHD 1920/1080i 60i. I changed this and created several test clips at different frame rates, and qualities. I haven't been able to get any to look correct.

I have a 30p setting on my Canon HF10 camera and the wipe and font don't look correct with or without the deinterlacing. I was surprised because this setting was made specifically for internet videos.

When using the de-interlacing video, I drag it over every video clip in the sequence and the title clip in the video 2 line. I even changed the parameter in the de-interlacer to odd and even.

Do you have any other ideas. Seems like I must have one little thing out of whack.

Thanks
bc

If the problem persists with your compressed finished piece then I would make sure that I am not RE interlacing it. In the parameters for the compression there should be something about fields and make sure it is set to progressive or none since most are set to native or even/odd. Aside from that if it is de interlaced and never got re interlaced you should not be able to see lines that easily.

apart from the de-interlacing tips which are right, you might consider another issue: is the resulting video for tv? if so watch it on a crt monitor and the effect will disappear!
if the project is intended for tv the signal is in most cases still interlaced and thus you could simply stop worrying. the interlace effect you see now is only happening because your monitor is progressive.

Well this project and most of my others will be for the web. I looked at getting a cheaper webtype camera but I wanted the better image quality and a mic in. Getting a semi-pro cam was too expensive. This seemed like a good compromise.

Thanks again James. I don't remember seeing a fields setting but I have been under the weather today so I might of gone past it. I'll look for it later this afternoon and get back.

Thanks again guys. I know I will get this fixed with your help.

bc

I got my interlace problem solved. I ran the video through Mpeg Streamclip to do it.

I still have to figure out why the De-interlacing filter wouldn't work in Final Cut Express. I also don't know why the 30P video I shot needs De-interlacing. I'm still learning about HD. The 30P video I shot was still under the 1080I setting as well so is that 30p setting sort of a pseudo setting maybe?

For now I am fine but I plan to to demo the Fieldskit de-interlacing plug in. The site says the plug in is for Final Cut Pro. I assume it would work for Final Cut Express.

I wasn't able to find the "fields" setting in Final Cut Express conversion settings. I'll keep looking. Thanks for all the help guys.

Now this is strange.

I take video shot at the highest quality 17mp. It shot at 1080I and 30p. I start with a new sequence. I change the sequence setting to 720p/30p. I load my clip and I get this statement. "For best performance your sequence and External Video should be set to the format of the clips you are editing, Click Yes or No"

Now...If I click "yes" and then create a page effect, I will get the interlacing issue. That seems odd. The video also dims right before the page peel then brightens back up right after.

Now if I click no to the question above and create the effect, the wipe is fine and needs no de-interlacing.

What I am figuring is that the sequence settings are changing the clip from 1080i/30p to 1080i/60i and that is why a 30p clip needs de-interlacing. Since there is no 1080i/30p setting, it wants to change to the closest setting of 1080i/60i?

Now is there anyway I can get additional sequence settings incorporated into Final Cut Express to get a 1080i/30P setting? It's not a big deal right now but using the 720p/30p setting downsizes the video.

Slowly I am learning.