Upconvert DV? at DVinfo.net

Jonathan Lutz · November 11th, 2005, 03:53 PM

I've seen the term "upconvert" thrown around a lot and, while I understand what it means in theory (increase the resolution of your footage [or at least make it appear to be increased]), I haven't been able to find out a) how to do it, or b) if it's possible.
I tried playing around in Final Cut Pro HD with some footage I shot on the XL1S. I brought it in as DV50 NTSC, DV NTSC with 2:3:3:2 Pulldown Removal, tried using "None" for the compressor, etc. etc. The footage was not improved in any way, which, of course, makes sense: if it's shot on DV, it's DV. It can't become something else. Note: using "no compression" created a file about 8 times bigger than a clip captured using DV NTSC, with no discernible difference between the two.
So, after capturing as NTSC DV, I tried exporting from Final Cut as all the various formats: DVCPRO HD 1080i60, Uncompressed 8-bit NTSC, etc. When I played these files in Quicktime, there was a huge difference: specifically, DVCPRO HD 1080i60 looked much crisper than the original DV NTSC clip. As expected, it was a much bigger file size, a much bigger frame and a different aspect ratio.
The problem is that when I pulled the file back into FinalCut, that apparent difference in quality disappeared.
This leaves me thinking that "upconversion" is not possible in Final Cut or AfterEffects. Is that accurate?
Thanks.

Zach Mull · November 11th, 2005, 05:47 PM

If you're capturing over firewire then FCP will upconvert if you put the DV clips in a non-DV sequence - say, 8-bit uncompressed. You could also capture the DV over SDI. I've never done this, but I read a good article about it on the Ken Stone website: http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage..._nattress.html. But all you have to do to get it to upconvert is make a sequence that doesn't match the capture preset.

November 11th, 2005, 03:53 PM	#1
Jonathan Lutz Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: McLean, VA Posts: 29	Upconvert DV? I've seen the term "upconvert" thrown around a lot and, while I understand what it means in theory (increase the resolution of your footage [or at least make it appear to be increased]), I haven't been able to find out a) how to do it, or b) if it's possible. I tried playing around in Final Cut Pro HD with some footage I shot on the XL1S. I brought it in as DV50 NTSC, DV NTSC with 2:3:3:2 Pulldown Removal, tried using "None" for the compressor, etc. etc. The footage was not improved in any way, which, of course, makes sense: if it's shot on DV, it's DV. It can't become something else. Note: using "no compression" created a file about 8 times bigger than a clip captured using DV NTSC, with no discernible difference between the two. So, after capturing as NTSC DV, I tried exporting from Final Cut as all the various formats: DVCPRO HD 1080i60, Uncompressed 8-bit NTSC, etc. When I played these files in Quicktime, there was a huge difference: specifically, DVCPRO HD 1080i60 looked much crisper than the original DV NTSC clip. As expected, it was a much bigger file size, a much bigger frame and a different aspect ratio. The problem is that when I pulled the file back into FinalCut, that apparent difference in quality disappeared. This leaves me thinking that "upconversion" is not possible in Final Cut or AfterEffects. Is that accurate? Thanks.

November 11th, 2005, 05:47 PM	#2
Zach Mull Major Player Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 273	If you're capturing over firewire then FCP will upconvert if you put the DV clips in a non-DV sequence - say, 8-bit uncompressed. You could also capture the DV over SDI. I've never done this, but I read a good article about it on the Ken Stone website: http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage..._nattress.html. But all you have to do to get it to upconvert is make a sequence that doesn't match the capture preset.