XH A1/G1 25f footage in FCP2 at DVinfo.net

Stefan Grela · July 23rd, 2007, 05:54 AM

Could somebody please help?

I have footage shot on the Canon XH A1 in 25f mode.

So far, I've let FCP set the sequence settings from the captured clips (HDV) automatically. But when I output to DVD there is obviously something wrong with the motion in parts where I've increased or decreased the speed of a clip.
I've tried with both upper field and lower filed dominance, but there is the same problem with both.

What are the recommended sequence settings to avoid the dreaded field order problem?

Thanks.

Paul Joy · July 23rd, 2007, 09:58 AM

Could you be more descriptive about what's wrong with the output? You shouldn't be having interlacing issues when shooting in 25f. I'm using an XHA1, I capture my 25f footage with field order set to none and have the order in my my sequences also set to none.

Paul.

Stefan Grela · July 23rd, 2007, 03:58 PM

Actually, I'm not sure about the capture settings. I just let it do its thing. Is there a way to check this?

The interlacing issues only appear in sections of the video that's i've slowed down or sped up. It looks like the field order is mixed up - you know staggered motion. Anything else is fine.

As regards the sequence setting in question, I allowed FCP to determine this automatically from the first clip I dragged in.
Strange thing was, it detected the sequence as 1440x1080i upper field first.
Could I have had the wrong setting at the capture stage?
The original footage was definitely shot in 25f, but the XH A1 wraps this in a 1080i signal. Hence it may be confused as 1080i? I've read this type of recorded video is known as Progressive Segmented Frame (psf) - like a DVD video of a feature film. Anyway, I digress...

If I sound as if I don't know what I', doing, that's because I don't yet! I've only just switched to the mac and FCP2, having used PPro2 on the PC. So your help is very much appreciated.

I have more questions, but but I'll save them for another time.

Paul Joy · July 23rd, 2007, 05:14 PM

Try changing the field order of the timeline and any clips on it to 'none' and see if that makes any difference. In terms of setting up, if you choose 1080p 25 in the 'Easy Setup' options you should be good to go, although it will only effect newly created sequences etc.

Stefan Grela · July 23rd, 2007, 05:54 PM

Thanks,

Field dominance to none seems to have helped.

Can I run the settings by you to see if it all adds up:

(I right click in a sequence and select settings)

GENERAL TAB:
Frame size: 1440x1080 Aspect Ratio: HD (1440x1080) (16:9)
Pixel Aspect Ratio: HD (1440x1080) Anamorphic: not selected
Field Dominance: None
Editing Timebase: 25

QuickTime Video Settings:
Compressor: Apple ProRes 422
Quality 100%

VIDEO PROCESSING TAB:
Render in 8-bit YUV
Process Mximum White as: White
Motion Filtering Quality: Normal

Does this look ok?

I was wondering about the compressor setting - is it best set to HDV 1080p25?
What concerns me is if it's set to this, any filters and such that get rendered will be rendered in the HDV format and this will degrade image quality. Am I right in assuming that's what this setting affects? Or would this be under the RENDER CONTROL TAB under the 'codec' setting?

Paul Joy · July 24th, 2007, 03:32 AM

Hi there, firstly let me say that I am by no means an expert on this yet so please don't take my advise as the correct way to produce DVD content, pretty much everything I do is for the web so I shoot and edit in progressive mode. If your material is destined for DVD then you may need to seek further advice about whether you need to export interlaced content, I'm really not sure about that but others here will know.

I will however compare your settings to mine...

Quote:

GENERAL TAB:
Frame size: 1440x1080 Aspect Ratio: HD (1440x1080) (16:9)
Pixel Aspect Ratio: HD (1440x1080) Anamorphic: not selected
Field Dominance: None
Editing Timebase: 25

Yes, that's the same as mine.

Quote:

QuickTime Video Settings:
Compressor: Apple ProRes 422
Quality 100%

I'm not really sure why you're quicktime settings would be set to ProRes 422, for my editing it's set to HDV 1080p.

Quote:

VIDEO PROCESSING TAB:
Render in 8-bit YUV
Process Mximum White as: White
Motion Filtering Quality: Normal

Yup, mines the same.

Paul.

Stefan Grela · July 24th, 2007, 12:50 PM

Thanks Paul,

I'd actually set up the QuickTime settings to ProRes myself, it was originally HDV.
My reason being quality. Because any section of the video that's rendered to the HDD would render in the ProRes codec and not HDV (mpeg2) which is noted for its apparent generational loss with re-compression.

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

July 23rd, 2007, 05:54 AM	#1
Stefan Grela New Boot Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: UK - Wrexham Posts: 18	XH A1/G1 25f footage in FCP2 Could somebody please help? I have footage shot on the Canon XH A1 in 25f mode. So far, I've let FCP set the sequence settings from the captured clips (HDV) automatically. But when I output to DVD there is obviously something wrong with the motion in parts where I've increased or decreased the speed of a clip. I've tried with both upper field and lower filed dominance, but there is the same problem with both. What are the recommended sequence settings to avoid the dreaded field order problem? Thanks.

July 23rd, 2007, 09:58 AM	#2
Paul Joy Major Player Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Norfolk, UK Posts: 627	Could you be more descriptive about what's wrong with the output? You shouldn't be having interlacing issues when shooting in 25f. I'm using an XHA1, I capture my 25f footage with field order set to none and have the order in my my sequences also set to none. Paul. __________________ Blog: www.pauljoy.com Company: www.videotrader.co.uk

July 23rd, 2007, 05:14 PM	#4
Paul Joy Major Player Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Norfolk, UK Posts: 627	Try changing the field order of the timeline and any clips on it to 'none' and see if that makes any difference. In terms of setting up, if you choose 1080p 25 in the 'Easy Setup' options you should be good to go, although it will only effect newly created sequences etc. __________________ Blog: www.pauljoy.com Company: www.videotrader.co.uk

July 23rd, 2007, 03:58 PM	#3
Stefan Grela New Boot Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: UK - Wrexham Posts: 18	Actually, I'm not sure about the capture settings. I just let it do its thing. Is there a way to check this? The interlacing issues only appear in sections of the video that's i've slowed down or sped up. It looks like the field order is mixed up - you know staggered motion. Anything else is fine. As regards the sequence setting in question, I allowed FCP to determine this automatically from the first clip I dragged in. Strange thing was, it detected the sequence as 1440x1080i upper field first. Could I have had the wrong setting at the capture stage? The original footage was definitely shot in 25f, but the XH A1 wraps this in a 1080i signal. Hence it may be confused as 1080i? I've read this type of recorded video is known as Progressive Segmented Frame (psf) - like a DVD video of a feature film. Anyway, I digress... If I sound as if I don't know what I', doing, that's because I don't yet! I've only just switched to the mac and FCP2, having used PPro2 on the PC. So your help is very much appreciated. I have more questions, but but I'll save them for another time.

July 23rd, 2007, 05:54 PM	#5
Stefan Grela New Boot Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: UK - Wrexham Posts: 18	Thanks, Field dominance to none seems to have helped. Can I run the settings by you to see if it all adds up: (I right click in a sequence and select settings) GENERAL TAB: Frame size: 1440x1080 Aspect Ratio: HD (1440x1080) (16:9) Pixel Aspect Ratio: HD (1440x1080) Anamorphic: not selected Field Dominance: None Editing Timebase: 25 QuickTime Video Settings: Compressor: Apple ProRes 422 Quality 100% VIDEO PROCESSING TAB: Render in 8-bit YUV Process Mximum White as: White Motion Filtering Quality: Normal Does this look ok? I was wondering about the compressor setting - is it best set to HDV 1080p25? What concerns me is if it's set to this, any filters and such that get rendered will be rendered in the HDV format and this will degrade image quality. Am I right in assuming that's what this setting affects? Or would this be under the RENDER CONTROL TAB under the 'codec' setting?

July 24th, 2007, 12:50 PM	#7
Stefan Grela New Boot Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: UK - Wrexham Posts: 18	Thanks Paul, I'd actually set up the QuickTime settings to ProRes myself, it was originally HDV. My reason being quality. Because any section of the video that's rendered to the HDD would render in the ProRes codec and not HDV (mpeg2) which is noted for its apparent generational loss with re-compression. Please correct me if I'm wrong.