HDV to DVCPRO50? at DVinfo.net

DJ Lewis · February 15th, 2006, 07:57 AM

I was wondering if anyone has tried taking HDV footage and converting it to DVCPRO50? Any ideas on a work flow for this?

Thanks

Steven White · February 15th, 2006, 08:48 AM

Haven't tried it, but it would be easy enough if you had a DVCPRO-50 codec and a proper HD->SD scaler (like the one built-in to AspectHD). I'm not sure why you'd want to go to DVCPRO-50 though... it would be much more advantageous to go to pure uncompressed 4:4:4 SD.

I'm of the mind that you should capture and edit all HDV projects in HD, trying to restore as much of colourspace as possible and de-artifact in the HD stream, and then do all your down-conversion from an HD master.

Conversion to any DVCPRO codec, be it HD or 50, will simply result in a loss of resolution and more compression artifacts. That's okay when you're looking at delivery - but if you're talking about an editing work flow you're just degrading your image.

-Steve

DJ Lewis · February 15th, 2006, 09:54 AM

Ok, so you're saying go from HDV to uncompressed SD, edit away, and then distribute according (dub in what ever format I need)....

So how do I go from HDV to 4:4:4 SD? Is this an option in Aspect HD? I would just capture and Aspect would convert on the fly?

Steven White · February 15th, 2006, 09:59 AM

Mostly I'm saying edit HDV (especially if you have AspectHD). Editing uncompressed SD is probably harder on your system.

At any rate:
To go from HDV to 4:4:4 SD - there are tons of ways to do it, and the trick is managing the fields. With AspectHD you simply "export->movie" and set the resolution to 720x480. If you then select an uncompressed/lossless codec, you'll end up with 4:4:4. Other codecs, i.e., DVCPRO-HD, Cineform, will discard some of the colour information and produce only 4:2:2.

Since you're discussing DVCPRO codecs though, I'm betting you've got a MAC. In which case, I'm unqualified for specific software advice... I'm a PC guy, operating PPro 1.5.1 and AspectHD - and [gloat]my workflow is painless![/gloat]

-Steve

DJ Lewis · February 15th, 2006, 11:57 AM

lol.....

well, truth be told, at my main gig I use PPro, but I just picked up a side job that is FCP. Good guess. :)

Next question... so I've edited HDV on my pc, used AspectHD to kick out a full res clip. Is the only way to preserve a 4:4:4 master is to keep the clip on my hard drive? Because once I firewire it to a dvcam, or dvcpro deck I'm back to 4:2:2, right?

Steven White · February 15th, 2006, 01:19 PM

The only way to preserve a 4:4:4 SD clips it to keep it in that uncompressed/lossless format. Of course, you can backup that file as data on DVD-ROMs (if it's too big, split it up with RAR files), but you won't be able to play it back on a conventional DVD player or deck that uses a specific codec.

Basically, I just keep an HD Cineform master. When I'm converting to DVD, I simply export from HD to 4:4:4 uncompressed SD, check the file, and compress my DVD from that. Similarly, if I was going to DVCPRO-50, miniDV, or any other SD format, I'd simply do that by compressing the 4:4:4 SD master - thereby ensuring the compressor has optimal SD data to work with.

-Steve

DJ Lewis · February 15th, 2006, 03:01 PM

thanks! your imput has cleared up a lot for me (and I'm sure a couple others)...

February 15th, 2006, 07:57 AM	#1
DJ Lewis Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 97	HDV to DVCPRO50? I was wondering if anyone has tried taking HDV footage and converting it to DVCPRO50? Any ideas on a work flow for this? Thanks

February 15th, 2006, 08:48 AM	#2
Steven White Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Canada Posts: 547	Haven't tried it, but it would be easy enough if you had a DVCPRO-50 codec and a proper HD->SD scaler (like the one built-in to AspectHD). I'm not sure why you'd want to go to DVCPRO-50 though... it would be much more advantageous to go to pure uncompressed 4:4:4 SD. I'm of the mind that you should capture and edit all HDV projects in HD, trying to restore as much of colourspace as possible and de-artifact in the HD stream, and then do all your down-conversion from an HD master. Conversion to any DVCPRO codec, be it HD or 50, will simply result in a loss of resolution and more compression artifacts. That's okay when you're looking at delivery - but if you're talking about an editing work flow you're just degrading your image. -Steve

February 15th, 2006, 09:54 AM	#3
DJ Lewis Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 97	Ok, so you're saying go from HDV to uncompressed SD, edit away, and then distribute according (dub in what ever format I need).... So how do I go from HDV to 4:4:4 SD? Is this an option in Aspect HD? I would just capture and Aspect would convert on the fly?

February 15th, 2006, 09:59 AM	#4
Steven White Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Canada Posts: 547	Mostly I'm saying edit HDV (especially if you have AspectHD). Editing uncompressed SD is probably harder on your system. At any rate: To go from HDV to 4:4:4 SD - there are tons of ways to do it, and the trick is managing the fields. With AspectHD you simply "export->movie" and set the resolution to 720x480. If you then select an uncompressed/lossless codec, you'll end up with 4:4:4. Other codecs, i.e., DVCPRO-HD, Cineform, will discard some of the colour information and produce only 4:2:2. Since you're discussing DVCPRO codecs though, I'm betting you've got a MAC. In which case, I'm unqualified for specific software advice... I'm a PC guy, operating PPro 1.5.1 and AspectHD - and [gloat]my workflow is painless![/gloat] -Steve

February 15th, 2006, 11:57 AM	#5
DJ Lewis Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 97	lol..... well, truth be told, at my main gig I use PPro, but I just picked up a side job that is FCP. Good guess. :) Next question... so I've edited HDV on my pc, used AspectHD to kick out a full res clip. Is the only way to preserve a 4:4:4 master is to keep the clip on my hard drive? Because once I firewire it to a dvcam, or dvcpro deck I'm back to 4:2:2, right?

February 15th, 2006, 01:19 PM	#6
Steven White Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Canada Posts: 547	The only way to preserve a 4:4:4 SD clips it to keep it in that uncompressed/lossless format. Of course, you can backup that file as data on DVD-ROMs (if it's too big, split it up with RAR files), but you won't be able to play it back on a conventional DVD player or deck that uses a specific codec. Basically, I just keep an HD Cineform master. When I'm converting to DVD, I simply export from HD to 4:4:4 uncompressed SD, check the file, and compress my DVD from that. Similarly, if I was going to DVCPRO-50, miniDV, or any other SD format, I'd simply do that by compressing the 4:4:4 SD master - thereby ensuring the compressor has optimal SD data to work with. -Steve

February 15th, 2006, 03:01 PM	#7
DJ Lewis Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 97	thanks! your imput has cleared up a lot for me (and I'm sure a couple others)...