Final Cut & Compressor for HVX? at DVinfo.net

Jason Boyce · July 18th, 2006, 10:35 AM

Can anyone tell me about their experience using Compressor with Final Cut Pro?

I shot a concert yesterday and a music video Sunday night, both look incredible, but I can't export using Compressor because it claims my source video to be in 1.3 ratio when it's clearly widescreen in Final Cut. Is there an export setting that I'm missing? Exporting as an uncompressed Quicktime movie is fine, though.

Also, another thing that sort of worries me - when I import P2 footage directly (my setup is on DVCPROHD 720p24p), I can drag the footage over to my timeline and immediately start playing it on my powerbook 1.5ghz w/ 1.5gigs of RAM... isn't this not supposed to work? Or is the RT button bringing the quality down enough for my little machine to handle it?

It looks fantastic, no doubt... but I am just curious about this.

Anyways, here is an example of footage shot Sunday night night http://www.jlboyce.com/video/LRM_5_test.mov , I couldn't get it to go out into compressor so I had to export as a quicktime movie, then export to mpeg IV and letterbox to preserve the ratio, otherwise everything tries to squish it down to 1.3.

Thanks a lot, guys

Shane Ross · July 18th, 2006, 02:53 PM

I can play full rez DVCPRO HD footage on my Powerbook G4...playing off the laptop hard drive. But not for TOO long. After about 5 min or so I get a dropped frame warning...but I haven't really had the opportunity to try anything above that. I stick to my G-Raids.

In compressor you have to tell it that you want it to export 16:9.

Jason Boyce · July 18th, 2006, 04:02 PM

When I do export to Compressor, in the main screen of Compressor it tells me that my source is 960x720, so it's shrunk to 1.3 ratio before Compressor can even get to it.

Do I just need to specify the output as 16x9 and it'll just ignore that source issue?

Shane Ross · July 18th, 2006, 04:33 PM

Because DVCPro HD footage is anamorphic. It is squeezed virtically. FCP automatically creates an anamprphic timeline so you can see it properly.

If you want it to not be squeezed, then you need to give it different dimensions when you export, or tell it to compress 16:9

Jason Boyce · July 20th, 2006, 08:49 AM

Thanks, Shane.

With this and the answer in the 720p to DVD thread, I have finally managed to get some beautiful footage output through compressor.

http://www.jlboyce.com/video/Initiation.mov is some footage from Monday night that I've finally been able to output.

Also, is there any way to figure out just what format some footage is in? I got some beautiful fog footage, which I THOUGHT was shot in 720p24, but whenever I import it, it's unrendered and completely the wrong size. I can't seem to figure out what format I actually shot it in, so I can't begin to edit it properly.

Shane Ross · July 20th, 2006, 11:21 AM

When you import it into the BROWSER, scroll to the right and see what format options it has, or right-click on it and select ITEM PROPERTIES. That will tell you.

July 18th, 2006, 10:35 AM	#1
Jason Boyce Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 77	Final Cut & Compressor for HVX? Can anyone tell me about their experience using Compressor with Final Cut Pro? I shot a concert yesterday and a music video Sunday night, both look incredible, but I can't export using Compressor because it claims my source video to be in 1.3 ratio when it's clearly widescreen in Final Cut. Is there an export setting that I'm missing? Exporting as an uncompressed Quicktime movie is fine, though. Also, another thing that sort of worries me - when I import P2 footage directly (my setup is on DVCPROHD 720p24p), I can drag the footage over to my timeline and immediately start playing it on my powerbook 1.5ghz w/ 1.5gigs of RAM... isn't this not supposed to work? Or is the RT button bringing the quality down enough for my little machine to handle it? It looks fantastic, no doubt... but I am just curious about this. Anyways, here is an example of footage shot Sunday night night http://www.jlboyce.com/video/LRM_5_test.mov , I couldn't get it to go out into compressor so I had to export as a quicktime movie, then export to mpeg IV and letterbox to preserve the ratio, otherwise everything tries to squish it down to 1.3. Thanks a lot, guys

July 18th, 2006, 02:53 PM	#2
Shane Ross Major Player Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Los Angeles, USA Posts: 539	I can play full rez DVCPRO HD footage on my Powerbook G4...playing off the laptop hard drive. But not for TOO long. After about 5 min or so I get a dropped frame warning...but I haven't really had the opportunity to try anything above that. I stick to my G-Raids. In compressor you have to tell it that you want it to export 16:9.

July 18th, 2006, 04:02 PM	#3
Jason Boyce Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 77	When I do export to Compressor, in the main screen of Compressor it tells me that my source is 960x720, so it's shrunk to 1.3 ratio before Compressor can even get to it. Do I just need to specify the output as 16x9 and it'll just ignore that source issue?

July 18th, 2006, 04:33 PM	#4
Shane Ross Major Player Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Los Angeles, USA Posts: 539	Because DVCPro HD footage is anamorphic. It is squeezed virtically. FCP automatically creates an anamprphic timeline so you can see it properly. If you want it to not be squeezed, then you need to give it different dimensions when you export, or tell it to compress 16:9

July 20th, 2006, 08:49 AM	#5
Jason Boyce Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 77	Thanks, Shane. With this and the answer in the 720p to DVD thread, I have finally managed to get some beautiful footage output through compressor. http://www.jlboyce.com/video/Initiation.mov is some footage from Monday night that I've finally been able to output. Also, is there any way to figure out just what format some footage is in? I got some beautiful fog footage, which I THOUGHT was shot in 720p24, but whenever I import it, it's unrendered and completely the wrong size. I can't seem to figure out what format I actually shot it in, so I can't begin to edit it properly.

July 20th, 2006, 11:21 AM	#6
Shane Ross Major Player Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Los Angeles, USA Posts: 539	When you import it into the BROWSER, scroll to the right and see what format options it has, or right-click on it and select ITEM PROPERTIES. That will tell you.