XDCam HD to Standard DVD at DVinfo.net

Dan Brazda · October 18th, 2006, 02:52 PM

What workflow have you guys found to be the best when making Standard def DVDs off of XDCam HD masters? We've played a lot with Compressor and DVD Studio Pro to get to a point where we are reasonably happy but are always looking for that extra edge to clean things up even more.

Nate Weaver · October 18th, 2006, 03:52 PM

Compressor has extra scaling and frame rate algorithms not included in the standard issue Quicktime conversions. Given the right settings, Compressor can do a much better job.

The Compressor presets are always a good starting point, but the frame rate on some presets is specified in the preset, and on some it's passed from the source. So check that, and make sure frame rate is set to "Current".

Also, when downconverting HD, you generally want to add a little bit of "Sharpen" filter. You can find this in the filters secion of the Compressor preset inspection window. I find a number of 3 or 4 is a very mild look, but keeps things from looking soft. Downconverting without sharpening means that the in-camera detail enhancement gets lost in the math...higher end downconversion hardware does this for you automatically and gives you settings to tweak.

Dan Brazda · October 18th, 2006, 06:06 PM

Good point about sharpening. I have noticed the down-convert looking a bit on the soft side.

On another note- I've heard Pioneer and others have high end DVD Recorders with SDI inputs. I'm wondering what a DVD would look like down-converted from the F70 deck directly to one of these devices? Anyone done it? How does it compare to the software down-convert/burns?

Rob Stiff · October 19th, 2006, 11:17 PM

Is there a way to master your HD edit back to XDCAM and then
have the 330/350 send it out SD via firewire?

Alister Chapman · October 20th, 2006, 02:58 AM

You can edit your project with FCP and export the finished edit back to the camera as a HD MXF file and then play it back from the camera using the downconvert feature of the camera. Or you could export the project as an SD MXF, again back to the camera.

Avid are working hard on XDCAM HD import and export which will be available for Media Composer at all bit rates by the end of the year. There is a plug-in from mainconcept for premiere pro that will allow XDCAM import but this is pretty buggy.

Greg Boston · October 20th, 2006, 06:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alister Chapman

You can edit your project with FCP and export the finished edit back to the camera as a HD MXF file and then play it back from the camera using the downconvert feature of the camera. Or you could export the project as an SD MXF, again back to the camera.

Alister,

In regards to your last sentence above, when I export a sequence from FCP back to camera using EXPORT--> Sony XDCAM, I don't get a choice of what format I want. In fact, the camera is supposed to be set-up to match your sequence settings in terms of mode, frame rate, and quality. Unless I've missed something.

-gb-

Matthew Ernest Adams · October 20th, 2006, 07:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greg Boston

Alister,

In regards to your last sentence above, when I export a sequence from FCP back to camera using EXPORT--> Sony XDCAM, I don't get a choice of what format I want. In fact, the camera is supposed to be set-up to match your sequence settings in terms of mode, frame rate, and quality. Unless I've missed something.

-gb-

FCP will not automatically communicate that to the XDCAM, you must set the camera or deck to match what you're exporting.

Rob Stiff · October 20th, 2006, 08:18 PM

Today I experimented with Nate Weaver's sharpening method
in Compressor. It did help.

The XDCAM does do a beautiful downconversion to SD.

So, the question is:
Does someone know the best method to mimic this using more specific settings in Compressor from 1080p?

This topic needs to stay in the XDCAM section
on this discussion board.

How about the sharpest downconversion from
1080p to a web video size (280x158 pixels)?

Jeremy Spruston · October 24th, 2006, 03:41 PM

If I export and XDCAM HD (108060i) sequence to the camera and convert it to DV (selecting DVCAM in the XDCAM exporter) upon export, is there a method to keep the picture at 16:9?

In other words, can the camera add crop bars similiar to how Final Cut Pro does when dropping an HD sequence into an SD timeline?

October 18th, 2006, 02:52 PM	#1
Dan Brazda Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Richmond, VA Posts: 165	XDCam HD to Standard DVD What workflow have you guys found to be the best when making Standard def DVDs off of XDCam HD masters? We've played a lot with Compressor and DVD Studio Pro to get to a point where we are reasonably happy but are always looking for that extra edge to clean things up even more.

October 18th, 2006, 03:52 PM	#2
Nate Weaver Wrangler Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 2,100	Compressor has extra scaling and frame rate algorithms not included in the standard issue Quicktime conversions. Given the right settings, Compressor can do a much better job. The Compressor presets are always a good starting point, but the frame rate on some presets is specified in the preset, and on some it's passed from the source. So check that, and make sure frame rate is set to "Current". Also, when downconverting HD, you generally want to add a little bit of "Sharpen" filter. You can find this in the filters secion of the Compressor preset inspection window. I find a number of 3 or 4 is a very mild look, but keeps things from looking soft. Downconverting without sharpening means that the in-camera detail enhancement gets lost in the math...higher end downconversion hardware does this for you automatically and gives you settings to tweak. __________________ My Work: nateweaver.net

October 20th, 2006, 02:58 AM	#5
Alister Chapman Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Bracknell, Berkshire, UK Posts: 4,957	You can edit your project with FCP and export the finished edit back to the camera as a HD MXF file and then play it back from the camera using the downconvert feature of the camera. Or you could export the project as an SD MXF, again back to the camera. Avid are working hard on XDCAM HD import and export which will be available for Media Composer at all bit rates by the end of the year. There is a plug-in from mainconcept for premiere pro that will allow XDCAM import but this is pretty buggy. __________________ Alister Chapman, Film-Maker/Stormchaser http://www.xdcam-user.com/alisters-blog/ My XDCAM site and blog. http://www.hurricane-rig.com

October 24th, 2006, 03:41 PM	#9
Jeremy Spruston Regular Crew Join Date: May 2006 Location: Victoria Canada Posts: 34	Stick with 16:9 If I export and XDCAM HD (108060i) sequence to the camera and convert it to DV (selecting DVCAM in the XDCAM exporter) upon export, is there a method to keep the picture at 16:9? In other words, can the camera add crop bars similiar to how Final Cut Pro does when dropping an HD sequence into an SD timeline?

October 18th, 2006, 06:06 PM	#3
Dan Brazda Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Richmond, VA Posts: 165	Good point about sharpening. I have noticed the down-convert looking a bit on the soft side. On another note- I've heard Pioneer and others have high end DVD Recorders with SDI inputs. I'm wondering what a DVD would look like down-converted from the F70 deck directly to one of these devices? Anyone done it? How does it compare to the software down-convert/burns?

October 19th, 2006, 11:17 PM	#4
Rob Stiff Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 173	Is there a way to master your HD edit back to XDCAM and then have the 330/350 send it out SD via firewire?

October 20th, 2006, 08:18 PM	#8
Rob Stiff Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 173	Today I experimented with Nate Weaver's sharpening method in Compressor. It did help. The XDCAM does do a beautiful downconversion to SD. So, the question is: Does someone know the best method to mimic this using more specific settings in Compressor from 1080p? This topic needs to stay in the XDCAM section on this discussion board. How about the sharpest downconversion from 1080p to a web video size (280x158 pixels)?