Downconvert at DVinfo.net

Ollie Walton · May 13th, 2011, 05:35 AM

Hi all,

i have shot in UK 1080p 25p and one shot in 720p 25

I need to down convert to SD.

what is the best route? has there been any problems before, want to try and keep the best quality possible :)

Thanks :)

Mitchell Lewis · May 13th, 2011, 07:58 AM

I've had the best luck with Apple's Compressor software. But you don't say what platform or software you're using.

Vincent Oliver · May 13th, 2011, 09:35 AM

Premier CS5.5 with the new Media Encoder does a very good job, have just done a couple of productions with this.

Dave Gosley · May 14th, 2011, 02:52 AM

As a minor player - I find reading these forums very educational - so it's in this vein I ask the question - "what audience is the SD project targeting? Is it the DVD market or web?" With the answer/s I will be able to distinguish maybe areas that I could / should downconvert - where perhaps I am not already.

A possible benefit maybe the resultant file size? I look forward to reading further...

Thanks
Dave

Walter Brokx · May 14th, 2011, 03:59 AM

@Dave:

converting to SD only makes sense when it has to be put on DVD or DV-tape (for whatever reason: a filmfestival, a (local) TV-station, etc).
For web you can export to (for example) H.264 to make the filesize acceptable for uploading to YouTube, Vimeo, etc. When you want to use your own player and your own server: don't scale down to SD. Than it's better to downsize to a 'geometric-size' like 1280x720 (2/3 of HD), 960x540 (1/2 of HD), 640x360 (1/3 of HD), 480x270 (1/4 of HD). When you shoot interlaced it's probably better to stick with 1/2 and 1/4 of HD, because you'll need to deinterlace the footage.
(SD PAL is 53,333% of the height of SD, but only 37,5% of the width, thanks to non-square pixels: so from a math-perspective SD is not the best way to preserve quality for the web.)

John Peterson · May 15th, 2011, 05:09 PM

Best route?
That's the number one discussion with these cameras. Search this forum and others for a myriad of suggestions. So far, no "best" method. No perfect solution.

John

Alister Chapman · May 16th, 2011, 01:06 AM

Some articles you might want to review:

XDCAM-USER.COM Getting good SD from an HD camera.
XDCAM-USER.COM Getting SD from HD and the problems of oversampling.

Martin Phillips · May 16th, 2011, 04:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ollie Walton

Hi all,

i have shot in UK 1080p 25p and one shot in 720p 25

I need to down convert to SD.

what is the best route? has there been any problems before, want to try and keep the best quality possible :)

Thanks :)

Probably for the best quality you need a hardware solution, like an AJA Kona LHi (if you are on Mac). The downconversion quality on this is really excellent. Either play out to tape or 2nd system, then re-digitise at 4.2.2 ProRes (SD). Bit of a faff, but the results are great.

Justin Molush · May 16th, 2011, 06:17 AM

I would second Adobe's media encoder.

It does a great job ripping stuff back and forth - I would just set up a custom profile that you want, and just load it twice for both the different kinds of footage. As a matter of fact, I ripped some 1080i footage to 1080p with it yesterday, and it cleaned up the interlaced look pretty well.

Andy Taplin · May 16th, 2011, 10:09 AM

Don't forget to try QuickTime as well. I've had very good results scaling 1080 to 576 in QT - seems to produce less aliasing artefacts probably due to a slight softening.

The best route will depend somewhat on your subject matter.

May 13th, 2011, 05:35 AM	#1
Ollie Walton Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 156	Downconvert Hi all, i have shot in UK 1080p 25p and one shot in 720p 25 I need to down convert to SD. what is the best route? has there been any problems before, want to try and keep the best quality possible :) Thanks :)

May 13th, 2011, 07:58 AM	#2
Mitchell Lewis Trustee Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Kennewick, WA Posts: 1,124	Re: Downconvert I've had the best luck with Apple's Compressor software. But you don't say what platform or software you're using. __________________ Sony EX3, Canon 5D MkII, Chrosziel Matte Box, Sachtler tripod, Steadicam Flyer, Mac Pro, Apple/Adobe software - 20 years as a local videographer/editor

May 13th, 2011, 09:35 AM	#3
Vincent Oliver Trustee Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Chislehurst, London Posts: 1,724	Re: Downconvert Premier CS5.5 with the new Media Encoder does a very good job, have just done a couple of productions with this. __________________ Eyes are a deaf man’s ears. Ears are a blind man’s eyes

May 14th, 2011, 02:52 AM	#4
Dave Gosley Major Player Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Hampshire Posts: 226	Re: Downconvert As a minor player - I find reading these forums very educational - so it's in this vein I ask the question - "what audience is the SD project targeting? Is it the DVD market or web?" With the answer/s I will be able to distinguish maybe areas that I could / should downconvert - where perhaps I am not already. A possible benefit maybe the resultant file size? I look forward to reading further... Thanks Dave __________________ http://www.videoproductionshampshire.co.uk

May 14th, 2011, 03:59 AM	#5
Walter Brokx Major Player Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Maassluis, The Netherlands Posts: 294	Re: Downconvert @Dave: converting to SD only makes sense when it has to be put on DVD or DV-tape (for whatever reason: a filmfestival, a (local) TV-station, etc). For web you can export to (for example) H.264 to make the filesize acceptable for uploading to YouTube, Vimeo, etc. When you want to use your own player and your own server: don't scale down to SD. Than it's better to downsize to a 'geometric-size' like 1280x720 (2/3 of HD), 960x540 (1/2 of HD), 640x360 (1/3 of HD), 480x270 (1/4 of HD). When you shoot interlaced it's probably better to stick with 1/2 and 1/4 of HD, because you'll need to deinterlace the footage. (SD PAL is 53,333% of the height of SD, but only 37,5% of the width, thanks to non-square pixels: so from a math-perspective SD is not the best way to preserve quality for the web.) __________________ Brainstormnavigator searching for the hole in the sky..... Audiovisual Designer (NL) - http://www.brokxmedia.nl

May 15th, 2011, 05:09 PM	#6
John Peterson Major Player Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Monroe, NY Posts: 703	Re: Downconvert Best route? That's the number one discussion with these cameras. Search this forum and others for a myriad of suggestions. So far, no "best" method. No perfect solution. John

May 16th, 2011, 01:06 AM	#7
Alister Chapman Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Bracknell, Berkshire, UK Posts: 4,957	Re: Downconvert Some articles you might want to review: XDCAM-USER.COM Getting good SD from an HD camera. XDCAM-USER.COM Getting SD from HD and the problems of oversampling. __________________ Alister Chapman, Film-Maker/Stormchaser http://www.xdcam-user.com/alisters-blog/ My XDCAM site and blog. http://www.hurricane-rig.com

May 16th, 2011, 06:17 AM	#9
Justin Molush Major Player Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Montreal Posts: 388	Re: Downconvert I would second Adobe's media encoder. It does a great job ripping stuff back and forth - I would just set up a custom profile that you want, and just load it twice for both the different kinds of footage. As a matter of fact, I ripped some 1080i footage to 1080p with it yesterday, and it cleaned up the interlaced look pretty well.

May 16th, 2011, 10:09 AM	#10
Andy Taplin Regular Crew Join Date: May 2009 Location: Cambridge, UK Posts: 39	Re: Downconvert Don't forget to try QuickTime as well. I've had very good results scaling 1080 to 576 in QT - seems to produce less aliasing artefacts probably due to a slight softening. The best route will depend somewhat on your subject matter. __________________ Andy Taplin www.andytaplin.co.uk