My FCP project sequence is a mix of 1080i HDV and stills, transcoded to 1440x1080 Upper (Odd) first. It also contains clips created in Motion whose project settings match the FCP sequence. After numerous permutations of various settings in Compressor, I have finally output a pretty good 16:9 SD DVD.
However, I'd like to make sure I've got the best possible settings all around. The nice graphics created in Motion show a noticeable difference going from HD to SD as expected, but I'm always looking for an improvement if it's possible.
I've read posts in the Forums about using Compressor to take my sequences to Progressive, and then encode to SD m2v as a separate step. This confuses me. In the Compressor Inspector Encoder->Video Format tab, there is a popup to choose Field Dominance which includes a Progressive setting; but if this is for SD DVD, why?
As a corollary, in the Frame Controls tab, under the Resize Controls, there is a choice for TFF, BFF and Progressive?
Can someone explain or point me to a resource to help me decide when to use what? (The manual give a cursory description of the Output Fields, but not much help where it comes to deciding on a workflow.)
Thanks so much!
Ralph Parker
2x2.4 Quad Core Xeon, 8GB
Final Cut Pro 7, Motion 4, Etc.
