HELP! URGENT! Downconverting from 1080i60 to DV NTSC looks terrible!
by Alan Langdon
on
Dec 20, 2007 at 1:10:23 pm
I am running FCP 5.1.2 on a Dual Dore G5 Mac under Tiger.
I finished editing a video shot on a Panasonic P2 camera. The mastered file is DVCPRO HD 1080i60, UPPER field dominand (although the footage was shot 30p, using the camera's internal pulldown method).
I need to bring it down to DV NTSC so I can put it on a DVD, but when I place the master HD file into a DV NTSC timeline and render, the resulting Quicktime looks low quality, with a sort of light grid-like effect. the image quality comes out pretty low and I don't know why.
What is the best method to downconvert a 1920x1080 Non Square (1.50:1), 29.97 FPS, DVCPRo HD 1080i60 ffile to DV NTSC (anamorphic or not)? AfterEffects perhaps?
Re: HELP! URGENT! Downconverting from 1080i60 to DV NTSC looks terrible! by David Roth Weiss on Dec 20, 2007 at 1:26:24 pm
Alan,
You do not need to and should not downconvert to SD to make a DVD. Check out my little helper for the easiest way to create a DVD from any exported QT file http://forums.creativecow.net/readpost/8/955890 .
David
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los Angeles
POST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™
A forum host of Creative COW's Business & Marketing, and Indie Film & Documentary forums.
Re: HELP! URGENT! Downconverting from 1080i60 to DV NTSC looks terrible! by Alan Langdon on Dec 20, 2007 at 1:58:39 pm
Thanks for the quick response.
I think I might have ommited part of my problem: although DVd is an output I need, more importantly, I need it to look good in DV NTSC, to master it to tape! Any soluiton to this specific detail...?? Any help is much appreciated!
Alan
Re: HELP! URGENT! Downconverting from 1080i60 to DV NTSC looks terrible! by Chris Poisson on Dec 20, 2007 at 2:07:05 pm
Alan,
As mentioned above, taking HD down to DV is not the best choice of workflow. At the very least, go to D1 and use 8 or 10 bit uncompressed. Your graphics and footage will look better. No you won't be able to master this to DV tape via firewire, but then, that would be a shame to do anyway, as it is a lousy format for broadcast or mastering. For a couple hundred bucks you could get a Decklink card and go rent a Beta machine to master to, or you could export your program to disk as uncompressed Quicktime and take it somewhere that can make you a Digibeta master.
Re: HELP! URGENT! Downconverting from 1080i60 to DV NTSC looks terrible! by Stuart Ferreyra on Dec 20, 2007 at 5:30:12 pm
I do not know what kind of gear you have...
At our studio, we downconvert HD to any SD format day in and day out. We use our Kona cards to downconvert HD programming to SD through SDI or component to Betacam SP, Digibeta, or DV decks.
The results are always great! Contact a studio with Kona cards and ask them to do the downconversion - real-time to your SD format of choice. We do it all the time.
