LTC and VITC Question

[Sharon Pieczenik]

Dear Forum,

I have an international distributor that wants my HDV NTSC 720p 30 fps in a DVCPro 50 PAL format. They ask that the LTC and the VITC should be recorded throughout the line-up, clock and program. They should be contiguous and identical. The line-up, countdown to program should start at 09:58:00:00 and the program should start at 10:00:00:00.

Questions:
1. How do I know if my LTC and VITC are both there, contiguous and identical. I am more aware of my LTC but have no idea about how I can tell if both things are correct and there.
2. How do I get my timeline to start at 09:58:00:00?

Thank you for your help.

Cheers,
Sharon

[Andy Mees]

1. How do I know if my LTC and VITC are both there, contiguous and identical. I am more aware of my LTC but have no idea about how I can tell if both things are correct and there.

Check your deck settings before you layoff to tape, then spot check the master afterwards to ensure that it was laid down correctly



2. How do I get my timeline to start at 09:58:00:00?

Well its not the timeline that you need to start at 09:58:00:00 its the tape master, but that said, if you want your timeline to start at 09:58:00:00 anyway then you can go to the Sequence Settings window >> Timeline Options tab and change the Starting Timecode there

[Tim Dashwood]

Two notes...

#1-When a broadcaster asks for your tape to start at 09:58:00:00 what they mean is that they want two minutes of tape before the start of the show at 10:00:00:00.
They all have slightly different requirements but this usually means something like:

09:58:00:00 - Black
09:58:30:00 - Colour Bars (Choose the PAL or NTSC bars depending on the format)
09:59:30:00 - Black
09:59:40:00 - Slate
09:59:50:00 - Black
09:59:58:00 - 2 beep
09:59:58:01 - Black
10:00:00:00 - Show

NTSC master tapes should always be in drop frame unless it is a commercial or series of commercials 60 seconds or less. To do this just use a semi-colon before the frames as I have done above or you can checkmark "drop frame" in the timeline settings.
There is no such thing as drop frame in PAL 25fps TC.

#2 - a 30p to 25i or 25p conversion is the toughest to accomplish because the math doesn't fit nicely. I would recommend that you let compressor do the PAL conversion instead of FCP.
Here's how I would proceed:
-Export your 720p30 HDV sequence as a Quicktime Movie
-Open compressor and select the DVCPro50 PAL Anamorphic Preset in Apple-->Other Workflows-->Advanced Format Conversion-->Standard Definition
-Click the "Duplicate Selected Setting" button and you will now have a DVCPRO50 PAL Anamorphic copy setting in your Custom settings. You can modify this one.
-Select the Frame Controls tab in the inspector and then click on the little cog wheel to unlock them.
-Turn Frame controls ON
-Set the resize filter and the Rate Conversion to "Best."
-I would set the Output Fields to progressive first and see how that works out before trying upper (I think DVCPRO50 is upper first but it could be lower like DV.)
-Save your setting
-Bring that 720p30 Quicktime movie into Compressor and then compress it using your new custom setting.
-Bring the newly compressed quicktime into FCP and create a brand new PAL DVCPRO50 Anamorphic sequence for your master.
You should ask the broadcaster if anamorphic 16x9 squeeze is OK or if they prefer 16x9 letterbox in 4x3? 16x9 masters for PAL are usually anamorphically squeezed.