M2v coversion

Glenn French · April 9th, 2007, 03:46 PM

I'm new to FCP and HD so hopefully there's something I don't know here -
Converting my HD footage, with very minor filtering, to SD m2v (for DVD) is taking a little over two seconds per frame, which is over a minute per second, an hour per minute - it would take 2 days non-stop to convert my video of one band's set at a club to DVD.
I'm using the lowest settings that produced decent quality (it's rendering now so I can't look it up) but this seems awfully slow.
The in-camera down-convert ( Canon XHA1 ) looked pitiful, but maybe there's something I'm missing here.
Any ideas, info?

Thanks

John C. Chu · April 9th, 2007, 04:45 PM

Just out of curiousity, what kind of Mac do you have?

Glenn French · April 9th, 2007, 06:10 PM

It's a G5 dual processor 2.3Ghz, 2.5GB RAM

John C. Chu · April 9th, 2007, 06:55 PM

I think the issue you have is those filters---when you apply a filter to the whole movie, each frame has to be rendered...hence the long render times.

I have a 20 minutes sequence in HD from my HV20 and it looks like it will take 2.5 hours to convert it into SD DVD on Dual 2.0 G5 PowerMac with 2.5gigs of ram.

"Scotty, we need more power!"

Martin Kornfeld · April 9th, 2007, 11:14 PM

The xha1 downconvert looks pitiful? That's a bummer. Hadn't heard this about downconverts from camera. I was hoping to start shooting hdv with my xha1 and downconvert out of camera to fcp. Was hoping to avoid rendering times and distribute in sd. Then if needed recapture for hd delivery.

Glenn French · April 10th, 2007, 06:23 AM

Maybe not -

I tried down-converting straight to a consumer DVD recorder and that looked good.
I'm still experimenting - there might be a combination of settings or something I'm missing.

GRF

David W. Jones · April 10th, 2007, 06:34 AM

I just shot a project with the A1 in HD, and down-converted to SD in-camera,
and the footage looked fantastic.

Glenn French · April 10th, 2007, 07:39 AM

What settings did you use?

I have tried dozens more settings and all I get is 8-blocks - it all looks viewed through a grid. Unacceptable even for iPod.

Please, what capture/sequence settings? What I'm getting can't be right.

GRF

Glenn French · April 11th, 2007, 08:44 AM

Really, is it a simple preset? No one could ever use what I'm getting here.
I'm wondering if something is wrong with the camera.

Glenn French · April 11th, 2007, 01:34 PM

Hours more variations, the same 8 by 8 pixel blocks, no relief, no help.

Unusable $8000 setup.

I'm sure the answer is simple.

Liam Hall · April 11th, 2007, 02:55 PM

Glenn,

Try dropping your HD timeline into an SD timeline and export from there.

April 9th, 2007, 03:46 PM	#1
Glenn French Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Arlington MA, USA Posts: 35	M2v coversion - 2seconds per frame? I'm new to FCP and HD so hopefully there's something I don't know here - Converting my HD footage, with very minor filtering, to SD m2v (for DVD) is taking a little over two seconds per frame, which is over a minute per second, an hour per minute - it would take 2 days non-stop to convert my video of one band's set at a club to DVD. I'm using the lowest settings that produced decent quality (it's rendering now so I can't look it up) but this seems awfully slow. The in-camera down-convert ( Canon XHA1 ) looked pitiful, but maybe there's something I'm missing here. Any ideas, info? Thanks

April 11th, 2007, 02:55 PM	#11
Liam Hall Major Player Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: London, England Posts: 969	Glenn, Try dropping your HD timeline into an SD timeline and export from there. __________________ Writer-Director-DOP www.liamhall.net

April 9th, 2007, 04:45 PM	#2
John C. Chu Major Player Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Rego Park , NYC Posts: 665	Just out of curiousity, what kind of Mac do you have?

April 9th, 2007, 06:10 PM	#3
Glenn French Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Arlington MA, USA Posts: 35	It's a G5 dual processor 2.3Ghz, 2.5GB RAM

April 9th, 2007, 06:55 PM	#4
John C. Chu Major Player Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Rego Park , NYC Posts: 665	I think the issue you have is those filters---when you apply a filter to the whole movie, each frame has to be rendered...hence the long render times. I have a 20 minutes sequence in HD from my HV20 and it looks like it will take 2.5 hours to convert it into SD DVD on Dual 2.0 G5 PowerMac with 2.5gigs of ram. "Scotty, we need more power!"

April 9th, 2007, 11:14 PM	#5
Martin Kornfeld Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Santa Rosa, CA Posts: 49	The xha1 downconvert looks pitiful? That's a bummer. Hadn't heard this about downconverts from camera. I was hoping to start shooting hdv with my xha1 and downconvert out of camera to fcp. Was hoping to avoid rendering times and distribute in sd. Then if needed recapture for hd delivery.

April 10th, 2007, 06:23 AM	#6
Glenn French Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Arlington MA, USA Posts: 35	Maybe not - I tried down-converting straight to a consumer DVD recorder and that looked good. I'm still experimenting - there might be a combination of settings or something I'm missing. GRF

April 10th, 2007, 06:34 AM	#7
David W. Jones Trustee Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Little Rock Posts: 1,383	I just shot a project with the A1 in HD, and down-converted to SD in-camera, and the footage looked fantastic.

April 10th, 2007, 07:39 AM	#8
Glenn French Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Arlington MA, USA Posts: 35	What settings did you use? I have tried dozens more settings and all I get is 8-blocks - it all looks viewed through a grid. Unacceptable even for iPod. Please, what capture/sequence settings? What I'm getting can't be right. GRF

April 11th, 2007, 08:44 AM	#9
Glenn French Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Arlington MA, USA Posts: 35	Really, is it a simple preset? No one could ever use what I'm getting here. I'm wondering if something is wrong with the camera.

April 11th, 2007, 01:34 PM	#10
Glenn French Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Arlington MA, USA Posts: 35	Hours more variations, the same 8 by 8 pixel blocks, no relief, no help. Unusable $8000 setup. I'm sure the answer is simple.