General Editing Question

This is part of my struggle today with compressing a QT file (still not resolved.)

The QT file has audio at 44.1 MHz.

My understanding was that this was specifically for CDs and was inappropriate (if that's the right word) for video. I expected it to come back at 48.

Is this something I should complain about? I got it done at a professional video house because I can't handle the big tapes (betas, etc.)

My compression has still failed all day. Any compression of my original QT file ends up with terrible streaks. Why? I don't know -- it's basically talking heads. And it looks terrible. If 'Fast and the Furious' can get compressed onto a DVD, my talking heads shouldn't have a problem.

If anyone has any advice, I would love it. Tomorrow, I'm going to take my original telecinied beta and 3/4 to an editing house to get them to make all the appropriate files for me -- is there anything specific I need to ask for? Any codecs I need to avoid?

Mike

> My understanding was that this was specifically for CDs and was
> inappropriate (if that's the right word) for video.

Not necessarily. The standard sample rate for capturing audio is 48kHz, but that doesn't mean you can't use 44.1kHz. You'll just lose a bit of quality, but for DVD delivery, it won't matter a great deal.

However, if a post house gave you a movie file with 44.1kHz audio, you should be able to ask them to do a 48kHz file. If you didn't specify at the time of the order that you wanted 48kHz, this sample rate tends to be the standard and you might be able to argue for them to redo the task for free.

> My compression has still failed all day. Any compression of my original QT file
> ends up with terrible streaks. Why? I don't know -- it's basically talking
> heads. And it looks terrible

First of all, what are you using for the task? Are you prepping a QuickTime movie for iDVD? If so, you should be exporting a self-contained QuickTime movie at maximum quality from FCP (Export - QuickTime Movie, not Export - Using QuickTime Compression).

If you're using the Compressor/DVD Studio Pro, tell us what your settings are, and how long your media is.

Derek,

Sorry for the lack of info in the post -- I'd asked about compression in an earlier thread and 2 weeks ago on the DVDSP forum, and I'd only meant for this to be about the sound.

BUT... since you are the first person to respond (and Greg Kozikowski simultaneously in the other thread) I would like your help answering this question:

#1 More important question:
I finally was able to recover the file from my DVD using MPEG Streamclip (with Fix Timecode Breaks), and I grabbed it in two forms: export to QT using JPEG A (at 100%), and I demuxed it to get the .m2v file and .aiff file.

I'm planning on using the .m2v now -- it's freaking gorgeous and I wish I had the compressor they used three years ago to make it. But, all that time ago, one scene didn't get a letterbox on it. Can I go into FCP and add a letterbox without affecting the rest of the quality? I've never edited an .m2v and don't want to screw it up now! (Nobody has every commented on the missing letterbox; it's not that big a deal. Additionally, the house that made the DVD left it recording too long and there's some stuff I want to trim off the end, but I can do that in DVDSP safely, I think.)

The JPEG A is a nice fallback, but I'm not going to do anything with it unless you tell me it's the way to go.

#2 Less important and hopefully moot question.
Seriously, ignore this if #1 has provided me a way to go.

I have a .mov file made from a beta (telecine'ed from film). Its codec is Integer (Big Endian DV DVDPRO/NTSC). I'm using Compressor to try to get it into mpeg2 shape, and I've done everything from use the standart settings to hiking the bitrate up, to tinkering with the IPB parade to (refer to other post) setting compression markers everywhere.

The end result always sucked. If you have a magic solution or a different compressor to recommend, please do. But also, if my other .m2v is going to work, ignore this question all the way.

Sorry for the long post. But it's a fitting tribute for a long day.

Mike

> I finally was able to recover the file from my DVD using MPEG Streamclip
> (with Fix Timecode Breaks), and I grabbed it in two forms: export to QT
> using JPEG A (at 100%), and I demuxed it to get the .m2v file and .aiff file.
> I'm planning on using the .m2v now -- it's freaking gorgeous and I wish I
> had the compressor they used three years ago to make it. But, all that time
> ago, one scene didn't get a letterbox on it. Can I go into FCP and add a
> letterbox without affecting the rest of the quality?

Don't use the m2v to add the letterbox. Go back to the original Motion JPEG A file, add the letterbox, and redo the MPEG-2 conversion. I don't even think it's possible for FCP to edit an MPEG-2.

> I have a .mov file made from a beta (telecine'ed from film). Its codec is
> Integer (Big Endian DV DVDPRO/NTSC).

DVDPro? There's no such thing as far as I know. Do you mean DV/DVCPro? That would simply be Apple's DV NTSC codec. If the QuickTime movie was captured from a Beta tape, you should have used Uncompressed 8-bit for good quality. The DV codec is not that great in quality, though it should still yield OK results to DVD.

Hmmm...perhaps I wasn't as clear as I thought I was.

I pulled the .m2v from a DVD I already have AND I pulled an JPEG A. I have yet to successfully make an mpeg2 version that didn't look terrible. I'll see how the JPEG A looks after I put a letterbox on it, and go from there.

But, like I thought, I can't edit the .m2v.

The DVCPRO looks fine, not great, and compression (in Compressor, anyway) makes it useless.

If I decide to get the beta transferred again, what codec should I ask for? You didn't seem so hot on the one I got.

Thanks,

Mike

I don't know if this is your problem, but you started out by asking about the 44.1 mHz. When making your QT movie you should've entered 48 and conveted the sound to that setting right away. There's no reason to stay in 44.1. Perhaps this could be one of the problems. I'm not sure though. I'm very new to FCP5.