Final Cut Express Rendering Issue

Hi guys...

I'm a bit new to Final Cut Express and am having what is probably a very simple issue.

The project is composed of:

1. A .mov file that came from LiveType. It was set up and rendered out at 1910 x 1080.

2. A graphic in JPEG format that is also 1910 x 1080.

3. Footage from a Canon HV20 that was imported into FCE using the DV-NSTC setting.

4. Credits at the end using Boris Title Crawl.


The issue comes in rendering. I'm QuickTime conversion. Regardless of whether I use the iPhone, iPod or Apple TV presets, or go in and play with the settings, I'm getting black bars at the top and bottom of the image. Everything plays and looks fine otherwise.

Example: the iPhone export gives me a 480 x 320 file, but with the bars at the top and bottom. I'd like to get to 640 x 360, but have the same issue if I go in and play with the QT settings.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

---Chuck

The LT project and the graphics should be 1920x1080 if you're working in HD.

What format is your sequence? Check item properties.

Thanks for responding Tom...

It looks like I mis-stated. Everything is showing up as 1920 x 1080, *except* the footage. That's 1440 x 1080.

I'm guessing that the difference is the issue???

---Chuck

No, HDV footage is supposed to be 1440x1080.

Trouble is, I don't know thing one about Final Cut Express. It's like an entirely different country from Final Cut Pro. So as far as I know, it could be anything.

Where I admit I'm getting confused is that if I find the imported clip in the Finder and do a Get Info, it is showing up as 1920 x 1080.

Jeff, now that you mention it, I have the black bars in FCE when I play the sequence. Hadn't even realized that before.

----Chuck

What you're running into is called "pixel aspect ratio." HDV, like many video formats, uses non-square pixels. The 1440x1080 encoded raster is stretched out to 1920x1080 on playback.

If you're getting "black bars," then you're cutting your HD footage into an SD timeline. The "black bars" are letterboxing, which happens automatically when you mix aspect ratios.

However, I have no idea whether Final Cut Express does letterboxing automatically, or whether it can even handle HD material.

One more time: what sequence settings are you using? Check its item properties. Did you do that? Exactly what does it say?

Why did you use the DV NTSC setting for capture when you're working with HD material, or did you downconvert?

Tom:

Sequence settings are 29.97 fps, 720 x 480, Compressor DV/DVCPRO-NTSC, Pixel Aspect NTSC - CCR 601, Field Dominance - Lower (Even).

I used DV NTSC because I didn't understand the implications.

From what Jeff said above, I just created a Sequence using DV-NTSC 32 kHz Anamorphic. Bars are gone, but the export looks squeezed vertically using the iPhone QuickTime setting.

Thanks...

---Chuck

How did you change the sequence? You can't simply alter the edited sequence. You can't copy and paste into a new sequence as the clips have been altered by being in a sequence of the wrong format. The motion parameter properties for the clips have to be reset, but this will alter the still images.

Your material is HDV. You should be using an HDV sequence not an SD DV sequence.

I created a new sequence by selecting the DV-NTSC 32 kHz Anamorphic option in Easy Set Up and then re-constructed the sequence. You're saying I need to re-capture the footage as well?

---Chuck

It doesn't look as if you have to recapture the media. Checking the item properties in detail is the way to check.

The new sequence is in the wrong format. Your material is HD. You should be editing into an HD sequence.

Got it...Any particular one I should be choosing given the resources I'm trying to use (the .mov and the JPEG)?

Thanks Tom. Still trying to piece this all together.

---Chuck

You should not need to recapture. Check Item properties under the Edit menu. I assume its under the Edit menu.

Tell us what the item properties says and then we can tell you to create a new sequence, drop your footage into that, render and export.

Michael Horton
-------------------

HDV 1080i60.

So would this cure the letter boxing issue Tom if after he renders in the HDV 1080i60 sequence and exports to iPhone or iPod or Apple TV?

Michael Horton
-------------------

This will fix the letterboxing issue, but not the distortion. For some reason that completely escapes me the presets for Apple TV, iPod and iPhone do not work correctly with widescreen material when exported directly from either FCE or FCP. In FCP you can use Compressor, but with FCE I think the only way is to manually make an MP4 file, set it to MP4 (not MP4 IMSA), use a custom size like 640x360 and use an appropriate bit rate like 5200kbps. You can change the file extension to .m4v, but I'm not sure how it will work on the Apple devices as I can't test them. If they do not work, you'll have to use in FCE a basic DV 4:3 sequence, nest the edited HD material and have it letterboxed on the Apple device exports.

It's important though that the material be edited in the correct format to start so that you're not recompressing and re-rendering needlessly while you're editing, only when you go to the export stage.

Tom, Mike and Jeff...

Thanks for your patience with a newbie.

Based on your comments/suggestions, I started over. Here's EXACTLY what I did:

1. Easy Setup - HDV 1080i60

2. Created new Sequence

3. Reassembled the test using the 1920 x 1080 .mov, the 1920x1080 JPEG, AIFF audio files, cross-fades.

4. Rendered all the pieces.

At this point, the sequence played fine in FCE.

The Sequence Properties are: vid rate: 29.97 fps, frame size is 1440 x 1080, Compressor is Apple Intermediate Codec, pixel aspect is HD (1440 x 1080), Field Dominance is Upper (Odd), Audio is 2 Outputs, Aud Rate is 48.0 KHz, Aud Format is 32-bit Floating Point

4. Export via QuickTime using the iPhone preset; got a distorted 480x360, but with no letterboxing.

5. Export via QuickTime using the Apple TV preset; got a distorted 720 x 540, but with no letterboxing.

Now, here's the interesting part: because of Tom's comments re: the QuickTime presets, I also exported the sequence via QuickTime and used an Elgato Turbo.264 hardware stick and the associated preset for the iPhone. It took quite a bit longer than the straight iPhone preset (strange), but I got a perfectly good 480 x 270 movie. No bars, no distortion.

Tried it with the Elgato using their Apple TV preset and it came out as 960 x 540, no distortion, no bars.

The Elgato iPod preset (just to be complete) yielded 640 x 360, no distortion, no bars.

All three are MP4 files.

The iPhone and iPod movies load and play fine on the iPhone. They also both load and play on an iPod nano 3ed gen. All should play on an Apple TV.

Looks like I'll have to use the Turbo.264 unless I want to get Compressor or concoct a QuickTime brew of my own.

---Chuck

Chuck

If you are gong to be doing a lot of this you might want to invest $80 in a very cool and easy to use app called DV Kitchen. You can read a review here.

[www.lafcpug.org]

The preview window alone is worth the money

Michael Horton
-------------------