Converting to PAL

Does anyone have any experience with this? The file was created as an NTSC in Final Cut Pro.

Specs of original file:

720 x 540
DV/DVCPRO - NTSC
Audio 48 khz
Data rate: 3.6 MB

What should my sequence settings be? Also, I'm trying to output to tape and it's not outputting, so obviously, my current settings are wrong. I've played around with a bunch of them, but nothing is working.

I'm outputting to a DSR-11 set to the PAL switch and menu set to DV SP. Going out of Final Cut via firewire.

Settings need to be :

DVPAL (720 X 576) Timeline... you will need to render it first obviously, and resize it as the NTSC version is smaller.
(Here I would zoom in slightly, but don't change the aspect ratio...)

Change your EASY SETUP to DVPAL, then it should play out to tape just fine. (Make sure you record some 'BLACK'
on the tape for 30 secs or so, then drop in on a round number, like 00:01:00:00...

Lata,

Marcus T
iCreate! digital|post
12 Core Mac Pro, Snow Leopard, FCP 7.0.3, 8Gb Memory.

>you will need to render it first obviously

Avoid using Final Cut Pro for standards conversion. The rendering process will drop whatever frames it doesn't need instead of creating new frames for smoother motion. A much better way to do standards conversion is to send it through Compressor. Select a DV PAL preset, turn on frame controls and set resizing and retiming to "better" or "best". Then bring that back into Final Cut Pro and PTT from there. That, or send it through a hardware converter like a Teranex or Alchemist, which will do the job in real time, but it isn't free.



www.strypesinpost.com

Or use Nattress Conversion. We use it for PAL to NTSC. Or, maybe you don't really need to go to PAL. If it's can be delivered on DVD, all modern PAL players will work with it as NTSC.

Thanks, Marcus...

Once I got the settings right, it started working.

And thanks to everyone who wrote with suggestions.

Pleasure friend..

Marcus T
iCreate! digital|post
12 Core Mac Pro, Snow Leopard, FCP 7.0.3, 8Gb Memory.

In Australia going the other way from PAL to NTSC I exported it to Quicktime where you can specify the size. PAL for SD is 720 X 576, HD 1020 X 1080( apple i50). NTSC 720 X 480 or 486 or 1020 X 1080 ( apple i60)

Mac addict from Downunder been using FCP/S for a long time and still love it and still am learning new things all the time.
Just completed a community project for a local primary school. The Chamber of Commerce won a TV ad prize and gave it to the school. Committee of talented locals gave time and the result is excellent, based on ideas the kids pitched and developed. I did all the editing and was happy to be involved. Otherwise travel is my bag, just recently have done fashion work for a Miami swimwear show which also combined footage of designer swimming with whales in Tonga. Live near the famous Byron Bay surf and partner, family, camping and dogs make my life complete.

I don't think Quicktime on its own converts from PAL to NTSC correctly. It's more than just a frame size difference.

apparently the DVDs played OK when in the States. We sent both physical DVDs and also via 'Yousendit'. But don't know how it was played. Have seen footage of the work displaying which was a backdrop to a fashion show. But I wasn't there

Quote

In Australia going the other way from PAL to NTSC I exported it to Quicktime where you can specify the size. PAL for SD is 720 X 576, HD 1020 X 1080( apple i50). NTSC 720 X 480 or 486 or 1020 X 1080 ( apple i60)

Not to be a stickler or pedant but what the hell...

It may have been a typo but HD is generally 1920x1080 (at frame-rates including 23.98p, 24p, 25p, 29.97p, 50i, 59.94i, 50p, 60p) not 1020x1080

As Jude said - don't use Quicktime for PAL<>NTSC conversions.

Also be careful when choosing your flavour of NTSC.

NTSC CCIR 601 aka D1 (as used on Digibeta and Broadcast) has pixel dimensions of 720x486 and you have to resize or crop top and bottom when used for DVD whereas NTSC DV is 720x480 works for DVD without tweaking.

To confuse issues PAL D1 and DV have the same dimensions 720x576.

I highly recommend using Nattress Standards Converter plugin for FCP as its a lot quicker than converting in compressor for the same quality output. In fact I've just made three PAL DVDs and converted the original FCP files to NTSC for the US DVD versions. It does a great job even with text and graphics.

However if you absolutely want to make sure your text looks the best (especially if going to broadcast) then redo any text/graphics overlays/credit-roll in FCP on the NTSC Sequence over your standards converted video material; then output.

The downside to using NTSC DV as a sequence setting is the colour sampling is only 4:1:1 so if you have come from a 4:2:2 PAL source you might want to use a ProRes (at 720x480) or DVCPRO50 NTSC Timeline to preserve the colour-sampling as much as possible until you convert to DVD which is 4:2:0 (same as PAL DV).

If you want to read more on colour-sampling here is Graeme's article: [www.lafcpug.org]



For instant answers to more than one hundred common FCP questions, check out the LAFCPUG FAQ Wiki here : [www.lafcpug.org]

Was it played on a computer? Because if it was on a TV it should be in a NTSC frame rate. There's also a different colour system, resolution and sound can be a problem too. On a computer as a file you don't even have to bother with PAL or NTSC, which is why youtube works anywhere in the world.

Snap, Ben

In fact, if it is for computer display or display from a computer via DVI/HDMI to an HD display or projector; then you need not even convert to any of the US standard frame-rates as they should adhere to the ATSC standards which allows the display of pretty much all the NTSC, PAL and HD frame-sizes and frame-rates.

Always pertinent to ask the client and to check the hardware they will be using. But why convert if it is not necessary?



For instant answers to more than one hundred common FCP questions, check out the LAFCPUG FAQ Wiki here : [www.lafcpug.org]

Speaking about conversions, do projectors handle 50i properly? Or is it better to deinterlace it to 25p? I'm concerned that deinterlacing may cause some images to stutter due to the reduced frame rate, but if the projector is deinterlacing the footage to 25p, I'd be happier doing the deinterlacing via hardware.



www.strypesinpost.com

You'll have to look at the specs of the projector in question.



For instant answers to more than one hundred common FCP questions, check out the LAFCPUG FAQ Wiki here : [www.lafcpug.org]

Thanks, Ben. Yea, I'm waiting for the specs of the projector. I googled around a bit, and realized that many projectors today can do 1080i50 via a component signal, so there shouldn't be much of a problem.



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