Converting 1080p 23.98 HD to SD NTSC & PAL

I have to convert a 90 minute film which is currently in 23.98 DVCPro HD 1080 to SD NTSC and also SD PAL.

When I go to EXPORT and QUICKTIME - CONVERSION I am presented with about a thousand different codecs, some of which are Blackmagic and some Apple.

Can anyone advise me which is the best one for my purposes? I want to end up with a letterboxed 16x9 format. I'll worry about the pan and scan version later.

As you can probably tell, I have never done a conversion before and I have to assume that there are traps which might make QC people scream at me.

Many thanks,

Harry.

Harry Bromley-Davenport.

Oops. Sorry. I didn't realize that I'd posted this twice.

H

Harry Bromley-Davenport.

How will you be outputting? Do you have a capture card, because many can downconvert on the fly while playing out.

Otherwise...don't use Qt conversion. Choose an SD Easy Setup that matches your needs (DV/PAL for one) and copy/paste your sequence into that and render...then output.

Shane,

Thank you for your speedy reply.

I do have a Blackmagic card and that will output on the fly (as you suggest) in letterbox which is cool for doing a one off copy ...

However, I do want to create separate files for HD 16x9, HD 4x3 pan and scan and NTSC and PAL letterbox and pan and scan versions.

So you reckon that DV/PAL and DV/NTSC would be ok, huh? Thanks very much for the advice. I'll do that.

Best wishes, Shane, and thanks again for your time and prompt reply

Harry.

For PAL you will have to use a Standards converter like one found at nattress.com.

Test before you do.