Quicktime Conversion

Posted by michael rouse 
Quicktime Conversion
February 10, 2007 11:12PM
Hi:

am using FCP 4.5 OSx 10.3.9 on G4 Laptop. I wish to export a 40 minute clip onto DVD if neccesary divide into two pieces. The regular Quicktime (when I divide in two) gives me just over 4.7 gigs (each piece) . Any ideas on how to slightly shave the Quicktime in conversion?

thanks,
Michael
Re: Quicktime Conversion
February 10, 2007 11:55PM
Forty minutes would fit comfortably onto one video DVD, so I'm assuming you mean you want a data DVD. You haven't told us what format your media is currently at, but the data rates you're describing (20 minutes for over 4GB) suggest you're working in DV NTSC.

What's the purpose of the data DVD? If you're looking for quality, then I wouldn't use a DVD if it necessitates that you compress your footage. If it's just reference, I'd try Photo JPEG at High quality. You also have to other things. For example, some setting combinations wouldn't allow you to match your current frame rate, so if you're doing sound work, it could be an issue. And, if you're just exporting a visual reference for a sound mix, you can compress the sound on the movie file drastically to take down the file size. Or even export only the picture and make an independent sound file on a separate DVD.


www.derekmok.com
Re: Quicktime Conversion
February 11, 2007 06:57AM
Just so that you understand, that DVD media is like any other storage device when it is used for data file storage. The 4.7 DVD disc actually will only hold 4.37 GB of actual data.

If the task is to store a complete DV sequence on one disc, and the sequence is 40 minutes then 40 x 3.7MB/sec x 60 seconds is the required space = 8.88 Gigabytes. That size will not comfortably fit onto two DVD-5 single layer discs or one 8.5 GB dual layer disc.

It will be a big plus for data storage when the BluRay media and burners get into the hands of us mortals with 25 GB per layer!
Re: Quicktime Conversion
February 11, 2007 03:03PM
Thanks for that Derek- Not sure what the difference is between Data and Video DVD. The DVD's I have holds 4.7 Gb I am working in DV NTSC The material I have is raw concert footage. I wanted to use the best quality possable so I could divide into two 20 minute segments, but they come in at jus t over 4.3Gb when exported as Quicktime so they don't fit on the DVD's. Just wondering any tricks to slightly lessen the size.
Re: Quicktime Conversion
February 11, 2007 03:19PM
You're using them as data DVDs.

You seem to want to save them in native format, which is a Good Idea. You can't reduce the size and kleep them native. You need 3 DVDs to hold the material you have. It simply won't fit on 2, and nothing you can do will make them fit and still be in native format.

Unless perhaps you strip off the sound and store it on... a third disc. But then you still have three discs, and there's no guarantee stripping the audio will make them fit anyway.

Is it packaging that's worrying you? If so, there are cases that hold 4 and more discs out there.
Re: Quicktime Conversion
February 11, 2007 03:36PM
Thanks braker. The thing is that someone ( who I have lsot touch with) converted a 60 minute segment into a toast image file (4.1gb) that seems to be of high quality, so just wondering wahat that trick might be.
Re: Quicktime Conversion
February 11, 2007 04:01PM
> I wanted to use the best quality possable so I could divide into two 20 minute segments

Then don't use DVDs. Put the movie files onto a drive at maximum DV quality.

> The thing is that someone ( who I have lsot touch with) converted a 60 minute segment into
> a toast image file (4.1gb) that seems to be of high quality

That would be a video DVD. The quality loss going from DV to MPEG-2 on a video DVD is enormous.


www.derekmok.com
Re: Quicktime Conversion
February 11, 2007 06:50PM
Most of the people who are answering this question are fairly high level professionals, so it's really hard for us to say 'sure, dump some quality on your archive so it will fit on two dvds.' It's a bit like asking a F1 mechanic which bolts you can take out of the engine so the car is lighter. Um. Just not a good idea.

However, if you really want to archive to two dvds and you're not completely uptight about quality, there are lots of different ways you can go.

What do you want to do with the files? Do you need to re-edit them later? Do you want to transfer them to someone else for some reason? Need them to go on the web? Play in a DVD player?

Compression is a very variable dependant problem. You could in theory get the whole thing down to a couple of hundred mb if you really tried. Of course it woud be tiny and the quality terrible, but it would fit on half a cd.

Give us some more info about why you need it compressed, and maybe we can make a better recommendation.

Re: Quicktime Conversion
February 11, 2007 09:36PM
Thanks Jude The footage is simply mini DV 40 min of raw footage shot
on a Canon Camcorder of a rock and roll show. I will edit clips for the
net on MP4's I will put the raw material on 3 DVD's if required. My
experimental wish for no reason other than convience and
experimentation is to put the footage in a quality state on one DVD. I
am basing this possibility on the fact that I have three 22-minute
episodes (66min) of a broadcast series on a toast image (4.1Gb's)
that I regularly burn to DVD . The DVD appears to me to be very high
quality when I watch on computer of DVD player (television) The person
who created the toast file is no longer around so I am looking to find
how this magic was done.
Re: Quicktime Conversion
February 11, 2007 10:02PM
> I will edit clips for the net on MP4's I will put the raw material on 3 DVD's if required.

I don't really agree with your workflow. MPEG-4 is not an editing format, and forty minutes is not that much footage -- around 9GB. I'd forget DVD and get a FireWire drive and store the footage there at maximum DV quality. DVDs are not meant for "storing footage in a quality state".

> I am basing this possibility on the fact that I have three 22-minute
> episodes (66min) of a broadcast series on a toast image (4.1Gb's)
> that I regularly burn to DVD.

I guarantee you they're no longer at broadcast quality if you're talking about 66 minutes on one DVD. Hell, even maximum-quality DV (which would have been about 14-15GB for the 66 minutes) is often not enough by broadcast standards.


www.derekmok.com
Quicktime Conversion/DVD/Compression
May 18, 2007 02:15PM
Hello,

I am exporting 1 hour 8 min. on a G5 dual processor, FCP 5.1.

the Quicktime came out to 667.8 MB size 640X480. [I used Sorenson 3, 15 FPS, key frames every 300, Data rate limited to 800 kbytes/sec, AUdio IMA 4:1 at 48 khz stereo ]

I am now using Compressor to get another version to burn on a DVD that could play on DVD players.

it is just a lecture (person talking with slide show) that I want to have in different formats:
- Quicktime to burn on a DVD to be played on computers
- a smaller version for web uploading [may be Utube or something]
- DVD for home players.

Any tips on what to do next, should I take the Quicktime file into DVD STudio Pro 4, which I have.

Will DVD Studio Pro do additional compressions?

my audio is not very good and I had to do a lot of tweaking to it, filters, key frames, etc.., so I don't want the audio to be compressed.

many questions at once, but I know this forum is the saving place.

thank you!
Re: Quicktime Conversion/DVD/Compression
May 18, 2007 04:54PM
Hi Just a general note here on exporting and compression and a good tutorial/ information site

[journalism.berkeley.edu]
Audio Compression
May 19, 2007 09:38AM
I have exported the 1 hour 8 min. lecture on a G5 dual processor, FCP 5.1 and have my mpeg2 and aiff files.

I'd like to save the aiff file on a CD, but right now the file size is 756.7 MB and the CD is limited to 700 MB

What is the easiest way to bring down the size of the file so it fits on the CD? Is there an easy way to recompress and make smaller or do I have to reexport a new audio file with new settings?

I have DVD Studio Pro and have already created my DVD, I wonder if there is something I can do within FCP or DVD SP to easily reduce the audio file size without spending too much time.

I have keyframes and filters on the audio tracks because the quality wasn't great.

Audio was exported as IMA 4:1 at 48 khz stereo ]


thx
Re: Audio Compression
May 19, 2007 10:03AM
> I'd like to save the aiff file on a CD, but right now the file size is 756.7 MB and the CD is
> limited to 700 MB

This is for a video DVD, right? Try using Compressor to make an AC3 audio file instead. Or use a data DVD. Using CDs for data backup is pretty antiquated.


www.derekmok.com
Re: Audio Compression
May 19, 2007 10:40AM
it is part of a video DVD, but I want to separately save the Audio file on a CD not DVD, just for listening on Itunes or the like. because it is a lecture, no need to always watch the DVD.

I now opened Soundtrack Pro which I never used before, but don't know how to make the file size go down from 756.7 MB to just under 700 MB which is what the CD can hold. I just need to make the size a bit smaller.
Re: Audio Compression
May 19, 2007 11:20AM
Try reducing the sample rate to 44.1kHz. There's no point in using Soundtrack Pro for this. Use QuickTime Player's export options and experiment. Hell, if it's a lecture and just for listening, why not make an MP3? Make the settings very high and the quality loss will be minimal, possibly inaudible.


www.derekmok.com
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