Outputting sequence to a .mov file

Hi folks,

I have recently completed a project for my client which was delivered to them on DVD.
Shot and edited in DV PAL anamorphic. Burned to DVD via compressor and all was good and everyone is happy.
Total running time is 7mins and the final burn to disc was around 385MB.

But now, they would like it delivered as a .mov file so that they can upload it to their website.

I have exported the sequence as a Quicktime Movie (self-contained) and it has come out at 533MB via the H.264 codec.

I have burned the file to a DVD and now when i play this .mov version I have some motion artifacts (on my MacBookPro). When I play the original DVD (also on my MBP) there are no artifacts.

I did the .mov burn by simply right-clicking the file on my desktop and hit the "burn to disc" option.

Is this my mistake ? Should I only be burning via DVDStudioPro or have I missed something in my conversion ?

Thanks,

Jay
(running FCS1 - FCP5 with SL10.6.6 on my MacBookPro 2.16).

Update :

I have done another export using the mpeg4 encoder instead of the H.264, completed the burn, and I now have a .mov file with no artifacts.

Thanking myself.......

Jay.

If you're using MPEG-4 as the codec, that is an ancient codec. MPEG-4 is both a wrapper and an (obsolete, not great) codec. You should be making an MPEG-4 that has H.264 as a codec.


www.derekmok.com

Don't export the H.264 from the FCP Sequence. Export a reference file from your sequence and then take that into Compressor.

From there, do an H.264 movie file but make sure you use the High Quality (dual pass) compression scheme. This will give you a very clean quicktime movie that's suitable for the web. For a 7 minute file, you really should have a file that's 50MB or small to ensure that it loads and plays quickly for the end user. Should be no problem with Compressor.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
biscardicreative.com

Thanks Derek/Walter,

I was thinking that the H.264 was the better of the two to use.

But I'm a bit stumped as to why the results implied that the Mpeg4 seems to have done the job without any artifacts.

Could it be that the H.264 conversion was actually ok and it's just my MacBookPro screen not displaying it broadcast monitor wise ?

Cheers,

Jay.

It could be a million things. There are lots of variable parameters with compression - that's kind of the point. Not knowing what all those settings were, we can't really say why one looked better than the other. Most of us develop a recipe that we know is a good file size with decent quality and stick with it until something doesn't work out well.

For the record - I recommend Mp4 with H.264 compression too. I often do 50f deinterlaced as well if it's for the web. Looks very clean and the files are small enough for most of my clients.

Thanks Jude,

good points, well made. I will be using yours and Derek's advice - much appreciated.

I hope they catch that @#%& arsonist over your way.