SD/HD exporting...

Hello - I edit projects that come in with both SD and HD. While I have spent a good part of the afternoon looking through these discussions, I am still a bit unclear, and have a two-fold question:

First, I will be importing SD footage into FCP 7 from my (non-HD) video camera, via miniDV, then exporting the footage to show both on a personal Wordpress website, YouTube; & Vimeo. I know that YouTube now shows SD footage w/the pillar bars - am I correct to assume that nothing can be done to change that, since the footage isn't in HD? I know there are ways to make it look better, but, just want to make sure that now, w/YouTube's 16:9 ability, that there is nothing I can do without making the SD footage looked stretched, in order for it to fill in the whole screen. And is there a 'best type of export' for Wordpress?

Second, I work w/folks who submit all kinds of formats: SD; HD; footage that's already been burned to a personal disc; Qtime videos...you name it. So, I would not be able to export the entire project in HD, because I have SD footage...is that correct? So, what would be the best way to export, having all different kinds of footage to begin with? The exports would be for a disc; YouTube; website, and Vimeo, etc...

Many thanks for any assistance, as am just confused about all the different ways, thank you!!!

> am I correct to assume that nothing can be done to change that, since the footage isn't in HD?

Not true. You can shoot anamorphic 16:9 and end up with a 720x405 or 854x480 image. Or you can edit your 720x480 clips in a Sequence set to either of those dimensions (the latter with some blowup).

> So, I would not be able to export the entire project in HD, because I have SD footage...is that correct?

Correct. Trying to blow up your source footage to HD dimensions will simply defeat the whole purpose of going HD. Better to have sharp SD than blurry HD. There are hardware conversions available at professional post houses for blowing up SD to HD.


www.derekmok.com

Your concern is not about SD vs HD per se but about 4:3 image shape vs 16:9 image shape. (Some SD is 16:9, and while no HD is 4:3, someone might release an old silent film as pillarboxed 4:3 HD.)

Your problem is with intercutting shots with differently shaped frames. You have four basic choices: cut the sides off the 16:9 shots; cut the top/bottom off the 4:3 shots; add filler above/below the 16:9 shots; add filler to the sides of the 4:3 shots. The filler doesn't have to be black. Use pretty colors, etc. Caryatids can replace pillarboxes.

You could compromise by cutting just little off the sides of the 16:9 shots and just a little off the top/bottom of the 4:3 shots, to create mongrel 1.54:1 (or whatever) of them both. This will have to be displayed letterboxed or pillarboxed, but you will have minimized the damage to composition and intelligibility.

Dennis Couzin
Berlin, Germany

Hello - thank you both for your input...very helpful!

I read that Compressor has capabilities to 'blow up' SD to HD - does anyone have any opinions about that?

And/or, any other suggestions on what hardware conversions one could use for this? I've heard of Magic Bullet... but, am curious if the suggestions to intercut the HD shots to 'match' the SD shots would be a better bet, than would purchasing hardware conversions?

Thank you again!!

KAL

Teranex, Miranda make boxes which allow for workable upscalingof HD from SD. They are pricey, online suite tools.

For software, the only product I know of has been discontinued. (It was excruciatingly slow.)


- Loren

Today's FCP 7 keytip:
Advance to next/previous keyframes in a clip with Shift/Option-K !

Your Final Cut Studio KeyGuide? Power Pack
with FCP7 KeyGuide --
now available at KeyGuide Central.
www.neotrondesign.com

Loren, which software? Shake?
I don't find the upres conversions using Compressor, with Frame Controls Resize Filter set to Best, all that bad.

Dennis Couzin
Berlin, Germany

Any other settings, optical flow, etc?

I've got to try that against my dedicated software, Topaz Enhance.

I wish Topaz Labs would re-release it, it's great on DV, it's great enhancing VHS-to-DV or DVD-to-DV. I got reasonable [results] on a DV-to-720P.

For experiment, I cropped all but 720x576 pixels off a 1920x1080 (progressive) clip and then upresed it to 1920x1080 (progressive) with Compressor -- Frame Controls Resize Filter at Best. Those results were pretty nice. Best is described as "statistical prediction" which is probably not optical flow.

But most SD is interlaced, and therein lies the terrible problem with resizing. In effect, any resizing requires initial deinterlacing, and Compressor's optical flow deinterlacing isn't very good.

Dennis Couzin
Berlin, Germany

Noted, merci!

- Loren

Today's FCP 7 keytip:
Advance to next/previous keyframes in a clip with Shift/Option-K !

Your Final Cut Studio KeyGuide? Power Pack
with FCP7 KeyGuide --
now available at KeyGuide Central.
www.neotrondesign.com