hartleyhare99

Q: .MPG delivery question.

I have been using FCP 7 for some years, shooting and editing in 1920 x 1080 and delivering my edit masters on Pro Res HQ 1920 x 1080 50i which is a .mov file.

 

Recently I have been asked by a new client to deliver on "MPG" for broadcast on cable. This is the spec they have asked for:

 

Video: 25fps 1920 x 1080 Upper field first, YUV, 25 Mbps

Audio: 384Kbps, 48,000 Khz, 16 bit stereo MPEG

Pixel Aspect Ratio: 1.333

 

I cant seem to locate a means to achieving this either in the export section on FCP 7 or in Compressor. Can anyone suggest how to deliver this file type from my FCP project?

 


MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on May 10, 2014 8:15 AM

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Q: .MPG delivery question.

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  • by Shane Ross,

    Shane Ross Shane Ross May 10, 2014 11:28 AM in response to hartleyhare99
    Level 8 (42,999 points)
    May 10, 2014 11:28 AM in response to hartleyhare99

    Kind of difficult as they don't mention a codec.  MPG is like MOV and AVI...just a container. I suspect they mean H.264....but you need to ask. 

     

    What I do is Compress to all those settings with Compressor...as an MOV.  And then use MPEG STREAMCLIP to open the file, and then do a "SAVE AS" and choose MPEG-4.  That makes the MOV into an MPG.  No transcoding, just a different container.

  • by David Harbsmeier,

    David Harbsmeier David Harbsmeier May 10, 2014 12:24 PM in response to hartleyhare99
    Level 7 (30,014 points)
    May 10, 2014 12:24 PM in response to hartleyhare99

    I'd recommend checking with them first, but a lot of broadcasters use MPEG-2 Program Stream files for server based playback.  MPEG-2 Program Stream files will typically have a .mpg or .mpeg file extension.

     

    Compressor can create those (as well as MPEG-2 Transport Streams).  In the Apple presets, look in the Formats folder for MPEG-2 and then duplicate the preset.  Open the duplicate in the Inspector window and change the settings to your client's requirements.

     

    -DH

  • by hartleyhare99,

    hartleyhare99 hartleyhare99 May 10, 2014 1:19 PM in response to David Harbsmeier
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 10, 2014 1:19 PM in response to David Harbsmeier

    Not sure if this is significant, but they also suggested, M2T files would also be acceptable.

  • by hartleyhare99,

    hartleyhare99 hartleyhare99 May 10, 2014 3:08 PM in response to Shane Ross
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 10, 2014 3:08 PM in response to Shane Ross

    Hi, I tried exporting as Pro Res LT 1920 x 1080 50i and then changed the file extension from .mov into .mg4 and the file still plays normally? Do you think I would get away with sending this file type or is the file size just too large in Pro res?

  • by Shane Ross,

    Shane Ross Shane Ross May 10, 2014 3:10 PM in response to hartleyhare99
    Level 8 (42,999 points)
    May 10, 2014 3:10 PM in response to hartleyhare99

    We think you REALLY need to ask the station what exactly they are looking for.  MPEG-4 as H.264?  MPEG-2 broadcast stream?  If you give them what you just described doing...they will reject it, most likely.  It isn't what they are asking for

  • by David Harbsmeier,Solvedanswer

    David Harbsmeier David Harbsmeier May 10, 2014 7:33 PM in response to hartleyhare99
    Level 7 (30,014 points)
    May 10, 2014 7:33 PM in response to hartleyhare99

    The .m2t  file extension is one associated with MPEG-2 Transport Stream files.  Transport Stream files could also have a .m2ts or a .mts extension.  As stated above, Compressor can create MEPG-2 Transport Stream files.

     

    But as Shane and I have both recommended, check with the client first to make sure exactly what they want.

     

    -DH

  • by Michael Grenadier,

    Michael Grenadier Michael Grenadier May 12, 2014 8:46 AM in response to David Harbsmeier
    Level 7 (20,362 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 12, 2014 8:46 AM in response to David Harbsmeier

    I'm all for checking with the client, but I gotta say most of the time, they don't know and are unwilling to make the effort to nail this down.  I usually just do what I think they want and wait for the cries of despair. 

  • by David Harbsmeier,

    David Harbsmeier David Harbsmeier May 12, 2014 6:16 PM in response to Michael Grenadier
    Level 7 (30,014 points)
    May 12, 2014 6:16 PM in response to Michael Grenadier

    I agree, Michael.  But usually,  you'll find one underpaid tech guy burried somewhere in the basement that can provide the correct specs ... it's just that the client seldom asks him what they really need.