DV video quality

Maybe i am missing something. I am new to imovie9 and getting my home movies onto appletv. While I agree- the movies we rent look fine. Honestly not blu ray quality, but i don't care. However, the largest you can share with imovie to itunes/apple tv is 960 x 540 -- not 720p. Yes no? Now I am confused. tx

ditto

Steve, I have a suggestion that'll help on FCE Price, Amazon.com has it for just over $150.
An aside, getting or renewing your MobilMe account is discounted there also.
Saving money, a reputable vendor, and it's still Apple.

http://www.amazon.com/Apple-MB278Z-A-Final-Express/dp/B000Z3DXT2/ref=sr11?ie=UTF8&s=software&qid=1240407489&sr=8-1

hey kbeat:

with that incredible canon markII you are going to want a mac pro 8 core to edit it! lol. Very jealous.

Hey Sheryl,

No, you're not really missing anything. The TV export from within iMovie is only 540 rather than 720, but that's actually due to frame rate.

Almost all consumer camcorders shoot at 30 fps (29.97), which is standard for television content. Film however, is typically 24 fps. That accounts for part of the difference in look between video and film. You could export your stuff from iMovie at 720p using Quicktime, and setting the fps to 24 for the TV, but that ends up looking worse (jerky and out of sync) than 540 at the native frame rate the content was shot. Make sense?

It would, of course, be ideal if the TV supported 720p/30 (or even 1080p), but at the moment it does not. So we're stuck using 540 for our 30fps content.

+The whole "what is really HD" debate has taken on a life of its own. I work with production studios all the time here in L.A., and the pros there will tell you they can't even watch a Blu-Ray without cringing. As far as they're concerned once the native HD content from their cameras becomes .264 or VC1 or whatever, it ceases to be HD! Luckily, most of us are that discerning. :)+

Message was edited by: KBeat

You aren't kidding. My wife wants to kill me because the 5D Mark II has become nothing but an excuse to spend more money, especially on lenses!

"But sweetie, the kids will look soooo much better with L glass..."

I'm still jealous. My husband does not get it either. I don't have the high end equipment you do...just a nikon d40x and a sony HDV-HC3. I got a macbook on purpose and loaded it because to me--if it wasn't a mac pro, i prefer as tiny as i could get.

I feel i got burned jumping into consumer HD the minute it came out in 06. I stupidly didn't realize that I couldn't get the same quality once edited. Plus its really bad indoors! I mean really bad. Worst than my older canon DV camera that broke.

But now, with the appleTV and Western Digital Media there is hope, but I don't understand what i am doing wrong. I can't be that critical and difficult to please. I see a huge difference between my raw camera film footage and output on either the appleTV or Western Digital. You are in business, so you should know. Can i or can't i get close to the camera footage? Rightnow you are right, i don't see that much of difference between western digital HD footage and appletv footage. I see a huge difference in camera footage and digital footage. Maybe thats really the issue still.

Low light issues aside, you can get very close to the native output of your camera with edited content. First thing to know is what is your ultimate goal for the footage? It sounds like you primarily want to watch it on an HD television. If so, what size and kind? Is it a large, 1080p set? 720p?

If you're looking to go to Blu-Ray to watch your stuff in 1080p, iMovie isn't the best choice of editors. It's primarily designed for 720p and under, and mainly for short videos to be shown on YouTube, MobileMe galleries, etc. In that regard, the 720p export (now with the patch) looks pretty good. Even the 540 stuff on the TV looks decent on 720p televisions smaller than 50".

However, if you want to step up from that, it's absolutely worth it to pick up FCE. If you've never used it or any other NLE (nonlinear editor) before, pick up a book like "Apple Training Series: Final Cut Express." Run through all the tutorials in there and you'll be comfortable in no time. Edit your content in FCE, output it at 1080p, and burn with Toast. You'll be pleased with the results.

Low light is another matter entirely, and some cameras handle it better than others regardless of their resolution. I know off the shelf point and shoots that can do low light better than some DSLRs. If you're unhappy with what you're getting from your camera indoors, there really isn't much you can do other than improve the lighting. When looking to upgrade your camera down the road, knowing you do a lot of indoor, low light shooting, be sure to read reviews. Most of them test the cameras in this exact situation because it's fairly common. Most camcorders take great looking footage outside on a sunny day. It's the low light indoor stuff that separates the men from the boys, so to speak.

I want it all! lol. Glad to hear I can get the same output moving to FCE. My main goal is learning how to achieve better footage on my 52" 1080p. My second goal is much easier, quick movies that can be shared--this is where imovie comes in. I don't mind editing twice.

on the low light issue: I am torn between buying a video camera or just getting a better light for indoors. If i buy a new camera, i am interested in something that shoots progressive. I can't work with 1080p 60 frames with my macbook! Aint gonna happen--the poor thing will hate me. I am looking into other canon's that shoot progressive and 30 frames. I am getting myself confused though. I have a hard time finding the specs on all the different canons. I'm also still confused on AVCHD vs 1080p30 frames. I thought they were totally different types of standards, but i could have sworn i saw a camera that was AVCHD and shot 1080p30 frames so now i am back to my research!

Then there is my husband -- and he says-- no way -- we are not buying another piece of electronic equipment. He still takes notes with paper. I actually caught him photocopying his business card onto a piece of paper so he could write a letter--that he then thought he would scan and send to someone. I had a heart attack. I went into another room and laughed. Came back into the room. He was still playing with the photocopier! I took his card, scanned it, opened it into neooffice and said--here type.

Steve,

I know that you want to sell your book and all, but since this is a pressing concern for many people, could you please describe what is the procedure to import DV content into iM'09 without losing quality, specially when exporting to iDVD or similar? This thread (and all the people in it) would really want to know.

Thanks!

Can i just say...the book is really worthwhile. Its an ebook and you can get it immediately.

and its only about 25 dollars US

"f you're looking to go to Blu-Ray to watch your stuff in 1080p, iMovie isn't the best choice of editors. It's primarily designed for 720p and under, "

It's NOT designed for 720p or under.

It's designed for progressive video.

If you shoot 1080p25 or p1080p30 every pixel will pass through.

In fact, if you use only dissolves and fades -- you can use 1080i and every pixel will pass through.

Moreover, if you go back to 8.0.0. you can use most all FX and every pixel will pass through.

The problem comes if you don't decide what you want to shoot or what you want to do when editing.

------

And, I'm not sure HOW a discussion of HD is going on in a thread on "DV Quality." DV is totally separate from HD. If you do DV correctly, you can use any FX.

The discussion on HD was my fault. It got started on your questioning a book for imovie to FCE.

I guess that depends on your definition of "designed for." I'm speaking more to Apple's intended use of the application. Since not one of the built-in iMovie export presets, the ones most users are likely to use (iTunes, MobileMe, YouTube, QuickTime, etc.) include anything above 720p, I'd say that's primarily what Apple had in mind with iMovie.

Can you do 1080 with it? Sure, but FCE is a better tool for the job. Heck, Apple all but begs you not to import 1080 video into iMovie. That said, I've been using it to do a little editing of my 1080p 5D Mark II video. It's not a fun experience unless I first convert the .264 video to AIC. That makes sense as .264 is really a delivery format, not an editing format.

BTW: Bought your book the other day. Very handy as I learned some new tricks.