Best settings for Panasonic DVX100B

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Level 3

504 points

Best settings for Panasonic DVX100B

Hey all. I shot footage in 24pAdvanced on my Panasonic DVX100b. Now I am stuck trying to figure out the most optimal capture, sequence, and export presets. I want to get good clear 720p video out of the footage, but when I export it looks grainy and low quality.
Can you guys post your workflows for the DVX?
As of now I have:
L/C: DV NTSC 48 kHz Advanced (2:3:3:2) Pulldown Removal preset wit Firewire NTSC NDF
Sequence: NTSC DV - 48kHz 23.98
Export: Current Settings

ANy help?

..::MacBook Pro 17::.., Mac OS X (10.6.3), Final Cut Studio 3

Posted on Jun 8, 2010 2:01 PM

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Answer 1

Studio X

Level 7

27,229 points

Jun 8, 2010 5:04 PM in response to Actingbiz1

I want to get good clear 720p video out of the footage,

Then you need to record your video with a camera that works in that format. The big brother to the DVX (HVX-200a) does a very nice job with 720p24. And, you can record 24p directly to the P2 card so there is no pull down to worry about.

If you can't do that, look for someone with a Kona LHi/3 to do the uprez in hardware.

Good luck,

x

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Answer 2

Actingbiz1 Author

Level 3

504 points

Jun 8, 2010 7:20 PM in response to Studio X

I shouldn't really have said 720p. I really mean the best look out of it. In Final Cut the footage looks almost HD< but by the time I export it to quicktime, it looks grainy and too digitized.

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Answer 3

Meg The Dog

Level 6

13,796 points

Jun 8, 2010 7:52 PM in response to Actingbiz1

Hi -
When you view it in Quicktime, do you have the preferences for Quicktime set correctly?
You should be viewing in Quicktime 7 with the prefs set to:
!http://www.spotsbeforeyoureyes.com/QT7Prefs.jpg!

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Answer 4

Actingbiz1 Author

Level 3

504 points

Jun 9, 2010 8:58 AM in response to Meg The Dog

Wait so, I should be using quicktime 7? And not the newest version of quicktime?

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Answer 5

Meg The Dog

Level 6

13,796 points

Jun 9, 2010 9:24 AM in response to Actingbiz1

Hi -
Many feel Quicktime X is not ready for primetime. There are no preferences. Many of the features that professionals use are currently not in Quicktime X. It will likely soon evolve into something better but for right now, many professional users of FCS 3 prefer to use Quicktime 7.

When you installed or upgraded and got Quicktime X, Quicktime Pro 7 should have been placed in your Utilities folder.

I have it in my dock so I can drag movies to the dock icon and see them play.
Configure the Quicktime 7 prefs as outlined above and see if your exported Quicktime movies resemble the appearance they had in FCP.

You said:

Actingbiz1 wrote:
in Final Cut the footage looks almost HD< but by the time I export it to quicktime, it looks grainy and too digitized. </div>

This may help that.

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Answer 6

Actingbiz1 Author

Level 3

504 points

Jun 9, 2010 11:01 AM in response to Meg The Dog

I'll try that and see how it looks.

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Answer 7

Actingbiz1 Author

Level 3

504 points

Jun 14, 2010 12:46 PM in response to Actingbiz1

I have found the best settings for any user using the Panasonic DVX AG-100b shooting with 24pA
These settings get rid of issues like Pulldown Cadence Errors, Dropped Frames, Horrible Quality, and so on.

USER PREFERENCES
TAB: "Timeline Options"
Starting Timecode: "Drop Frame" Option should be unchecked

SYSTEM SETTINGS
TAB: "Playback Control"
RT: Unlimited
Video Quality: Dynamic
Frame Rate: Full or Dynamic
Pulldown Pattern: 2:3:3:2
Gamma Correction: Accurate
Frame Offset: 4
Record: Full Quality
(I have all options checked except "Play Base Layer Only")

EASY SETUP (CUSTOM)

AUDIO/VIDEO SETTINGS
TAB: Summary
Sequence Preset: DV NTSC 48kHz - 23.98
Capture Preset: DV NTSC 48 kHz Advanced (2:3:3:2) Pulldown Removal
Device Control Preset: FireWire NTSC NDF

Tab: Sequence Presets
Edit: DV NTSC 48kHz - 23.98
Aspect Ratio: NTSC DV (3:2)
Anamorphic 16:9 CHECKED (If you shot with widescreen)
Editing Timebase: 23.98fps
Timecode Rate: Same as Editing Timebase
QuickTime Video Settings
DV/DVCPRO - NTSC
(Under Advanced)
Compression Type: DV/DVCPRO - NTSC
Frames Per Second: Custom 23.976
Quality: BEST
Scan Mode: Progressive
Aspect Ratio 4:3

Audio Settings: Leave alone
TAB: Video Processing:
I have this set to Render ALL YUV material, but you can set that to your preference.

Now back to AV settings under tha CAPTURE PRESETS tab:
Edit/Duplicate DV NTSC 48kHz Advanced (2:3:3:2) Pulldown
Frame Size: NTSC DV (3:2) Anamorphic 16:9 CHECKED
Digitizer; DV Video
Input: AG-DVX100B
Compressor DV/DVCPRO - NTSC
Quality 100%
FPS: 29.97

QuickTime Audio Settings:
Device: DV Audio
Input: First 2 Channels (If that's what you used)
Format 48.000 kHz 16-bit 2-chan
(Don't change this unless you know for a fact another setting woks, b/c the DVX doesn't go higher than that setting)
Capture Card Support Simultaneous Play Through and Capture (CHECKED)
Remove Advanced Pulldown and/or Duplicate Frames from FireWire sources (CHECKED)
High-Quality Video Play Through (UNCHECKED)

Back to AV Settings under the Device Control Presets tab:
Edit FireWire NTSC NDF
Protocol: Apple FireWire
Time Source: DV Time
Frame Rate: 29.97
Default Timecode: Non-Drop Frame

I changed my Pre-roll to 2 seconds.

And when you're done editing, EXPORT USING COMPRESSOR and find the best settings.

Hope this helped. Wish I had this when I was figuring out how to do this.
My advice, SAVE ALL OF THESE to an easy setup and copy this post just incase you lose the settings.

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