Apple Event: May 7th at 7 am PT

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

FCP 6: poor export quality in mp4

Hello, I have a Final Cut Pro 6 project, 90 minutes.
It is a multiclip project: 2 little minidv tapes of a live concert of my band.
I have done all the editing and I have just exported the project in mpeg4. This is not the first time, I have done this 4 or 5 times in the past and everything was OK. This time instead I have bad quality at every camera change: at every change, the image starts all pixelated, than after some frames, the quality is back to 100%.
It seems a key-frame issue... but I am not expert.
Here are the export setting:
- File Format: MP4
- Video Format: H.264
- Data Rate: 4500 Kbit/sec
- Image Size: 768 x 576 SD
- Frame Rate: Current
- Key Frame: Automatic

In The "Video Options" tab: Profile "Main" is the only checked, and encoding mode is "faster".

Again, I believe I have always used this settings, so I cannot understand what is the problem this time.
Thank you!

MacBook Pro 2.2 15", Mac OS X (10.6.2)

Posted on Jul 24, 2010 8:19 AM

37 replies

Jul 29, 2010 8:14 AM in response to thrillcat editorial

Thank you!!

The project is made up in this way: a FCP 6 document, in which I imported 2 mini-dv (PAL) tapes that I edited as a multiclip (it's a concert, 2 non-stop clip, plus the multitrack audio track).

Jul 29, 2010 8:25 AM in response to Roberto Ficarella1

DV PAL is 720x576. How did you get this frame size?

Jul 29, 2010 8:30 AM in response to thrillcat editorial

I don't know, that's the frame size of the clips I import from the FCP function "Log and Capture".
I have never used FCP a lot, I used iMovie. I needed FCP for editing multiclip concerts...

Jul 29, 2010 8:36 AM in response to Roberto Ficarella1

I'll guarantee this is the root of your problems.

How did you capture the footage? Firewire? There aren't really any ways to alter the frame size of MiniDV on import....especially via FW, where there is no way to alter it.

Zak Ray

Level 4

3,469 points

Jul 29, 2010 8:40 AM in response to thrillcat editorial

Could the frame size be right and the sequence settings wrong?

Jul 29, 2010 8:40 AM in response to Zak Ray

That's a good point.

Jul 29, 2010 8:42 AM in response to thrillcat editorial

A simple firewire cable... Log and capture and stop...
I really don't know!!
Is there another way to import movie from minidv, that I should have used?

Frame size in sequence settings is 720 x 576!

Jul 29, 2010 9:05 AM in response to Roberto Ficarella1

that's how you should've captured it.

What are the frame dimensions of your video clips?
What are the frame dimensions of your sequence?

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

151,058 points

Jul 29, 2010 9:06 AM in response to Roberto Ficarella1

There's no such thing as Kbits. It should always be written kbits. My QT displays data rate in mbits, megabits. 2000 kbits is pretty low.

Jul 30, 2010 3:41 AM in response to Tom Wolsky

- frame dimensions of my video clips: 768 x 576
- frame dimensions of my sequence: 720 x 576

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

151,058 points

Jul 30, 2010 3:51 AM in response to Roberto Ficarella1

No way. Did you use FCP to capture? Or some other application? There is no way for FCP to make DV PAL 768x576 on capture that I know of. That's PAL in square pixels. Did you use some weird custom preset that created this? This is a serious problem, and I don't see any good way around it.

Jul 30, 2010 3:56 AM in response to Tom Wolsky

I simply used the Log & Capture feature.
I know very little of FCP, so maybe I did something wrong, but for sure I have not used any external app or odd preset!!
Anyway I will try to export with the Apple-TV H264 preset and will let you know, thanks for your help so far!

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

151,058 points

Jul 30, 2010 4:16 AM in response to Roberto Ficarella1

Where are you seeing these numbers? A significant problem is that if your video really is 768 it is being compromised by being edited in a 720 sequence. So you're starting off in trouble and it's going downhill from there.

But there may be something wrong with the information you're giving as I don't see how you can effectively edit a multiclip like that in a 720 multicam sequence.

Jul 30, 2010 5:05 AM in response to Tom Wolsky

here it is:
http://img713.imageshack.us/img713/1275/15724310.jpg
The sequence instead is 720x576 (is it the one I read in sequence settings?)

Zak Ray

Level 4

3,469 points

Jul 30, 2010 5:15 AM in response to Roberto Ficarella1

Your clip is 720x576, it's just being displayed otherwise due to (I'm assuming) unsquare pixels.

Seeing as you're going to the web, Compressor is making the right call by converting to square pixels. So I would say that's not your issue.

FCP 6: poor export quality in mp4