import questions - transcode or not

Question

sampan Author

Level 1

10 points

import questions - transcode or not

i have some MTS video files.

When importing them, I could transcode to optimized media or proxy media.

In one of my videos, I didn't transcode when I imported into FCP.

The files are still QuickTime .mov format but the codec is H.264.

The file size is small compared to the file if i choose to transcode to any of the optimized or proxy media.

This bringe me to a question.

What option should I pick.

I did edit my video footage without transcoding to any Apple formats, the video is playing alright to me.

What's the benefits of transcoding?

What's the difference between the optimized and proxy media?

From the help section, OPTIMIZED FORMAT is like full res. format.

PROXY MEDIA is like medium res. format to me.

To transcoding any of these formats, this will take up a lot of spaces in my hard drive.

That's why I wonder if this's worth doing this.

Any ideas?

Thanks.

Final Cut Pro X, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Jul 12, 2011 8:20 PM

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Answer 1

Jeaux

Level 2

163 points

Jul 12, 2011 8:35 PM in response to sampan

I optimize camcorder AVCHD files to ProRes. Quicktime files from my DSLR are OK as-is.

Proxy media are small duplicates of the original that maintain a reference to the original and are more efficient for editing in FCPX, but are relatively low-quality (not that it's all that apparent in the editing environment). When it comes time to exporting the movie, FCPX uses the original files, and applies all the projects effects, sequencing, etc., to them in the final output.

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Answer 2

sampan Author

Level 1

10 points

Jul 13, 2011 8:18 PM in response to Jeaux

jeaux, thanks for your answer.

if you don't mind, can i ask you further? Most people in the web forum said it's good

to transcode to ProRes format. I didn't transcode my footage in import. I basically imported my MTS files

and started editing. Is this something not good to do?

Because of my limited disk spaces, I will use proxy media if I choose to transcode. This media are smaller than optimized media. You said this media formats will be changed to original files when I export the movie after editing. Is this correct? I'm new to this video world, this sounds strange to me.

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Answer 3

hafken

Level 4

1,225 points

Jul 14, 2011 5:11 AM in response to sampan

It's fine to edit with the MTS files if your computer can handle it. People recommend prores because it will greatly improve performance compared to editing in "delivery" codecs such as h264, and you don't lose quality when editing. The trade-off is hard drive space. Behind the scenes, anything that needs to be rendered will end up as prores 422 anyway. (unless you chose something else, but all other choices are even larger in size).

Sounds to me like you should give proxy media a try if you encounter any performance issues. As Jeaux said, when you export the movie it will use the original source media, not the proxy media when rendering to whatever final format you choose.

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Answer 4

Jeaux

Level 2

163 points

Jul 14, 2011 3:07 PM in response to sampan

Sampan, hafken covered it.

The proxy files aren't "changed" to original files... they're only used as a reference (the effects, transitions, etc in your timeline) by FCPX to your original media. The data from your timeline is then applied to the original and exported as a NEW movie file, leaving both your proxies and the original footage intact.

I have lots of disc space on my external drive for optimized files, and I haven't done a proxy project yet. But I'm wondering what, if any, downside there would be to using proxies, other than making the final export take longer. Sounds like a way to get the best performance.

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Answer 5

sampan Author

Level 1

10 points

Jul 14, 2011 8:24 PM in response to sampan

thanks hafken & jeaux,

i think i will give it a try to proxy media in my next project.

at the same time, see how my current projects will turn out after being exported.

new to FCP and all these transcode things. will see.

Thanks.

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Answer 6

Oct 14, 2011 11:07 AM in response to sampan

I have been using the proxy video to edit and it tends to work faster. One small issue is that before you export, you have to go back into your preferences menu and uncheck proxy media and recheck real media. If you don't Final Cut Pro will render with the proxy media and it doesn't look very good. This seems like it's a bug but I had to switch to get a better quality output.

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