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Jagged Edges/Aliasing Render Issues Downconverting from HD to SD in FCPX

Hi Guys - I've finally made the jump from FCP7 to FCPX and have had a pleasant experience so far until now. I do a lot of HD to SD down-conversions after my editing is complete. As you can see from the screenshots below, I'm seeing aliasing issues on my rendered footage.

FCP7 (perfect) : http://i.imgur.com/mJo9F7d.jpg

FCPX (aliasing) : http://i.imgur.com/kbO8Pqa.jpg

On FCP7 I would simply go to the Sequence settings and change the Field Dominance setting to NONE and continue with exporting the HD timeline to Compressor and using the 90 min DVD setting and my rendered footage would look great!

I cannot seem to find a way to do this in FCPX. I know you can set the clips' Field Dominance "Override" setting to None Set, Upper Field, Lower Field and Progressive. I've tried all 4 options and none seem to fix the issue. Even when I open Compressor and view the exported timeline from FCPX, it states that it is Upper Level eventhough I've changed the clips to the other 3 settings.

Any ideas how to fix this? Am I missing something? Is there something similiar to FCP7's way?

Thanks.

Final Cut Pro X

Posted on Mar 4, 2013 11:37 PM

46 replies

mosdefff Author

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Mar 5, 2013 11:09 AM in response to Tom Wolsky

I'm doing my menus and burning from Adobe Encore. I use FCP/Compressor to create the MPEG-2 and AC3 files to import into Encore.

Yes Compressor 4 with FCPX and Compressor 3 with FCP7 - sorry.

You want me to change the project settings to progressive when the footage was shot in 1080i?

mosdefff Author

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Mar 5, 2013 11:11 AM in response to mosdefff

Made the changes as you specified, exported out same way and same result 😟

mosdefff Author

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Mar 5, 2013 11:23 AM in response to mosdefff

Also after turning on "Show both fields" - I can see the interlacing issue as shown in the screenshots. So does that mean it is in the original media, FCPX issue, or Compressor, or all of them?

Off : http://i.imgur.com/nu9wWIN.jpg

On : http://i.imgur.com/9Kaas9g.jpg

Tom Wolsky

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Mar 5, 2013 11:33 AM in response to mosdefff

I'm kind of lost here. Your video is HD to start right? And you're editing in an HD project right? And what you did in FCP7 was to change the sequence field order to none. Changing the project field order to progressive does exactly the same thing. The master file that you export in HD is progressive and has no interlacing. You should confirm this in the QT player before further encoding.

mosdefff Author

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Mar 5, 2013 11:44 AM in response to Tom Wolsky

Yes video is 1080i HD in a HD project.

Yes in FCP7 I would change the Field Dominance to NONE and this would fix the issue when viewing the rendered file out on the monitor and TV.

- I've changed the project as you stated to 1080p in FCPX and rendered - no dice.

- Kept it 1080p and changed all clips to Field Dominance to progressive - no dice.

- Switched back to the original settings of 1080i and changed Field Dominance to Upper - no dice.

- Changed Field Dominance to Lower - no dice.

All renders show the same issue. I confirm on DVD-TV and on monitor with MPEG Steamclip from the m2v.

mosdefff Author

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Mar 5, 2013 12:13 PM in response to mosdefff

I've just started a new project with new footage.

FCPX Project Settings:

Clip Settings:

Shown on FCPX Viewer:

Rendered File (same result):

Tom Wolsky

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152,809 points

Mar 5, 2013 12:02 PM in response to mosdefff

Sorry I can't help you. This is not the result I'm seeing. If I have an HD interlaced project with interlaced media and export a master file I get an interlaced output like this

which is clearly interlaced. If I change the project properties to progressive as I showed you and export the same file I get a progressive output like this

This is not interlaced, showing more motion blur. This is exactly the same procedure as in legacy FCP. I can't explain why you would be getting a different result in your master file exports.

mosdefff Author

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Mar 5, 2013 12:06 PM in response to mosdefff

Create the same project in FCP7 and just change this : http://i.imgur.com/nZIM6kD.jpg

And all is fine.

I don't understand 😢

mosdefff Author

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Mar 5, 2013 12:09 PM in response to Tom Wolsky

I'm not rendering to a Master File, I'm rendering/transcoding directly to a Compressor DVD-SD setting.

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

152,809 points

Mar 5, 2013 12:31 PM in response to mosdefff

I wouldn't do that in any version of FCP. Export a master file. Check it and take it to Compressor.

P.S. If you are going direct to Compressor make sure you're not using a setting that's going to reinterlace the video as it scales it down.

Message was edited by: Tom Wolsky

mosdefff Author

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Mar 5, 2013 12:35 PM in response to Tom Wolsky

That's double the work and time unfortunately.

It just baffles me how there is no setting for the entire project to change the Field Dominance.

Update:

I just rendered to Master file and video looks fine (no interlacing).

Dropped it into Compressor and transcoded video shows interlacing. 😟

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

152,809 points

Mar 5, 2013 12:42 PM in response to mosdefff

It just baffles me how there is no setting for the entire project to change the Field Dominance.

I showed it to you. That changes the field dominance from interlaced to progressive, setting it to 1080p is the equivalent of setting the field order in FCP7 to None.

There is no upper and lower because that's determined by the format. You can change the field order of individual clips. That option is available in the event the field order was somehow reversed.

That's double the work and time unfortunately.

This has always been the case and has always been the recommended procedure. Nothing wrong with using Compressor settings, just make sure you have the correct custom setting to make a progressive DVD.

mosdefff Author

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Mar 5, 2013 12:49 PM in response to Tom Wolsky

The client would also need a progressive DVD player though and I cannot guarantee each client will have that.

They also like to watch the DVDs on their laptops and desktops, which again would show interlacing, since it is not on a TV.

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

152,809 points

Mar 5, 2013 12:54 PM in response to mosdefff

All DVD players can play progressive video. Every Hollywood DVD is progressive. Not sure what the second paragraph means. If the material is progressive why would it suddenly be interlaced on your computer screen.

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

152,809 points

Mar 5, 2013 12:57 PM in response to mosdefff

Wait a second. Is your media 1080i to start or 720p to start?

Why are you in a 720p project if your media isn't 720p?

What does Rendered File mean? You mean you're seeing this in the FCP viewer after you render your media in FCP? That looks like scaled interlaced media. Is your media interlaced or not? It can't be 720 interlaced. There's no such thing.

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Jagged Edges/Aliasing Render Issues Downconverting from HD to SD in FCPX