How to import high quality video into FCP Studio

Question

How to import high quality video into FCP Studio

I used Mac The Ripper to extract video off of some DVDs, that were NTSC.

I then used compressor to match the frame rate of my timeline, 59.94.

The video never looked great, even after I de-interlaced it. But after using compressor, this is the video noise I ended up with.

Is there a good way to extract from DVDs. What are the best settings in Compressor to get the best results?

My compressor settings:

File Extension: mov

Estimated file size: 2.75 GB/hour of source

Audio: multi-track passthrough

Video Encoder

Format: QT

Width: 640

Height: 426

Pixel aspect ratio: Square

Crop: None

Padding: None

Frame rate: 59.94

Frame Controls: Automatically selected: Off

Codec Type: MPEG-4 Video

Multi-pass: Off, frame reorder: Off

Pixel depth: 24

Spatial quality: 100

Min. Spatial quality: 25

Key frame interval: 24

Temporal quality: 50

Min. temporal quality: 25

Average data rate: 6.554 (Mbps)

Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.5.8), FCS 2

Posted on Oct 10, 2013 2:31 PM

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Answer 1

RatVega™

Level 4

2,005 points

Oct 10, 2013 3:32 PM in response to LawrenceFerr01

"High Quality" is always a relative term, but the simple fact is that SD compressed/decompressed to/from MPEG-2 isn't likely to get passed "acceptable."

Since I'm sure you own the copyright for the DVD product you're ripping, I'd suggest going back to the source footage.

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Answer 2

Oct 10, 2013 3:59 PM in response to RatVega™

I do not own the work, yet have releases for the DVDs. It would be too much to ask the owner to provide orginals of the many clips included in the DVD, assuming he still has them.

Also, there is no need to own copyright when you are doing documetnary work. Thankfully that law, regarding Fair Use was passed recently.

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Answer 3

Shane Ross

Level 8

43,110 points

Oct 10, 2013 4:38 PM in response to LawrenceFerr01

>Also, there is no need to own copyright when you are doing documetnary work. Thankfully that law, regarding Fair Use was passed recently.

I'm sorry...I nearly fell out of my chair when I saw that. You can't be cavalier about this. Get a lawyer...a fair use lawyer. One cannot simply grab any footage they want and use it in a doc and call it "fair use." You need to make sure you are protected on that. TRUST ME...I've been cutting docs for most of my professional career, and it isn't that easy. Yes, you can do it, but there are some restrictions. I've been down this road quite often.

Mac The Ripper is for converting the DVDs to H.264 for viewing...not for editing. For that you use MPEG STREAMCLIP, and convert to DV50. Then you take that into Compressor for upconversion...or Adobe Premiere Pro (does better than After Effects). Upconvert with those tools.

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Answer 4

Oct 11, 2013 2:28 AM in response to LawrenceFerr01

Technically he's correct. You don't have to "own" copyright ... but you do have to obtain a license from the copyright holder in order to use the work.

-DH

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Answer 5

Oct 11, 2013 2:14 PM in response to Shane Ross

Thanks so much for you help! Your the best!

I will try MPEG STREAMCLIP again. My earlier version does not seem to be working.

The previous poster stated I needed to be the owner to rip DVDs. Yet, I just wanted to point out that there are two instances where you actually do not need to own copyright. As I mentioned I have the releases from the copyright owners. And mentioning Fair Use was inportant to know about as well. But you're right, not something to be cavalier about.

Definitely, what constitues Fair Use should be left to attorneys. There are very specific criteria that designates what is and what is not Fair Use. Happily the law has been recently changed so film makers doing documetnary work can editorialize, and commnet under the Fair Use doctraine and ripping DVDs under this doctraine is not punishable.

The courts are broadly interperting the law, and as this link shows, even Yoko Ono couldn't stop a film maker from using IMAGINE, by John Lennon.

http://reporter.blogs.com/thresq/2008/06/yoko-ono-denied.htmlhttp://

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