Footage on external monitor gets pixelated

Question

Level 1

13 points

Footage on external monitor gets pixelated

Hi,

We have recently bought Sony HXR-NX70E cameras and have run into a problem editing the footage in FCP7.

After ingesting the footage via log and transfer, the footage looks fine within FCP, however, when previewing the footage on an external monitor, any footage that is not still (for example panning) the footage gets pixelated. This is also happens after exporting the files and playing them on the external monitor.

The sequence preset is set to XDCAM HD422 1080i50 and the capture format on the camera is set to 1080/50i (HQ).

Any suggestions as to what may be causing this and how to resolve it would be greatly appreciated!

Final Cut Pro 7, Mac OS X (10.6.4)

Posted on Jan 13, 2014 4:52 AM

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Answer 1

Studio X

Level 7

27,229 points

Jan 13, 2014 7:40 AM in response to rvdb86

You were not clear - are you converting the material to ProRes when ingesting or editing AVCHD on a prores timeline?

If AVCHD, convert to ProRes before you edit.

Also, are you using QT X or QT 7 to view the output images?

If X, try 7.

x

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Answer 2

rvdb86 Author

Level 1

13 points

Jan 13, 2014 8:02 AM in response to Studio X

Hi,

Sorry if I was unclear.

At the moment we are converting the footage to ProRes using a external software so that we can edit without the pixelation problem. However, I am looking for a solution that will allow us to import that footage into FCP without doing the conversion process first. With all our other cameras we can just take log and transfer the clips into FCP with no problem.

I am not using quicktime to view the files. We have broadcast standard Plura monitors connected to the macs to preview the footage on the timeline, and this is where we see the video pixelated.

I hope I have been more clear in my explanation.

thanks!

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Answer 3

Studio X

Level 7

27,229 points

Jan 13, 2014 9:26 AM in response to rvdb86

At the moment we are converting the footage to ProRes using a external software ...

What software is that?

I am not using quicktime to view the files. We have broadcast standard Plura monitors connected to the macs to preview the footage on the timeline, and this is where we see the video pixelated.

Are these being fed through a 3rd party card (Kona, Decklink, Matrox) or a direct feed off of the computer video card? If a direct feed off of the video card, you need another way to verify the quality of the image.

x

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Answer 4

Jan 13, 2014 11:08 AM in response to Studio X

are you sure you mean pixelated? Could be interlacing artifacts if field dominance is not correct thru the workflow.

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Answer 5

rvdb86 Author

Level 1

13 points

Jan 23, 2014 6:58 AM in response to Michael Grenadier

@Studio X, I export the files to QuickTime ProRes and play them in Quicktime, but I still get pixilated output. I have to point out that not all the footage is pixilated, only when there is movement in the frame. If I lower the playback quality it resolves the problem in the external monitor preview, however when I export the file and play in Quicktime the problem returns.

@Michael Grenadier, I thought this might have been a problem of field dominance, but I tried Upper and Lower field and on both settings I get the same problem.

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Answer 6

Jan 23, 2014 7:21 AM in response to rvdb86

Want to send me a short clip with a lot of movement. My email is mgrenadier@gmail.com

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