fromhaleiwa
Level 1 (4 points)
Mac OS X

Q: How do I convert all my HDR footage from H.264 to AIC?

Hi everyone.

I am using FCP 7 and need to edit a piece with HDR footage H.264 ..I read on the forum that I need to convert to AIC.. ( I am getting a lot of dropped frames on the original format).. Now, I downloaded the Mpeg Streamclip, but I have a lot of clips to convert to AIC and it is taking too long and a whole lot more space.

Question: since my output is the web, can I lower the quality of the compression to 50% to make the whole process faster?

Any suggestions besides converting to AIC so I can edit faster ? Can I do this on the compressor?  I never used it..

Thanks in advance

MacBook Pro (15-inch Early 2011), Mac OS X (10.7.2)

Posted on Feb 1, 2016 1:57 AM

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fromhaleiwa

Q: How do I convert all my HDR footage from H.264 to AIC?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Shane Ross,Helpful

    Shane Ross Shane Ross Feb 1, 2016 9:30 AM in response to fromhaleiwa
    Level 8 (43,004 points)
    Feb 1, 2016 9:30 AM in response to fromhaleiwa

    Wherever you saw that you should convert to AIC is WRONG!  Sorry, that's a HORRIBLE codec. Noisy, icky.  No no no. You need to convert to ProRes 422. And there's no way to lower the data rate on that format either. FCP is very finicky about the exact formats it works with.  The file sizes will increase, by a lot....fair warning.

     

    Compressor will do this.

  • by fromhaleiwa,

    fromhaleiwa fromhaleiwa Feb 1, 2016 5:23 PM in response to Shane Ross
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Feb 1, 2016 5:23 PM in response to Shane Ross

    Thanks Shane!

    Taking a step back..do you think this ( converting to ProRes) is the most effective way so I can edit my HDR piece in FCP 7, without so many dropped frames?

  • by fromhaleiwa,

    fromhaleiwa fromhaleiwa Feb 1, 2016 6:36 PM in response to Shane Ross
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Feb 1, 2016 6:36 PM in response to Shane Ross

    Sorry to bug , but one last question: ProRes LT sharp enough for Web?

    Forget about the previous question ...

    Thanks again

  • by Shane Ross,Helpful

    Shane Ross Shane Ross Feb 2, 2016 4:47 PM in response to fromhaleiwa
    Level 8 (43,004 points)
    Feb 2, 2016 4:47 PM in response to fromhaleiwa

    ProRes LT is great for editing, but you won't be posting that format to the web. You'll compress back to H.264 for web delivery. But it's great for editing something destined for the web, yes.

  • by Shane Ross,

    Shane Ross Shane Ross Feb 3, 2016 5:48 PM in response to fromhaleiwa
    Level 8 (43,004 points)
    Feb 3, 2016 5:48 PM in response to fromhaleiwa

    With FCP, your options are few. It doesn't work with H.264, so you need to convert it to an editing codec. The best ones are ProRes. The best for your situation would be ProRes LT.  If you want to edit WITHOUT converting, you need to look at current editing apps, like FCX or Premiere Pro.

  • by Shane Ross,

    Shane Ross Shane Ross Feb 3, 2016 5:49 PM in response to fromhaleiwa
    Level 8 (43,004 points)
    Feb 3, 2016 5:49 PM in response to fromhaleiwa

    "ProRes LT sharp enough for Web?"

     

    More than enough. It's fine for broadcast. BUT, as I said, the web doesn't play ProRes...the data rate is too high. You'll need to encode to H.264 again. Which is why I'm saying it might be best to use an editing app that allows you to edit your H.264 originals without converting, until you deliver.

  • by fromhaleiwa,

    fromhaleiwa fromhaleiwa Feb 3, 2016 10:58 PM in response to Shane Ross
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Feb 3, 2016 10:58 PM in response to Shane Ross

    Thanks so much for all the info! Really appreciated!