FCP X HD footage on SD timeline

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Level 1

8 points

FCP X HD footage on SD timeline

Hi there,

I'm having a bit of a problem mixing formats in FCPX. I'm editing footage that was shot on a Panasonic camera shooting at DVCPRO 50i. So we are shooting in SD. When dropped on the timeline in FCP X the automatic settings are PALSD 720x576 DV 25i. I assume these are the correct settings to match the footage. I'm also using HD footage shot on an Osmo shot at 1080p 25fps. On the same timeline I also have to use footage shot from a different network and they shoot at 1080i HD. The primary footage is the standard def footage. When dropping the other HD footage on the timeline the quality is grossly degraded. I expect it it to not retain the same quality when dropped on an SD timeline but it is slightly blurry and much worse quality than the SD footage. I am new to FCPX so I would usually down convert before dropping into FCP7 and not have any issues.

There is probably a very simple solution to this problem but I can't seem to figure it out.

Your help would be much appreciated

Final Cut Pro X

Posted on Jul 23, 2016 4:49 AM

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Answer 1

Russ H

Level 7

22,432 points

Jul 23, 2016 5:31 AM in response to semken08

The Viewer image is a preview and not necessarily indicative of final qua;ity. If your timeline is SD and you drop HD clips on it, you'll see an orange render bar above the HD clips. Select one of those clips and render it (Control-R). Does it look OK now?

Russ

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Answer 2

semken08 Author

Level 1

8 points

Jul 23, 2016 5:57 AM in response to Russ H

Hey Russ,

Thanks for your speedy reply. The clips are fully rendered and still look degraded quality. The worst looking on the timeline is the other network footage that are MPEG4 1080i50. I converted these to apple prores before popping in FCP to see if this made any difference and the quality is exactly the same. My SD footage looks better then down converted HD footage.

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Answer 3

Russ H

Level 7

22,432 points

Jul 23, 2016 7:16 AM in response to semken08

OK.

It may well be a field order issue – since the SD (and project) are lower and the 1080 clips are upper. Try overriding the HD field dominance by selecting a 1080 clip in the Browser (with the Inspector>info set to Settings). Set Override to None. Drop into the SD timeline. Any joy?

Russ

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Answer 4

Jul 23, 2016 10:55 AM in response to semken08

In addition to what Russ said: you may try changing the viewer option from Better Performance to Better Quality.

Click the little triangle at the top right of the viewer:

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