FCPX DVD export bad quality.

If you can post a short original file some place like dropbox we could make some tests.

I don't have an interlaced file to test.

I did create an interlaced SD project, add titles and a few images. Exported to DVD and I do NOT see these artifacts. The image looks soft, as expected, on my mac screen.

Just to confirm, can you please post a screenshot of the Inspector for the project? Does it look anything like this?

Here's a link to an original source file in dropbox for you Dropbox - 2005-01-01 05_16_14.mov

The project was shot using a Sony 7Z and a Sony A1, both using miniDV tapes that when the captured via FCP. Old kit!

The inspector for the project looks exactly like that. Screenshot attached -

I'll have a go at Tom's 10.2.3 trial suggestion today

evwilko wrote:

Louis are you able to share an example so i can compare the results to what I've been getting?

Thanks!

Here is a screenshot one of the worst images of the DVD playing in VLC.

This is when the camera is doing a quick zoom. Most of them were not nearly as bad.

DVD Player and Quicktime Player do not show this.Maybe they deinterlace on the fly?

(DVD Player blocks making screenshots, at least in the straightforward command-shift-4 way).

This one is more typical:

Okay thanks. I'll give that a go tomorrow. Just to check, I went with Pro Res 422 as it had source written next to it so I was assuming that was the right choice - was it? Or should I be using a different option?

I took a screenshot.

I really appreciate all of the advice you guys are giving me. Thanks a lot.

What version are you using?

I seem to recall this problem being one of things fixed in one of the 10.3.* updates.

Edit: apparently, fixes were introduced in 10.3.3:

Final Cut Pro X release notes - Apple Support

If a library won't update in Final Cut Pro X 10.3 - Apple Support

This page has a link to a trial version of pre-10.3 FCP. You would need to export a master file from the current version of your project and bring it into the trial version of the earlier software. This was reported earlier in the thread as being successful.

Same issue here. Been a faithful user of FCPX for some time and push larger projects out to customers a few times a year on DVD (that's what format they want). Went through my normal sequence to share to DVD (via the share menu) and got horrendous results. Simply unusable where normally I have no issue (720x480 is the current compressor output maximum quality, non adjustable output for DVD if you are curious which I am unsure if this was higher prior the last update). It's like an additional overlay layer of pixels was formed over the entire project, but most noticeable over any black screens (lets call this the "grime layer"). No problem, I'll export out a file and burn with another product. Nope, export as quicktime trashed the footage of specifically one of the 4 cameras used in the project. Most scenes it's used in become pixelated and glitchy (Panasonic AC-160 footage which I've used for 5 years now without issue prior). Cannot playback on the computer or burn a usable dvd without this constant glitch present from that specific footage. Note that the project in the timeline is free of errors or any indication of a problem, plays flawlessly. No problem, I'll bite the bullet and go Bluray, bump my footage quality up, not make my customers very happy, but get this done. Export clarity is notably clearer as would be expected going to HD, pixelation is gone on the panasonic footage, but the grime layer has returned. Ok, lets share from FCPX directly to compressor using the menu command and burn a Bluray out of there. Nope - grime layer returns. Checked multiple dvd players to verify not issue there.

In short, I have a 2 hour project I need 65 copies of in a week and I have no way to create a usable export of it. I have uninstalled and reinstalled FCPX 3 times as other threads have suggested. I am currently 85% through exporting a Master file of the project in Apple Prores 422 and hope to have something glitch free on the other end to try using, sigh, Toast to burn to something without the Grime layer returning.....

Running a mid 2011 27 iMac (yeah I know, it's probably time for an upgrade...)

3.4 GHz Core i7

16 GB 1333 Mhz DDR3 Ram

AMD Radeon HD 6970M 2048 MB graphics

FCPX 10.3.1

Compressor 4.3

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated .

Thanks,

Karl

Group Effort Production

Karl,

Seems like you have pretty much covered all the usual suspects.

My system does not produce the "grime layer" as some users experience.

Can you post a screen shot please?

My suggestion is to create a new Project with all settings matching the DVD standard in use. Copy/Paste the timeline.

Al

In short, I have a 2 hour project I need 65 copies of in a week and I have no way to create a usable export of it.

Export as ProRes 422 and then use another app to do the encoding for DVD - Toast, Adobe Media Encoder if you have the Creative Suite, etc. That's what I would do if I needed 65 copies in a week.

Padraig, I am having problems too. Marcos directed me to your issue. I spoke to a very helpful Apple FCP advisor who sent me a 30 day trial of an older version of FCP to determine whether the upgrade had caused the issues. I filmed, edited and burned a new project yesterday using the old version and the results were as they should be. The advisor has reported these findings to the software engineers so hopefully we will get a fix.

Bill

I was having these problems with DVD quality (which began with 10.3). I was hopeful that the update to 10.3.2 was going to fix it. Sadly, it didn't. I've tried many different things, and can't figure it out. Same thing is happening on home computer and work computer.

I'm encountering the same problem here too. I've got a client waiting on 50 copies of a project and I'm really not sure what to do. I was also having trouble with the burner in my MacBook which appears to be dead. I tried creating a disk image for the project and then burning on a different computer and the result was a 'grime layer' as described by other users. It looks like extreme pixellation with giant squares across the image and lines. I initially thought the problem was caused by the disk image creation process but I have now tried exporting straight to disk from FCPX on a third computer and had the same result. Very frustrating! With the burner on my own machine not working I'm loathe to buy new software that I can't run on my own machine. I'm surprised that this hasn't been fixed yet if other people have been experiencing the problem for some time now.

I'm working in 10.3.4 which I believe to be the most up to date. I've also been using a trial version downloaded to a separate computer today and had the same problem.

Likewise, I'm experiencing the same problem in each of the output options I've tried in Compressor which is version 4.3.2 even when creating versions like .mov files rather than burning to disc as I had been trying to burn off a high res file to try burning to disc with alternative software.

Feeling pretty stuck at the moment as I'm working through every alternative method I can think of. The quality is fine in the project itself but looks terrible when exported. Not a problem I've had before and it's shot with a cameras I use regularly. I've burned projects of this type to disc before now with no problems.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. So far I've tried exporting directly to disk through fcpx on two different computers, creating a disk image through fcpx an burning that to disk, exporting for dvd through compressor and exporting a high res .mov through compressor to burn elsewhere (I need a different machine for the physical burning part of the job as my superdrive is broken - this should only affect physical burning and not exports though)

Sorry Tom I'm not sure I fully understand your question. Are you suggesting that I get a trial version of an early version of the software? Where could I find that and would my project edited in the up to date version work through an earlier version?

I've not tried a master file yet as it was looking to be about 19GB when finished and I need to get it smaller to fit on DVD. I was also wary of how much time that might take, but I can certainly give it a try. (I've found that export options seem much more limited since FCP became FCPX, which is why I purchased Compressor, but I do find exporting to be a dark art that I've never fully managed to understand. If I were to export a master file, how would you then suggest compressing it for DVD?

I'd expect a bit of a drop in visual quality to squeeze onto disks but what I'm experiencing is unusable. Admittedly, this is a live recording of a play, so longer than any of the usual projects I export, but it's not the first I've done so I know it is possible.... somehow!

Thanks for your help!