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Problem:

• In Windows I export from Sony Vegas to AVI (CineForm).  In OS X I read the file into FCP and apply the SmoothCam effect, then export to ProRes.  In Windows, Sony Vegas, I replace the original file with the smoothed one.  The levels/gamma are wrong.

Solution (Search):

• Sony Vegas forum http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/forums/ShowMessage.asp?ForumID=4&MessageID=718371
  • Use DNxHD
    •  Couple of tips re DNxHD:  709 color level assumes 16-235, and RGB assumes 0-255.
  • Force it back again: www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/gamma_mac_pc.html
    • But this presumably implies getting re-quantized twice (the roundtrip issue and the forcing), which for 8-bit footage I imagine could reduce the quality (banding).
• Uncertainties
  • Where and how does this gamma get applied?  In FCP I didn’t (knowingly) alter the levels (eg until it looked right), I just applied the SmoothCam filter.  So I guess it would look wrong on the (pre-SnowLeopard) Mac but I wouldn’t care.  Wouldn’t FCP then export back whatever it got but smoothed?  This one is really confusing.    Experiments needed (when I get time…) I guess.

http://www.windowsitpro.com/article/file-systems/understanding-file-size-limits-on-ntfs-and-fat.aspx

• FAT32 file-size limit is (2^32)-1 bytes, or one byte less than a full 4GB.
• FAT32 has a 2TB limit on partition size.
  • Whereas FAT16 has a 4GB limit on partition size.
• The file system is not the only source of constraint:
  • Windows XP and Windows 2000 limit partition creation to no larger than 32GB on FAT32. This limitation is by design: Microsoft wants you to use NTFS for large drives.
  • Applications could potentially impose their own limits

http://www.g-technology.com/Support/Pdf/G-RAID-mini-Manual.pdf

• The Microsoft OS imposed limit of 32GB can be side-stepped by formatting instead from the Apple Mac OS (OS X).

To export from Final Cut to WMV, this can’t be done natively, you need to install a third-party app such as flip4mac (”Studio” or greater).

“When you do install something like flip4mac you will be able to export from FCP using quicktime conversion and choose the options for WMV” or can export a QuickTime (self-contained) and use a separate app (incl. QT Pro) to convert it [http://www.iov.co.uk/showarticle.pl?ft=0;id=61821;n=0]

• The mix&match feature of the Avid (e.g. MC4) assumes bringing in footage in corresponding projects. After that, you can instantly access that footage from any other project (or project type), and playback in real-time
• http://lfhd.net/2009/10/01/avid-mc-4-0-inside-look-at-mix-match
  • Your sequence setting is what you tell it.  1080i, 720p, 525i…whathaveyou.  And whatever clip you add to that that ISN’T that format, gets scaled to that format…using a filter called a MOTION ADAPTER.  This add interpolation to match the sequence settings, and this is added automatically when you add new footage that doesn’t match.  And there are all sorts of interpolation modes…these are all user selectable.  AND you can change your sequence settings to match something else later.
    
  • If you want the interpolation to better then you can “promote” the motion adapter to a full blown TIME WARP (that has been there for many years) and the footage will benefit more.
  • Works in software-only (no Mojo required) and takes advantage of multi-core (e.g. 8 core)
  • Avid’s ‘open timeline’ implementation is much better than FCP’s.  Avid MC automatically adds a plugin that is designed to do this upscale in very smart ways. It isn’t just scaling it and then repeating a frame.
  • The editor does need to have certain “switches “ turned on to see the highest quality output, such as: -Full Quality 10bit output, -HQ RT Scaling Decoder, -Advanced Polyphase image interpolation.
• For example: “you will have to import NTSC clips in an NTSC project and 720p60 clips in a 720p60 project. If you try to import 720p60 files into a 30i project, you will be downconverting upon import, which is not as nice, and will not be able to handle certain metadata correctly”
  

When to use each kind of DNxHD format?

•  [http://community.avid.com/forums/p/17160/96889.aspx#96889]
  • “Use DNX 185 for all your transcoding, consolidating and rendering in AXP when working with 1080i/50″

Eugenia recommended ([http://eugenia.gnomefiles.org/2008/09/15/prores-for-windows/] as of September 2008) DNxHD and ProRes, among other codecs, for transfer between PC and Mac.   She also advises Lagarith for transfer to/from linux, though it sounds slightly tricky.According to BobRusso (Applications Specialist at Avid) [http://community.avid.com/forums/p/62217/407573.aspx#407573]:<<< 

You can install the ProRes decoder on a system without FCP:

• http://support.apple.com/downloads/Apple_ProRes_QuickTime_Decoder_1_0_for_Mac

• If you have FCP, even on another system, you can in principle just drop the codecs into your Library>Quicktime folder.

Make sure you have the latest version of the Avid codecs. They can be downloaded here:

• http://www.avid.com/red/AvidCodecsLE_DMG_1.10.zip

I suggest using MPEG Streamclip to convert the files: http://www.squared5.com

>>> 

Gleaned from Philip Bloom’s presentation on using a 30p native cam to produce to other standards (e.g. 24p):

• Edit native, convert the edit result, not the source (rushes). Saves render time (& space)
• Don’t edit H264 - current machines are not fast enough to avoid jerkiness.
  • Before edit, convert to ProRes (standard is sufficient, no need for HQ).  If disk space at a premium then could instead use XDCAM EX format but that is not compatible with Cinema Tools.
    • Conversion to ProRes is done twice as fast by Mpeg StreamClip (free) than by Compressor.
      • Mpeg StreamClip:
        • [File > Open Files, File> Export to QuickTime, choose format ProRes 422, change top-slider to Full 100% Quality (default is less)
        • Can also use it to batch-convert, result can be either separate files or all concatenated in sequence.
• (DO THE EDIT)
• FrameRate Conversion:
  • Simplest: speed change - change the timebase (the rate at which the existing frames are presented).  OK when speed change does not matter (e.g. static scene).
    • Can be done e.g. via Cinema Tools.
      • Stages: Analysis then select desired new framerate then Conform.
      • (or [Cinema Tools: File > Batch Conform],  select a folder containing set of files, select any example file in it, Open, change speed, go: all the files are done)
  • Speed-preserving frameRate conversion can be done by Compressor or by JES Deinterlacer (free)
    • Compressor
      • Open Compressor
      • Drag file to job-strip
      • Create a Setting if needed
      • Geometry (5th icon along) - set Frame Size to “100% of source” (to ensure Compressor setting doesn’t re-scale)
      • Frame Controls: Unlock
      • (ignore settings that don’t apply e.g. resize method)
      • Rate Conversion: choose the fastest you can get away with
      • It is not compulsory to set a Destination.
        • (what happens if not? same directory as source?  what filename gets generated)
          • If no destination specified then file goes to same directory, auto-named as the original filename plus the name of the export format Setting.  Example: From TRV 12-39 AvidGrade.mov it generated TRV 12-39 AvidGrade-QT ProRes Interlaced.mov, where QT ProRes Interlaced was a compression setting (previously defined by myself).  Incidentally the QT-DV was 35MB, the generated QT-ProRes was 47MB.
    • JES Deinterlacer
      • Choose >  (input your file)
      • Output > Compressor > Export
        • (nothing to do with Apple’s Compressor, at least I assume…)