A few questions for ProX2

[semper_fitz]

Now that I finally registered, I have a few questions I've been looking for answers to.

1. I am editing video to be put onto standard defintion cable television. The camera I get my footage from is a sony handycam memory hd(will list the model when I get home). I am currrently using prox2 to render it into a mpeg2 first, then I am using the mpeg2 to work with as a project. When I finish the project I make it into a Image file then burn to DVD using IMG Burn. I've tried burning to disk with prox2 with limited success. It never fails to make an image file though. I'd use Nero, but IMG Burn is free and all of my church's budget goes to the cable network, I spend out of my own pocket for everything else. My question is, how much quality am I losing by using this workflow? I'd give more info as far as EXACTLY which options/file types I use in my current workflow, but I am at work and do not know off the top of my head.

2. By taking my original HD footage (imported through a USB using the Sony Handycam utility, I wish I had a camera with a firewire but I got this one on loan) and immediately lowering it to standard definition, am I re-rendering it when I make my final image file? I do this because when I am editing my video using the original HD footage, the playback in "project" is glitchy. By changing it first I can add multiple filters and overlays without much lag while viewing it in "project."

I left out some things here because I am not at home, and cannot see what I am talking about. When I get home I will update with another post more thoroughly. I am thoroughly NOOB, though improving, about all of this and to this point I am completely self-taught.
I guess what I am looking for is a better workflow for getting my HD down to standard television without losing alot of quality, and going to image file to avoid wasting dvd's using the prox2 burn module.

[Ken Berry]

Going from HD to SD will inevitably involve a big hit in terms of quality loss, whether your camcorder is an AVCHD or HDV model. But essentially you will be going from either 1920 x 1080 or 1440 x 1080 down to 720 x 480 and dropping the bitrate (which also determines quality) from probably around17,000 kbps (or 25,000 kbps if HDV) to something below 9000. But of course you have no alternative if you are on SD TV. And down-conversion in the camcorder itself is probably best.

Depending on the make and model of your camcorder, firewire usually only applies to HDV (and SD mini-DV) cameras.

I am not certain, though, that you are doing the down-conversion to SD in the camera, though since you say you use X2 to produce an mpeg-2 which you then edit. But its quality will depend on the settings you used for that render, and you have not given those to us.

However, when you edit that new mpeg-2 and then produce an ISO file, a further render will take place. But X2 (likes its predecessors and successor) has a facility called SmartRender, which only renders that part of an mpeg-2 which have actually been edited e.g. with a filter applied or the area around transitions.) That is to maintain the quality of the rest of the mpeg-2.

When you actually burn your ISO image file to a DVD, no further conversion takes place: you are merely transferring an already processed and rendered image file to disc.

[semper_fitz]

OK. The camera is a sony HDR-SR10. I've just went over the entire manual and there is no option to down convert on the camera. But, I did change the settings so that from this Sunday forward I will be recording in SD HQ (High Quality). Right now I am converting last weeks footage to mpeg2 with the Sony PMB app that comes with the camera, maybe this will do a better job of down converting, regardless, from now on I will not need to do this because I will just record in the correct format.

Thanx for the quick reply, Ken. This forum is uber-useful.