Project Settings - Very confusing

[RDK45]

Folks....I just reviewed the 2006 discussion of Lower Field First, Upper Field First and Frame Based (http://forum.corel.com/EN/viewtopic.php?p=88525). Nice discussion, but it does not address current sources of video.

For example, we have video from Nikon DSLR's, Sony DCR-HC96E video camera, Panasonic Lunix, GoPro sport camera and old VHS tapes. What setting should be used when mixing these sources??

OK, more details and what VS tells me when I drop a video on the time line (Preferences "Show message when inserting video on timeline" turned on):

• 1. GoPro to PC copied from SD Card
  MPEG-4 Files
  24 bits, 1280 x 960, 15 fps
  Frame-based
  H.264 Main Profile Video: 12000 Kbps
  48000 Hz, 16 Bit, Stereo
  MPEG AAC Audio: 128 Kbps
  
  2. Nikon DSLR to PC copied from SD Card
  No project setting indicated when dropping the video on the
  time line. Properties say "Quicktime Movie 1280x720 24 bit, 25 fps
  
  3. Panasonic Lunix to PC copied from SD Card
  MPEG-4 Files
  24 bits, 1920 x 1080, 25 fps
  Frame-based
  H.264 Baseline Profile Video: 23999 Kbps, 16:9
  48000 Hz, 16 Bit, Stereo
  MPEG AAC Audio: 128 Kbps
  
  4. Sony DCR-HC96E to PC via firewire
  Microsoft AVI files
  24 bits, 720 x 576, 16:9, 25 fps
  Lower Field First
  DV Video Encoder -- type 2
  PCM, 32.000 kHz, 16 Bit, Stereo
  
  5. VCR Tapes to PC via Sony DCS-HC96e and firewire
  Microsoft AVI files
  24 bits, 720 x 576, 16:9, 25 fps
  Lower Field First
  DV Video Encoder -- type 2
  PCM, 32.000 kHz, 16 Bit, Stereo

And then there is the case where simple photos are also included in the project.

Specific example: I have a recent project with photos, Sony DCS-HC96E AVI video (#4 above) and Nikon DSLR MOV video (#2 above). What project setting should I use? What rendering settings should I use for creating a finished project AVI? Or a DVD MPG file?

And to further confuse the issue I suppose we also have video from our Android phones and tablets.

Thanks.....RDK45

[Ken Berry]

That discussion is still relevant, particularly because of your mix of formats. These days, just about all video is Upper Field First or Progressive/Frame Based (Progressive and frame based are essentially the same thing...) The only Lower Field First video comes in the format you have -- DV/AVI from DV cameras or capture devices which capture from old analogue tapes using the DV/AVI format.

But essentially, if you have all of these sources, there will be problems if you mix them since LFF and UFF video don't mix well. Jagged horizontal or vertical edges and slightly jerky movements, particularly in fast sequences, would be common. So you will have to decide how much material comes from one source or the other, and go with that as the dominant source. In other words, if more than half of your project, or the really important bits, are UFF, then go with that and just be prepared for the LFF to look not so good...

My own inclination, though, would be to go for Frame Based/Progressive for the whole thing, using 25 full frames per second (PAL) or 29.97 fps for NTSC, rather than 50/60 full fps which has become more common these days for high definition video. I would choose the lower rate because neither the international DVD nor Blu-Ray standards currently accept 50/60 fps (though Blu-Ray will accept it, but only if the frame size is 1280 x 720).

[RDK45]

Ken...Thanks for the reply and Happy Holidays.

As far as I can tell at this time, I have no sources of Upper Field First video, that is unless the Nikon DSLR video is Upper Field First (only identified as QuickTime video, #2 in my original note). By the way, which format is QuickTime, since Video Studio did not seem to tell me?

Thus, for projects mixing Progressive and Lower Field First videos what project setting would you recommend? As far as I can tell for still photos it does not matter.

Thanks....Rob

[Ken Berry]

By the way, which format is QuickTime, since Video Studio did not seem to tell me?

QuickTime is a program/codec developed by Apple, originally for Apple/Macs but now multi-platform. It uses the .mov extension, but in fact that is just a "wrapper" for a variety of formats. Video Studio should in fact tell you what is wrapped within your Nikon files. If you right click on one of the Nikon clips in the timeline or library windows and Select Properties, you will probably see that it is described as being either mp4 or AVC(HD). It will probably have a frame size of 1920 x 1080 and a high bitrate (probably above 18 Mbps). But important, it will also say how many frames per second (fps) it runs at. It could also mention that it is Upper Field First, but if that does not appear in the Properties box, then it is Progressive/Frame Based.

As for outputting DV/AVI, there are no settings you have to worry about. DV/AVI in fact has only one lot of settings so just accept the default.

For outputting DVD-compatible mpeg-2, the settings will depend on how long your project is. If it is around 70 minutes or less, you can just accept the default settings in Share > MPEG-2 and select the first default setting -- indicated by the green arrow in the attached image. Note that my VS is set up for PAL, but if yours is NTSC then it will show NTSC settings.

If your project is longer that 70 minutes, then you will need to go into Share > Custom, and use mpeg-2 settings, but lowering the bitrate to around 6000 kbps if the project is around 90 - 100 minutes; and 4000 kbps if it is 2 hours long.

[RDK45]

Ken.....Thanks for your comments.

From the Nikon site it says the video from my D7000 is "H.264/MPEG-4 Advanced Video Coding". From Video Studio X7, the properties for a clip say only "H-264" and "24 bit, 1280x720". No mention of LFF, UFF or Frame Based, so I assume, via your comments, that it is Progressive/Frame Based.

Are there issues for mixing frame sizes? The Nikon is 1280x720, while my Sony DCS-HC96e is 720-576 and, of course, photos can be any size.

So, assuming I have a mixture of LFF and Frame Based clips which would be the best choice for my project:

• 1. Mostly LFF clips?
  2. Mostly Frame Based clips?
  3. 50:50 LFF and Frame Based clips

Thanks again for your assistance.....RDK

[Ken Berry]

As I said above:

My own inclination, though, would be to go for Frame Based/Progressive for the whole thing, using 25 full frames per second (PAL) or 29.97 fps for NTSC, rather than 50/60 full fps which has become more common these days for high definition video. I would choose the lower rate because neither the international DVD nor Blu-Ray standards currently accept 50/60 fps (though Blu-Ray will accept it, but only if the frame size is 1280 x 720).

I would still go with that. I suspect, though, that the 1280 x 720 video is probably running at 50 fps, but you should check that by right clicking on one of those clips in the VS timeline. If it says 25 fps, then that would be good. There is a risk that using 50 fps in a DVD output would result in slightly jerky motion since VS would in effect be throwing away one in every two frames to match the 25 fps setting -- which as I also said above, you have to use since the international DVD standard will not accept 50 fps.

But one way to check would be to render the project twice, once with Frame Based and the other with LFF. Then pick the one whose output seems best to your own eyes. And if the project is too long to go through the process twice, then make a smaller test project using one Sony clip and one Nikon clip, and render that project twice to see which is better...

Unfortunately, I can't be more specific than that as I have never mixed standard definition video with high def video. My only experience in mixing 25 fps and 50 fps video is with high def video alone -- mixing 25 fps HDV (mpeg-2) and high def mp4 from my GoPro Hero filmed using the latter's alternate settings of both 25 and 50 fps. In those cases, I have to say I could not notice any lagging at all in the 50 fps clips when down-converted to 25 fps. But I couldn't be certain that this would necessarily hold true for a mixture of DV/AVI and high def mp4/AVCHD...

[RDK45]

Ken...OK, many thanks and Happy New Year.....RDK