is p2 to FCP lossless ?

A

aldaronn5

New member
Like in topic.
When we import material from p2 to FCP do we lose quality?? Whats the compression of .mov ??

Why cant we import the XML files? Did anyone has had thath problem?

If you guyz have anty time please explain how you import from p2 to FCP please.

Very Thanks !

If you guyz have some important tips just e-mail us please...

aldaronn5@yahoo.com
 
Last edited:
In FCP 5, File > Import > Panasonic P2, that's the way to ingest the P2 material. It get's converted into QuickTime files using the QT DVCPRO-HD codecs. No, you don't lose quality, the QT codecs are super nice.

As for XML files, where did they originate from?

PM me if you'd like.
 
aldaronn5 said:
Like in topic.
When we import material from p2 to FCP do we lose quality?? Whats the compression of .mov ??
Click to expand...

That's a really good question. When you convert from MXF (P2) to .mov (FCP), you are converting from MPEG-2 to DV. There has to be some lost data. Could somebody here explain how much?

Why cant we import the XML files?
Click to expand...

We can. All you need is a proper XSLT sheet. We import metadata directly from the P2's XML files into FileMaker every day.
 
Hatchmo that is incorrect. The P2 card is recording at DVCPro HD, or DVC50 and when you ingest it through FCP it will create a .mov file using FCP's version of those codecs so you are trasnfering p2 .mxf DVCProHD to .mov DVCProHD.

Please remember that extensions like .avi, .mxf and .mov are containers (or wrappers, i forget what the actual and correct terminology, feel free to correct me) and that what matters is the codec used to create the file. This is why some users of WinXP machines cannot play all .avi files, because they might not have the codec required to read the information inside it.

So you are not loosing any quality in the ingesting of P2 footage this way.
 
When you think "HDV", think MPEG-2 Long GOP consumer level HD.
When you think "DVCPRO-HD", think professional quality HD.
VenezuelanD is correct, and yes, it is called a Wrapper.
"DVCPRO-HD" is a set standard data configuration. It can be wrapped in many forms.

Also remember that some codecs don't lose quality from one encoding to another, like RAW. Meaning they are not taking away any of the original image data. But other codecs like JPEG always take some data away in order to compress the image data into a smaller file.

Going from P2 to .mov will not lose any image quality at all.

You will "technically" lose quality going to another format, like MPEG-4 or NTSC-DV. But depending on the format, it may be a degredation the eye won't pick up. With other formats, you'll notice it right off the bat. It's due to the compression scheme each codec was designed to use.
 
Yes, if you render to any compressed codec there will be a quality loss when you render.
It might be too slight to notice though, depending on your delivery format.
 
VenezuelanD said:
The P2 card is recording at DVCPro HD, or DVC50.
Click to expand...
I stand corrected. Those are the only two formats possible inside a P2 MXF file?

If Final Cut or HD Log or whatever is only "converting" DVC50 to DVC50, why does it take 10 to 20 times the length of the clip to "convert" it? Since it takes that much time and effort to unwrap MXF and re-wrap .mov, without any coding going on, why did Panasonic every develop this MXF system in the first place? (Don't get me started on FAT32.)
 
Doesn't take 10 to 20 times the length over here in FCP... Takes 5-8 minutes to import a full 4GB P2 card's worth of data into FCP.
 
Shane Ross said:
The FCP P2 importing workflow can be found here:

http://forums.creativecow.net/cgi-b...et/articles/ross_shane/p2_workflow/index.html

No quality is lost. All that happens is that a Quicktime wrapper is added.
Click to expand...


It's funny though... it seems like there is a loss in quality. It's slight but... it's there.
Perhaps I'm doing something wrong when ingesting into FCP or perhaps it's the monitors I'm looking at the media on??

When I review footage directly off the P2 card (when it's still in the HVX) through my Panasonic BT-LH900 monitor the footage LOOKS AMAZING. The picture is crisp and relatively noise free. The colors are vivid and full. The image feel really fresh and alive and just pop.

The minute I ingest it into FCP it just doesn't look the same?? I'm using a 24" Sony Trinitron GDW-W900, which is a 16X10 widescreen CRT. It's a little older.. but it should give a nice image, but it's just decent. decent?

Same with my Powerbook G4 (decent image). Same with my other Sony CRT hooked to my G5 (good, but not like the Panny)!

hmmmmm?
 
yes, just a differnt wrapper :) Picture a mint candy, both individually wrapped in a different colored wrapper. unwrapp and they both still have the same peppermint.
 
It could be your card...

It could be your card...

1) See the above comment about the Peppermint candy.

2) Going out from the HVX 200 to a monitor and going out from FCP (ie your Macintosh) to a monitor is not the same thing. They don't have the exact same SDI/component/whatever OUT card in them. So in addition to it possibly being your monitor it could also be your video card in your Mac, it could be cabling (internal frays, etc.), or such.

cheers.
 
SurJones said:
yes, just a differnt wrapper :) Picture a mint candy, both individually wrapped in a different colored wrapper. unwrapp and they both still have the same peppermint.
Click to expand...

Now that's a good analogy
 
I knew "Candy Mint"! She worked this club down on Burbon St. here in New Orleans a few years ago. Now THAT Candy had a "wrapper" to die for!

Oh wait, different candy, nevermind...
 
doondoon said:
It's funny though... it seems like there is a loss in quality. It's slight but... it's there.
Perhaps I'm doing something wrong when ingesting into FCP or perhaps it's the monitors I'm looking at the media on??

When I review footage directly off the P2 card (when it's still in the HVX) through my Panasonic BT-LH900 monitor the footage LOOKS AMAZING. The picture is crisp and relatively noise free. The colors are vivid and full. The image feel really fresh and alive and just pop.

The minute I ingest it into FCP it just doesn't look the same?? I'm using a 24" Sony Trinitron GDW-W900, which is a 16X10 widescreen CRT. It's a little older.. but it should give a nice image, but it's just decent. decent?

Same with my Powerbook G4 (decent image). Same with my other Sony CRT hooked to my G5 (good, but not like the Panny)!

hmmmmm?
Click to expand...

One thing I find strange, and that was discussed a while ago (many months ago, actually :) ), is that the footage edited in my powerbook G4 looks softer and lower rez than when edited in my G5. When I export a Quicktime movie from my g5 of dvcprohd footage (1080p), if I import it to my G4, it struggles on Playback. However, if I natively edit something on the G4 and export a quicktime file, it plays perfectly... What does this mean? I don't know, but I surely don't do my main editing on my powerbook!
 
depending on the speed of your processor, FCP will slightly lower the playback res (on your computer monitor) to be able to play full framerate. that's why it looks worse on your G4 than on your G5.

Quicktime Player gives you a choice to play full res, or slightly lower res (very slight difference) by choosing an option in the playback settings of the file.
 
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