aspect ratio of imported QuickTime files...oops

S

sean90291

Veteran
So I spent 2 days importing a LOT of files into Avid. They are QuickTime files (generated by Cineform) and they have a 1440x1080 aspect ratio. That's because they were HDV files, and I selected "keep source aspect ratio" when I created those QuickTime files.

I created a 1080p project in AVid to import those files. The QuickTime files themselves were no longer "HDV" after I put them through Cineform (they have been converted to QT HD files with a true 23.98 frame rate now using pulldown), so that's why I chose the 1080p/23.98 project in Avid. There are no project types within Avid that allow for HDV/23.98fps. But the QT files ARE still 1440x1080.

So when I now look more carefully at the imported files inside Avid, and select 16x9 for the viewer, the image is a bit distorted. It looks like it has been stretched a bit vertically.

Does this mean I have to edit the entire project slightly distorted? Is there another solution to view this 1440x1080 footage? Where did I go wrong? Maybe I set up the project incorrectly. I'll have to export my project with a corrected "aspect ratio" right? I've never had to do this before.

EDIT: Maybe I'm wrong here. I'm a bit bug-eyed, as I've been staying up until 3 am the past 5 nights to work on this project. Maybe the footage is not stretched? But I'm getting the sinking feeling it is.
 
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1440 x 1080 is not a 16:9 aspect ratio but 4:3. This is due to the horizontal subsampling as part of the compression of HDV (and HDCAM). Avid uses the full raster in HD so it is true 16:9. So either in Cineform or in Avid, you need to get the correct setting to take the 1440x1080 and have it fill the 16:9 frame.

I suggest you try it on one clip to get it right before importing all of them... ;)

Michael
 
Michael, I wish I had done a few clips and thought about it first! But I honestly didn't SEE the distortion until it was all done. Or at least it just didn't register. I guess I have a bad eye for such things (it didn't help that Cineform's HD QuickTime files are also stretched vertically when I view them in QuickTime, and I assumed Avid would correct that for me because it does such a good job of correcting HDV aspect ratio to 1080 when I do a transcode within Avid--well you know the old expression about "assuming" anything...my bad).

So with a 4:3 window view in Avid, things are distorted vertically. I can resize (by some %) and lose a bit off the edges. Are you saying that with this workflow, I will always have to crop a bit, whether before import or after? I'm not sure how Avid transcodes HDV to DNxHD 1080 within Avid without cropping anything. I'm quite baffled.

EDIT: Okay, I'm resigned to the fact I screwed up. I have to re-import everything after re-converting the original Cineform files to 1920x180. Ouch!
 
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I would reimport everything. I don't have a system in front of me, but look to a resize or fit wording in the selection.

Michael
 
Thanks Michael. I'm doing just that: re-importing. Sticking to a regular HDV Avid timeline and skipping Cineform on this project. Thanks for the advice. When I get it sorted out, I'll post a useful HDV>Cineform>Avid workflow that worked for me.
 
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