Final Cut Pro - exporting raw HD files for a PC client to edit

Tom Knight

Tom Knight

Active member
Hi,

I just shot some video on a Canon HLX1. It's HDV 1440 x 1080. Logged and captured into Final Cut. Then I exported it as a Quicktime movie, current settings, self-contained. I kept the files small to fit easily on DVDs. The exported file is a MPEG-2 video.

My client is working on something called PowerDirector 9. He opened the DVDs, and can get audio, but no video. So I need to give him some other file format.

What should I use that has the best quality for editing that he can use on a PC? And do I use Final Cut, or Compressor, or some other program?

I have another client and a colleague who are wondering about this same question.

Thanks!

- Tom
 
If he is editing the footage, MPEG2 is not a nicely editable format. It's a delivery format. I don't know anything about PowerDirector, but it may be able to handle Quicktime movies if the correct codecs are installed on his PC.

From the Website:
[h=3]What file formats does CyberLink PowerDirector 9 support?[/h]CyberLink PowerDirector supports the import of the following file formats:
- Image: JPEG, TIFF, BMP, GIF, Canon/Nikon image RAW file
- Video: DivX (if preinstalled), HD MPEG-2, DVR-MS, DV-AVI, DAT, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, VOB, VRO, ASF, WMV, WMV HD, MOV, MOD, TOD AVCHD, MPEG-4, AVC (H.264), .ts, .mts, .m2ts, WTV (single channel), FLV (H.264), MKV (H.264), M4V (H.264)
- Audio: M4A, WAV, WMA

Note: the supported file formats depend on the version of CyberLink PowerDirector you have installed on your computer. Check the readme file for detailed versioning information.
 
bgundu said:
I don't know anything about PowerDirector, but it may be able to handle Quicktime movies if the correct codecs are installed on his PC.
Click to expand...

Depends on if PowerDirector will call out to the QuickTime API to decode the file. If it's a MPEG-2 QuickTime file (.MOV) and it won't play the video, then apparently PowerDirector isn't doing that, considering that MPEG-2 is listed in the supported formats.
 
Thanks for writing guys. It sounds like I have submitted a format that is readable, but it still won't work. According to the client, he can't watch the clips with his Quicktime Player either.

Gary - it's an MPEG-2 .mov file. Does he need to do something on his end to make it play?

On another forum, there was something about Flip4Mac, but I didn't understand it. Anyone know anything about Flip4Mac?

- Tom
 
Flip4Mac allows you to render out WMV files via Compressor.

MPEG-2 via QuickTime may not be supported without a paid plugin that Apple no longer supports. You may have to render again. Can you send to Compressor with FCPX? (You would have had to purchase the App Store version at some point). If so, try rendering it out to H.264 MP4 instead. Stay away from QuickTimes when it comes to Windows-based consumer NLE software. That's not going to work out more often than not.
 
Thanks Gary for your post. I'm going to try it. I have Final Cut 6, but I have Compressor, so it should work. I'll let you know!
 
Gary, I couldn't find a setting in Compressor that used H.264 mp4. Instead, I just used the MPEG-4 setting. with the file extension mp4. I exported a 4 second clip and emailed it to him.
 
As Bgundu mentioned, most of these CODEC formats are delivery formats that throw-away a lot of data in order to achieve a small file size.

For PC compatible editing CODEC formats ( these are lossless cross-platform CODECs that retain as much info as possible ) there are mainly two options...

- The free AVID DNxHD QuickTime CODEC that is available for both Mac and Windows.

- Cineform NEO SCENE CODEC that costs about $100 from the VideoGuys.com website. Each computer user would have to purchase a copy.

...I've used both and prefer the Cineform solution ( QuickTime can be flaky under Windows ), but given that the AVID DNxHD CODEC is free, it might be worth a try.
 
The problem with these codecs is that the client is using PowerDirector 6, not a professional NLE. I'd be willing to bet that those wouldn't be workable options, but I could be mistaken.
 
A standard H.264 MOV QuickTime should be readable according to the specs mentioned earlier in this thread. You can export this directly out of FCP- Compressor is not necessary.

-Noah
 
Hi Noah,

There are two issues here - whether it's readable, and whether it's good for editing. As I understand it, H.264 is not ideal for editing, because there will be a lot of loss when it is converted. Is that true?
 
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