I'm planning to send HDV files to a stock footage house and I want to make sure that my formats are compatible. Some of my archive is 1080i50 and some is 1080i60. The stock footage house is Mac based and they convert everything to ProRes422HQ. I want to make sure that everything I send can be opened on the Mac, and that there is minimal quality loss.
I've put some 2-second long test 1080i50 files together in a zip file at http://cdn.bubblevision.com/HDV-format-test.zip
1. MPEG2-original-from-Vegas-no-recompression.m2t
Most of my files will be in this format. Captured from tape with HDVSplit then trimmed to length and smart-rendered (no recompression) in Sony Vegas Pro 8. Gets read in Vegas by the Sony HDV codec.
2. MPEG2-processed-with-MPEG2Repair-no-recompression.m2t
A small percentage will be like this. They are as the first format but have been run through MPEG2Repair to fix an error where the file in Vegas was hanging on the last frame. Gets read in Vegas by the MainConcept MPEG2 codec.
3. Cineform3point3-from-Vegas.avi
I might render to this for files that I need to colour correct before sending. To read Cineform on a Mac you would need to install the free Neo Player from http://estore.cineform.com/neoplayer.aspx.
4. Motion-JPEG-B-75percent.mov
Quicktime Motion JPEG B rendered from Vegas at 75% quality. I might use this instead of Cineform for files that need colour correcting (and it's also the format that royalty-free sites like pond5 and iStock require).
I compared these files by lining them up underneath each other on different tracks in Vegas and muting tracks at best preview settings to look for differences. Basically I could barely see any difference between them.
If anyone has FCP and/or MPEG Streamclip on a Mac could they please let me know if all of the files open and play correctly, and if you notice any quality loss with any of them?
Thanks!
I've put some 2-second long test 1080i50 files together in a zip file at http://cdn.bubblevision.com/HDV-format-test.zip
1. MPEG2-original-from-Vegas-no-recompression.m2t
Most of my files will be in this format. Captured from tape with HDVSplit then trimmed to length and smart-rendered (no recompression) in Sony Vegas Pro 8. Gets read in Vegas by the Sony HDV codec.
2. MPEG2-processed-with-MPEG2Repair-no-recompression.m2t
A small percentage will be like this. They are as the first format but have been run through MPEG2Repair to fix an error where the file in Vegas was hanging on the last frame. Gets read in Vegas by the MainConcept MPEG2 codec.
3. Cineform3point3-from-Vegas.avi
I might render to this for files that I need to colour correct before sending. To read Cineform on a Mac you would need to install the free Neo Player from http://estore.cineform.com/neoplayer.aspx.
4. Motion-JPEG-B-75percent.mov
Quicktime Motion JPEG B rendered from Vegas at 75% quality. I might use this instead of Cineform for files that need colour correcting (and it's also the format that royalty-free sites like pond5 and iStock require).
I compared these files by lining them up underneath each other on different tracks in Vegas and muting tracks at best preview settings to look for differences. Basically I could barely see any difference between them.
If anyone has FCP and/or MPEG Streamclip on a Mac could they please let me know if all of the files open and play correctly, and if you notice any quality loss with any of them?
Thanks!