[Kavik]

question im now working on my final cut pro HD 4.5, my aspect ratio is 960x540 and i'm only using single monitor. I'm having a problem when im using "digital cinema desktop preview - main" because when in goes to full screen and hit play my playback is not working but if i hit stop it i can see that the video change meaning it plays but it just happen that i can't see it while playing. but if i use 720x480 there is no prblem... Need help or guidance for this... is there something wrong with my FCP settings or my computer? im also thinking to buy new monitor so i can do dual monitor in editing, need help or guidance also for this one. any suggestion, comments and tips will be very much appreciated. thank you.

[dlefebvre]

My first question is why do you work in 960x540?
Do you need a specific image size or is it just for fun?

FCP is resolution independant, which means you can do projects at any resolution. But!... There is always a but... As oposed to 720x480 which is the standard DV resolution, 960x540 is not a standard resolution. On any Mac, you'll be able to play DV video in real time with no concerns at all. For bigger resolution, some system won't take it, because it's not standard. You won't be able to play full HD video on an external monitor, unless you have an HD card and a HD monitor (unless you play DVCPRO HD through a DVCPRO HD camera or deck). The same goes for 960x540, even if you would render it with DV setting, it's not the standard size of DV, so your computer needs to recalculate et rescale every single frame. Not something it can do in realtime.

Unles you really need to do 960x540 for a very specific reason, work in 720x480. Even if you have to recale your final product to 960x540 in the end. At least, you'll be able to work in real time.

[Kavik]

We are supposed to work with HD 1920x1080 but we just decided to do half resolution instead 960x540.

Another question, what should be my compressor? if you can suggest something that i should use for and probably explain why i should use that type of compressor, it will be a big help and probably i'll understand more about compressor.

As of now im using ATY, RV360 and my current monitor is Sony Artisan.I was planning to get Dell 2405 pfw digital lcd and use my Sony artisan for viewing purposes. basically i use FCP so we can see if every shot matched the previous and next scene or in short for continuity purposes(animation and lighting continuity). And also color correction if needed.

But if you think i should not use 960x540 please give some advice, reasons or suggestions...
would there be any issue working in 720x480 even though my materials are 960x540 and afterwards will be outputed in 960x540?

thank you!

[dlefebvre]

I understand a little better.

Actually 960x540 is quarter resolution of HD.
1920x1080 = 2,073,600 pixels
960x540 = 518,400 pixels

If you do this to save, file size, time and disk space, it's maybe not the best solution because it's a custom resolution not native to any well known codecs. Therefore, it won't play realtime.

To me, and I could be wrong, the best solution is to work in 1280x720 (the other flavor of HD) with the DVCPRO HD Codec. DVCPRO HD is natively supported by Final Cut Pro HD and it should run in realtime without a hitch. The files will be bigger than 960x540 but it will be manageable. DVCPRO HD is a professional codec at a 100 megabits/second, for instance,. DV is 25 megabits/second. So the files will be 4 times bigger than DV (roughly 800MB/minute). Also the conversion of 1280x720 to 1920x1080 is done often in the broadcast industry with very good results.

As far as the Dell 24" monitor, that's what I have and it's great.

Good Luck with your project.

[wulf]

dlefebvre's suggestion sounds pretty good to me.

Another possibility: are you familiar with the idea of 'off-line' and 'on-line' editing? Frequently with HD projects the bulk of the work is done in an off-line format - e.g. anamorphic DV - which is good enough for basic colour matching, cutting, setting up titles or effects beds, and any sound mixing. Then the project is on-lined - all the footage is recaptured at the optimum quality and resolution and then the final grading, titling etc. is finished.

The two HD pieces I have onlined were done this way, it's pretty flexible because you get the power of editing DV (fast, lots of RT previewing) for the majority of the job, then go HD right at the end for the finishing touches.

What I would avoid is using a non-standard frame-size and/or codec unless you have a very specific reason, because - as dlefebvre already noted - you will not get any real-time acceleration and may well have problems in other areas such as previewing, output, etc.