best conforming option tons of codecs and frame rates to 23.98 prores 422hq for avid

[Brian Merlen]

Hello RU

I have 13TB of h264, mp4, mpeg2, canon MXFs, at 59.94fps, 29.97fps, 23.98fps, and 25fps...some progressive, some interlaced... some from output projects that are low res and don't have the original files, lots from consumer cameras...i can tell a lot of canon DLSRs were involved...

I was wondering what you would recommend as an application to encode everything into prores 422hq 1080p 23.98 only... i have the avid suite, adobe suite, fcpx suite, mpeg stream clip... I'm just looking for the fastest/easiest way to set it and forget it and crank through the crap and am not sure the best route because of the sheer codecs/frame rates involved (i even saw some weird frame rates that aren't standard as well in the mix, not sure whats up with those)...usually i just use a rocket x on red stuff in redcine and batch...but being that i need to not use redcine on this since none of its r3ds I am trying to figure out which program would be easiest to do this in, ideally without changing the presets around all the time, trying to take the leg work out of it... speed helps too but i got time to slowly batch it, but knowing what apps are faster for this doesn't hurt either..im on a big areca raid TB2, thanks guys!

 

[MichaelP]

You can try Resolve - it will do a frame rate conversion and batch process all your files to a single (or more) output formats. If on OS X, then ProRes is an option. Try a few clips to see if you like the frame rate conversion.

Michael

 

[Brian Merlen]

I am basically dealing with assets that are all over the place 23.98, 29.976, 59.94, weird ones from slide shows...Pixel counts all over the place too, sub SD, SD, 720, HD, and weird sizes as well from ripped DVDs or ripped youtube streams...

Ive been suggested mpeg stream clip, compressor. batching it twice (once to get the codec, another for the frame rate) by others and really am just trying to figure out the best approach and why... i usually work on gigs that give me the raw, so I am just not sure the best techniques when it comes to uprezzing 80s tapes, stuff of that nature. Its basically a gig for a charity so we have 30 years of different formats, outputs, encodes, etc to deal with... And though I own many programs that can transcode and change frame rates what I am really looking for is why certain programs would be better, whether it comes down to speed, or how clean the conform will look, these files are going to become our new masters essentially for the archive so getting good quality is important, but also trying to have all 13tb encoded by next week if possible so I don't have much time to test...

I am worried about judder and softness too, some of the older stuff is so low rez, and some of the places did multi cam between c300, 7d, 5d, go pros, etc, different frame rates sometimes, its kind of a mess so i just don't know the best way to deal with some of the older stuff...

currently i have mpeg stream clip, fcpx, CC, compressor, squeeze, resolve, etc, so I have plenty of ways to do it, just not sure the best way to do it, the one that will result in the best looking final products, or not take forever... we have multiple bays so we can streamline the encodes somewhat with those.. Why do you prefer resolve out of curiosity and do you think running stuff through twice makes sense? thats what another editor was telling me works best, but seems like it will just make more media and take longer too...

 

[Craig Parkes]

To get decent encodes, you are going to have to split your footage out into different batches based on frame rate and frame size, and develop a different workflow for each one.

There is no one simple workflow that you can just throw any old media at in a single batch and get good results across all the media.

This is especially true of frame rate conforms, where you often have choices around image cadence and dropping/adding frames that can introduce judder (which will be fine on some footage, but horrendous on other footage, especially pans etc)

If you are doing a lot, and quality control is something you'll worry about later (like just going back and re conforming/encoding things that are problematic at the end.) then probably my first vote would be MPEG Streamclip - simply because in my experience I have found it very reliable at doing batch work without having a UI that bogs things down (unlike Compressor, which I have always had some issues with, especially when batching lots of files.)

Squeeze might be ok, I haven't used the latest version, and it has a few more powerful features, but MPEG Streamclip would be my choice if you just wanted to set and forget.

 

[David Battistella]

Brian,

Here is how I would approach this job.

1. Pick a framerate that you want to finish with.
2. Use compressor presets to conform everything to that framerate.
3. Break it down to two basic frame sizes. 1920x1080 and 720x480DV sized
4. blow up the DV sized stuff in resolve and get the most out of it in there.
5. One final render of everything at one size.

If most of the material is SD, then maybe you want to consider doing everything at 29.97. Pick whatever you have the most of 23.98, 29.97 and render the rest to give yourself the least amount of work.

Battistella

 

[Marc Wielage]

I agree with Craig and David above. I would also say that if you have a ton of standard-def clips to deal with, it may be better to do the entire final job in 29.97fps. 23.98 can always be converted to 29.97 just by inserting 2/3 pulldown during the conversion; going from 29.97 to 23.98 will sometimes result in judder under certain conditions.

 

[MichaelP]

What is the primary delivery format of the finished material?

Michael