Quartz Crystal and FCP print to video

carl.rohumaa's picture

Hi When I export a composition as HDV 1080i50 with Quartz Crystal I am then unable to use the result in a time line in Final Cut Pro and use the Print to video function. If I export a QT movie from Quartz Composer put that on the time line in FCP and use Compressor to export the 1080i50 then it prints fine. Problem is it looks crap. I can see the output on my HDV deck but when I go into record the decks screen goes blank. It seems there is no time code on the Quartz Crystal version or something. I tried an export with QT with it's current settings and this failed too work. i have another bit of 1080i50 that prints fine.

It would be very helpful if the 1080i50 files from Q Crystal could be used in FCP to then print to video. I really need this stuff on tape bad! Any ideas anybody?

Sorry for my long post ahhem

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cwright's picture
Re: Quartz Crystal and FCP print to video

Just Curious, but why are you going all out with HD, but then doing interlacing? To me, that's like using all fresh, organic ingredients in a nice batch of brownies, and then mixing in some fresh, organic dog crap before popping it in the oven.

(Granted, I have exactly zero film production experience, and am actually fighting with FCP right this second on a project, but I've always always always wanted to know why interlacing survived beyond SD)

Can you confirm that it is indeed the missing timecode track that makes FCP not like it? (can you go into quicktime pro, and delete the timecode track from the working clip, and make it not work?). If it is just a matter of timecode, first, shame on FCP and QT for being incapable of dealing with timecodeless videos, and second, shame on us a bit for not including the track. I'm not sure how easy/impossible adding timecode is using QTKit, but I'll try to take a swing for QuartzCrystal version 1.5, if that's what the problem is.

cybero's picture
Re: Quartz Crystal and FCP print to video

Hi Carl,

I tried to reproduce your reported problem, but I couldn't.

All I got was successful output of HDV 1080i50 [at 1280*720 - doubt that made a difference] quality was normal , but setting it higher [lossless even] would only mean that it would have taken a little longer to initially output from Quartz Crystal, and would not have made a bit of difference to creating the problem you describe.

So, I was able to render, place in timeline, render to video in FCP and finally print to video. So it can actually be done. Only bit of good news for you thus far .

gtoledo3's picture
Re: Quartz Crystal and FCP print to video

Geez that's disturbing. I used to use FCP all the time (but pre-dating much of my QC forays). I've imported HD video into iMovie(!) with not a problem though!

carl.rohumaa's picture
Re: Quartz Crystal and FCP print to video

Hi, Everybody says that about HDV1080i! So how do I play back my amazing videos to the masses without a computer? I have an exhibition again and what I usually do is make at super res then make a 1080i version from it so I can print it to tape. The deck (HDV1080i only) I have will loop giving me an hour of video. The projector I use actually puts it out at 720p via HDMI input. I must say at this point that it looks really good doing it that way. It is actually de-interlaced when you watch it. Another reason may be that organic dog crap is still an end user format! I am looking at how to do bluray or hdvd burning but for now I am stuck with printing to video. Good point about interlacing how did it end up getting all the way to HD? High Definition organic dog crap, now that is better than standard dog crap? I can always help with FCP. Not much phases me in FCP these days. Still investigating the time code thing. Is that really possible to delete a time-code track in QT pro? There can be timecodeless videos? I am so naive ;-) Cheers Carl

cybero's picture
Re: Quartz Crystal and FCP print to video

I was going to suggest iMovie too, as I had often used the very same. I thought it might be taken the wrong way so relented form pointing it out.

{By the way, nice QC Twit blog :-) , gtoledo.

I'm just in the process of purposing some compositions of my own to go up on my site. Going to have to tread very carefully regarding that, as I have already found that although Quartz Builder is one of those applications that does so much for me, it is a trifle tricky . Love it though.

Liquid application works OK for me , but my desktop is determinedly gray - dark gray, if I change the desktop to a lighter colour, the translucency and the colour shifting towards white so much results in a lack of definition of the underlying generated imagery.}

Quartz Crystal HD video to FCP or iMovie AOK, but print to video didn't work - I wonder why.

FCP and dropped frames on Print to Video is nothing new, but it usually is a result of some failure on the configuration side.

It is all to easy to persuade oneself that a problem is caused by x, y and z being done together, [because one was doing x,y and z together before the system spat it's dummy out], when it actually is an altogether unacknowledged factor.

I do find when one is being confounded by the unexpected and unwanted happening that looking to the specialist site[s] concerned, see if the problem is a reproducible.

Question to original poster carl.rohumaa - are you running Unlimited RT? [often related to print to video FCP problems].

carl.rohumaa's picture
Re: Quartz Crystal and FCP print to video

Hi So frustrating I have two bits of video both say they are 1080i one made with Crystal and the other compressor. Only the compressor one will print to video. Gonna sleep on this one tonight and attack it tomorrow

carl.rohumaa's picture
Re: Quartz Crystal and FCP print to video

My problem is not importing HDV1080i into FCP. Can you print to video in iMovie?

carl.rohumaa's picture
Re: Quartz Crystal and FCP print to video

Unlimited RT is not my problem as I can print to video fine. Just not with Quartz Crystal generated files @ HDV1080i. will try it off though

This is time-code related I am 66% sure.

Please please prove me wrong I have one day left to get this on the tape before the exhibition opening!

Look at the attachment in my first post, copy the settings export a movie with Qrystal then import to FCP. Then see if you can print to video. You should not need to render.

cybero's picture
Re: Quartz Crystal and FCP print to video

Just to clarify - you cannot print to video with iMovie.

I know that the import of the HDV1080i video into FCP is not your problem and am picking up on your request to try a complete reproduction of your problem, albeit with only a few seconds of a Quartz Crystal movie. Just doing that now as it happens.

Will update you ASAP

carl.rohumaa's picture
Re: Quartz Crystal and FCP print to video

thanks cybero! wow it is so past my bedtime! hope I am not sounding too grumpy btw ;-) there look, I smiled!

cybero's picture
Re: Quartz Crystal and FCP print to video

Exactly reproduced the work settings in your screen grab - although only doing a few seconds worth of video.

Had no problem rendering the sequence, nor any problem in printing it to video.

I've also just dropped the same quartz Composer file into an FCP timeline.

I was surprised to find that it rendered, albeit the case that gradients got noticeably banded.

carl.rohumaa's picture
Re: Quartz Crystal and FCP print to video

thanks so much for that. looks like it's something in my FCP setup then really odd thing is I can have both the bits of video the Qrystal one and the compressor one both next to each other and it chokes on the Qrystal one. both the bits of video have the same properties except that the Qrystal one comes out at 2.1 MB/s and the compressor one at 3.2 I guess that could be to do with actual content though i.e colour movement

Yes a raw QC comp .mov looks a bit rough exported from FCP with compressor compared to the file created in Quartz Crystal well at least with HDV1080i50 seems to come out too light. Quartz Crystal looks much better. In the actual time line sequence though it should look the same. the trick is getting the right sequence to drop it in, pixel aspects etc a bugger if you have been making odd sized videos.

carl.rohumaa's picture
Re: Quartz Crystal and FCP print to video

just to note that if I export the Quartz Crystal HDV1080i with QT with [current settings] [make self contained] and [recompress all frames OFF] then I cannot print this to video. With the settings the same but with [recompress all frames ON] it will print to video

Anybody know how to add a timecode track to a movie without recompressing all frames?

So I have fudged it for now, the exhibition is tomorrow. Will the punters know I had to re-compress? Anyway thanks for all the support you guys have given me. I should go and introduce myself on the introduce myself forum.

As soon as I press play at the exhibition and see my work up and running I am going to sleep! For now though the coffee is free flowing! :-)

cybero's picture
Re: Quartz Crystal and FCP print to video

carl, thanks for the clarification and best of luck with your presentation today :-)

Quote:

Anybody know how to add a timecode track to a movie without recompressing all frames?

perhaps this might help

legacy code note - need to be registered as a developer - student goes free - with apple developer & to be honest, I've not actually tried using this, so I guess you'll be needing the Classic environment, which I don't have installed

qttimecode

/edit/additional use this instead http://developer.apple.com/SampleCode/QTKitTimeCode/listing4.html

more up to date but see the post linked below where a similar question was recently placed and remains unanswered, upon http://lists.apple.com/archives/QuickTime-API/2009/Mar/msg00093.html.

questions, questions, questions :-)

cybero's picture
Re: Quartz Crystal and FCP print to video

Just unbundled that dev stock code, built it, run it and recommend you do the same, not saying it will cure all known ills but do see

http://www.mactech.com/articles/mactech/Vol.16/16.12/Dec00QTToolkit/inde... for further details.

God Bless MacTech - mmm - must renew my subscription :-)

carl.rohumaa's picture
Re: Quartz Crystal and FCP print to video

just had a quick go and added time code to my HDV1080i video with QTtoolkit thing. Need to look at this further though. Dragging to a HDV1080i timeline FCP said that it was not the same as the sequence. When I had a look I noticed it had added 16 pixels to the height! Mmmmmm 1920x1096 Seems to want to full render too and wont print. I am going with the recompessed version for now.