Record, edit, playback resolution question...

floyd · Apr 18, 2018

Hopefully there's a simple explanation.

So the Mavic Pro can record video in 1080p, 2.7K, and 4K resolutions. When I eventually edit my drone footage, do I edit my video using the same resolution I originally recorded in, or do I edit in the resolution of the TV that will be playing the video? If there are multiple options, which is the most commonly used?

Since I have a 1080p TV (and will likely have for quite sometime), does it even pay to record in any resolution higher than 1080p? If so, why?

ksmusa · Apr 18, 2018

Recording and 2.7 doesn’t really make sense with your current set up but I would suggest that you try it anyway just to see what it looks like. I agree that 1080p makes more sense for your current needs though.

breid · Apr 18, 2018

Recording at 2.7 or 4K will allow you some room to edit as in cropping the image to fit 1080 screen. In effect, it would be like a little bit of zooming in.

Adman21 · Apr 18, 2018

ksmusa said:
Recording and 2.7 doesn’t really make sense with your current set up but I would suggest that you try it anyway just to see what it looks like. I agree that 1080p makes more sense for your current needs though.

What editing software do you recommend? What is your preferred source for storing the large amount of data that regular filming creates?

bushie · Apr 18, 2018

Adman21 said:
What editing software do you recommend? What is your preferred source for storing the large amount of data that regular filming creates?

I have a QNAP NAS at home with lots of free space (3.4TB) so storage is not a problem. I still have one bay empty.

For editing I use Premier pro. It is an old release but does all I need and I can't justify the outlay on a newer release.

Kilrah · Apr 18, 2018

You choose your project resolution according to your target audience. If all you want is play on your 1080 TV then 1080 is enough - but you may regret it when you get a 4K TV next year.
If you care about recognition when posting online, posting 4K makes you appear more high end.

floyd · Apr 18, 2018

breid said:
Recording at 2.7 or 4K will allow you some room to edit as in cropping the image to fit 1080 screen. In effect, it would be like a little bit of zooming in.

Okay, so that makes sense. So if I shoot in 4K I should edit in 4K, correct? Do I export (MOV, MP4) in 4K as well?
If I shoot in 1080p can I upload/import into Final Cut Pro X at a higher resolution, or is there no point in doing that?

tictag · Apr 19, 2018

floyd said:
So if I shoot in 4K I should edit in 4K, correct?

That kinda doesn't make sense. I don't know much about FCP but in Premiere Pro, whilst you might import 4K media, it doesn't actually 'edit' in 4K, the default is 1/2 resolution (though you can change this). When you actually render the edited timeline, assuming your timeline is configured for 4K, then it would render using the 4K media. Additionally, in PP, you can 'ingest' the media by transcoding very small versions of your original media for speedy editing, then use the original media for rendering only.

floyd said:
Do I export (MOV, MP4) in 4K as well?

These are only containers, the actual codecs used to compress the video are the same irrespective of which container format one you choose. The rule of thumb is '.MOV' for Macs, '.MP4' for PCs - this is only because of native support for both. Ultimately these formats 'contain' video compressed using the H.264 (aka AVC) codec so it really makes no difference in terms of quality.

floyd said:
If I shoot in 1080p can I upload/import into Final Cut Pro X at a higher resolution, or is there no point in doing that?

I don't know about FCP but, yes, you can 'up-res' original media but you will only ever loose quality because whatever package you use will have to 'interpolate' (read: guess) the additional pixels. Even 'down-resing' has it's imperfections, though not as bad as 'up-resing'. You're really better off maintaining the same resolution throughout your workflow.

As previously mentioned, you'll always risk regretting a decision to film at 1080p, even though this may be you current output because you'll miss any options to stabalise or crop/zoom in post.

Personally, I film in 2.7K - it doesn't eat up so much hard drive space, gives me crop/zoom options, and looks great on any viewing device (all TVs automatically down-res a higher resolution source these days)

floyd · Apr 19, 2018

tictag said:
That kinda doesn't make sense. I don't know much about FCP but in Premiere Pro, whilst you might import 4K media, it doesn't actually 'edit' in 4K, the default is 1/2 resolution (though you can change this). When you actually render the edited timeline, assuming your timeline is configured for 4K, then it would render using the 4K media. Additionally, in PP, you can 'ingest' the media by transcoding very small versions of your original media for speedy editing, then use the original media for rendering only.

These are only containers, the actual codecs used to compress the video are the same irrespective of which container format one you choose. The rule of thumb is '.MOV' for Macs, '.MP4' for PCs - this is only because of native support for both. Ultimately these formats 'contain' video compressed using the H.264 (aka AVC) codec so it really makes no difference in terms of quality.

I don't know about FCP but, yes, you can 'up-res' original media but you will only ever loose quality because whatever package you use will have to 'interpolate' (read: guess) the additional pixels. Even 'down-resing' has it's imperfections, though not as bad as 'up-resing'. You're really better off maintaining the same resolution throughout your workflow.

As previously mentioned, you'll always risk regretting a decision to film at 1080p, even though this may be you current output because you'll miss any options to stabalise or crop/zoom in post.

Personally, I film in 2.7K - it doesn't eat up so much hard drive space, gives me crop/zoom options, and looks great on any viewing device (all TVs automatically down-res a higher resolution source these days)

Wow! Do I have a lot to learn. Does anyone have a link to a video which explains how best to import and export video using Final Cut Pro X?

I'd use Premiere but I can't afford (nor do I want to be a subscription slave to Adobe) the monthly/annual fee. FCPX: pay for it and it's yours. Done deal. But that's for another thread.

tictag · Apr 19, 2018

floyd said:
Does anyone have a link to a video which explains how best to import and export video using Final Cut Pro X?

YouTube?

floyd · Apr 19, 2018

Does anyone have a Youtube link to a video which explains how best to import and export video using Final Cut Pro X? Rather than watching 100 youtube videos hoping to find a good one, I'm hoping someone has already located an informative video and can share the link. Thanks!

tictag · Apr 19, 2018

Can't really recommend any other sources except Lynda for such training, through some are listed here: Final Cut Pro X - Training and Resources

Mr. Salty · Apr 19, 2018

tictag said:
That kinda doesn't make sense. I don't know much about FCP but in Premiere Pro, whilst you might import 4K media, it doesn't actually 'edit' in 4K, the default is 1/2 resolution (though you can change this).

That's not really accurate. Premiere Pro edits whatever your project settings are, including 4K. The video preview window displays video at reduced resolutions, designated as 1/2, 1/4, 1/8 or whatever, to be less taxing on your computer, but that doesn't affect the actual project resolution. And of course all of this can be changed anyway when you eventually export the finished project and choose a final resolution at that point.

As someone said, the advantage of starting with 4K footage (assuming your computer can handle it), it that you can crop in on it without losing quality with a 1080p final video. You can crop just a little, such as to straighten out a crooked horizon line, or you can crop in by a factor of four to really zoom in on the image and still have 1080p video to output.

I'd also recommend it for future-proofing your videos. I thought it would be a long time before I had a 4K TV, until my HDTV died a couple of years ago. I was surprised to find that almost all TVs above about 42 inches are 4K now. If you're never going to go above about 40 inches, yeah, you'll still have 1080p. But if you like a bigger screen you almost can't find 1080p these days. I paid $650 for a 55-inch 4K TV, and that was two summers ago. They're probably even cheaper now.

tictag · Apr 19, 2018

Mr. Salty said:
That's not really accurate. Premiere Pro edits whatever your project settings are, including 4K. The video preview window displays video at reduced resolutions, designated as 1/2, 1/4, 1/8 or whatever, to be less taxing on your computer, but that doesn't affect the actual project resolution. And of course all of this can be changed anyway when you eventually export the finished project and choose a final resolution at that point.

Yeah, I think we're both saying the same thing. Editing is all about collecting/viewing/cutting etc and this, by default, isn't done in 4K, as you say 1/2, 1/4 resolution and so on. Only the final rendered sequence is actually shown as a 4K video.

breid · Apr 24, 2018

floyd said:
Does anyone have a Youtube link to a video which explains how best to import and export video using Final Cut Pro X? Rather than watching 100 youtube videos hoping to find a good one, I'm hoping someone has already located an informative video and can share the link. Thanks!