Panasonic HVX200 and Transfer to Film

Avid Users: Use Raylight MXFX instead of DVFilm Maker to add/remove pulldown,
reduce noise, or rotate image. Raylight MXFX enables you to edit all 24P and 25P HD
formats on the Avid.

Recommended Settings for the Panasonic HVX200 and Transfer to Film

Shoot 1080/24PA format (1080/25P for European model) with 1/48th sec (or 1/50th sec) shutter speed.

Shoot 720/24pn (720/25pn fpr European model), 1/48th sec (or 1/50 sec) shutter speed.

The 720-line format will have about 15-20% reduced resolution on a transfer to film vs. the 1080 line format.

Other settings are up to the user and can be accurately judged using an HD monitor with greater than 700 lines resolution.

Use DVFilm Raylight to Edit HVX200 footage with Sony Vegas or Adobe Premiere Pro.

If you edit with CineForm it is important to use the Raylight Decoder.

DVFilm Maker's Support for Panasonic HVX200

If you cannot use Raylight, DVFilm Maker can convert MXF files from the HVX200 to Quicktime or AVI.

Windows Users - You can import the resulting AVI's into numerous other programs like After Efffects. For real-time editing, we recommend the Raylight AVI format. However if you get Raylight, there is a built-in conversion tool called RayMaker that comes with the Raylight System and performs the necessary conversion. So DVFilm Maker is only used if you do not need the real-time editing capabilities of Raylight.

Avid and FCP Users - Until Avid and FCP support the 1080/24PA and 720/25P formats, you can use Maker to create HD Quicktimes editable in Avid or FCP. See below for details.

1080/24PA (Advanced, or 2:3:3:2 Pulldown)

The Panasonic HVX200 can record 1920 x 1080 at 24P (actually 23.976), with 2:3:3:2 (Advanced) pulldown, and this is the recommended recording mode for transfer to film.

The movie is stored on the P2 card as a 1920 x 1080i MXF file, at 29.97 frames/sec for compatibility with standard HD editing systems such as FCP-HD and Avid Express Pro HD.

To play back the .mxf files in DVFilm Maker, drag the file into Maker and it will appear in the playback window.

To remove the pulldown for editing at 24P and convert the .mxf file into a 24P Quicktime or AVI,

1. Drag the .mxf file from the P2 card virtual drive into DVFilm Maker.

2. Special playback controls will appear. Note the player does not play back audio.

3. To convert to 24P, select 24P Edit options, remove 2:3:3:2 pulldown
and 23.976 fps exact. In Advanced Options, choose User Selects Output Folder
and browse for a folder on your disk drive. Also select "Always Make Quicktime" if you
want Quicktime format (otherwise an AVI will be created). Other options may be required,
see "Choosing a Codec" below.

4. Close the 24P Edit options box if required and hit Start. When finished, use File->SaveAs.

5. Clips can also be batch converted by dragging them into the batch window.

720/24P or 720/25P recording mode

Maker will also process the 1280 x 720 frame size. In this case, no pulldown removal is required, Maker is just used to convert to Quicktime or AVI format, and if required, recompress to a different codec.

To convert the .mxf file into a Quicktime or AVI,

1. Drag the .mxf file from the P2 card virtual drive into DVFilm Maker.

2. Special playback controls will appear. Note the player does not play back audio.

3. Select "Deinterlace" and then UNselect it, to turn off all processing of the video.

4. Select Advanced Options.

5. To convert to Avid or Apple Quicktime format choose "Always Make Quicktime."
Other options may be required, see "Choosing a Codec" below.

6. Close the Advanced options box if required and hit Start. When finished, use File->SaveAs.

7. Clips can also be batch converted by dragging them into the batch window.

Choosing the Right Quicktime codec

The default codec for HD quicktime is the Avid DV100 codec. For all other Quciktime codecs, the "User Selects Compression" optiion must be used, and then you are prompted to select the Quicktime compression format when the processing starts. Other possible formats are Avid DNxHD codec (for real time editing with Avid HD systems) and Motion JPEG B for Final Cut Pro. Other possible formats are Blackmagic YUV or uncompressed (Format = None).

Choosing the Right AVI codec

Possible AVI codecs are Raylight or CineForm. For these formats you must select the "User Selects Compression" optiion. Also for CineForm 1080-line format you must also select "resize" to 1440 x 1080. The default format is uncompressed AVI, 24 bits/pixel.

Audio

If you configure the camera to record on channels 1 and 2, DVFilm Maker will copy 1 and 2 from the 1080i DVCPROHD audio data into a stereo audio track in the Quicktime or AVI movie file. For 720/24p or 720/25p formats Maker will automaticall search for and use the audio MXF files for channels 1 and 2 in the AUDIO folder.

Watermark

The Demo version places a pattern of gray squares or the DVFilm logo into the frame as a watermark. To remove the watermark, purchase the release version at dvfilm.com/maker

Download the Demo version of DVFilm Maker 2.3 here.

Join the discussion group on DVFilm transfers and DVFilm software, click here.

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