Export presets for a 4k project

[Swisspete]

I recently acquired a 4k Sony handycam and want to finalise a short project. I selected the 4k icon, edited and rendered. When attempting to export I notice that the "Burn to disc" option is greyed out (perhaps because the project is 27GB in size) but first off I want to "Print to file" and select the HQX AVI exporter. An .avi file is produced which can not be either converted to .mp4 or played on the VLC media player ("CHQX" format could not be decoded). Where have I gone wrong? Thanks for your input.

[BernH]

I recently acquired a 4k Sony handycam and want to finalise a short project. I selected the 4k icon, edited and rendered. When attempting to export I notice that the "Burn to disc" option is greyed out (perhaps because the project is 27GB in size) but first off I want to "Print to file" and select the HQX AVI exporter. An .avi file is produced which can not be either converted to .mp4 or played on the VLC media player ("CHQX" format could not be decoded). Where have I gone wrong? Thanks for your input.

Questions before answers.

What version of Edius are you running?

What is the framerate of your video files?

What is the framerate of your project?

What are the properties of your exported file? You can use mediainfo to get this information. https://mediaarea.net/en/MediaInfo

The burn to disc is only available if your project settings are compatible with DVD or BluRay on older Edius versions. Newer ones can convert during the burn, but I personally don't do 4K or use the built in disc burner (tried it a couple of times but do all of my disc burning outside of Edius), so can't really comment beyond that.

[David Clarke]

The information asked would be very useful, especially the EDIUS version. However, you should also know the following:

• You cannot make 4K Blu-ray discs with EDIUS.
• With EDIUS 8 & 9 you can choose to downscale to HD Blu-ray.
• VLC does not play GV AVI files. The later versions are supposed to, I think, but sometimes I still have problems. I use Media player classic instead.

How are you trying to make the Mp4 file from the exported AVI?

[Swisspete]

Thank you gentlemen for getting back.
Let me try to answer your questions to the best of my ability:

the version is 7.53.31
frame rate of the video file (if that is the rate at which the handycam records) is 60 Mbps
frame rate of the project as per preset list icon is 4096x2160 50p 8bit
properties of the export file as per Mediainfo are as per attached screen print

I take note that VLC is not the best and will try with Mediaplayer
I attempted to convert using Wondershare

Thanks again for your help
Peter

[antonsvideo]

Thank you gentlemen for getting back.
Let me try to answer your questions to the best of my ability:

the version is 7.53.31
frame rate of the video file (if that is the rate at which the handycam records) is 60 Mbps
frame rate of the project as per preset list icon is 4096x2160 50p 8bit
properties of the export file as per Mediainfo are as per attached screen print

I take note that VLC is not the best and will try with Mediaplayer
I attempted to convert using Wondershare

Thanks again for your help
Peter

frame rate = frames per second = inspect a clip in the bin from your camera and it will show you frame size and frame rate, like 1920x1080 at 25fps etc (I don't know any handycam that records 4096x2160 50p as your project setting)

the project setting should then be set to match the clips

your media info is not set to tree view, so we see nothing

[David Clarke]

As the project is 50P EDIUS will not let you make a Blu-ray disc. The project has to be set to a size and frame rate within the Blu-ray spec for print to disc to work. The only option you could change it to would be 1280x720 50P - but then all video is resized to this.

If you want a 4K file you cannot do it by making a Blu-ray. I don't know if EDIUS 7 will do MP4 files at 4K, as I do not use it any more, and have not for ages. I have never used wondershare either. You could try using handbreak instead - a free program which will take GV HQ files and convert to MP4.

The project setting may be completely wrong too but Anton will need the information he asks for to advise.

[Swisspete]

This info is from within Edius / Properties of a clip in the bin:
1280x720 / 24pfs
This is from Windows Explorer / Properties from a random clip:
4096x2160 / 50pfs
And this from the Sony FDR-AX53 handycam specifications:
XAVC S 4K 3840x2160 / 25pfs

I understand that 4K is not compatible with Blu-ray discs. I'll stick with with "print to file" and convert to mp4. I'll try "handbrake" as well although Wondershare has worked for me up till now.

Attached is Mediainfo tree.
Thanks again

[BernH]

This info is from within Edius / Properties of a clip in the bin:
1280x720 / 24pfs
This is from Windows Explorer / Properties from a random clip:
4096x2160 / 50pfs
And this from the Sony FDR-AX53 handycam specifications:
XAVC S 4K 3840x2160 / 25pfs

I understand that 4K is not compatible with Blu-ray discs. I'll stick with with "print to file" and convert to mp4. I'll try "handbrake" as well although Wondershare has worked for me up till now.

Attached is Mediainfo tree.
Thanks again

I'm confused. You are giving 3 completely different frames sizes and framerates (one of which you say is a random file), yet your original post was questioning about the Sony 4K files (really UHD) and exporting to blu-ray and avi. Is your project using all of these formats in a 4096x2160 50p 8bit?

If you are using all of these, you will likely see some nasty frame blending or studdering motion, particularly in the 24p footage (really 23.98 I would suspect) if you are working in a 50p project, since 50 is not evenly divisible by 24.

All that said, the correct way to get the final blu-ray assets made that you are asking for would be to take the final 50p export back into a project that has settings that are compatible with blu-ray and make your disc. Anton has great instructions on this workflow posted on his website along with many other tips and tricks. His site is: https://www.videoproductions.com.au/...tutorials.html (hope you don't mind me posting that Anton.)

The AVI/MP4 issue could be because the AVI you are exporting has some properties that is keeping it from being converted to MP4. Without detailed information as to your project settings, export settings, and conversion to MP4 settings, we can't give detailed answers. The most likely cause would probably be that the versions of your wondershare and VLC don't understand the HQX codec. Have you used HQX with them before? It could also have something to do with the metadata in the container. Can you try a different container? (ie. use MOV or MXF instead of AVI)

Once again, if you provide detailed information, it is a lot easier. You can also put some detailed/expanded/advanced screen grabs of your chosen project settings and export settings. It helps to try to figure out what the problems are.

[antonsvideo]

This info is from within Edius / Properties of a clip in the bin:
1280x720 / 24pfs
This is from Windows Explorer / Properties from a random clip:
4096x2160 / 50pfs
And this from the Sony FDR-AX53 handycam specifications:
XAVC S 4K 3840x2160 / 25pfs

I understand that 4K is not compatible with Blu-ray discs. I'll stick with with "print to file" and convert to mp4. I'll try "handbrake" as well although Wondershare has worked for me up till now.

Attached is Mediainfo tree.
Thanks again

can I see a mediainfo screenshot of a clip from your camera

the screenshot you provided was not from the camera, it was an EDIUS HQX file

[Swisspete]

Bern, I'm the one confused and apologise for my lack of knowledge in the matter.

When importing to Edius I clicked on the 4K icon in the project presets assuming the parameters were the right ones to use as it was the only 4K icon in the list.

The current project settings are 4096x2160 / 50pfs. Thanks for the link to Anton's website for the correct workflow. I'll try that at the next stage.

I've downloaded HandBrake and it managed to convert the avi file to mp4. MediaPlayer and VLC had no trouble with it.
I have used Wondershare to convert HQX to mp4 successfully in the past but not at those project settings. If HandBrake can do it then that's also fine with me.

From the screenshot from MediaInfo of a clip from the camera, you will also see that the parameters are 3840x2160 / 23.98 fps.

I am obviously short on knowledge of how to use EDIUS efficiently and any suggestion of training programmes / sites would be appreciated.
Thanks

[Ron Evans]

The AX53 will only shoot UHD at 24, 25 or 30fps depending on region. You will find it easier if you create a new preset specifically for the AX53 UHD. You can use the 4K preset and modify parameters before you start as an alternate. When you start a new project with one of the presets you will see a customize box in the lower left. If checked this box and click OK the project properties panel will open and you can set the parameters you want for the project including the resolution, frame rates etc. One can create a new preset under settings> application>project presets and name " AX53 UHD 25P " for instance, that would make it easier in the future.

I am still using EDIUS 8.53 but assume the project preset creation is the same.

[BernH]

Bern, I'm the one confused and apologise for my lack of knowledge in the matter.

When importing to Edius I clicked on the 4K icon in the project presets assuming the parameters were the right ones to use as it was the only 4K icon in the list.

The current project settings are 4096x2160 / 50pfs. Thanks for the link to Anton's website for the correct workflow. I'll try that at the next stage.

I've downloaded HandBrake and it managed to convert the avi file to mp4. MediaPlayer and VLC had no trouble with it.
I have used Wondershare to convert HQX to mp4 successfully in the past but not at those project settings. If HandBrake can do it then that's also fine with me.

From the screenshot from MediaInfo of a clip from the camera, you will also see that the parameters are 3840x2160 / 23.98 fps.

I am obviously short on knowledge of how to use EDIUS efficiently and any suggestion of training programmes / sites would be appreciated.
Thanks

No problem. We all have to start somewhere and learn what we are doing.

For best quality in Edius, the rule of thumb is to make the project settings match the footage from your camera. In your case that is UHD [email protected] (the one you picked is for full 4K/50p, not the same as your UHD camera). If you have mixed framerates, make it match your primary camera, which would normally be the one that is used the most.

You can also create a preset for this project setting that will show in your preset list. There are a couple of relatively important project settings that many new users skip over though, so if you are changing the settings or making a new preset, here they are:

1. set the audio channels in the project to 2, not the default 8 unless you are trying to do 7.1 audio or have to export 8 discrete channels for a broadcaster. The setting of 2 means stereo output. This does not limit the number of audio tracks in your timeline.

2. set the overscan to 0%. The default for this setting is a holdover from the days of CRT televisions, when the edges of the screen were masked by the bezel, and keeps effects from being applied on the edge of the screen. Modern LCD TV's have a much smaller mask or no mask at all, so setting this to 0% matches the visible area on a modern TV or a computer screen.

3. set the resizing to one of the appropriate Lanczos methods. This will improve the scaling of your video if it does not match your project size. The options have changed a bit from version to version, but generally the higher the Lanczos version the better.

If you go through those posts on Anton's website, you will pick up a lot of tips and tricks on getting the most out of Edius and David Clarke http://www.dvctraining.co.uk sells some good training materials as well.

There are also a lot youtube tutorials online.