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Chapter 1 Working with HDV 27
Rendering and Conforming Long-GOP MPEG-2 Media
Before you can output or export a native HDV sequence, Final Cut Pro needs to process
your media in two ways:
 Render any applied transitions and effects, as well as any leader and trailer elements
included in the Print to Video dialog.
 Conform any noncompliant GOPs to the correct I-, P-, and B-frame pattern. Any
segments of your sequence that contain cuts, transitions, or other applied effects
must be conformed to standard MPEG-2 GOP structures before output, creating new
I-frames and GOP boundaries where necessary. Conforming also ensures that your
HDV sequence has the proper data rate for the HDV format you are outputting. The
time required for conforming depends on the number of edits and effects in
your sequence.
Note: Because HDV, XDCAM HD, and XDCAM EX constant bit rate (CBR) footage use an
identical format, the information in this section also applies when rendering XDCAM HD
and XDCAM EX footage.
Rendering HDV
When you render segments of an HDV sequence, you can choose to create render files
using either:
 Native MPEG-2 HDV
 The Apple ProRes 422 codec
To choose the render file format in an HDV sequence:
1 Select your sequence in the Browser or Timeline.
2 Choose Sequence > Settings, then click the Render Control tab.
3 From the Codec pop-up menu, choose one of the following options:
 Same as Sequence Codec: This option enables rendering with the native HDV codec
of your sequence.
 Apple ProRes 422 Codec: This option enables rendering with the Apple ProRes 422 codec.
Creating Render Files Using Native MPEG-2 HDV
Rendering native MPEG-2 HDV takes longer than rendering other formats because of
the interframe compression this format uses. The advantages to rendering natively are:
 Conforming and rendering for export or output to HDV tape happens faster because
the render files are already in the necessary format. If you aren’t outputting to an
HDV format, this may not be an advantage.
 Native HDV render files are smaller than those generated by other HD I-frame-only codecs.
However, if native rendering is slowing down the pace of your editing, you can choose
to render using the Apple ProRes 422 codec.