Premiere Pro, ITV HD settings, Clearcast and Vidchecker

[chrislavelle]

Hi all,

I'm currently preparing some video for ITV HD. I'm running into some issues. Any help greatly appreciated.

This Ad must go through Clearcast and to check the footage they use some standard templates on Vidchecker. It is failing my footage however, my footage passed the DPP template on Vidchecker when i ran the task.

Here are the ITV HD specs

http://dpp-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/specs/itv/HDCommercialsSponsorshipMaterialStan...

I used the AS-11 preset to produce the mxf file and ran it through the DPP template. It passed ok. I sent it to Clearcast and they failed it immediately. Upon further reading i discovered this in their FAQ's

---------------------------------

Adobe Media Encoder / Premiere / Episode

We spent a number of hours testing Adobe Media Encoder (AME). We tested Adobe Media Encoder CC 2015.0 release, (build 9.0.0.222). Unfortunately we were unable to convert a progressive source to Interlaced Top-Field first. Some attempts produced a file that reported to be of the correct specification but upon analysis we discovered that the video was still progressive.

We spoke with Adobe Support who confirmed that AME is not able to convert a progressive source to Interlaced Top-Field first. A number of agencies have reported issues with this piece of software. We believe the same is true for Adobe Premiere and also Episode.

We do not recommend the use of this software to produce files for CopyCentral

-----------------------------------------

So with this in mind would i be correct in thinking that because ITV requires Clearcast to clear the video that Adobe Premiere is simply not accepted anymore?

If anyone has an ITV HD preset i could try i would be most grateful. Any advice appreciated.

Best

Chris

[R Neil Haugen]

That was of course what, three major build series ago?

I would suggest installing MediaInfo on your machine, a free download "we" use heavily around here.

Drag/drop an exported file onto the app's icon on your desktop, then go into that app's "Tree View" setting, and see what it reports about the video file details. And post a screen-grab by dragging/dropping it into your reply.

Neil

[chrislavelle]

Indeed it was, however this information is still current on their website. This is why i queried it. They have yet to reply.Please see the mediainfo below

[R Neil Haugen]

That is showing upper first ... wonder what the deal is? Why does it show upper first if ITV says it isn't? Huh

Neil

[chrislavelle]

I'n not sure why it's failing the Clearcast tests. I have sent them the file for further inspection. The curious thing is that they encourage you to send the mastered version to them. This way if it passes their testing it is broadcast ready. However they do not have a specific template to use for ITV HD. One would have thought to be sure they would have a specific template in place, or how can it be cleared?

Also they still have the 2015 Premiere warning on their site and they do indeed direct you to this as a first port of call if the transcode fails.

[R Neil Haugen]

I think you need to get a detailed report of what failed.

Neil

[chrislavelle]

I'm trying but they haven't responded as yet.

[chrislavelle]

Ok this is their response.

Your file has failed for the below reasons:

FAILED_TOTAL

• Video has to be Interlaced (Top Field first).
• Audio channel count of: 1 not supported.

I would highly advise using any other software apart from Adobe as this software has issues converting progressive source files into an interlaced output.

I would also advise trying a MOV or MP4 format as these formats are generally easier to upload to the system, MXF can be tricky with the audio channels.

[chrislavelle]

So there you have it. From a major clearing company for UK broadcast. Premiere pro cannot produce interlaced footage!

[Jim_Simon]

Given that the footage is showing as UFF, I wonder if the error is actually a false positive with their test.

[R Neil Haugen]

I wonder along with Jim ... PrPro is used for this around the world.

And also, they're having issue with mxf, one of the better "pro" formats out there, and want mov/mp4 instead?

I don't think I've ever heard that of a professional broadcast organization. Though my experience with those is rather low.

Neil

[chrislavelle]

I'm new to this side of the process as it's the first time i have handled it myself. I find it baffling to say the least. I think  i shall deal with ITV directly from now on and get a low res mp4 cleared. Although quite what the point of that is i'm not sure.

[R Neil Haugen]

I've contacted a few folks I know, several of whom deliver in Europe, for information. I know they routinely use PrPro.

Neil

[JasonBow]

I deliver maybe a dozen hours of UFF video a day and haven't seen this issue. Mainly using progressive sources and my most common export is XDCAM 422 60i. We also use vidchecker in house for QCing everything and its not failing for wrong field \ progressive when supposed to be UFF. Watching for more info tho

[AndyCollins]

I have had exactly the same issue delivering files to Clearcast. Out of my nearly 30 years working in Broadcast TV they remain pretty much the worst company for "The computer says no" failures. The problem is with them and not with how you're making files. Where possible I simply avoid Clearcast and use another company. If you absolutely must use them then I've found producing Prores Quicktimes avoids these failures.

[chrislavelle]

Thanks for the comments. I feel much better knowing it's not a unique experience. Although somewhat perplexed as to the mis-information on their website. I am speaking to them today and will let you know the outcome. I did have a friend of mine compress the Quicktime (animation) file with Sorensen Sqeeze using the template they provided. It worked fine for their purposes however it was clearly not broadcast quality. The fact they ask for the final mastered version to avoid any issue with delivery to the broadcaster is somewhat incorrect when their spec does not necessarily meet the requirements of the broadcaster. I will contact ITV directly and give them the MXF for checking. Hopefully they will accommodate me.

[chrislavelle]

Today i had this response from Clearcast

"Premier pro doesn't produce interlaced files"

[AndyCollins]

Ah, that'll be because "Premier pro" is fictional software. Meanwhile, this week I have delivered several interlaced files to Clearcast which were all exported out of "Premiere Pro" and they were all fine.

[chrislavelle]

Andy, Were they perchance ITV HD?

[R Neil Haugen]

PrPro does produce interlaced files, which are accepted by most other services.

I have heard that some utilize other services to avoid Clearcast. As noted above. Their tech answers are simply wrong.

Neil

[chrislavelle]

I have had a phone call from one of the team. He basically said it was their system that needed tweaking to work and of course they recognise Premier pro as one of the industry standards. After i pointed out it was ludicrous to suggest Premiere Pro did not do interlaced. They basically just need to revamp some of their testing. Anyway it's moving forward now.

If anyone does have a premier pro template for HD TV ads? specifically ITV -  It would be most helpful.

Thanks again for all the comments.

[R Neil Haugen]

Good to hear they're moving on this. That's clearly been a pain for a number of folks.

Neil

[Qengineering]

I deliver several broadcast spots from US to UK Clearcast every year.

Full disclosure: we send to ExtremeReach and they send on to Clearcast (they make no changes to my files)

I export from Premiere by starting with the XDCAM HD 50 PAL 50i preset,

I select Render at Maximum Depth and Use Maximum Render Quality

My original source is 23.976 progressive and I drop that into a 25 fps progressive sequence

this indeed keeps the images progressive (duplicating every 24th frame)

but the export settings provide the interlace flag on the .mxf file

I don't recall ever being rejected for interlace or audio channels

we get rejected for failing the Harding test,

we pay them to make the Harding correction(s) and ask for a Master quality file after processing

[abigailc39326854]

Think I might have solved the issue these. It has been test and works