Fastest Transcode to 1080p without a red rocket?

[Adam Howden]

Hi All,

I've recently gotten my Epic and have been shooting some jobs on it and have run into the inevitable issue of the transcode. Seems like post houses have gotten lazy in the wake of the Alexa and I'm sure you all know the story.

So I've been doing a little transcoding in Redcine X and have come up with some settings that seem like a decent combination of speed and quality. Essentially a 1080p Pro Res (standard Pro Res) file with a 1/4 debayer.

I'm running it on a Mac Pro 2008 quad core with 10Gb RAM. But am just wondering if there are any other solutions out there that accelerate the transcoding process without costing an arm and a leg? Like GPU accelerated or something similar? Also, considering a mobile solution. Perhaps something that can go in a PCIe Expander, but something that doesn't cost 4.75K like the Red Rocket, perhaps there's not one?

Any thoughts?

Many thanks, in advance :-)

[Matthew Yaeger]

1/4 debayer out to 1080 isn't going to give you a very good quality.
5120x2700 @ 1/4 debayer = 1280x675
Then you would be upscaling that to 1920x1080.

Another option is in your RCX Preferences in the Transcode pane there is an option called "Max Simultaneous Export Jobs (REDline, Snapshots)". Setting that to more than 1 in combination with setting the "Use REDline (Software Only)" on the export preset will allow multiple exports to happen at the same time.

The Max Simultaneous export jobs setting is one you will have to play around with different values to find the optimal one you, if the value is too high or too low for your computer transcode speeds will suffer.

[Domenic Barbero]

all i know is if i want something fast i never add sharpen or denoiser in RCX.

[Nick Pasquariello]

1/4 debayer out to 1080 isn't going to give you a very good quality.
5120x2700 @ 1/4 debayer = 1280x675
Then you would be upscaling that to 1920x1080.

Another option is in your RCX Preferences in the Transcode pane there is an option called "Max Simultaneous Export Jobs (REDline, Snapshots)". Setting that to more than 1 in combination with setting the "Use REDline (Software Only)" on the export preset will allow multiple exports to happen at the same time.

The Max Simultaneous export jobs setting is one you will have to play around with different values to find the optimal one you, if the value is too high or too low for your computer transcode speeds will suffer.

Can I get some more details on this? Tried it at work this week. Went into preferences, upped the max jobs to 4, from 1, and saw no difference in either Processer utilization, nor did I see more than one export occurring at a time. Is a restart of the software needed? A reboot of the machine? Do I need to queue up transcodes in separate batches, rather than all at once?

Our Red Rocket is in a 12-core Mac Pro with 36GB of RAM, and I usually see about 30-40% processor utilization when transcoding.

[Rob Ruffo]

Hi All,

I've recently gotten my Epic and have been shooting some jobs on it and have run into the inevitable issue of the transcode. Seems like post houses have gotten lazy in the wake of the Alexa and I'm sure you all know the story.

So I've been doing a little transcoding in Redcine X and have come up with some settings that seem like a decent combination of speed and quality. Essentially a 1080p Pro Res (standard Pro Res) file with a 1/4 debayer.

I'm running it on a Mac Pro 2008 quad core with 10Gb RAM. But am just wondering if there are any other solutions out there that accelerate the transcoding process without costing an arm and a leg? Like GPU accelerated or something similar? Also, considering a mobile solution. Perhaps something that can go in a PCIe Expander, but something that doesn't cost 4.75K like the Red Rocket, perhaps there's not one?

Any thoughts?

Many thanks, in advance :-)

Switch to Premiere, only transcode final edit.

[Paul Schneider]

1/4 debayer out to 1080 isn't going to give you a very good quality.
5120x2700 @ 1/4 debayer = 1280x675
Then you would be upscaling that to 1920x1080.

Another option is in your RCX Preferences in the Transcode pane there is an option called "Max Simultaneous Export Jobs (REDline, Snapshots)". Setting that to more than 1 in combination with setting the "Use REDline (Software Only)" on the export preset will allow multiple exports to happen at the same time.

The Max Simultaneous export jobs setting is one you will have to play around with different values to find the optimal one you, if the value is too high or too low for your computer transcode speeds will suffer.

I direct commercials and in that world I actually prefer the dailies sent to the editorial are "good" but not great. I've found if the transcode is to good many agencies will get lazy and actually take the dailies through to final (and ultimately to air) with only a basic color tweak in Avid, FCP or what have you. In fact, lately I ask my DIT's to add a timecode burn window on all the dailies...essentially solidifying that they are temps and assuring that they'll migrate back to the original R3d's for a real and well though out transfer and grading session.

Of course this is just one workflow for a very specific circumstance, but shooting RAW and maintaining the advantages of digital can become completely useless if the proper procedures aren't followed...and often these decisions are made long after the shoot by those pressed for money or time and with little practical technical experience to draw from.

[Adam Eden]

Hi All,

I've recently gotten my Epic and have been shooting some jobs on it and have run into the inevitable issue of the transcode. Seems like post houses have gotten lazy in the wake of the Alexa and I'm sure you all know the story.

So I've been doing a little transcoding in Redcine X and have come up with some settings that seem like a decent combination of speed and quality. Essentially a 1080p Pro Res (standard Pro Res) file with a 1/4 debayer.

I'm running it on a Mac Pro 2008 quad core with 10Gb RAM. But am just wondering if there are any other solutions out there that accelerate the transcoding process without costing an arm and a leg? Like GPU accelerated or something similar? Also, considering a mobile solution. Perhaps something that can go in a PCIe Expander, but something that doesn't cost 4.75K like the Red Rocket, perhaps there's not one?

Any thoughts?

Many thanks, in advance :-)

Buy a rocket card. It is a very good investment and make your whole package as a DOP more attractive to potential clients. Especially the client that insist Alexa is better due to PRO RES files.

Alternatively look at buying a Samurai or a PIX240. I personally use a PIX240 and give then client that Dailies in PRO RES or AVID. Lemac rent the PIX 240 for about $150 a day so its well worth the money

[Eric Haase]

Buy a rocket card. It is a very good investment and make your whole package as a DOP more attractive to potential clients. Especially the client that insist Alexa is better due to PRO RES files.

Alternatively look at buying a Samurai or a PIX240. I personally use a PIX240 and give then client that Dailies in PRO RES or AVID. Lemac rent the PIX 240 for about $150 a day so its well worth the money

what do you do for off speed material then?

[Matthew Yaeger]

Can I get some more details on this? Tried it at work this week. Went into preferences, upped the max jobs to 4, from 1, and saw no difference in either Processer utilization, nor did I see more than one export occurring at a time. Is a restart of the software needed? A reboot of the machine? Do I need to queue up transcodes in separate batches, rather than all at once?

Our Red Rocket is in a 12-core Mac Pro with 36GB of RAM, and I usually see about 30-40% processor utilization when transcoding.

You will need to run them in separate batches.

[Zul, Y]

You will need to run them in separate batches.

Someone should do a thread with instructions and a video on this. Make it a sticky too. This question keeps coming up.