Best Route to Convert 1080i .mts to 720p wmv

Hey guys..hoping one of you can help me out please or give a little insight to my problem. I am currently shooting on a Canon Vixia HF S20 HD Camera in 1080_60i and the end result i am looking to get is 720p for web(yet still want quality with low file size) We shoot some fast action movements now and then(bullwhips,lassos,horses running,etc)which is why the 60i seems to be necessary i think?!?

The current route i take is plugging in the camera to Mac OSX computer via usb then FCP X 10.0.2 does its optimized conversion to a 1080i_29.97fp .mov file. From there i can edit it and still looks pretty crisp even though im a little confused why its now in a 29.97fp and didnt stay in 60i with the FCPX conversion. oh well and moving on. After that i have to then export the finished timeline to a .mov using the export function and keeping current settings as is. In FCP7 i was able to use the share function and batch multiple timelines with my compressor setting without making a .mov first which is something i am not to happy with. But from there i can then put the .mov into compressor as the files need to be spit out into a .wmv, iphone and 720MPEG4 file when all is said and done with. The WMV is our main seller so thats my main focus really. The bit rate set on the .wmv is 3500 but keeps our 7 min files under 200megs which is where i want to be if possible. Sadly i lose a good amount of crisp/sharpness to my image when all is said and done though which is where maybe someone here can send some insight to what im doing wrong.

So i guess my main question is do you think there is an easier or more effective way to get a better quality wmv in the end or am i just kinda screwed with doing a 3500 bit rate and should go say 5mbps which will increase my file size by a bit which isnt ideal but i will give me a shaper image..right? Any suggestions, thoughts,etc please?

Thanks so much for your time and help!

60i is 29.97. It would have to be 60p to be a higher frame rate.

What app are you using for WMV? 3500kbps should be more than enough for 720p media.

thanks for the knowledge about 60i being 29.97. Still get confused on some of these things but trying my best to understand it. I convert the exported .mov from FCPX to compressor and using the quicktime conversion setting to making it a .wmv. I can watch it via quicktime movie or VLC(preferred) but nonetheless any wmv plays crappy on a mac imo. We do have a pc in the office though and we test them out on there and it just not how i feel it should be. Not too crisp more little blur like its at a 2000k bit rate. Should i use a constant 3500 or variable when formatting? thanks for your help tom!

WMV is not normally available as an option in Compressor so I don't know what you're doing.

if you have flip4mac installed then an option in compressor will pop up for .wmv under the quicktime export components under the file type in a setting(ex under a apple device setting you can switch to that format) From there it gives you a new list of files and .wmv is one of them..then of course you have all the options for the .wmv and thats where it gets confusing with profiles,etc.

Sounds like a question you want to put on the Telestream forums.

Which version of Flip4Mac do you have installed?

Im running on lion with flip4mac version 2.4.0.11 which works pretty well but always a little choppy of a playback with wmv on this mac..or any mac at that. I honestly hate .wmv but our customers love it so gotta go with what sells right? So basically the past 24hrs im trying all sorts of different concoctions of options to spit it out. From turning the timeline to a 720p insetad of 1080i and exporting as a 720p .mov then bringing it into compressor. Ive also found that changing the complexity in the advanced options seems to help a little changing it to normal or slow mode. Its all quite confusing as there are so many ways to get from there to here. Ideally shooting in the 1080_60i comes out super crisp and clean as well as the mov when its exported from fcpx at the end. Its then when i bring that .mov to compressor that i lose all the quality. I know im going to lose some going from 1080 to 720 anyhow but any idea on best options to use in the advanced section or any section of the wmv options? Is it safe to go with advanced vc-1 profile now or should i still keep the standard/default profile so older computers can still read them...or is everyone upgraded enough where the vc-1 profile will work no problem? confused also on the wmv advanced setting there is a input and output drop downs at the bottom. If i export the timeling in 1080i the input field shout be interlaced(top first) and then output field progressive right? since it will be a 720p wmv? any help or insight to any of this would be excellent! thanks guys!

just posted to telestream so maybe they will have some info..baby steps!

VC-1 tends to look much better but you need to ask your client what the intended use is for. I tend to use squeeze for my wmv VC-1 outputs and with 720p files I try to keep the bit rate as close to 5Mbps as possible 3.5 should be ok but to really look crisp you would want to bump it up to about 5, and for 1080p footage I always try to float between 7-10 Mbps.

When using compressor and flip4mac I usually use constant bit rate. The WMV9 codec is notorious for having bad compression artifacts with variable bit rates. If you use VC-1 you can use a vbr and it should still look good, it all depends on your content and how complex the image is with compression.

Hopefully that helps.