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Encore 6 DVD Authoring
I am compiling a DVD for a concert across two discs but having all sorts of problems in exports from Premiere 6 into Encore- Working on Windows 7
What is the recommended pre-set to use for export in peoples experience please?
My material is 1920 x 1080 at 50 fps Progressive in a multi camera edit and audio in 48khz stereo.
I have exported from PP6 in MPEG 2 and adjusted to allow for 1920 to 1080 and used VBR2 with a moderate 8mbs data stream to allow reasonable quality but would prefer more but dvd disc would be full in no time.
By the time I try to get it onto the DVD the space available with moving menus is limited to just 8 or so songs.
The trade of is the no moving menus and extra songs perhaps?
Any advice would be very grateful.
I also have 4 clips where the audio that is exported in 1920 x 1080 in MPEG2 is a few frames longer than the video and then during build I get error messages.
MPEG2 seems very good as the alternative for the DVD productions seems to be MPEG DVD but its only at 720 x 576 and 25fps and I cannot change the settings on this pre-set.
Its such a shame to lose the original quality or make it in 720 when its already 1920.
Perhaps I need to consider an alternative to ENCORE too.
Any advice would be welcome as this project is getting pressing to finish after the final editing.
Many thanks in advance.
Alan
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10 Replies
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[Alan Norman] “MPEG2 seems very good as the alternative for the DVD productions seems to be MPEG DVD but its only at 720 x 576 and 25fps and I cannot change the settings on this pre-set.”
DVDs are SD. MPEG DVD is the correct choice. If you want HD on discs your only choice is to author a Blu-ray.
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Gary is 100% correct. What is the total length of the video program you wish to put on DVD? Let us know and we can suggest specific encoding settings for best results.
Thanks
Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers -
Hi Jeff and Gary
The length of each volume is about 70 minutes.
The odd issue is that I am trying to export at 8 mbs stream in mpeg2 at 1920 and it will import into encore all tracks but, only 6 or 7 will transpose ? Why some and nor others? I have remade the video export with small tweaks such as vbr1 or 7 mbs but just cannot get these final songs to transpose. I hear what you say about the did blue ray and yes I can produce them in 720 instead but lose some of the quality.
HELP !
So do I have to give in and produce everything in 720. Perhaps it will also export in a smaller file size too.
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Hi Alan,
First things first, let’s clarify terms to avoid confusion. With video resolution, the second number is always used to describe the format. 1920×1080 HD goes by 1080, 1280×720 HD goes by 720p, and PAL SD at 720×576 would be 576. NTSC is 480, using 720×480 resolution. Calling PAL “720” would confuse it with 720p which is HD.
About the MPEG-2 encoding, do NOT encode at HD resolution. As we know DVD is always SD, there is no sense encoding an HD file to put into Encore, as it will just have to transcode to SD anyway. Compressing the file twice further degrades it. The Adobe Media Encoder does a better job at compressing than Encore anyway.
From Premiere, Export as “MPEG-2 DVD” and use the “PAL DV Widescreen Progressive” preset since your source is Progressive. In the Export Settings “Output” preview window, are there any black bars around the image? If so, change Scaling to “Scale to Fill”. Check “Max Render Quality” box. Set bitrate – for 70 minute, I’d just use CBR 7.0 setting. Export.
Thanks
Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers -
Also, DATA RATE dictates file size, not resolution of the video. If you export an HD video at 8mbps, and an SD video also at 8mbps, the resulting files will both be the same size. Same amount of data per second.
Thanks
Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers -
Thanks Jeff, I will try this format this evening and let you know. Pleased to learn about the scale to fit option as that is my main gripe.
Thanks
Alan
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Alan,
There is a “Scale to Fit” option, but you will want “Scale to Fill”, make sure to choose the right one.
If you are ever bored and want to read the technical reasoning as to why you get black bars on the HD to SD conversion, see here: https://www.mikeafford.com/blog/2009/03/pal-d1-dv-widescreen-square-pixel-settings-in-after-effects-cs4-vs-cs3/
The BBC was behind that change with Adobe CS4.
Thanks
Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers -
Hi Jeff, no luck tonight.
Exported 14 songs in MPEG-DVD @7mbs with scale to fill and PAL DV widescreen.
So ended up with the video and wav file separately and imported both into Encore – 8 songs total time on timeline is 43:11 and with moving menus I cannot get the rest of the material on the disk.
So do I lower the date rate for the exports as Encore NOW does automatically compress the video stream during transcode and it say Do Not transcode.
Need to get about 70 minutes on the disc.
So is it the export size that’s too big
Video files equal 3.7gb plus wav and plus moving menus.
Under the timelines menu, it read that my 43:41 is 2.32 Gig.
The moving menus appear to add up to a further 2.257 gig so stated storage required is 4.577 gig
Under the Build menu I see it saying that 4.61 used.
So it seems as I do not have any auto transpose to compress the songs down a little, I will need to re export at say 5mbs.
Would that sound about right please?
By the way, MANY THANKS for the kind advice received so far – MUCH APPRECIATED.
Regards
Alan
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Hi Alan,
Encore does not “transpose”, it can “transcode” though 😉
Don’t add the .m2v and .wav sizes together in your head – .wav files are large, but by default when building the project, Encore is going to transcode the audio automatically to .ac3 Dolby which is like 10 times smaller file size.
It looks like the motion menus are messing you up by taking up large amounts of space on the DVD. It’s been years since I used motion menus, for that exact reason. The simplest solution is, don’t use motion menus!
Consider this – the more you lower the video encoding rate, the worse it looks of course. So the more space that the menus use, the more you need to compromise the quality of the main video program to make it all fit.
If you must, here are some tips. Use a motion background for the menu, but use still buttons. Encode the background video in Premiere as MPEG-2 DVD format, and keep it short, say 30 seconds. Can be set to loop of course. That is what Hollywood DVDs do. Uses very little space that way.
If you must have animated buttons, just be sure to set the loop to say 30 or 60 seconds. What’s likely happening is that the menu video plays for long periods, perhaps the full length of the song clip you dropped in as a motion button. Sucking up all your precious space on the DVD!
If you drop the motion menus completely, remember that chapter thumbnail images do NOT have to be from the chapter mark – you can use ANY frame of the video as the “poster” thumbnail, so find an image that best represents that chapter content and set as poster. Quite effective and doesn’t waste all the DVD space.
Something else you can do, with or without motion menus, is add background music to play/loop while menu is displayed. That takes little space and can enhance the user experience. Design attractive still menus with good thumbnails and just add some music. Your choice.
Keep the video encoding up at 7, don’t compromise for menus that are seen just briefly anyway.
Thanks
Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers -
Many of the tips worked and the 720 did fit to scale thanks very much…..but
Well almost given up as too much data for the single disk and then a friend suggested a dual layer DVD so will try this next.
BTW, Encore performing strangely at the moment (slow and unresponsive on occasions and then freezes)
Do reinstall do I need to de activate it 1st along with premiere or can I do a new install perhaps by uninstalling Encore on its own then re installing?
All files are backed up already?
Regards,
Alan
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