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1080i 60 to DVD-R
Hello! I know, I know… this site is full of posts on this topic, but nothing is really working. And since many of the posts are a little dated, I thought I’d ask you professionals for some help! We are having a really hard time creating an acceptable DVD-R burn using these methods:
FCP to Compressor > DVDSP/Toast 10
FCP to Quicktime > DVDSP/Toast 10
FCP to Quicktime Conversion > DVDSP/Toast 10Tried exporting; same as sequence, h.264, PNG, etc… all seem to provide close to the same results.
The programs we’re trying to burn were shot and produced in 1080i 60 VBR, but need to be distributed to a few Television Stations that are still broadcasting in SD. They do not accept Blue Ray or any other type of HD masters, so the end product needs to be either SD 16X9 or SD 720X480… SD 16X9 confuses me a little, but I will leave that alone here. A letterboxed BETASP is what we’d normally do in this situation, but these stations are requesting program materials on DVD. We’d prefer a 16X9 final, but whateva gets the job done right.
Much of the program contains complex, fast moving high-end graphics. On all of the burns, the video looks super compressed and and graphics are torn. We have tried everything from 5-8 VBR, to CBR of 8… even a 9 or 10, I think.
Production workflow is:
Shooting on Sony EX3 in 1080i 60
Editing with Final Cut Pro in 1080i 60 VBR
Graphics created in After Effects using 1080 aspect, but all fit inside a 720X480 safe title, exported as Lossless with Alpha.Programs are 28:30… 28minutes, thirty seconds.
OSX
10.6.5
2 X 3.2 Ghz Quad Core Intel Xeon
4 GB 800 NHzTHANK YOU BIG TIME! If you have a solution for us. Hope all of you have a wonderful day, and thanks for helping out so many people! Pretty cool community here.
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16 Replies
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[Bobby Cullipher] “Tried exporting; same as sequence, h.264, PNG, etc… all seem to provide close to the same results.”
NEVER NEVER NEVER export a sequence as h.264 in you are going to DVD, NEVER. And why would you ever try PNG. This is stated so many times. You export as Current Settings.IF you are delivering on DVD you encode (with compressor, as 16:9 (the DVD will handle WS or 4:3Letterbox playback.) IF you need a Full Screen 4:3 that is another matter, post back if you need that.
Make sure you keep the field dominance as Upper (since that is what you are working with)
In Compressor turn on Frame Controls, set Resize filter to BEST. Keep field dominance set to As Original.Change the encoding setting to CBR and set the Bitrate to 7Mbps.
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Michael Sacci,
I have read many posts with your input, even one where you were called the DVD Master… thanks for taking the time to help folks out!We only tried PNG because it is noted on several forums as the method to the highest quality possible. We were just trying whatever we could to get the job done right.
Another question, if you have time. Any reason why there is so much available space left on the DVD after burning when it says we’re using the best quality settings possible for the amount of material we’re burning? It seems that the user should be able to select “best possible settings” and not have to note the length or choose from different settings to get the best quality possible. Options are always appreciated, but in this case, it seems that there are too many options for “best quality possible” – and as an extreme novice to DVD burning, the options become very complicated. Again, thanks for taking the time to help people out.
We about to start another test here your instructions exactly. Will post back the results.
You rock!
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Your issues are probably downscaling quality.
Export quicktime movie curernt settings
Import in Compressor.
Create DVD high quality ( EDIT FRAMECONTROLS, resize quality to BEST )
This will give great SD DVD quality.You do have to realize DVD is Standard def so it always look less when watching this on a HDTV.
Why use toast? DVD Studio can burn just fine.
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Again… thank you!
Can you please confirm? To achieve the 16X9 SD DVD as we noted above, are you suggesting that we use these steps/settings:
From FCP, choose: Export > Send to Compressor
Once in Compressor, choose:
DVD: Best Quality 90 Minutes?
*This setting states this is for a DVD-5. Is this different than a DVD-R?
I’m trying to attach two pics of the settings… this is new to me.Still confused on:
Some of the same setting options are in multiple places in Inspector… why the redundancy? And the DVDSP manual strongly suggest using Progressive, not “same as source” or “upper” despite my source is upper field.Thanks so much guys!
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Those are the correct settings. The “Same as Source” turns off the Deinterlace setting below it. This will give you the best encode from Compressor, if you are still not have with the results you need to look at a higher end encoder.
Never deinterlace and you really feel you need to. Keeping the field order in constant throughout the workflow in key to quality.
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Thanks again! Here’s the the update:
We started the export via Compressor using the setting above at 1:55:32 – left the office – returned at 6:20pm – says it has 73:42:02 remaining. Something is def wrong here. FCP and Compressor are the only two apps running. Any ideas? I’m to the point to where I think I am going to donate a dedicated BETASP deck to the stations. This is madness.
Michael Sacci… I have read all kinds of posts on this site all day from you man. You’re one helpful and patient professional. Big thanks to you.
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Compressor Freezing? Please see the link below for some troubleshooting steps.
https://support.apple.com/kb/TS1888?viewlocale=en_US
When exporting from 1080i 60 to SD DVD-R 16X9, we have found that it is nearly impossible to put all of the settings on “Best” as suggested. Our edit system would have to be 100% dedicated to the export for more than 24hours. We were never able to actually complete an export; Compressor froze after on two different attempts after 13 hours chugging. We changed the all the settings to “Better” and it’s working, but still not providing a quality DVD. There is very noticeable aliasing (right term?) on movement, and the detail (sharpness) of the original footage is reduced by at least 60%. We’re cutting the final HD sequences into new SD sequences using the settings in the pic below, and then exporting to Compressor. Probably not the right way to go about this at all, but it seems to be providing the best end product. Please post thoughts/ideas/solutions.
Have a great day!
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Are you going to Compressor right from the timeline, or first exporting a self contained file? If it’s that former that would explain the lengthy encoding times.
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor/Colorist
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los Angeles
https://www.drwfilms.comPOST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™
A forum host of Creative COW’s Business & Marketing and Apple Final Cut Pro forums. Formerly host of the Apple Final Cut Basics, Indie Film & Documentary, and Film History & Appreciations forums.
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Thanks for the info. Yes. We were exporting straight from FCP to Compressor; that’s what we were told to do, I think. All of this is a bit confusing. Sorry! Will try the export again using a full rez self contained file.
Thanks!
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