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Output problem when burning w/Architect Pro
I’m producing my first commercial instructional DVD using Vegas Pro 8 and Architect Pro. In producing the rough copy for the green light I used some old footage from a previous (VHS transferred to DVD) footage. I’m running about 24 menus on the DVD and using individual scene selection in the scene selection menus. Underneath the scene selection thumbnails I’m placing an ‘explanation’ link which links to a narrative explanation of the scene. On the preview everything looks fine. I ran a draft burn last night. It gave me error warnings that the chapter markers were too close together (they need a minimum of 1-second gap between each), but as it is a draft burn I ignored the warnings. The DVD took over three hours to burn (!!!!). The menus look fine, but the video output is horrible. Lots of artifacts, tracers, etc. I did render out of VP8 in .avi format. Could that be the problem? Sound is fine. What am I doing wrong?
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5 Replies
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VHS quality can be marginal and transferring it to DVD will drop the quality even more.
Having said that, you’ll get the best quality by rendering directly to MPEG-2 and doing a VBR (Variable Bit Rate) 2-pass encode.
Tell me how long the video is and I’ll give you some settings from the bitrate calculator I use that you can plug into Vegas. -
Excellent reply. Thanks for the help. The video is only about fifty minutes. It is a training video (martial arts). I’m linking narratives underneath the individual chapters in the Scene Selection menu. The narratives are verbal instructions that we make students ‘sound off’ when they are learning new techniques “left leg steps in, left inward-block…”, etc. I’m getting a funky error message in the Burn Preperation dialogue box saying that n-chapters are too close together and need to be at least one second apart (they are in the scene selection menu).
Please do give me the settings. I very much appreciate it.
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“”left leg steps in, left inward-block…””
Sounds like Taekwon-Do to me 🙂
I say that because I did a video for one of our local clubs a few years ago that had 26 different patterns in it.
The DVD was set up so that the student could select any one of the patterns and, when it was over, it would go back to the menu selection to play it again or choose a different one.But enough going off topic.
Whenever I get the “chapters are too close together” warning, I take a very close look at all my DVDA timelines (look at each chapter selection) and I usually find a stray marker or two that’s slipped in there by accident.
Removing the extra ones that are there makes the warning go away.Use the following settings for encoding to MPEG-2 from Vegas.
Min: 4,700,000
Avg: 8,0000,00
Max: 8,000,000In case you don’t know, you get to the customize option after selecting the appropriate template.
Select the DVD Architect NTSC video stream template and click the Custom button next to it.
Click the Video tab.
Click Two-pass and Variable bit rate.
Enter the numbers I gave you into the appropriate boxes.
To save this as a new template in case you ever need it again, click in the Template box at the top of this tab, give it a new name and save it.BTW, you’re doing a 2-pass encode to try to squeeze every last bit of detail out of the video. It will take a bit longer but the results will be worth it.
The above numbers assume that you’re using AC-3 audio.
As long as you give both files the same surname (eg. martial.mpg and martial.ac3) and render them to the same folder, DVDA will automatically load the audio as soon as you load the video.Here’s another suggestion to make your audio more consistent on playback.
Encode set to AC3;
Click on Custom tab;
On the first tab, set diag. norm to -31;
On the last tab marked Preprocessing, set the Line Mode Profile
and RF Mode Profile mode to none;
Save this as a preset.Please let me know if this makes sense or not.
Good luck with the project. -
I tried an MPEG-2 render without the tweeks you gave and the problem persisted. In DVD I was previewing off of the Good setting, however when I switched to Best several minutes back the artifacts and scan lines were there. I’m rending out of Vegas now with your numbers and will see how it works. Any settings in DVD Pro I should be aware of? As previously stated, the problem is tracers, artifacts, and major scan lines on the finished project. It’s driving me nuts.
Thanks for your help on this. My sensei pulled me aside after class tonight and asked how the project was coming.
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[Pikea Manley] “Any settings in DVD Pro I should be aware of?”
Nope. As long as you give DVD Architect proper files, the preparation will be fairly quick as it won’t have to re-encode anything.
Please note that playback in DVD Architect is NOT a good judge of final quality. It’s primary use is for making sure things work properly and that’s all.
When you’re done, burn the project to a DVD and check it on a TV set to see if your problems are still there.
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