-
Analyzing my DVD project in order to maximize quality
I’ve tried searching for the answer to this question but I must not be using good search terms becasue I can’t find anyhting. I apologize if this is a common request…
I’m about ready to make my first DLT master for my first big replication job. I want to make sure the video is the best quality it can be without causing issues that may affect playback. The video is only about 25 minutes long so I have plenty of room on the disc. Based on other posts here it seems like CBR is my best bet since space isn’t an issue. What I’m not sure about is bitrate. I thought I read some posts about software that analyzes MPEG files to check for spikes, etc. Is there such a thing? Is there any other way to find out if my bitrate is too high or if I can afford to go higher? I’m going to send the master to Disc Makers for replication. Do they do any testing?
Thanks for any input!
-
7 Replies
-
Their only testing is verifying the DLT’s image when it’s transferred. What are your encoding settings for video/audio ?
Don’t fear the tiger, the Cow is near!
Studio Plasma
Mastering & DVD
Montreal (QC) Canada
http://www.studioplasma.ca -
I just bought Cinema Craft Encoder SP2 for this project so I don’t know the program very well at all. The video is set to 6000KB/S and CBR. Audio is defaulted to wav, but isn’t AC3 the best option? The only options I see are MPEG 1, Wav, and AIFF.
Like I said, this is new territory for me. Until now anything I’ve put on DVD was stuff that didn’t matter as much. On this job I want to make it look and function as well as I can.
-
You could use this to check your bitrate (Mac only)
https://www.videohelp.com/tools?tool=MacDVDBitrateParanoia
Its pretty accurate…
I would use CBR if space is not an issue. That encoder doesn’t output AC3 audio – you need an outboard AC3 encoder – Don’t get me wrong, but you spent $ 2000.00 on that encoder – doesn’t it come with any support? Will you be doing alot of DVD work in the future? 🙂
check out these books – they both have great sections on MPEG2 encoding. Good Luck!
-
It probably sounds ridiculous to spend that money on an encoder that I don’t know how to use, but yes, I do plan on doing a lot more DVD work. My business is heading that direction and this job is really the one that I’m learning on and hopefully making most of my mistakes! (Don’t tell the client!) About a month or two ago I realized how little I really know about making DVDs and I figured I better get myself caught up now before it’s too late!
So because time is tight I’ve been posting most of my questions here since you can usually get much faster responses than from tech support. I’m buying the software and hardware I think I’m going to need and hopefully I won’t be so far in the dark after a job or two.
Thanks for those links. Those will be great resources as I learn this craft.
-
[FischTale] “It probably sounds ridiculous to spend that money on an encoder”
You don’t need a hardware encoder to make ac3 files. It’s unfortunate that the CinemaCraft encoder doesn’t have dolby ac3 built in. There are software options available to use in conjucntion with CCE.The tool I use to turn the wav output of CinemaCraft into ac3 files is the TMPGEnc MPEG Editor. (https://tmpgenc.pegasys-inc.com/en/product/tme20.html) This handy utility has lots of other useful functions too. Well worth the $60.00 they want for it.
It’s easy to use and makes the wav files into ac3 very quickly.
Hope this is helpful.
Dave
-
[FischTale] “about software that analyzes MPEG files to check for spikes,”
There is one that I know of available at https://www.tecoltd.com/bitratev.htm
I have the commercial version which comes in handy once in a great while. However, having checked hundreds of files created by the CinemaCraft Basic encoder I have never seen a spike that was outside the DVD max bitrate. Guess I am trying to say, Don’t worry about it.What authoring software are you using?
Dave
-
I’m using Encore. Thanks for the info about AC3.
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up