Best file format

[Mike Velte]

“capturing” from a DV cam is simple data transfer with no changes.
Exporting decisions involve the target audience and the delivery media or archiving back to DV tape. DV is too big to just leave on the harddrive for local playback. Windows media Video is probable the best format for local playback at 2.1 mbps.

[Eyal Gordin]

Hi Mike,
I’m exporting to a file to be encoded to DVD and I need the best res. I found the PPRO encoder to be so so, hence I send a file to a post house to be encoded and I need the best quality export.
Thanks
EG

[Dave Friend]

Eyal,

Just to be clear, you are sending a file not a tape?
And…
The original material came from DV and was edited on a timeline with DV settings?

If the project was DV format end-to-end then exporting to a DV file makes the most sense. What could be critical is what system they would use to encode a file. If it’s a PC system then a DV codec AVI would be best. If the encoding workstation a Mac then a DV codec Quicktime would be best.

Dave

[Eyal Gordin]

Dave,
A couple of questions. If exporting to Quicktime, is it better to export to dv/dvcpro-ntsc or have “none” as compressor? and if for a PC, is Microsoft AVI or Microsoft DV AVI?
I exported from a DV cam and edited in the timeline, where can I check that it was edited in a DV settings?
Thanks
Eyal

[Dave Friend]

Eyal,

Did you try Cinema Craft Encoder Basic in your search for better mpeg2 encoding? CCE Basic is only about $60 and has a plug-in for PPro. IMO, it does a better job than PPro’s built in encoder.

I believe a trial version can be downloaded that is fully functional except it puts a watermark/logo on the encoded output.

Dave

[Eyal Gordin]

Dave,
I have tried CCE and didn’t notice any difference from PPRO’s encoder. BTW, am I better off exporting to tape and delivering it to the post house than a file?
Thanks
Eyal

[Dave Friend]

“If exporting to Quicktime, is it better to export to dv/dvcpro-ntsc or have “none” as compressor?”

Better to use dv/dvcpro-ntsc. There is nothing to be gained by going uncompressed. In fact it could be argued that you might lose quality because of the transcoding needed to go from DV to uncompressed.

“if for a PC, is Microsoft AVI or Microsoft DV AVI?”

Use Microsoft DV AVI.

For either Quicktime or AVI you should uncheck the Recompress option found on the Export Movie Settings dialog box. If your work flow has been DV from end-to-end then much (if not all) your the exported movie will be essentially identical to the original.

“where can I check that it was edited in a DV settings?”
From PPro’s main menu select Project|Project Settings|General. The dialog box that opens tells you what the settings are for the project. If this is a DV project then the Editing Mode box will say DV Playback. The info in the Video area of the dialog will be set to DV standards – 720×480, DV/DV NTSC(0.9), Lower field First.

Hope this helps.

Dave

[Dave Friend]

“am I better off exporting to tape and delivering it to the post house than a file?”

Answer kind of depends on what system the post house is using. If they are using a high-end real time mpeg encoder card then tape might produce better results. On the other hand, if they are going to capture the tape into some NLE and then software encode anyway then send them a file.

Since this is pretty short (4-5 minutes?) I would send over a file.

I’m surprised you didn’t see any difference with the CCE encoder. In my testing CCE produced noticeably better results than the Main Concept encoder that Adobe uses. Perhaps I like CCE better because it’s got more controls to mess with 😉

Dave

[Eyal Gordin]

Dave,
I checked the controls and tried different settings like vbr cbr and different passes. They were all about the same. Unless you can recommend a setting for my short reel that would produce best results?
Thanks
EG

[Eyal Gordin]

Thanks Dave,
Indeed, I do edit in DV settings. I thought that the bigger the file, the better the quality. I’ll stick to MS AVI and go from there.
EG