best way to render movie

[Graham Bernard]

The biggest issue with DVD creation is the amount of visual noise apparent on the finished pre-DVD burning.

Much has been written on this here, and over on the main SONY Vegas site. If you really need the noise to be kept, then a high bitrate is required to read that throughput of data being decoded back to the viewing screen. More noise the higher the bitrate and/or the ways in which that bitrate is also prepared.

I would say that unless you have some very demanding visually-noisy content throughout your DVD and/or you haven’t allowed for this in the encoding then you should be fine. In any event, when I am doing a piece of work I often make a DVD-RW test DVD to just confirm this.

So, with this understanding I would say you really don;t need to separate out your files. Just do it. BUT, this is what I also do: I also create a pre-render AVI to give myself the option of locating any issues that might happen IF I was to go directly to MPEG. Once I have that pre-render AVI I know it WILL render in something quicker than real time – PLUS I would know it works!

Now, from here, I then produce the files for the DVD:

MyFile.mpg – this will be the VIDEO only MPEG2 file

and the;

MyFile.ac3 – this will be the AUDIO only AC-3 file

I put these in the same folder and from this folder I create the DVD. Both files in the same folder. Both files with the SAME PREFIX name – MyFile.

So, to recap, unless you have majorly visually noisy content, and then you can change through Average and Constant bitrate variation, PLUS making a pre-render and then the 2 file option, you should really be good to go.

If I have missed something out I am sure somebody else will step in.

Just get that AVI done and then the 2 files and test on a DVD-RW. That’s the way I do it.

Grazie

[Chris Nickila]

Thanks this is very helpful.

[Wayne Anderson]

Just noticed your post on audio and wonder if you are still out there as I have a question regarding this subject. I have always done the rendering the way you recommend and it works great for making a DVD. However lately I have been uploading my movies to Motionbox.com and they prefer the MPEG format. Unless I include the audio when I render there will be no sound when I upload. My question is what difference will there be if I also make my DVD from that file instead of having to do a separate AC3 file. Since I am just working in stereo it wouldn’t seem to me to make a difference. Thanks – Wayne