Burning a SD DVD from an HD 16:9 23.98 fps FCP sequence

[Eric Johnson]

First step: Export your master sequence at current settings.

Step two: bring into compressor. Use the best quality 90 min setting. This in and of itself will do a pretty decent job. Make any tweaks you feel comfortable with, but small changes have big results in final output times.

When you bring it into DVD Studio Pro, iDVD is not the way to go if you can avoid it, make sure your timeline is set to 16:9, it should detect automatically but not always.

If you don’t have time for Compressor, you can bring your 23.98 video you exported into DVDSP.

When it’s in, cntl-click the clip in the assets screen, and select encoder settings. select 16:9, and set the quality to multi-pass VBR (something like that) and motion estimation to best.

That should get you in the right direction.

[Andrew Seely]

Eric,

Thanks for the response.

I understand that compressor will convert the quicktime file into two separate files: a video mpeg-2 and an audio ac-3…that I can then bring into dvd studio pro and create a dvd from.

But will compressor change my fps from 23.98 to 29.97?

I was told that to create a standard definition NTSC dvd that will play on stand alone dvd players, the movie had to be at 29.97 fps. So, is compressor changing the video to mpeg-2 and 29.97 fps, or changing it to mpeg-2 and leaving it at 23.98 fps?

[Eric Johnson]

It will do whichever you ask it to.

I’m also pretty sure that if you put a 23.98 file into DVD SP, you will get a DVD that will play on 99% of players on the market today. And most anything newer than 2005 (approximately)

As far as Compressor goes:

DL for reference.

RED: Go to the Frame controls

Green: Turn on Frame controls, click on Gear to right to do so

Yellow: If set to 100% of source, on both audio and video, you will be in sync. I have done many 23.98>29.97 DVD’s like this, never lost sync. If your rate conversion is set to Better all should look good, the difference between Better and Best is a whole lot of render time. Best is definitely better, but only when you have loads of time.

Blue: As long as these don’t get put to Best you should be fine. the default will yield decent results, but if decent isn’t good enough (when is it?) then you can bump as needed.

The other parts of this panel are more self explanatory, but if you need more clarification please ask.

[Andrew Seely]

Eric,

Thanks for your help and downloadable diagram. I have the newest version of compressor (3.0.5) and don’t seem to have the same setup as your diagram shows in the inspector. I have a bunch of setting presets to the left of the inspector box to choose from. I chose 90 minute best quality which applied a mpeg-2 6.2mbps 2-pass to the video and a dolby digital professional 2.0 conversion to the audio.
I am now compressing/converting and hoping for the best.

Will the footage in the preview window to the right of the inspector box be of very poor quality or is it a good example of what I can expect my footage to look like on dvd?

[Andrew Seely]

Eric,

I am an idiot. I haven’t used compressor much at all as you can tell. I see what is going on. The icons seen in inspector in your downloadable compressor preview become active after you choose specific encoding settings, not when you have chosen the qt file to encode.

I can’t seem to control the encoder, frame controller or anything. I really am a compressor newbie. I apologize for my lack of knowledge with this program. It’s quite embarassing.

I choose a preset from the left “settings” tab. I choose the “dvd folder” and then the “dvd best quality 90 min. folder”. Then, when I click on the dolby digital professional 2.0 or the mpeg-2 6.2mbps 2-pass presets, I see all the stuff in inspector and can view all the specs of the presets, but can’t change the specs to match what you suggested in your last post. How can I choose the mpeg 2 format, 90 minute 2 pass but then change it’s specs to what I want?

When I figure out how to change the specs in the inspector box:
Under encoder/video format, should I change the frame rate from 23.98 to 29.97? How about the video format? In quality, what avg. bitrate and max bitrate do you suggest?

You have answered what I should do under the frame control section. Should I do anything under the geometry section? Mess with the frame size?

Also, do you suggest making a self-contained qt at current settings and then bringing it into compressor, a reference qt at current settings and then bringing it into compressor, or going straight to compressor from fcp?

Sorry about all the questions. I really do appreciate your help.

[Andrew Seely]

Eric,
Aahahahhaha. Yes, I figured out something else obvious. I can control the presets now. I just had to add it to the project, then hit the inspector button at the top…then just hit the gear buttons to the right of the spec. options. Finally, I’m figuring some stuff out through frustrating trial and error.
Well, know that I know how to adjust them…what should I adjust them to (this relates to the questions I’ve asked in the posted response preceding this one)?
Thanks again for your help.

[Eric Johnson]

Not to be mean, but frustrating trial and error will teach you more than most anyone here. Also, let me assure you that the head bashing was much more vigorous and painful 4.5 years ago. Things have changed dramatically.

To start, the Better: Best statement for the frame controls, is true for every aspect of compressor. You will find these options all over these windows. Only use Best, when you have loads of time. Like days/ hour of content.

For geometry: No need to touch, it is hard set by the preset. Frame controls has an option that covers the scaling quality.

Encoder tab: the info before the tabs is correct.

Video Format: NTSC, 29.97, what ever your aspect is (probably 16:9), progressive is a solid option (especially if 23.98 original)
Quality: the only thing to check is Motion Estimation, if Best (as it should based on preset) then you are good. This is the one place you should always set to Best, unless it’s a screener and won’t be displayed.
DO not change GOP.
Extras: make sure DVD SP…. is checked. not required, but speeds things up later.

Depending on where you see yourself going out of school I would suggest you start looking through the manuals whenever you get a chance. Just looking through the index until you see something you want to know more about and skipping through will help you quite a bit.

Hope this gets you where you need to be.

[Andrew Seely]

Eric,

Thanks for the help.

You are right. I spent the better part of yesterday and yesterday night playing with compressor, reading all types of forums on it, etc. Trial and error is definitely the way to go. I finally started, what I hope to be, a nice mpeg-2/ac3 compression of my project this morning. Everything is starting to make sense in compressor…meaning both how to use the program as well was what all the specs and options mean and do (their purposes).

The one thing I did differently than your recommendation (I submitted the compressor project before you posted or I might not have done this) was change the GOP size from 15 to 7. I left the GOP closed (this was the default option) and with the default structure. The reason I switched it from 15 to 7 was because I have numerous fades to/from black as well as numerous cross dissolves in my film. From my research, it seems a smaller GOP size works better for these parts…but in turn a larger GOP size works for other parts. I hope it turns out all right and this change wasn’t a critical error. I guess if it comes out all screwed up looking, I will try to compress again at the 15 GOP size.

For great compression, I guess you need that cinema craft encoder mp compressor plug-in so that you can have a variable GOP size so that during dissolves and transitions the size goes down and the rest of the time the size remains higher. I just don’t have the $800 to buy it.

Once again, thanks Eric. You’ve been a huge help. As you can tell, my school doesn’t focus on tech and post-production as much as it should, but it is good about focusing on pre-production and production creativity and strategy. Learning compressor and dvd studio pro outside of class is definitely a must and better than not learning it at all.

[Eric Johnson]

No big deal with the GOP thing, in the future, after exporting you master timeline, you can go through and set chapter & compression markers in FCP and sent to compressor. This will kind of meet half way between your plugin and the GOP settings. The compression markers force a new I Frame. They can be tricky though, if you add too many you will get something that looks like crap. But if you put them with your chapter markers and some other really cutty spots, you can get some good results. Definitely a trial and error thing.

That last bit sounds oh so familiar. Post, from my experience, is not taught well in a class room and can really only be learned outside of the class room. You will learn more about post in the first month of your first job in post than you will have learned in school, and that may even include what you teach yourself. I know that was the case for me.

I went into my first job feeling very confident about what I knew about FCP, which was quite a lot, but that is such a small piece of what post is that you may as well know nothing.

Good luck.

You’re not going to school in Ventura, are you? That would be too funny.

[Andrew Seely]

No, not in Ventura. Los Angeles

Thanks for the help. I agree with you. Doing it is the best way to learn it.