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DV AVI and AVI
I was just wondering, what is the difference between DV AVI and AVI, other than a AVI is a much larger file size.
I usually capture as AVI, render what I need as a DV AVI, then render my finished video as a DV AVI before exporting to MPEG2.
I found this article online here: https://people.csail.mit.edu/tbuehler/video/codecs/avi.html#dv
DV isn’t just a tape format; it’s also a compression method. All DV camcorders and decks record to tape using DV compression. When you capture DV over Firewire, you’re not actually digitizing the video but rather simply performing a file transfer of the DV compressed files. Since everything on a DV tape is compressed using DV compression, there is actually no such thing as “uncompressed DV,” yet the term uncompressed DV is often casually used to refer to video that has not undergone any further compression besides its native DV compression.
If your footage originated on DV and was captured as Firewire, it is best to keep your project entirely in DV until you are finished. Only then should you compress to another format, such as with a delivery codec. By doing this you minimize any compression artifacts. While DV compression is very light, compression artifacts can occur, most commonly “stair-stepping” on diagonal lines and “mosquito noise” near high-contrast boundaries.
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6 Replies
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Microsft AVI is an architectute that supports many codecs including “none” (that is the default you are experiencing).
DV.AVI refers to the DirectShow architecture of which there are 2 codecs, but Premiere only support one (type2). This is what you want.
You cant capture as anything but DV.AVI using Premiere and a firewire input.
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Thanks for that.
So is it safe to say that working with DV AVI and rendering in the same format, before exporting to mpeg2 for DVD content is a proffesional way to about working with Premiere ?
One of my current projects is intended for TV broadcast. I’m not sure yet if they want HD (it was filmed on a Sony FX1) or SD. So if this project is for SD, can I do the above, or should I export as AVI, DV AVI, or QT ?
Cheers.
Steven.
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Why export as DV.avi from Premiere when you can export as Mpeg 2 for DVd authoring?
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>> So is it safe to say that working with DV AVI and rendering in the same format, before exporting to mpeg2 for DVD content is a proffesional way to about working with Premiere ? >>
Yes.
>> One of my current projects is intended for TV broadcast. I’m not sure yet if they want HD (it was filmed on a Sony FX1) or SD. So if this project is for SD, can I do the above, or should I export as AVI, DV AVI, or QT ?>>
This comes down to whether you will be putting this on a DVD or an other format, such as Digibeta, beta, etc.
If you are exporting for DVD, then you can either use the Media Encoder, and choose the appropriate mpeg2 setting based on the lenght of the footage, or you can export to AVI uncompressed to an external hard drive for example to submit it to a TV station editor.
You sould however avoid exporting to DV, unless it is going to a DVcam tape. This is a heavily compressed format, much worse than mpeg2, and was only designed to go from the initial camcorder to tape at the time of the shooting.
Vince
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And in reference to your first post, DV compression is not so light anymore, especially now that people are getting used to seeing HD, and may even see your footage on a plasma screen where the artifacts will be much more obvious.
It was great when it was first introduced, in comparison to previous formats, including VHS, which is not to put down DV, as it is still a superior quality choice.
It is still a great way to capture, but when you export an edited project into DV, you are recompressing the initially already compressed footage you started with…
Vince
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Thanks guys.
Mike, I usually compress to DV AVI before MPEG2 because it usually takes a long time to render my projects to the latter format, especially when I have layers of video, audio and crossfades etc…
Thanks for the help fellas.
Steve.
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