Encore forcing transcode of Blu-Ray legal MPEG files

[Daniel Ludwig]

hi joseph,
are you sure you´ve changed your MPEG2-setting correctly? a MPEG2-programm-stream is not BD-complient, so you might cross-check if you´ve created correct encoding-settings.

but I would prefer to use H264-encoding for BD as it is released with compressor that came with FCP7.

you could choose lower bitrates to get the same quality-level so you wont get in trouble with playback-issues because of high bitrates.

another reason why encore might try to transcode again is your encore project-setting. depending on your selected framerate and pixel-aspec it will not allow other assets (with other framerates) to pass through without transcoding, they all will be transcoded.

so here might be your big trouble!

cheers

danny

small note: I would allways export a selfcontained quicktime-mov instead of sending from FCP to compressor.

[Joseph Hung]

Thanks Daniel for your reply.

through much experimentation, I noticed that Program Stream changes to Elementary stream when I change bitrates. Not sure why this is, and why Ken Stone and another Creative Cow author writes that we should choose Program Stream. Regardless, I still go this route because it has worked int he past just fine.

The other project of same origin (Sony nex5) I did a test and was able to output and bring it into Encore without having to transcode upon building. So, my new conclusion is that the two videos shot on the 5DMKII and at 30p is the issue. I rebuilt the timelines with converted master clips to ProRes and also conformed them to 29.97 with Cinema Tools. The audio is fine, it doesn’t need to be retimed because these are art installations, it’s just ambient music/noise, there’s no real action to sync to.
In the end Encore still wants to transcode the m2v files from compressor, so I just bit the bullet and exported a full res ProRes self contained movie from FCP, dropped that into the Encore project and just let Encore transcode the darn thing. Without really knowing what the problem is, I have no choice but let Encore do what it wants. Really frustrating.

I’m actually having a new problem, it’s with an ac3 file where in one spot the audio is scrambled when playing back on a player and HDTV. I’ll post a new one for this.

Thanks,
Joseph

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[Daniel Ludwig]

joseph,
I don´t understand why you still using MPEG2 for blu-ray if you can encode bd-complient H264 with compressor!

it will have a better picture-quality at lower bitrates, and less artefacts with problematic movements/pictures.

one main point:
if you´re encoding for blu-ray, there is only 1080p23.98, 1080p24, 1080i60, or if you are based in a 25fps-land there is also 1080i50.

but there is NO 1080i/p30 or 1080i/p29.98

that will be the reason why your film has been transcoded I guess.

as for your audio-problem:
if you´ve conformed your video-frame-rates, you also conformed your audio-sampling-rate.

for example: meaning if you previously had 25fps and conform to 24fps your audio will slide from 48Khz sampling to 46.065kHz.

it will be the same with 30fps to 29.98 or 24fps.

this will result in bad audio if you´ll give this audio to compressor or adobe media encoder to encode an AC-3-dolby audio, as the encoder expect/needs 48kHz audio.

so you need to export your audio to aif 48kHz after you´ve conformed it to the other frame-rate.

hope this helps.

cheers

danny