frustrated with dvd results

[Rafael Amador]

Hi John,
I will tell you the faster and easier manner.
Take your FC HDV sequence and:
– Change the codec to Prores or Prores HQ.
– Set “Render all YUV in High Precision”
– Set “Render Motion Effects: BEST”.
Export a Self Contained movie.
Import the movie to Compressor.
Duplicate the “High Quality 90 minutes” Preset and:
– Set “Frame Control: ON”
– Set the Resizing Filter: BEST.
For the data rate, set Average: 6.800. Max: 8300.
You can let your Audio uncompress.
rafael

http://www.nagavideo.com

[Michael Sacci]

Sorry I’m going to totally disagree with this. (also Ken Stones) For best quality especially when you are using HDV codec.

Send your unrendered sequence to Compressor via Export with Compressor (FCP6) or Send to Compressor (FCP7).

For short movies like this NEVER use VBR method, it is a wast of time and it does not have enough time to find an average. VBR is to get high quality out of lower averages, it does not give you better results on high rate rates. So use CBR and set it to 7 Mbps, you don’t get much improvement from that and there can be playback issue if you go higher with DVD-Rs. 8.3 with PCM audio is really pushing it from the safe zone.

Another key to to make sure the m2v’s field dominance is set to Upper. While the DVD is lower your source is Upper. You can test out the Frames control but normally it is not needed but doesn’t hurt to test it both ways.

Then encode the audio as ac3, unless you are working with professionally master music type programming you should use ac3. Just make sure the Dialog Normalization is set to -31dB and compression is set to NONE in the preprocessing tab.

Nice thing about mine method it should take more than 20 minutes to get the encode and if you have a really fast system it can be closer to RT.

Make sure your footage is properly color corrected and nothing is blown out.

In the end you have to do testing.

[John Applewhite]

Rafael, thank you for your response. I am however new and Im not sure what you mean by – Set “Render all YUV in High Precision”
– Set “Render Motion Effects: BEST”. When I go to “export” then “qt conversion” I see how to change codec to pro res but nothing about yuv or motion effects. Am i going about it wrong? Thanks again. John

[John Applewhite]

Michael, Thanks for the help. Ive found all of your setting except how to change m2vs field? Can you explain?

[Michael Sacci]

All the stuff Rafael is talking about are settings within FCP not on export. My method bypasses all those settings. But you do need to know what they are and where you change them. The best place to find that info is in the manual.

Best way to get up to speed with FCP is to get the Pro Training book. It is about $35 on Amazon and worth every penny of it. A lot of good training DVDs out there also.

https://www.amazon.com/Apple-Pro-Training-Final-Cut/dp/0321635272/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1275360730&sr=8-1

[Rafael Amador]

John,
You have to change those setting in the Sequence Setting> Video Processing tab.
AVOID use QT Conversion when exporting video.

I agree with Michael that for such short video you can use a CBR, but in the end you are limiting the possibilities of the process. If an scene “deserves” more data rate, it doesn’t get it.
What I do is to set “Short/Open” GOPs

[Michael Sacci] “Another key to to make sure the m2v’s field dominance is set to Upper. While the DVD is lower your source is Upper. “
DVDs are not Lower first.
DVDs support Upper and Lower first MPEG-2.
From an Upper first movie you get an Upper first MPEG-2. Standard and playable everywhere..

[Michael Sacci] ” You can test out the Frames control but normally it is not needed but doesn’t hurt to test it both ways. “
The Frame Control ON is critical when downscaling. Compressor works in Floating Point.

[Michael Sacci] “Send your unrendered sequence to Compressor via Export with Compressor (FCP6) or Send to Compressor (FCP7). “
Sending to Compressor duplicates the process time in case of a “Double Pass”.
rafael

http://www.nagavideo.com

[Michael Sacci]

[Rafael Amador] “If an scene “deserves” more data rate, it doesn’t get it. “ But if the CBR bitrate is high, like I’m suggesting it ALWAYS gets it, the problem is when an image pixelations it is because the VBR is not see it as something that needs a higher bitrate. There is no benefit to high bitrate VBR and many times they produce lower quality. You need at least 20-30 minutes for give VBR a chance to average it out. But do test, I will but up anything encoded in compressor as 7 Mpbs CBR against Compressor’s VBR at any bitrate, both in terms of quality and playability.

[Rafael Amador] “rom an Upper first movie you get an Upper first MPEG-2. Standard and playable everywhere..”
My point is to keep the field order as is, a lot of people (and at times Compressor) swop the field order and make it lower. Yours is a better (more correct) explanation.

[Rafael Amador] “Sending to Compressor duplicates the process time in case of a “Double Pass”. “
There is a hugh benefit to this when you are working with HDV sequence, doing it your way minimizes the HDV problem but this is still just you the best quality. But this suggestion goes hand in hand with my recommendation to use CBR, in the end it is quicker to Send to Compressor (or Export to Compressor) and use CBR vs, exporting a ProRes and then use VBR. Once again this is a step that give better results, especially if there is text and graphics. The sequence doesn’t need (nor should it be) rendered before starting the process.

As far as the Frame control, it is not as important as retiming, de-interlacing or up converting but I didn’t say don’t use it, I would test it with or without it. Any recommendation by anyone (especially me) should be done without testing.

[John Applewhite]

Michael, I tried these settings and compressor says completed. I saved to desktop and a file appears on my desktop with a pic of the compressor logo on it. When I try to drag to dvdsp a message says incompatible format. Is this because the vid has not completed loading to desktop yet?

[Rafael Amador]

Michael,
I pay attention to your recommendations.
I know they are based in a lot of tests and jobs done.
rafael

http://www.nagavideo.com

[Michael Sacci]

John without knowing all your settings it is hard to say. I have never gotten a Compressor Icon, does it have .m2v as an extension?

In Encoder and the Extras tab, you don’t have Multiplexed checked do you?