Getting HD output with smallest file size

[Brendan Coots]

This is screwy on several fronts:

“- I used film (2k) for the preset”

Why such overkill? It would be much easier if you were just using a standard HD preset such as 1920×1080 square pixel. It’s not like you gained any quality by doing that since you’re just going to squash it back down to 1920×1080 (or 1280×720, the most commonly used HD size) anyway.

“- I rendered with the preset video for windows and used the xvid MPEG-4 Codec
Is the above correct?”

If you don’t care in the slightest about 50% of the whole point of HD, which is image quality, then that will work. If you want true HD, you should be outputting to something uncompressed and feed this file to your authoring application (like Adobe Encore) once you author it to Blu Ray. If you aren’t authoring to Blu Ray, then there is absolutely no point in using HD at all since you would just be squashing it back down to Standard Definition resolution for a regular DVD.

“The file must stay:
– High Definition
– As low of a file size as possible”

These are totally conflicting requirements. HD at a very small file size isn’t HD. It’s like hauling around a giant steamer trunk that only contains a single pair of socks. What you’re asking for may be the same physical dimensions as HD but the quality is the whole point of the format. Why are you needing the smallest file size? are you planning to stream the file from a computer to the TV for playback? If so, smallest file size isn’t necessarily best, you just need a very efficient codec that looks great and streams smoothly.

I would try Windows Media 9 Advanced Profile (VC-1) with a bitrate around 8,000 to start. Another option is Quicktime H.264. Either way, you SHOULD NOT be rendering these files out of After Effects. The proper workflow, if you want to retain any image quality at all, is to render an uncompressed version (using the Animation Codec) out of After Effects, then use a third party app for the encode to VC-1 or H.264. The reason is that After Effects is famously horrible at rendering out compressed versions, the files are always way larger and way lower quality than you can get from just about any compression application on the market. If you don’t have a lot of money to work with, try Quicktime pro – it’s only $30 and will export to both formats listed above on a PC, but requires the Flip4Mac Quicktime plugin to render Windows Media format from a mac.

Brendan Coots
Splitvision Digital
http://www.splitvisiondigital.com

[Jess Tiki]

Great info! This project is not getting burned though. So can I have High def from a computer to a tv? If so I export the file as lossless and then import into encore and then what?

[Brendan Coots]

It all depends on how you are planning to connect your computer to the TV. Are you running an HDMI cable from your computer’s video card to the TV? If so, you should probably compress the video using one of the formats I mentioned in the last post and play it back full screen on the computer. You may see the frame of the media player in there as well since this method just shows your desktop on the TV. The only other method I know of to pipe HD to your TV with Blu Ray authoring is to put the file on an Xbox or PS3 connected to your TV, but you can’t loop the video with this option.

For what it sounds like you are trying to do, you may need to author a proper Blu Ray DVD but I can’t even begin to explain to you how to do that. It’s pretty complex and requires a Blu Ray burner. Google around to find out how to properly author Blu Ray discs, and expect to waste a few discs until you get it right.

Brendan Coots
Splitvision Digital
http://www.splitvisiondigital.com