HD Show to SD DVD

[David Roth weiss]

If the cable station will accept QT files instead of a “video DVD” that would be much better. You’d best check with them, and if they will accept QT files, ask which QT codec they prefer.

David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor/Colorist
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los Angeles
https://www.drwfilms.com

POST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™

A forum host of Creative COW’s Business & Marketing and Apple Final Cut Pro forums. Formerly host of the Apple Final Cut Basics, Indie Film & Documentary, and Film History & Appreciations forums.

[George Sloan]

Thanks Walter,
I have no choice but to use compressor. After checking the compressor manual I am totally confused as to the proper settings. Keep in mind that I have to deliver on DVD to the station in SD preserving the original
16:9 by letterboxing. The broadcasters software will squeeze anything it perceives as not being 4:3.

Thanks for your patience.

George Sloan
Young Harris, Ga.

[George Sloan]

Thanks David,

They don’t have a clue which codec they prefer. Can you walk me through the proper steps in Compressor
so that I can deliver the proper SD QT movie file letterboxed so that it will preserve the 16x 9 aspect ratio?

I am totally confused by Compressor manual.
Dont have studio pro. I author with Toast.

Thanks for your patience….. George

[George Sloan]

HI David,

Using the process you described from FAQ…entitled…

“How do I create a Standard DVD from an HD Project?
From your finished HD timeline:”

Works great but no good for delivering on DVD to broadcast using an older encoder/modulator.
Which takes the dvd material and squishes/elongates the images for standard mgeg2.

I have talked to the station and the modulator’encoder manufacter… they no nothing but standard def
4:3 mpeg 2 which is what they want on DVD. I would like a higher quality product since I am shoooting in 1O80i. Shoot I give up and just shoot and or edit in sd. (cannot buy new hardware at this time)

George

[George Sloan]

Hi Walter

Using the process you described from FAQ…entitled…

“How do I create a Standard DVD from an HD Project?
From your finished HD timeline:”

Works great but no good for delivering on DVD to broadcast using an older encoder/modulator.
Which takes the dvd material and squishes/elongates the images for standard mgeg2.

I have talked to the station and the modulator’encoder manufacter… they nothing but standard def
4:3 mpeg 2 which is what they want on DVD. I would like a higher quality product since I am shoooting in 1O80i. Shoot I give up and just shoot and or edit in sd. (cannot buy new hardware at this time)

George

[Phil Valentine]

I followed those instructions and I’m still getting sub-par video as a result on the DVD. Text is a little jagged and faces are a bit blurred. Any ideas what I might be doing wrong? I know at one point it asked me to set the bit rate and I wasn’t sure what to do so I just left it where it was.

Thanks,

Phil

[Christina Rodriguez]

Here are requirements of a a few stations I upload to:
(this is for tv commercials though, not programming)

If your spot is in High Definition, please use the following file format:
MPEG2 / .m2t  
(Note: this is not just any Mpeg2, it is Mpeg2 “t”, not “v”).
·     1280×720
·     720P @ 59.94 fps
·     25 Mbits/s Constant Bit Rate
·     Multiplexed w/AC3 Audio (Stereo or Multi-Channel)

If your spot is in Standard Definition, please use the following file format:
MPEG2
·     720×480
·     12 Mbits/s Constant Bit Rate
·     Multiplexed Audio
·     6/1 I-Frame Configuration

—

Others just prefer .mov which I deliver with h.264 compressor, leave the bit rate blank, key frames automatic, frame rate as is, and quality between high and best. I usually do this w/QT conversion, but I am uploading 30″ to 1″ spots, so it doesn’t really take too much time…

—-

They also state:

When producing HD Spots, be sure to have the production company keep all essential elements such as Logos, Graphics and Main Video elements within the Standard Definition 4:3 safety area. 

This is to ensure that viewers that are still on Standard definition cable or Satellite are able to view all the main elements of a spot. 

Any elements outside the 4:3 safety area will only be seen on True HD Monitors connected to a regular antenna, HD Cable or HD Satellite and Standard Television sets connected to a convertor box. 

C.R.

[Amir Leron]

Hi David, i read your thread and need an argent help. for the last day i can’t find the answer. i have a 1980:1080 video i edited in FCP and finish it in dvd studio pro. my problem is that when play he dvd the image (on the wide screen tv) keep coming stretched horizontally and the people (and in my case yoga people) look shorter and fatter. the only way the image look good is if i manually change the tv setting for 4:3 and zoom, but i must have the dvd played right for 16:9.
i tryed the way you wrote and as well i tryed to first downres to 720:480 and then make mpeg with compressor but the resulte are the same. i read some thread saying to compress the image to 720:480 and then to mpeg 16:9 anamorphic. but couldn’t find that option in compressor. as you see i’m lost and my deadline is already pass…
please help
thanks a lot
Amir

[Jim Hyslop]

OK, so I know this thread is four years old, but I’m hoping someone is still monitoring it.

David, I tried the suggestions that you posted from the FAQ, but my DVD is not automatically switching between letterbox and full screen.

If I set the video mode for the track to 4:3, it ends up as full screen on both HD and SD screens. Which is fine for 16:9, but terrible on 4:3. If I set it to pan-scan, then (again) it looks fine on the 16:9 monitor, but it’s a true pan-and-scan image on the 4:3 monitor – the edges are cropped. If I set it to 16:9 letterbox or 16:9 letterbox+pan-scan, then it ends up being letterboxed everywhere – on 4:3 monitors (which looks OK) and on 16:9 monitors (which makes everything look reaaallly wide – might be OK to simulate Cinemascope).

So what settings do I need to tweak to make it switch automatically, like you say it should? Or should I just assume that the majority of TVs by now are 16:9 and not worry about the 4:3 Luddites?