How do I render this for DVD?

[John Rofrano]

[Griff Hamlin] “I put a clip that I rendered using this setting at https://griffhamlin.com/help/testA.mpg. It is only a few seconds long but the movement is really bad.”

Yup, I can see the problem in your file. It looks like your project isn’t set up correctly or your footage is not being interpreted correctly. Can you post a screen capture of your project properties, your media properties, and your render properties? The media properties can be seen by right-clicking on an event and select Properties | Media tab. Something isn’t correct between the three.

~jr

http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com

[Griff Hamlin]

Hi John, and thanks for the reply. In the process of going through the steps you mentioned I found the discrepancy between the progressive scan of my media, and the upper field first of the render template.

If I change the render template to progressive (and the project settings already were) it seems to fix the problem.

However, I’m unclear as to whether or not this will translate to an actual DVD. I’ve always previewed my .mpg files on the computer before putting them on DVD and it’s always worked out just fine in the past. But I’ve never had to change the render settings this way.

I guess I just need to burn one and be sure, but do you know of any problems I’m overlooking?

Thanks so much for your help.

Oh – and one last question. Since all of my media is 1.5:1 and I’m cropping to 16:9, is there a way to crop the track and not each individual clip? There are about 20 clips on the track… it’s just tedious to have to crop them all first.

[John Rofrano]

[Griff Hamlin] “In the process of going through the steps you mentioned I found the discrepancy between the progressive scan of my media, and the upper field first of the render template.”

Are you sure that your media is progressive? That footage suggests that your media is interlaced. I would check it with a tool like MediaInfo to be sure.

[Griff Hamlin] “Since all of my media is 1.5:1 and I’m cropping to 16:9, is there a way to crop the track and not each individual clip? There are about 20 clips on the track… it’s just tedious to have to crop them all first.”

No, there is no way to crop the track. Cropping can only be done at the event level.

~jr

http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com

[Griff Hamlin]

Thanks John. Using mediainfo I can see that my Sony camera is writing mpg2 30i to it’s SD card, and I can only assume that the VR-5 is expecting 30p since it is writing 30p mp4 files to its SD card.

So first, does that seem like a reasonable assumption? And if all that is true, it seems the only option is to use a camera that will output SD in 30p instead of 30i.

Regrettably my Sony is not one of those cameras. There is no option at all to change the framerate, only the size (SD 4:3, SD 16:9, HD 1440×1080 or HD 1920×1080.) And for the SD sizes the output is 30i while the HD sizes are 60i.

For my immediate problem, I was able to use Handbrake to de-interlace the footage (using the slowest setting the result was remarkably good and completely useable.) And from here I’m able to edit and create the product.

But the whole idea behind the VR-5 was to speed up workflow and if I have to wait on Handbrake to de-interlace everything after I have shot it… that’s not going to work out.

So if you have any thoughts as to whether or not I’m correct about this 30i vs 30p thing… and any thoughts as to a camera that might output what I need I would be appreciative.

As for a camera, my needs are VERY simple. I don’t move, they sit on a tripod in a studio with a lot of light. They don’t have to do much of anything but output the video signal.

Thanks!

[John Rofrano]

[Griff Hamlin] “Using mediainfo I can see that my Sony camera is writing mpg2 30i to it’s SD card, and I can only assume that the VR-5 is expecting 30p since it is writing 30p mp4 files to its SD card.”

Now I’m really confused. Originally you said the footage was in Vegas in WMV format. How did that happen if the VR-5 produces MP4?

[Griff Hamlin] “So first, does that seem like a reasonable assumption? And if all that is true, it seems the only option is to use a camera that will output SD in 30p instead of 30i.”

Yes that makes perfect sense. Is there a way to tell the VR-5 that the camera input is interlaced? That seems like the simplest solution. Since 99% of all cameras are interlaced, I can’t imaging that it doesn’t support de-interlacing the footage. Otherwise you are correct, it is not “enhancing” your workflow by adding a manual step with Handbreak.

[Griff Hamlin] “As for a camera, my needs are VERY simple. I don’t move, they sit on a tripod in a studio with a lot of light. They don’t have to do much of anything but output the video signal.”

How does the camera connect to the VR-5?

~jr

http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com

[Griff Hamlin]

[John Rofrano] “Now I’m really confused. Originally you said the footage was in Vegas in WMV format. How did that happen if the VR-5 produces MP4?”

Sorry about that… when the VR-5 writes to the SD card it is in mp4 format. If I run mediainfo on that file it is progressive scan. In order to actually edit the file, however, Roland provides a utility that transcodes to wmv (pretty quickly) for editing. Vegas Pro cannot edit the mp4 directly (and Premiere cannot either.)

I can, however, watch the mp4 in VLC and see the interlacing, just as I can watch the footage in wmv format and see it.

[John Rofrano] “How does the camera connect to the VR-5?”
The camera interfaces with the VR-5 via S-Video or BNC connector. Currently I use S-Video because my Sony cameras don’t have a BNC connector.

[John Rofrano]

If the VR-5 doesn’t support interlaced cameras and it is creating MP4 files that neither Vegas nor Premiere can edit then I’d suggest that it’s not helping your workflow at all. It’s actually causing your problem. You might consider not using it.

~jr

http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com