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Is DLT more accurate for chapter point than DVD for replication?
The client wants a chapter point just after one scene, and just before the narrator says “For our next…” The exact placement turns out to be impossible for the I-frames in the file – but there’s a twist. When I place the chapter point in Encore, I can either put it on the last frame of the previous scene, or after the narrator says “For.”
I made a DVD image and then DVDs with chapter points at both locations. Guess what?
When I place the chapter point late (after “For”) the chapter actually starts with “next.” When I place the chapter point too early (on last frame of previous scene) I actually never see the previous scene, and I get the full line from the narrator. So the chapter point as previewed in Encore is more accurate, and starts earlier, than the actual chapter point in the DVD.
Question: I can make either a DVD-R or a DLT for the client. Is this fortunate error/delay going to disappear if I supply a DLT? iow – is the DLT going to be more accurate than a DVD-R would be, for replication?
In this case, more accurate = less desirable. I’m encoding from a Digital Rapids card, “live,” so have no control over exact placements of I-frames and therefore chapter points. And I don’t want to redo the whole 90-minute show because that would entail redoing all the chapter points, all of which are great except for this one.
Thanks for your insights.
— Bob C
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4 Replies
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Howdy Bob,
You might find that different DVD players give you different results with regards to the first pic/sound after the chapter point. The chapter point is exactly where you placed it though. Things like decoder speed, buffer sizes and other electro-mechanical and electronic factors determine exactly what gets out the spigot first. I don’t think duplicated vs replicated will make one bit of difference.
A useful tool for you in this instance might be TMPGEnc MPEG Editor 2.0 as it can take an mepg file and add I frames exactly where you want them. It will only re-encode the GOPs around the new I frames so most of the mpeg file is left untouched. It’s very fast too. Hope you still have a Windows machine around though cause it’s a PC program.
How’d your file transcode marathon work out?
Dave
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Thanks! Good old TMPGenc. I have TMPGenc and MPEG Tools, but don’t have MPEG Editor, and I think the client wants it yesterday, with all its flaws, but I’ll try to remember that for next time.
[Dave Friend] ”
How’d your file transcode marathon work out?”I assume you’re asking about the project where I had to customize, in three steps, 290 versions of three basic spots, and tried in FCP to create a sequence of a sequence of a sequence, which worked great, even after I changed the first sequence — until FCP suddenly substituted a prior version of the first sequence. I did what I think you said, which was to export a QT movie and reimport that. In fact I wound up doing that over and over. But at least I got through it. Thanks for your help on that one, and my apologies for not getting back to you about it. I guess I didn’t want to think about it for awhile. Very disappointing and disturbing experience, because now I have zero confidence in FCP media management, if that is what it is called. But would Premiere Pro have been any better?
— Bob C.
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[Bob Cole] “I guess I didn’t want to think about it for awhile.”
Completely understandable.
[Bob Cole] “But would Premiere Pro have been any better?”
Almost certainly not.Procoder or Media Cleaner might have been a good tool. (A little late for that comment now – sorry)
Dave
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I know what it’s like to get through something then not want to think about it. I just finished a huge project with hundreds of versions.(Trivia Game) SHUDDER!!!! Never again…….unless, of course, I need the money. (Which, of course, I will)
Strangely enough the only tool that made it bearable for me was After Effects. It seemed to handle dropping layers in and out much easier than any NLE I have access to.
Just my 2 cents.
Dan
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