SD DVD encoding

[Stephen Smith]

I’ve never used iDVD or Toast to make a DVD Video disc so I’m sure I’m not the best person to talk to. But, 527MB for a 2 minute HD video sounds super small. What codec are you using to edit with? Did you compress your own mpeg2 files.

Stephen Smith
Utah Video Productions

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[Brian Mulligan]

SD DVD’s are encoded with the mpeg2 format. The video is 720×480. It can be 4×3 or 16×9 (annamorphic). The bit rate is about 9 mb/sec.

SD DVD’s as video is also measured in time not file size. You can get about 60 mins of 720×480 video on a 4.3Gig DVD.

You will never get a 2.5 min video to “FILL” the entire disc. Some programs might allow you to raise the bit rate of the mpeg encode, but it more than likely won’t play in a standard DVD player.

[Walter Soyka]

[Brian Mulligan] “SD DVD’s are encoded with the mpeg2 format. The video is 720×480. It can be 4×3 or 16×9 (annamorphic). The bit rate is about 9 mb/sec. You will never get a 2.5 min video to “FILL” the entire disc. Some programs might allow you to raise the bit rate of the mpeg encode, but it more than likely won’t play in a standard DVD player.”

I’d only add that the MAXIMUM bit rate is about 9 Mb/s. This is the fastest that a DVD player is expected to read data from disc. You can go lower to fit more content on the disc (sacrificing quality), but if you go higher than about 9 Mb/s, it will be out of spec and may not play on a standard DVD player.

[Steve Cornell] “The file size for my video is 527MB, 1920×1080 with a bit rate of 26 mbits/sec. The video is 2.5 minutes in duration.”

How are you preparing this HD file for an SD DVD?

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
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[Steve Cornell]

Export PROREs from FCP. Open that file in QT and export for QT movie using the highest settings I can get. 80,000 kbit/sec H.264 multi-pass// key frame every 24 even though its 30P footage.

I then import this beautiful and clean footage into iDVD and letting the asset encoder destroy the quality.

I’ve also tried a 1280×720 version that looks a “little” bit cleaner after burning onto a SD DVD but again nothing like the original.

[Walter Soyka]

[Steve Cornell] “Export PROREs from FCP. Open that file in QT and export for QT movie using the highest settings I can get. 80,000 kbit/sec H.264 multi-pass// key frame every 24 even though its 30P footage. I then import this beautiful and clean footage into iDVD and letting the asset encoder destroy the quality.”

No need for the intermediate H.264 encode. You could bring the ProRes file directly into iDVD and then let the asset encoder destroy the quality. You’d save a lot of time and might get a bit of an increase in quality.

You could also use Compressor and Toast or DVD Studio Pro instead. You’ll have a lot more control over the encode in Compressor.

Personally, I think that Innobits BitVice SD is the best SD MPEG-2 encoder available for the Mac. I used it all the time for DVDs.

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events