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slide show image quality on DVD
I have created a 45-minute program with Premiere 6.5 (for Mac) and put it on DVD with iDVD, but am disappointed with the quality of my photographs on screen. When viewed on a television screen, the image quality is “okay”, but not nearly as good as the originals. (To deal with the flickering of the TV screen, I had to de-flicker about half of the clips in Premiere, and of course that softens those images even more.) I know to size the images at 720×540 in Photoshop, and then Premiere converts square pixels to DV rectangular pixels. Is there anything else I can do to improve picture quality? Is there an inherent problem with using Premiere for slide shows?
We are producing multi-media programs for sale on DVD, and wish the picture quality on screen reflected the quality of our original photographs. With Premiere (using Mac) I have to make a QuickTime Movie for DVD authoring. I made test files using a number of different compressors, and the Sorenson seemed the best, but do you recommend a particular compressor to maintain high image quality?
I am especially concerned that people who buy our DVDs will try to play them on their computers. If they try to make the image fit the entire screen, the picture quality is really bad. 720×480 just doesn’t look good on a 1024×768 screen! Am I correct in understanding that DVD authoring programs automatically format to 720×480, and so it is pointless to try to make a higher resolution program to improve picture quality since iDVD will shrink it right back to 720×480?
I am going to order your book, but am approaching some deadlines and would really appreciate your input.
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5 Replies
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WHoa… slow down.. you have like 15 questions in there.
First… if the pictures don’t move… don’t bother taking them into premiere
MAKE A SLIDESHOWSecond.. iDVD is a consumer program and you get very limited control over compression quality
Go to DVD Studio ProThird… work in Photoshop CS or better CS2…. size images to 720 X 480 Nonsquare pixels
Use the Flicker Action in CS2Fourth… You can’t change the spec… DVDs work 720X480 and you can’t keep people from blowing them up on their computers either
Richard M. Harrington, PMP
Author: Photoshop CS for Nonlinear Editors
Co-Author Final Cut Pro On The Spot & After Effects on the Spot
Check out the new DVD: Photoshop CS: Essentials for Digital Video from http://www.vasst.comedit – produce – direct –
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I do this for a living. Be glad to help you out.
I think the main problem with quality is:
“With Premiere (using Mac) I have to make a QuickTime Movie for DVD authoring. I made test files using a number of different compressors, and the Sorenson seemed the best, but do you recommend a particular compressor to maintain high image quality?
Quicktime compresses(loss of quality) the photos to much.
Email me if you need help. ggknight@plixtel.com8mm & 16mm film to DVD
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Thanks for your quick response. I do use motion in this program, making zooms and pans with After Effects (figured out to do this when Premiere’s zooms and pans were not smooth). I started with Premiere several years ago, to produce programs for VHS video sales. I use 3 or more audio tracks, After Effects files for motion, and some split screens — are there good quality slide shows that can do that?
Also, my question about compression was regarding the compressor I choose within Premiere 6.5 when making the program into a QuickTime movie for creating a DVD. That seemed to be the point where I could see a clear loss in image quality, depending on the compressor I chose. I don’t see a noticeable difference in image quality between Premiere’s QuickTime file and the DVD.
Thanks again for the information — I’m happy to learn that Photoshop CS2 has a Flicker Action!
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Don’t compress if using iDVD
render out animation codec movies from AE and let iDVD compress
if DVD SP.. use compresor and choices are obvious
Richard M. Harrington, PMP
Author: Photoshop CS for Nonlinear Editors
Co-Author Final Cut Pro On The Spot & After Effects on the Spot
Check out the new DVD: Photoshop CS: Essentials for Digital Video from http://www.vasst.comedit – produce – direct –
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I have been experimenting with ways to improve my 45-minute program, trying to not compress the program more than once. I have discovered that I can choose “None” when exporting my Premiere file as the final QuickTime movie, and the image quality is retained. However, a 2 min.12 sec. test movie is 3.17 GB, and a 3 min.14 sec. test movie is 4.91 GB. According to my calculations, at those rates the final 45-minute program would be a 60-70 GB movie. Can iDVD handle a movie that large?
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