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standard definition video – authored as blu-ray disc
I have a client who had requested I author some standard definition (SD) videos as blu-ray projects. One stipulation is that I always encode at the highest bit rate possible. Some of the videos are 3 hours long, so they won’t fit onto a DVD9 at max bit rate, thus it makes sense to author them to blu-ray disc if max bit rate is a non-negotiable requirement. Of course, this is easy to do using DVD Architect. I have some questions about some aspects of it though.
1. Other than being able to fit considerably more SD video encoded at max bit rate onto a single blu-ray disc, is there any advantage to authoring SD video as a blu-ray? I ask this question because some of the videos are less than two hours long – but the client still wants them authored to blu-ray. I think if I can make a case for why a DVD9 would be just as good as a blu-ray disc, the client would go along with that.
2. As a follow up to the above question – can you achieve higher picture quality by encoding SD video at a bit rate higher than what is allowed for a DVD (9.8K)? In other words, would SD video encoded at a VBR of 12K and then authored to a SD blu-ray look better than the same video encoded at 9.8K and authored to DVD?
3. One other follow-on question. I’ve noticed when authoring a DVD with DVD Architect, the compilation and authoring literally only takes a few minutes to complete. If I take the exact same SD video and audio files and author them to an SD blu-ray disc, it will take an hour or more to finish. I realize the DVD is compiling several VOB files and the blu-ray is compiling all the video and audio into one .m2ts file. What I’m really curious about – is there any re-encoding taking place when authoring the SD video to a blu-ray disc (thus the significant difference in the amount of time it takes for the disc to finish)?
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5 Replies
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Why?
* Grazie
Video Content Creator and Potter
PC 7 64-bit 16gb * Intel® Core™i7-2600k Quad Core 3.40GHz * 2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 560 Ti
Cameras: Canon XF300 + PowerShot SX50HS Bridge -
More to the point – I don’t understand any of this. I really don’t. And I’m being polite too.
* Grazie
Video Content Creator and Potter
PC 7 64-bit 16gb * Intel® Core™i7-2600k Quad Core 3.40GHz * 2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 560 Ti
Cameras: Canon XF300 + PowerShot SX50HS Bridge -
My experience is that my best quality was obtained by putting the SD (vob files from a DVD) onto a Blu-ray disc as they are i.e SD. DVDA didn’t recompress them, retained their AC3 audio, and they were simply copied over to become m2ts files. My Blu-ray player then upscales them feeding 1080 50p to my TV. My player appears to do a better job of upscaling than any upscaling I do with software I’ve tried.
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[Nick Frankiewitz] “1. Other than being able to fit considerably more SD video encoded at max bit rate onto a single blu-ray disc, is there any advantage to authoring SD video as a blu-ray? I ask this question because some of the videos are less than two hours long – but the client still wants them authored to blu-ray. I think if I can make a case for why a DVD9 would be just as good as a blu-ray disc, the client would go along with that.”
More room to fit video is the only determining factor. The video will be the same quality as DVD if it’s encoded at the same DVD bit rates.
[Nick Frankiewitz] “2. As a follow up to the above question – can you achieve higher picture quality by encoding SD video at a bit rate higher than what is allowed for a DVD (9.8K)? In other words, would SD video encoded at a VBR of 12K and then authored to a SD blu-ray look better than the same video encoded at 9.8K and authored to DVD?”
12Mbps will look better than 9.8Mbps assuming your source was created at 12Mbps or greater. For example, if it’s DV then the bit rate is 25Mbps so you can encode up to the original bit rate to get the best quality.
[Nick Frankiewitz] “3. One other follow-on question. I’ve noticed when authoring a DVD with DVD Architect, the compilation and authoring literally only takes a few minutes to complete. If I take the exact same SD video and audio files and author them to an SD blu-ray disc, it will take an hour or more to finish. I realize the DVD is compiling several VOB files and the blu-ray is compiling all the video and audio into one .m2ts file. What I’m really curious about – is there any re-encoding taking place when authoring the SD video to a blu-ray disc (thus the significant difference in the amount of time it takes for the disc to finish)?”
I’m guessing that there is no re-encoding going on, just re-wrapping the original content into a new container which happens very quickly. I’ve never placed SD on a Blu-ray but from your description, that’s what it sounds like is happening.
~jr
http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasstsoftware.com -
Thanks for the informative reply John.
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