which render settings for HDV 60i in DVD Arch

[Dave Haynie]

The right template to start with is using MainConcept MPEG-2, select the “DVD Architect NTSC Widescreen video stream”. That’s the right frame rate and aspect ratio for 60i 16:9 video to NTSC DVD. This is video-only, you’ll want to render audio as well, probably to AC-3 (you can also render to uncompressed audio like a WAV file, but unless this is a music project, AC-3 is good enough).

If this proves to large for the kind of DVD you’re making, you can edit the template for different MPEG-2 encoding parameters. At this point, you may want to track down one of the 2,307 “Bitrate Calculators” that fill the internet, to help figure out some of the settings.

-Dave

[Doug Kereszturi]

Thanks Dave. I tried this format and when I played it on a 42 inch plasma, the picture did not fill up the sides or the top. Any suggestions?

[Dave Haynie]

A couple of things. Run the preview in DVD Architect — you should see, in the preview window, exactly what you’re going to see on a video screen. If you see a full screen DVD, you’re making it correctly. If not, double-check that the project settings in Vegas are also for a 16:9 DVD, when you created that MPEG-2 video.

Also, make sure that commercially produced DVDs fill the sides and the top when played on the same gear. There are dozens of different settings on hardware these days.

That is the correct format to use — you’re doing something else wrong. Try this, and perhaps we can figure out just where the problem is.

-Dave