Michael Slowe
Forum Replies Created
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In my post I referred to the trim settings only applying to the internal mic, I should have said “when the audio levels are on manual”. Will the trim settings apply even when levels are set to auto? The manual seems to indicate not.
Michael Slowe
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Sue, the brand you use is important and personally I use Verbatim DVD -R discs but I don’t know the brand you mention. I use the printable ones which have a nice matt white surface on which I print my covers as do you, on the Epsom Photo P50.
As to write speeds it is better I’m told to burn at a slow speed and I do mine at 2X but doubtless others may disagree. Eric referred to the downscaling and he is right, that is the crux of the matter. I always recommend the BitVice encoding software because it does the downscale and the Dolby ac3 audio file within its programme. The BitVice downscale is the best I’ve seen other than an expensive hardware downscale. I don’t therefore need to use Compressor at all which I prefer because I don’t like it for encoding DVD’s – but that’s just my preference. I just use Studio Pro to actually format the audio and video files once BitVice has prepared them and then I burn the disc in Toast.
Michael Slowe
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Sue, we all get this problem when there are sharp edges and the camera moves. It’s a characteristic of MPEG 2 I’m afraid and the sharper detail there is in the picture the worse it sometimes is. That is why I mentioned Blu-Ray because this almost entirely disappears when HD is encoded to a BD. However you do seem to be very much on the right track with all your research and experimentation. Don’t drive yourself mad, accept the limitations of DVD’s provided you can put up with the slight disadvantages, the key is in correct encoding.
Michael Slowe
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Don’t know I’m afraid, just do a search. Yes, any PP is easy to set up if you understand your camera and how to operate the menus. It’s all very intuitive.
Michael Slowe
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Jensen does cover Picture Profiles quite well but really concentrates on suggesting his own settings, arrived at after doing his own tests. The subject has been covered in great depth by people with great technical expertise on this forum in past months, maybe you can search it out. There is an expert EX cameraman called Chapman who lectures for Sony here in the UK, who has written papers on Picture Profiles and is well worth reading. He goes into the subject in great depth, I don’t know how far you want to go, for me Jensen’s settings seem just fine.
By the way, has anyone noticed how the editors and colourists for TV documentaries, are whacking up the saturation levels for HD to give, what to me, is a rather artificial look? Unless of course the DP’s are setting this in camera.
Michael Slowe
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Interesting thread this. I have used a ‘Tiffen UV’ filter (that’s what is written round the edge) since I had my EX 1 and have noticed no colour or light loss problems. In fact there is a technical expert writing for a magazine here in the UK who bemoans the use of any filters on a permanent basis on the grounds that modern filter coatings are so good any additional glass would degrade the picture. I use mine mainly for protection but I always understood that UV filtering assists colour rendering, especially the sky in sunny weather.
Michael Slowe
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I too am puzzled by the trim settings on my EX 1. Although I have set my two channels at different levels to suit the mics I use, it seems from the manual that these settings only apply when the mic is set to ‘internal’. Is this so, can someone enlighten me and Bob please?
Michael Slowe
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Jim, good luck, you won’t be disappointed I feel sure. A final word of advice. Be sure to lay your hands (eyes) on the great DVD of Doug Jensen’s EX workshop produced by Vortex Media. I got mine from my dealer but in America they seem rather tougher but do be sure to get one, it will save you hours of investigation and a lot of trouble.
Bob mentioned archiving, that’s a whole heap of questions, make your film first then worry about that, no one seems to have arrived at the perfect answer yet. Sticking a final cut on to a tape and stacking it on the shelf is just not on any more.
Michael Slowe
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No idea, look at their site. There must be dozens of similar supports available wherever you are.
Michael Slowe
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You fellows are really confusing poor old Sue now. You’ve gone right away from Steve’s original very kind and helpful early advice.
Sue, to get your required MPEG 2 file for burning a DVD you need to use some good encoding software. I’m not sure that Compressor is as good as one called BitVice, if you can find someone who has it you should give it a go. In that you can choose the appropriate bit rate and there are sliders which indicate what the size of the file will be so you can see whether or not it will fit on the disc. I often make 15 minute DVD’s and use a rate of about 7 because any higher than that may cause playback problems on some players. I’m getting very good DVD picture quality from my original 1920 X 1080i HD material. However, if you want ‘HD’ quality, why not produce Blu-Ray discs? The difference is amazing and all you need is a Blu-Ray burner and Titanium Toast version 10 or 11 and it’s very straightforward to do. I don’t know whether people are getting Blu-Ray players in your area. Here in London they are now widespread and together with an HD TV screen (these are now very common) your stuff will be shown to its best advantage.
Michael Slowe