[Brad Elliott]

I realize your question involves keeping marker info but you may want to consider another approach.

I have had the most success with getting HD to SD DVDs with the following:

1) Make a SD version of your final HD seq. in FC(I have had limited success with Compressor doing the down convert for SD DVD from HD.)
2) Add markers as needed and then you will only need to be making DVD files from the FC SD QT which will keep the marker info.

1st pass I do not change the frame controls in the presets.

You may want to do some short tests with the current problem areas to see if it helps to have compression markers or not. They have have helped me in some instances but I do use them until after I have tried the above and am still finding problems.

[Brad Elliott]

I have not had consistently good results with using Compressor to down convert HD for SD DVD.

My solution has been to down-convert the HD in Final Cut by putting the HD footage into a 16×9 29.97 SD sequence and then rendering. Export the SD sequence(ref or self-contained) and then use compressor to create the DVD elements.

I don’t usually do CBR unless I am having issues but many people recommend it for a number of reasons.
For less than 75 minutes on a DVD-5 I use
2 pass VBR
average of 6.5 and a max of 8(never higher)
audio:
ac3 audio at 192 and dialog normalization at -31

I have used these setting for years and in my experience have gotten great results.

[Brad Elliott]

For consideration:

https://forums.creativecow.net/readpost/20/868212

I was unable to clear my history after following these steps but it did seem to help.

If Apple says to do a reinstall they probably know more than they are sharing. Some of our support people recommend doing clean installs every 12-16 months on our macs. An unattractive option but in my experience everything always runs better.

Digital Heaven also offers an FCS uninstaller which allow you to only uninstall what you want. I have had limited success when I only uninstalled Compressor because during the reinstall I ended up having to put in almost every disc to complete the install. This is presumably because of the shared elements. It beats having to reinstall FC and lose your preferences but from a time perspective I didn’t find there to be a lot of difference.

Save your settings folder so that you can copy them back in after the reinstall.

[Brad Elliott]

I would not recommend exporting through Final Cut to Compressor via share. I have had more problems than not.

In almost all instances the reference approach has given me the faster encode with the cluster approach.

What are you converting the XDCam to in Compressor?

[Brad Elliott]

In my opinion the codec options for an AVI file from compressor are less than awesome. This is because Apple doesn’t/didn’t want to spend any time or money on a competitor’s old format.

Cinepak will probably be the best option for PPT. Keep in mind this codec is old enough to vote and the files will only look so good no matter what OS you make it on.

The best codec for an AVI is TSCC which to my knowledge isn’t available for Compressor and still involves considerable expense and other caveats.

WMV is what we use for PPT. Episode makes the best looking wmvs on a Mac but is not inexpensive. Flip4Mac is the next option but is probably more like the Chevy Lumina of compressors. It will get you there but doesn’t compare to more expensive encoders. The reality is that the best looking wmvs are made on a PC.

If they are running PPT 2010 you could try a H264 file but I have had limited success with consistent playback especially at sizes larger than 640×360.

I would try flip4mac.

[Brad Elliott]

In my opinion H264 is one of the best cross platform deliverables out there.

The caveat with the PC is that some version of QT may not be installed on the PC or the end user cannot circumvent the IT restrictions to install the free version.

DG accepts HD H264 files for broadcast and trust me when I say they are
very particular when it comes to what they will accept.

In my experience the quality of a H264 file is based on how you compress it not the limitations of the codec. There can be exceptions based on your source but these two rules apply more often than not to most situations.

1)Data rate and file size effect each other proportionately.
The higher the data rate the larger the file size and usually the better the quality.
2)Lower the data rate enough and you will see quality issues in your end export.

[Brad Elliott]

I have had issues using the send to feature in FC.

I have much better luck exporting a QT(self-contained or reference)file from FC and then using that in Compressor. Do not use QT conversion.

[Brad Elliott]

Just out of curiosity what are the H264 files playing back on that requires 1080p?

Have you tried exporting ProRes422HQ from AE and then using the Compressor preset for H264?

The problem is most likely related to what is coming out of AE.

Are you able to export anything that looks correct out of AE?
Animation, Photo JPG, etc?

[Brad Elliott]

Adobe CS3,4,5 has an excellent media encoder for what you need.

If you do not have it this would be probably be more than you want to spend but in my experience this has created the best looking flv files vs other free or less expensive options. This is especially true when I have to meet certain size and data rate specs.

[Brad Elliott]

What is the final deliverable?

We have had success with putting 29.97 and 23.98 in a 59.94 sequence and then using a Kona card to roll off a 29.97 master.