[Daniel_l]

You need to use Apple’s Compressor or DVD studio pro or iDVD rather than Quicktime to get the best results. Simply choose one of the DVD PAL presets depending on the length of your piece.
FYI, PAL MPEG-2 is 720×576 at 25 fps, data rate between 1.5mbps and 8mbps. Audio: either PCM or AC-3

[Daniel_l]

Charles,

No disrespect, but VC-1 is not yet ratified, by the SMPTE. As it’s based on WM9 I would be very careful about the use/delivery/standardisation of/on it as there’s every possibility that it may not get approval (in it’s current form) and the work on it has not yet been completed. I would be more than happy to recommend WMV9 but not VC-1, as yet.

The SMPTE process is not looking too good according to this article: (18/10/05)

https://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=50500181

“Peter Symes, SMPTE engineering vice president, declined to predict when VC-1 will become a Full Committee Draft (FCD). “There were some delays at the beginning, but an enormous amount of work has been done. It’s very complex; it takes time,” he said. SMPTE expects to have an FCD ballot soon, which would mark the end of technical changes to VC-1″

“Microsoft has given the impression that its WMV9 and SMPTE’s VC-1 are one and the same, but there are differences. Windows Media includes many things that are not part of VC-1, including digital rights management, metadata, a playlist and a user interface. VC-1 is purely a video compression algorithm”

[Daniel_l]

Most DVD players and TVs in the UK can playback NTSC DVDs

[Daniel_l]

Save yourself the hassle and get this for the Mac:

https://www.flip4mac.com/wmv.htm

Go for the studio pro version that produces HD WMV’s

DL

[Daniel_l]

Actually, with the right software you can get MPEG 1 to do some amazing stuff:

https://www.digigami.com/megapeg/samples.php

[Daniel_l]

Actually Windows does not have any built-in support for playback of MPEG-2 or DVDs, however most PCs are shipped with a 3rd party MPEG 2/DVD playback package/component (that may only be an evaluation version) and will either allow playback of MPEG-2 in WMP or it’s own player software.

Updates to Windows etc can (and usually do) break MPEG-2 playback and require the re-installation of the the 3rd party software.

As with Apple, you have to pay for an (half decent) MPEG-2 decoder/transcoder and this is simply due to licening costs from the MPEGLA.

As the previous posted pointed out, you are much better off with MPEG-1 (square pixel).

Lastly, there is nothing unusual with a PC performing a task for years and then suddenly not. As a PC user for over 20 years, I expect it.

[Daniel_l]

Stopped using cleaner XL after discreet lost interest in desktop video. Anyway, it was too clunky and slow for the kind of work I did then.

Pro/carboncoder is bread and butter these days but I’m still waiting for the ‘killer’ encoding application.

I like what the Rhozet guys are doing and some of the stuff coming from silicon optix/teranex, but that’s at the high end. – https://teranexlive.dimentians.com/home/applications/imageEnhance.cfm

DL

[Daniel_l]

Ben,

Thanks,

I’m not quite sure, but it looks like MainConcept’s V2 H.264 encoder supports High but it’s unclear whether it’s 4:2:2.

What I really needed confirmation on was whether VC-1 can/will do any better than 4:2:0?

DL

[Daniel_l]

Export as a non-self contained (reference file)to retain the source format and quality. If you don’t find the quality of DVDSP sufficient, then either take it into Compressor and tweek the parameters or get a copy of Compression Master from Popwire.

DL

[Daniel_l]

Autodesk has stated that there are (plenty of) issues with 10.4 and QT 7.

Don’t hold your breath for an update to the app.

https://support.discreet.com/