[Ivan Myles]

In the export panel under the Multiplexer tab check that stream compatibility is set to Standard. You might also consider increasing the target bitrate to 20-24 Mbps or higher; the 1280p equivalent to Blu-ray quality would be about 40-42 Mbps.

[Ivan Myles]

Max frame size is 4096×2303 for H.264 L5.1/5.2. How/where is the video going to be played?

[Ivan Myles]

I have used the following three sites. Each offers a different level of public performing rights in addition to a synchronization license:

– stockmusicsite.com includes non-broadcast performing rights
– RoyaltyFreeMusicLibrary.com includes internet performing rights for synched content; in addition, direct performance licenses can be acquired for a nominal fee
– Pond5.com does not include public performing rights

Please note performance rights only matter if you want to play the tracks/videos and don’t have a PRO license through BMI, ASCAP, etc. Your clients will still need to arrange their own public performing rights.

[Ivan Myles]

Yes, but you might need a supplemental drive via USB 3.0 for mass storage.

[Ivan Myles]

ProRes 422 should be fine for ingestion and export to generate a master file for encoding the DVD. Export with ProRes 422 HQ if you want greater pixel depth (10-bit) when porting a file for additional processing (such as color correction or composite effects).

I don’t have any comments regarding DVD software. Create a short file to test the different options. Ultimately, be sure to play a burned DVD disc in a stand-alone player to ensure the final deliverable is OK.

[Ivan Myles]

24-bit audio is sufficient. 24-bit video may or may not be appropriate depending on the effects applied and overall workflow. The conservative choice is to use the 48-bit setting and enable Maximum Depth on export, even if there is no ultimate impact on quality. It’s a 10-bit codec, so you might as well export at the same depth.

[Ivan Myles]

The video depth is as follows:

24-bit = 8 bits per channel, three channels
32-bit = 8-bpc with alpha channel for transparency
48-bit = up to 16-bpc (use with 10-bit codecs and above)
64-bit = up to 16-bpc with alpha channel

The appropriate audio depth will depend on your source material and export requirements. 16-bit is typical, although 24-bit or more might be appropriate for high quality and/or high sampling rates. Floating point audio is used to prevent clipping and allow levels to exceed the maximum. You would typically only use floating point audio with intermediate files prior to final delivery.

Higher bit depth gives greater fidelity. An 8-bpc depth provides 256 graduations from zero to max. By comparison, 10-bpc provides 1024 graduations over the same continuum, and therefore there is smaller difference from one graduation to the next. A simple example is the number of gray shades on a scale from black to white: 8-bit provides 254 in-between shades while 10-bit provides 1022 shades. The end points (black and white) are the same in each case. 10-bit video is often used in colorization when moving between RGB and Y’CbCr (YUV) to minimize artifacts such as banding and blocking.

[Ivan Myles]

Try transcoding the source footage and editing with an intermediate codec like ProRes. Perform a short test with two or three clips to see if it makes a difference.

[Ivan Myles]

Yes, but it depends on the quality of the SSD. (Preferred brands are Samsung, Crucial/Micron, and Intel.) During normal operation the application frequently writes and reads small files. SSDs have faster response times than spindle disks. This becomes especially important when writing and reading to the same drive. Will you have a second drive for mass storage, or just the system disk?

As an aside, you will have a hard time processing 1080p video given the laptop’s specs. A better CPU is strongly recommended.

[Ivan Myles]

Are you using presets or custom settings? Please post screen shots of your export settings.

In AME with the H.264 codec use Level 3.2, Target Bitrate 12 Mbps, Maximum bitrate 18-25 Mbps, and 2-Pass VBR encoding. If using the QuickTime H.264 codec in AME or Compressor, set the bitrate to 12,000 kbps, Quality to 100, and Multipass encoding.