[Jeff Pulera]

In my mind and in my car, Adobe did away with Iris Star

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers

[Jeff Pulera]

Hi Victor,

What is the source video? If 1080i, that is notorious for issues with DVD conversions. Not only are you scaling the video as Tim mentioned, there are also fields to deal with (HD is Upper, DVD is Lower).

I use the “HD2SD” method for some of my projects, though the Adobe tools are still viable for many of my jobs. The HD2SD especially preserves quality on extra-long projects, such as dance recitals at 2.5 hours or more going onto a single 4.7GB DVD, and yes they look great!

If you’re not afraid of installing a bunch of third-party software and plug-ins (and can read directions), you might roll up your sleeves and try HD2SD methods. Be prepared for trial and error and maybe some headaches, but once you get the workflow down, you will love the results.

I can provide detailed instructions on request

Thanks

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers

[Jeff Pulera]

Like Bill said, don’t mess with Regions unless you have a specific need, the default ought to be “All” and just let it be then

Thanks

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers

[Jeff Pulera]

Tero, I watched the colorcast video 3 times before I realized what I was seeing – on the vertical shot at the end, the right side of the frame alternates between green and magenta. It’s subtle, but there.

I would second the motion to add a BW filter before exporting, hope that helps. Even though the source is black and white, the video file is still “color”, so best to “kill” that color in the image before re-encoding.

Thanks

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers

[Jeff Pulera]

Hi Paul,

The Sequence Setting dictates the resolution and frame rate one will be working at, for instance “1280×720, 29.97fps, progressive”.

Any media used in that sequence that does not match the spec will be scaled to the 720p settings.

The Sequence used has nothing to do with “compression” really. However, there is a preview codec associated with each preset, which is used for rendering previews (red bar turns green). I thought that is what you were referring to.

Back to the title of your post, the “best” default sequence is the one that matches the parameters of the video clips. You can drag a clip in the bin onto the “New Item” icon (next to trash can at lower right of bin) to create a New Sequence that best matches your source footage, removes the guesswork.

One could for example drag an AVCHD clip onto the New Item button and end up with an “ARRI” sequence – that is not a problem, what we’re concerned with is frame size, frame rate, fields really. If those match, good to go then.

What are the specs of the source footage?

Thanks

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers

[Jeff Pulera]

Hi Paul,

Are you referring to the Preview Render format? If so, not many options on PC version, many sequences default to “MPEG I-Frame”. Truth is, unless the timeline is unplayable, there is no need to “render” the timeline, red bars or not. As long as it plays smooth enough to check your edits, don’t render – when you do the final export using Media Encoder, it all happens there – and without the quality loss of the intermediate render file.

Of course, if it becomes necessary to render a segment to check playback quality, then do so, but recommended to NOT check the “Use Previews” box in AME, that way all exports are rendered direct from source material for best quality.

Thanks

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers

[Jeff Pulera]

Save your time and effort – make the best possible DVD that you are able to, and use a DVD or Blu-ray player that upconverts and outputs via HDMI to your display. It will not look any better by using software HD conversion and Blu-ray discs.

Thanks

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers

[Jeff Pulera]

Have you tried the Handbrake software?

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers

[Jeff Pulera]

Hi Tom,

Camcorders add a ton of compression to fit HD video onto memory cards, often with 4:2:0 color and Long-GOP encoding. Not something I want to encode back to for archival, master quality.

On Mac, I’d just go with ProRes, and simply choose the correct frame size and frame rate to match original (i.e. 1920×1080, 29.97 Progressive). From this new “Master” file, you can later create any deliverable format.

On PC, something like Lagarith or UT codec is lossless, or Avid DNxHD is similar to ProRes quality.

Thanks

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers

[Jeff Pulera]

Field Order in export settings should be Progressive for a 1080p source

Thanks

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers