[Jeff Pulera]

Hi Mitch,

Matrox did post a workaround, please see here – https://forum.matrox.com/mxo/viewtopic.php?t=14601

Thanks

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers

[Jeff Pulera]

To build on the good advice others have posted, the core of the issue is that the original Sequence Settings that you are editing with are just not correct. Seems that perhaps you started with a PAL DV Widescreen preset, then manually changed the dimensions to those of 720p (1280×720) however the pixel aspect ratio for 720p ought to be square (1.0) but you have retained the 1.2 PAR from the DV widescreen, and also 720p is always Progressive yet Lower Fields are specified. In short, the whole works is off and the results will not be good.

Here’s what I would recommend – use File > New > Sequence to create a new 720p sequence. I’m assuming you may be in Europe due to the frame rate of 25fps? From the available presets, choose AVCHD > 720p > 720p25 (or choose 720p30 in the US).

Next, go back to the original sequence, and hit CTRL + A (Select All) then CTRL + C (Copy) to copy entire contents of timeline, then open the new 720p Sequence and CTRL + V (Paste) and that will place everything from first timeline into the new 720p timeline sequence that has proper settings for 720p video.

That being done will eliminate weird issues. However, any stills that are not 1280×720 may have some black around them since they may not completely fill the frame, that is normal. You can right-click said images and choose “Set to Frame” and that will size them to best fit the screen.

Now when you export, choose a 720p25 preset, such as H.264 > YouTube or whatever your needs are, and being 720p25 the output settings will match the source (Sequence) settings and no more weirdness with black edges!

Just keep in mind that the Sequence Settings are the foundation for what you are building. If the foundation is not good, the end result cannot be good either.

Thanks

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers

[Jeff Pulera]

Hi Dennis,

Have never seen the Chapter Mark button grayed out, but then again I always use an MPEG-2 DVD (.m2v) video file that doesn’t require transcoding.

I would recommend transcoding in Media Encoder first anyway, as that encoder is said to produce better results than the one inside Encore.

Is the .mp4 the only file copy you have? If you have an edited timeline in Premiere, just export directly from there to MPEG-2 DVD format, using an appropriate widescreen preset. Or transcode the .mp4 is that’s all you have of the source. You may need to change is data rate so it fits the disc, depending on program length. Also check Scale to Fill and Max Render Quality.

Thanks

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers

[Jeff Pulera]

Another “fix” is to set Mercury Engine to SOFTWARE mode just before exporting. Of course then any benefit of GPU acceleration is lost…

Thanks

Jeff

[Jeff Pulera]

Hi Kenn,

I can’t say for sure how CS5 handles things as it is several years old. But with CS6 and newer, the preferred method is to copy the ENTIRE contents of SD card to hard drive. No transfer software need be involved, just COPY all folders on SD card to a New Folder on your hard drive. Then in Premiere, import using MEDIA BROWSER rather than File > Import. That is, if CS5 even has Media Browser!

Using this method, if you have long recordings that created spanned clips, Premiere will import as ONE LONG CLIP with no breaks/glitches between pieces.

Thanks

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers

[Jeff Pulera]

Oops, Amanda doesn’t have Encore, sorry…I spend a lot of time in Adobe forums and forgot where I was 😉

Jeff

[Jeff Pulera]

reko tomo,

I feel silly for not thinking of this sooner, but your talk about Flash reminded me that Adobe Encore can export as Flash with DVD menus! Didn’t think of it because I’ve never used it myself.

https://helpx.adobe.com/encore/using/exporting-projects-flash-format.html

https://www.adobepress.com/articles/article.asp?p=1661112&seqNum=7

Thanks

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers

[Jeff Pulera]

Hi Bryce,

Chances are that he connected the DVD player to the TV using an RCA cable (yuck!) and plugged it into the GREEN jack for the COMPONENT output, which actually requires 3 cables to work properly – Green, Red, Blue. By connecting ONLY the green jack, that is the LUMINANCE part of the signal (the black and white, or brightness portion of signal only).

A single RCA “composite” cable would be connected to the YELLOW jack normally.

Maybe did connect to yellow jack on DVD player, but Green component jack on TV, I don’t know, but pretty confident it is something simple like that.

If ALL the other DVDs output color, absolutely has to be a connection problem on his end.

Thanks

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers

[Jeff Pulera]

MPEG-2 is outdated and is pretty much only used for DVD these days. H.264 is the new “standard” because it can be played on PC, Mac, tablet, phone, TV with USB port, etc. And again, if you limit yourself to “DVD” type of delivery, that means STANDARD DEFINITION and this is an HD world now. SD sources don’t look so great on bigger screens.

TakyBox does NOT require you to use special USB sticks. They do sell their own sticks that have WiFi for use with phones/tablets, but that is optional.

Also looking at TakyBox website, I don’t see anything about a subscription, just “Buy $179”.

I have never used the product myself, but have looked at what it offers and seems like a good solution. Was just reading that it can now be used with Vimeo for ONLINE video distribution with menus. Maybe that would work for your organization because then you don’t have to buy or distribute USB sticks or DVDs! It would all be online for easy access. Does require a Vimeo account though, which has some monthly expense of course.

That’s about all I can tell you

Thanks

Jeff

[Jeff Pulera]

Hi Amanda,

If the end user will be putting the USB stick into a computer, the DVD files may work, but would require that the computer have software DVD player installed. For instance, the free VLC Media Player can play from an .iso file of a DVD disc for instance, and should be able to play DVD from a VIDEO_TS folder as well. But as the other poster noted, an HDTV is not going to work – they will be looking for an H.264 file most likely to work with the built-in media player in the TV. And you don’t know what device they will be using or what software they have installed.

If delivering on USB, I would forget about DVD, since it is only SD resolution (lower quality) and uses old MPEG-2 encoding. H.264 is the way to go for digital delivery, with higher quality, smaller file sizes, and universal playback on most any device. I’m assuming you shot the source as HD?

The simplest solution is to just provide an .mp4 deliverable, however your client wants the menus. In that case, please check out this solution that will provide the HD quality and menus at the same time – https://www.lacolorpros.com/product/?TBX1-TakyBox-HTML5-Menu-Generator

I’ve not tried it myself, but sounds like it could be a great solution

Thanks

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers