Jon Geddes
Forum Replies Created
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Yes, definitely transcode the video first in Adobe Media Encoder or directly from Premiere before authoring in Encore.
Jon Geddes
http://www.precomposed.com -
There probably isn’t anything wrong with the video itself, just your video drivers or the mpeg decoder used by Encore.
Try building the disc. It should create a disc that does not have that issue.
Jon Geddes
http://www.precomposed.com -
If there is any chance you will one day use this menu for an HD version (Blu-ray or online), then I recommend designing it in HD 1920×1080.
If you know this will only be in SD, then you are doing it correct. The image looks pixelated because you are viewing non-square pixels on a monitor that uses square pixels, and Photoshop CS5 does not do the best job at smoothing out non-square pixels, which is why you have the option to turn off ‘pixel aspect ratio correction’ to see the actual clarity when it is viewed on a DVD player. The image will become horizontally squished, but at least you can see how the actual quality will appear. When you turn pixel aspect ratio correction on, you will see the correct aspect ratio of the image as it will appear on a tv, but the image clarity goes to hell due to the reasons I just mentioned above. Once viewed on a TV, it will have the correct aspect ratio and good clarity… the best of both worlds.
If you decide to design the menu in HD then convert it to SD, here is the process:
1) Starting with the HD menu, go to ‘Image > Image Size’, then uncheck ‘Constrain Proportions’, and check ‘Resample Image’, Bicubic Sharper Algorithm, then change the width x height to 720 x 490 pixels.
2) Now go to ‘Image > Canvas Size’ and change it to 720 x 480 pixels.
3) Go to ‘View > Pixel Aspect Ratio’ and select D1/DV NTSC Widescreen (1.21).
That’s it!
If you had layer styles, they are probably messed up due to unchecking ‘constrain proportions’ on the image resize. If you used them, you will need to modify them for the new image size, or you could have rasterized the layer style before modifying the image size using the ‘create layer’ command when right-clicking on the effect in the layers panel.
If you are wondering why we changed the image size to 720×490 then cropped off the top and bottom instead of just simply changing the image size to 720×480, it is due to the fact that 720×480 with a 1.21 pixel aspect ratio is not a perfect 16×9 ratio. It’s simple math…
1.21 x 720 = 871.2 (new perceived width after pixel aspect ratio is applied)
If 871.2 is the perceived width, and the image is a perfect 16×9 ratio, then the height must be 490.05. This is why you create a 720×490 image first, so the aspect ratio is identical to the original 1920×1080 source, then you crop the top and bottom by 5 pixels each to get the DVD required size of 720×480.
Good luck!
Jon Geddes
http://www.precomposed.com -
Once you legally purchase the templates from Precomposed, you will receive excellent customer support from them and they will answer all your questions within 1 business day (typically within a couple hours). You could even post what the solution was to help others. Good luck!
Jon Geddes
http://www.precomposed.com -
Matthew,
We’ve updated the workflow of our products and have all new video tutorials since our last post on this thread in October of 2009. If you followed our new workflow, you should not be exporting directly to mpeg2 from After Effects, but instead to a Quicktime Animation file. If you continue to have issues with our current workflow, please let me know. Thank you.
Jon Geddes
http://www.precomposed.com -
Using “Maximum Render Quality” is not necessary when you are working in a Mercuary Playback Engine enabled project, as the scaling done by the GPU is superior to Maximum Render Quality.
How is the quality when forcing upper field first on the SD sequence (since the HD source is UFF), then exporting to lower field first mpeg2?
Jon Geddes
http://www.precomposed.com -
Hi Peter,
Looking at your log file, it appears you are having serious issues with the discs you are using or the drive you are using, though it looks like you recently had a successful burn in the 20 minute range? Maybe you are having issues with the usb disconnecting on your external burner. You might want to try lowering the burn speed, using a different usb port/cable, using an internal burner, and/or using better quality media. Falcon Media Pro brand discs are the best (better than Verbatim and Taiyo Yuden, and come in hub-printable glossy water resistant)
Jon Geddes
http://www.precomposed.com -
Though not free, you will definitely want to check out https://www.precomposed.com for Encore menu templates.
True, my suggestion is biased, but you will not find more impressive templates elsewhere. I guarantee it.
Jon Geddes
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That is correct. You cannot put HD assets on a standard DVD for playback on a DVD player. If you want to send me your menu PSD file, I would be happy to tell you exactly what is wrong with it. You can contact me through my company website in my signature.
Jon Geddes
http://www.precomposed.com -
That is correct. I didn’t realize you were combining multiple clips into a single timeline in Encore. Even though Encore supports this, I strongly advise against doing it as you can definitely run into issues like the one you did.
Jon Geddes
http://www.precomposed.com