[Mike Kujbida]

It is possible – and has been done in Vegas 🙂
Do a Google search on “Duplicating the Picture Frame Effect in the HP Commercials” and you’ll find it.

Mike

[Mike Kujbida]

Just ask Vegas to encode to mpeg-2 using the DVDA NTSC template, maybe adjust the bitrate as you would if doing a PAL DVD.

Render at Best and select Reduce Interlace Flicker for all the media.

Alternatively render to a new PAL AVI and encode from that to NTSC as it’ll save you having to add the Reduce Interlace Flicker thing to lots of clips.

You should be able to play the resulting DVD in your existing DVD player if you’ve got a recent or el cheapo one.

[Mike Kujbida]

Should I have the DVD player set to “progressive” or “normal”…

If the original video was in progressive format, then that’s what I’d use. Otherwise, leave it at normal.

…is the default settings for rendering to DVD the best choice…

If you mean choosing the “Default Template”, absolutely not. The bitrate is far too low for a decent wuality picture. Render the audio out as an AC3 file and choose the “DVD Architect NTSC video stream” template for your mpeg-2 file. As long as both file names are the same (MyMovie.ac3 & MyMovie.mpg), DVDA will import the audio as soon as you import the video.

Another thought, since this is being re-encoded, is that you might want to try a 2-pass encode for better picture quality. Render times will increase substantially though.

…it will be viewed on PCs and TVs?

You could render it out twice. The first render interlaced for TV viewing and the second render using progressive for computer display.

I tried this once and had a slight but noticable drop in quality…

This is to be expected. From a technical POV, you’re going from a 4:1:1 signal (miniDV) to a 4:2:0 signal (DVD). Now you’re capturing the DVD signal, converting it back to a 4:1:1 signal and then re-encoding it back to a 4:2:0 signal. It’s no wonder the quality drops 🙁
Adam Wilt’s site goes into it in much better detail, pictures included.

Mike

[Mike Kujbida]

Apply the Time Code FX to the clip while it’s still in the media pool.
Then drag it to the timeline and you should see what you want.

Mike

[Mike Kujbida]

Do a Google search on
vegas video overexposure
and you’ll find lots of suggestions.

Mike

[Mike Kujbida]

Lukas, when I said technical limitations of the NTSC format for fast motion (it will blur), I didn’t mean that PAL would be any better. It’s just that 30 (or 25) fps is too slow a frame rate to accurately capture fast motion without some blurring. The only workaround with a video camera is to use a higher shutter speed. There are trade offs doing that as well though (primarily in the amount of light needed as the shutter speed increases) so you’d have to do some experimenting to see what shutter speed works best for you.

[Mike Kujbida]

Likas, I think I see your problem.
When you said “watch the movie in PREVIEW mode”, I assumed you were referring to simply watching it.
From your screen shots, I now see that you were referring to the “PREVIEW mode” in the render quality setting. Set this to “Good” and, if I’m correct, this will solve your problems.
Incidentally, I have no idea how this setting got changed to “Preview” as “Good” is the default and, unless you have a specific reason for doing so, it should be left at that setting. The only exception for changing (to “Best” mode) is when your project is primarily stills as this helps to maintain quality. Otherwise leave it at “Good”.

I looked at the clip you posted. I’m assuming you’re referring to the fringing/fuzziness that outlines most of the people.
This is due to a number of reasons,ost of which you have no control over.
1) technical limitations of the NTSC format for fast motion (it will blur);
2) technical limitations of the miniDV format (4:1:1 is less than full 4:4:4 resolution);
3) technical limitations of your camcorder;
4) final encoding to MPEG-2 (which is 4:2:0).
I tried rendering a short segment of a school play I shot last year (lots of fast action) with a JVC DV500U (3-1/2″ ccds) and it wasn’t until I selected “Best – 2 pass” that I saw a slight reduction in this fringing compared to the original footage (whish still had it due to #1 above).

Mike

[Mike Kujbida]

Now you have me curious. I’m having trouble imagining what “all borders from persons are… like curves” looks like. Can you post a few frames on a website somewhere from scenes where the problem is very evident?

Mike

[Mike Kujbida]

Don’t worry about how it looks in preview mode.
How does it look once it’s burned to a DVD and viewed on a TV?

[Mike Kujbida]

You’re using Vegas 6, right?
It means that the event has become ungrouped (audio no longer synced to video).
Right-click the audio or video event and select “Synchronize – By Moving”.

Mike