HDV to Sd using Nero.

[Michael Threadgold]

Hi, I saw a post last Nov. 2nd.from Carl Middleton and Adam Gould saying Nero could be used to recode HDV to SD giving better quality than AE or CS3.
I tried this and more by luck I think. managed to do this and the results are excellent!
However, it only seems to work with captured files and not edited files.
I tried using Vegas but there was no sound on the edited file.
Can anyone help with settings etc.to be able to edit and maintain the picture quality.
I have the basic CS3 and the older version of AE., plus Vegas platinum.
Thanks Michael

[Adam Gold]

While Nero does give excellent results with no problems from my rendered CS3 files, so does Encore. It was the old version of AME that Nero was superior to in my experience.

But now I find it's just as good (and easier) to go straight into Encore from Premiere. Currently I find Nero works fine with DV-AVI and m2t files but doesn't like CFHD-AVI -- it doesn't read the widescreen flag properly.

[Michael Threadgold]

Hi Adam, thankyou for replying so quickly.
I assumed the post was advising recoding a captured HD file using Nero to convert to SD. I did this,put it on a DvD and the result was far superior to any combination of AE and CS3 or Vegas and DVDA.
My version of AE is 1.5 and does not recognise a CS3 edited file so I can't use this method
to edit. Having seen the better quality files I'd like to keep it.
Can't afford any upgrades at the moment!
Have you any suggestions?
Michael

[Mike Gunter]

Hi Michael,

If you have the edited file and it is okay, just export the sound file as an mpeg audio file and let Nero mux it in the burn.

Do check the "length" of the file - it should match - I would suppose that it does.

I think that should work for you. I would at least give it whirl.

Mike

ps - making some assumptions based on the size of the finished DVD not being too big and that you're making a PAL DVD, and, I know ass-u-me, etc., etc.,....

[Adam Gold]

Exactly. I don't use AE (After Effects) at all. I go straight from the rendered output file from PPro, first 1.5.1 and now CS3, into Nero or (now with CS3) Encore. Both do a fine job.

Nero was the preferred choice when using 1.5.1, as AME (Adobe Media Encoder) did a horrible job of downconverting to prepare for DVD burn. But Nero did it great -- I got very close to HDV quality even on a regular DVD with a DV-AVI file.

But now apparently CS3 has fixed the AME issues and I can just drag the rendered CFHD-AVI file into Encore and it downconverts and burns beautifully.

BTW -- I'd never downconvert a captured file. I'd always do everything in HDV and then downconvert only as the last possible step during the burn. If you absolutely had to create an SD DV file from HDV, I'd let the camera do the downconvert during capture.

[Michael Threadgold]

Hi both, thanks for the advice.
It dawned on me that I should have been using Nero Vision not recode. The results are good if I use Vegas to edit and then Vision to make DVD.
This is much better than Encore 1.5 but I havn't used the full facilities yet.It looks like using this route or upgrading to Encore CS3.
I've only ever used Nero for burning but having lost a free copy I bought Nero7 and haven't got round to looking at its' contents yet'
One thing though Nero recode to SD comes out as MP4 and sraight to disc looks nearly as good as component out of the camera to my HD TV!
Thanks Michael