View Full Version : Render for Bluray: mp4 or mpeg-2?


Norris Combs
May 1st, 2013, 12:43 AM
I'm trying to render a home movie, putting it on a BD. The source footage is 1920 x 1080i. Using Vegas Pro 12, I see 2 templates that can work for my purpose: Main Concept AVC, and Main Concept MPEG-2. Which of these will have better video quality? I always do 2-pass render.
Thanks,

Juris Lielpeteris
May 1st, 2013, 02:24 AM
Vegas Pro 12 MPEG-2 Blu-Ray encoder still work incorrectly:
http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/what-happens-vegas/513986-vegas-pro-12-all-builds-mpeg-encoding-bug.html

Norris Combs
May 2nd, 2013, 02:17 PM
I rendered a 15-minute project, to Main Concept AVC, and also to Main Concept MPEG-2. Then used DVD Architect to finish. I watched both, and was not able to see a difference in picture quality. Size is the same. Is there supposed to be a difference?

Juris Lielpeteris
May 3rd, 2013, 12:16 AM
The difference is in the color coding matrices used by encoder. AVC coder does not change the orginal color while the MPEG-2 coder causes levels and gamut shift. Green becomes darker, red becomes brighter, but visually most changes margenta and cyan. Faces of people does not change, and the the easiest way to see difference in nature is in the sunset landscapes.

Norris Combs
May 3rd, 2013, 01:19 PM
Thank you Juris,
I guess for me then it doesn't matter which I use. Do you have a personal preference?

Juris Lielpeteris
May 3rd, 2013, 11:05 PM
Using high bitrates (up to 2 hrs video on 25 GB BD) I like MPEG-2 because it looks litle sharper.
With an average data rate (about 2.5 hrs video) my selection depends on the nature of the image.
If the bitrate is even lower (more than 3 hrs video), then I always choose to AVC encoding because MPEG-2 visually becomes too noisy.