Encore CS5: maximum number of video clips in a Blu-ray project? at DVinfo.net

Drew Wallner · February 7th, 2011, 03:00 PM

Greetings programs! I'm hoping someone here can help me out with a very specific question about Encore CS5. I noticed that among the features touted in the marketing materials is this gem...

"Publish content from AVCHD cameras to Blu-ray using the high-quality native camera format. By passing AVCHD content directly to disc without transcoding, Encore preserves the original fidelity of the source content."

...what I'm wondering is, can anyone confirm to me what the maximum number of video clips is that can be included in such a project? I know it might sound like a silly question to ask, but I have a good (and very frustrated) reason. It seems that some BD software that's "grown up" from being DVD software includes some legacy presumptions/limitations about this. For example, I bought the most recent version of Roxio Toast with my BD drive and I've come to find out, it won't allow you to include more than 98 video clips in a Blu-ray project.

Why? Because of the limitation of the DVD format of course! *groan*

What I'd really like to do with my BD drive is burn inexpensive $2 discs with 25GB of AVCHD backup on them. Of course, any time you shoot 25GB worth of random stuff with your camcorder, you're likely to rack up more than 98 or 99 clips. As far as I know, there's no format limitation in the BD spec that should prevent you from putting a much larger number of clips on a BD than on a DVD? I haven't been able to confirm this, but the filesystem naming scheme certainly seems to suggest a limit higher than 99.

Thanks in advance for any light anyone can shed on this. I have an opportunity to purchase CS5 at a deep academic discount before summer, and if I can get it to do this for me, that would be awesome.

Peter Manojlovic · February 7th, 2011, 10:09 PM

"What I'd really like to do with my BD drive is burn inexpensive $2 discs with 25GB of AVCHD backup on them"

Well then you need to ask yourself firstly, if you're making backups, or wanting to authour BluRay disks..Make that distinction first.

And just to push you in the right direction in your quest....

The reason for 98, is because DVD specs only allow for 99 chapters maximum...Since each clip you put down is treated as a new chapter point, this is the final result..
Not sure if BluRay specs have the same issue..If not, then you're in luck.

The obvious workaround is to somehow merge all your clips into one file..
I'll let you google that, and let us know what you find...

Good luck!!!

Drew Wallner · February 7th, 2011, 10:38 PM

I'm well aware of how to merge clips together, but that's a necessarily destructive process. I'd like to both maintain the original quality of the clips as well as their integrity as discrete video objects. My purpose is to create a backup, shifting the footage from one form of media (disk images of SDHC cards or an internal hard drive) to another without damaging it. Such a backup would not only be watchable, but could also function as a reusable source for an editing bin (much like a tape).

If your content is already encoded in a manner suitable to a video disc format, one need not necessarily differentiate between a "backup" and an "authoring" project. For example, if you have a bunch of MPEG2 content with AC3 audio, you can certainly create a video DVD which is both watchable and a perfect backup of your footage (as long as you have fewer than 99 such clips). One of the handy side effects of AVCHD and Blu-ray both involving BDMV content is that one need not transcode or otherwise destructively modify AVCHD footage in order to store it as an "authored" Blu-ray video disc.

Several applications exist to assist in this workflow, but what I'm trying to discover is...are all of them stuck obeying the legacy DVD limitation even though the Blu-ray filesystem does not use a two-digit counting scheme?

I've scoured the web, and I might be looking in the wrong places but no documents I've been able to find referencing how Blu-ray video discs work has mentioned any such limitation. If someone who has CS5 installed wouldn't mind testing this out for me, I'd really appreciate it.

Peter Manojlovic · February 7th, 2011, 11:45 PM

I've read, and re-read your reply....
Unfortunately, i get more confused everytime...Perhaps it's late. Time for bed...
But yes, there should be many AVCHD joiner/merge programs that don't re-encode..But that's not the issue obviously.

"If your content is already encoded in a manner suitable to a video disc format, one need not necessarily differentiate between a "backup" and an "authoring" project. For example, if you have a bunch of MPEG2 content with AC3 audio, you can certainly create a video DVD which is both watchable and a perfect backup of your footage"

Alrighty then, good luck finding your mpeg streams that are housed into .VOB files.

Firstly, can i assume that this is home footage that you're looking to edit down the road? If so, and i was in your place, i'd simply get those $2 discs, and burn the data on them..
By transferring the files, you'll lose nothing, and when you're ready, grab the favourites, and authour them in the future.
By authouring the files into a BD authoured disk, you're simply adding future work, by having to rip them back out of the "Stream" folder
Even if you wanted to authour, i'd suggest some freeware..Encore is money well spent if you're going to get that investment back...

Now, if you have 200 clips, and want to authour a BluRay disc, come hell or high water, simply phone Adobe support. They'll have the answers.

just my 2 cents..
I wish you the best.

Drew Wallner · February 7th, 2011, 11:57 PM

I actually can get content back out of a video DVD whenever I want, I have some handy software for that...but I admit that was a rough metaphor. I was just stuck in that annoying Internet forum predicament of feeling like I had to defend my right to ask my question. You are stuck in the Internet forum pattern of trying to help me understand something that I don't need help understanding.

I think you hit the nail on the head by saying "simply phone Adobe" which basically means, respectfully, you don't know the answer to my original question. That's a perfectly fine state of affairs, and it doesn't require that we argue about it. I only posted here hoping that maybe someone who *does* know would reply. You don't need to keep replying.

My question stands, I'll appreciate it if anyone can answer it. I really don't need to be taught anything else just now. I simply want to know if there's actually a 100 clip limitation anywhere in the Blu-ray specification (presuming there probably isn't) and if there's software out there yet that can author a Blu-ray disc without attempting to conform to a legacy DVD limitation (presuming there is, and I just don't know which one to try).

Sareesh Sudhakaran · February 9th, 2011, 11:13 PM

You can import more than 100 video assets in Encore CS5. You can add many video assets (clips) on a single timeline meant for video. The maximum number of timelines per project is 100. You cannot add/mix two different kinds of assets (video, music, subtitles, etc) on one timeline.

Here's the link to the manual for further reference: http://help.adobe.com/en_US/encore/c...e_cs5_help.pdf

Hope this helps.

February 7th, 2011, 03:00 PM	#1
Drew Wallner New Boot Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Kailua, HI Posts: 24	Encore CS5: maximum number of video clips in a Blu-ray project? Greetings programs! I'm hoping someone here can help me out with a very specific question about Encore CS5. I noticed that among the features touted in the marketing materials is this gem... "Publish content from AVCHD cameras to Blu-ray using the high-quality native camera format. By passing AVCHD content directly to disc without transcoding, Encore preserves the original fidelity of the source content." ...what I'm wondering is, can anyone confirm to me what the maximum number of video clips is that can be included in such a project? I know it might sound like a silly question to ask, but I have a good (and very frustrated) reason. It seems that some BD software that's "grown up" from being DVD software includes some legacy presumptions/limitations about this. For example, I bought the most recent version of Roxio Toast with my BD drive and I've come to find out, it won't allow you to include more than 98 video clips in a Blu-ray project. Why? Because of the limitation of the DVD format of course! groan What I'd really like to do with my BD drive is burn inexpensive $2 discs with 25GB of AVCHD backup on them. Of course, any time you shoot 25GB worth of random stuff with your camcorder, you're likely to rack up more than 98 or 99 clips. As far as I know, there's no format limitation in the BD spec that should prevent you from putting a much larger number of clips on a BD than on a DVD? I haven't been able to confirm this, but the filesystem naming scheme certainly seems to suggest a limit higher than 99. Thanks in advance for any light anyone can shed on this. I have an opportunity to purchase CS5 at a deep academic discount before summer, and if I can get it to do this for me, that would be awesome.

February 9th, 2011, 11:13 PM	#6
Sareesh Sudhakaran Trustee Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Mumbai, India Posts: 1,385	You can import more than 100 video assets in Encore CS5. You can add many video assets (clips) on a single timeline meant for video. The maximum number of timelines per project is 100. You cannot add/mix two different kinds of assets (video, music, subtitles, etc) on one timeline. Here's the link to the manual for further reference: http://help.adobe.com/en_US/encore/c...e_cs5_help.pdf Hope this helps. __________________ Get the Free Comprehensive Guide to Rigging ANY Camera - one guide to rig them all - DSLRs to the Arri Alexa. Last edited by Sareesh Sudhakaran; February 9th, 2011 at 11:14 PM. Reason: Adding link

February 7th, 2011, 10:09 PM	#2
Peter Manojlovic Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Hamilton Ontario Posts: 769	"What I'd really like to do with my BD drive is burn inexpensive $2 discs with 25GB of AVCHD backup on them" Well then you need to ask yourself firstly, if you're making backups, or wanting to authour BluRay disks..Make that distinction first. And just to push you in the right direction in your quest.... The reason for 98, is because DVD specs only allow for 99 chapters maximum...Since each clip you put down is treated as a new chapter point, this is the final result.. Not sure if BluRay specs have the same issue..If not, then you're in luck. The obvious workaround is to somehow merge all your clips into one file.. I'll let you google that, and let us know what you find... Good luck!!!

February 7th, 2011, 10:38 PM	#3
Drew Wallner New Boot Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Kailua, HI Posts: 24	I'm well aware of how to merge clips together, but that's a necessarily destructive process. I'd like to both maintain the original quality of the clips as well as their integrity as discrete video objects. My purpose is to create a backup, shifting the footage from one form of media (disk images of SDHC cards or an internal hard drive) to another without damaging it. Such a backup would not only be watchable, but could also function as a reusable source for an editing bin (much like a tape). If your content is already encoded in a manner suitable to a video disc format, one need not necessarily differentiate between a "backup" and an "authoring" project. For example, if you have a bunch of MPEG2 content with AC3 audio, you can certainly create a video DVD which is both watchable and a perfect backup of your footage (as long as you have fewer than 99 such clips). One of the handy side effects of AVCHD and Blu-ray both involving BDMV content is that one need not transcode or otherwise destructively modify AVCHD footage in order to store it as an "authored" Blu-ray video disc. Several applications exist to assist in this workflow, but what I'm trying to discover is...are all of them stuck obeying the legacy DVD limitation even though the Blu-ray filesystem does not use a two-digit counting scheme? I've scoured the web, and I might be looking in the wrong places but no documents I've been able to find referencing how Blu-ray video discs work has mentioned any such limitation. If someone who has CS5 installed wouldn't mind testing this out for me, I'd really appreciate it.

February 7th, 2011, 11:45 PM	#4
Peter Manojlovic Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Hamilton Ontario Posts: 769	I've read, and re-read your reply.... Unfortunately, i get more confused everytime...Perhaps it's late. Time for bed... But yes, there should be many AVCHD joiner/merge programs that don't re-encode..But that's not the issue obviously. "If your content is already encoded in a manner suitable to a video disc format, one need not necessarily differentiate between a "backup" and an "authoring" project. For example, if you have a bunch of MPEG2 content with AC3 audio, you can certainly create a video DVD which is both watchable and a perfect backup of your footage" Alrighty then, good luck finding your mpeg streams that are housed into .VOB files. Firstly, can i assume that this is home footage that you're looking to edit down the road? If so, and i was in your place, i'd simply get those $2 discs, and burn the data on them.. By transferring the files, you'll lose nothing, and when you're ready, grab the favourites, and authour them in the future. By authouring the files into a BD authoured disk, you're simply adding future work, by having to rip them back out of the "Stream" folder Even if you wanted to authour, i'd suggest some freeware..Encore is money well spent if you're going to get that investment back... Now, if you have 200 clips, and want to authour a BluRay disc, come hell or high water, simply phone Adobe support. They'll have the answers. just my 2 cents.. I wish you the best.

February 7th, 2011, 11:57 PM	#5
Drew Wallner New Boot Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Kailua, HI Posts: 24	I actually can get content back out of a video DVD whenever I want, I have some handy software for that...but I admit that was a rough metaphor. I was just stuck in that annoying Internet forum predicament of feeling like I had to defend my right to ask my question. You are stuck in the Internet forum pattern of trying to help me understand something that I don't need help understanding. I think you hit the nail on the head by saying "simply phone Adobe" which basically means, respectfully, you don't know the answer to my original question. That's a perfectly fine state of affairs, and it doesn't require that we argue about it. I only posted here hoping that maybe someone who does know would reply. You don't need to keep replying. My question stands, I'll appreciate it if anyone can answer it. I really don't need to be taught anything else just now. I simply want to know if there's actually a 100 clip limitation anywhere in the Blu-ray specification (presuming there probably isn't) and if there's software out there yet that can author a Blu-ray disc without attempting to conform to a legacy DVD limitation (presuming there is, and I just don't know which one to try).