PAL 25p editing & DVD authoring ... ?

[Eman Gart]

Hey folks, after hours and hours of reading about progressive scan, PAL and several other things I think I finally got a process down of how the editing & authoring would work.

I'm shooting video with the Panasonic AG-DVX100E PAL in 25p (progressive scan) mode.

Here's the flow I'm planning on going with. Let me know how this sounds and if I messed up somewhere.

1. Capture the DV via firewire to Vegas Video in a PAL DV 25fps progressive template. (There's no need for pulldown for 25p PAL I understand).

2. Edit the video.

3. Export For WEB
- either export to DV AVI 25p file and open in Procoder/Cleaner and encode to whatever webformat or encode to a web format right from Vegas Video such as MPEG-1 25fps.

4. Export to PAL DVD
- export the timeline as DV AVI file, open in ProCoder as PAL 25fps progressive & encode to MPEG-2. Open in DVD authoring software and burn to disk. (? 3:2 pulldown required ?)

5. Export to NTSC DVD
- Slow down timeline to 23.976p and export to NTSC 24fps progressive with 3:2 pulldown & TFF/RFF flags. Open DV file, encode to NTSC MPEG-2 via ProCoder and author in DVD authoring software to progressive DVDs. These DVDs will be playable in any DVD player since they will automatically perform the 3:2 pulldown for viewing on interlaced TVs.

Now for the questions:
- When authoring the PAL DVD - Do I have to add 3:2 pulldown flag in order for DVD player to Interlace?

- Will these videos flicker when watched on interlaced displays? And if so, how can we minimize that?

- Can the PAL DVDs and NTSC DVDs be used to create VHS copies or them respectively or will extra processing be required?

- What is a good DV Codec that supports 24p/25p

- What is the thick/thin mode all about in the DVX100?

[Rob Lohman]

I'll try to answer some of your questions, but the best advice
I can give you is to test your pipeline out yourself and see what
works and doesn't.

Keep in mind that Vegas can also export to QuickTime or MPEG2
so you might not need ProCoder (although it has one of the
very best MPEG2 encoders in there) at all. Also if you have Vegas
+ DVD you already have an authoring application.

1. PAL has no pulldown.

3. You can directly export to QuickTime from Vegas or go down
to ProCoder indeed.

4. Again Vegas can do the MPEG2 encode, so can ProCoder. There
is no Pulldown.

5. Slowing down the footage AND change the resolution (from
720x576 @ 1.067 pixel aspect to 720x480 @ 0.9 pixel aspect)
will introduce some choppyness, try this out GOOD! And yes,
you can make a 23.967p disc with TFF/RFF. It might look better
if you go up to 30 fps progressive for NTSC because it will add
frames instead of remove them. Also this disc will be playable
on all DVD/Tv's that support NTSC (or are multistandard)

Progressive fields should not flicker on an interlaced TV, but
do try it out. I don't think there are flags to help you there.

Yes, your PAL/NTSC DVD's can be used to create VHS copies
if you have the VCR that accepts PAL and/or NTSC. Make sure
you use the highest quality cables between your DVD player
and VHS recorder.

I'm not sure DV supports 24p (I know the standard doesn't) but
it might work with an AVI file since basically it doesn't care about
framerates. Best way is to just test it out from withing Vegas.

[Eman Gart]

awesome, thansk for the info!


What happens if I try to play a PAL progressive DVD in a PAL regualr DVD player with a regular interlaced TV? Will the footage look ok? I know NTSC does the 3:2 pulldown on the fly making it 29.97 and interlaced.

Regards,
Eman

[Rob Lohman]

NTSC will only do that if it is a 23.967 movie. If it is a 29.97 fps
movie it will leave it alone. That is also exactly what your DVD
player will do with a PAL 25 fps disc. Some higher end DVD players
might have some extra DSP tricks to improve the picture but
other then that, the DVD player leaves the picture alone and
only touches it for widescreen issues if need to be.

So yes, it should look okay. One of the simplest test is the
following. Shoot progressive (if possible) on your camera and
play it back on your TV. How does it look? Your DVD *should*
look the same.

Anyone, test it out and see for yourself! No better way to judge it!