Any good compressor settings for feature movie--latest Final Cut Pro

[Heath McKnight]

I try using the 16:9 fast encode at 90 minutes to go to DVD, but the file is ENORMOUS. Anything custom you guys can recommend?

Thanks,

heath

ps-I don't use high quality--still seems buggy.

[Duncan Craig]

Hiya,

What size do you mean by ENORMOUS?
What's the running time of the feature?

I only ever use high quality, as the file size will be similar but better rendered. Personally I've never had any bugs with it. Ever. (Not even the ''can't connect to background task bug'') Just lucky I guess on my original Dual 2GHZ G5.

I make DVD's every single day for clients, in fact 3 different discs already this morning!)

Anyway, depending on the length of the file, I would make an MPEG2 template with everything turned up full (Bit rate, quality, etc.) Try that on the video and see what file size you get. If it's around 4GB you should be able to add a reasonable bit rate AC-3 track to it. There's lots of bit rate calculators around to, but I prefer to try a render as the VBR can always mess up calculations in my experience.

If the final DVD is a tad too big and if it's not a super critical job, I'll author it as a dual layer disc, then recompress it in DVD2OneX.

Also the new encoder in Toast 8 is really nice, you could try that too.

Duncan.

[Martin Pauly]

Originally Posted by Heath McKnight

Anything custom you guys can recommend?

Never had a problem. When you say "fast encode at 90 minutes", do you mean your feature is 90 minutes, or is the compressor preset you chose the "DVD 16:9 90 minutes" one?

If your feature is 90 minutes or less, both the "fast encode" and the (much better, and unfortunately also much slower) two-pass presets for 90 minutes (without any modifications) should produce decent MPEG results that leave ample space for AC3 sound.

- Martin