HD > SD... yes its tired and old

[Perrone Ford]

Originally Posted by Steve Rotter

Perrone, interesting. thanks for that great info. I will read up on that stuff. If it's a hassle and a lot of $$, and maybe not worth it, I know I won't follow that approach but it's great to learn other ways. Since I'm not using pc anymore, I have been looking around at blu ray on final cut. Exporting right from timeline works great, luckily, as that is the only option for me with mac. I miss encore...it's just not working well in mac...but that's another story.

The Mac simply doesn't offer the breadth of tools for this that the PC does. For us it's a single extra step in most cases to get an absolutely pristine rescale. I'm willing to do that extra step in nearly all cases. The software is free so money isn't a consideration.

[Robert M Wright]

I've got nothing against Macs, but I don't think I'd ever consider switching to working with video on one (even if it was free). I just couldn't see giving up VirtualDub, AviSynth and x264. Years and years ago, Macs were clearly a superior platform for working with almost anything graphical in nature, but it seems to me that time has long since past.

[Steve Rotter]

Robert - yes i can change the bit rate in encore. I made them the same - mpeg2 vs H.264 so I can A/B a true test. I completely agree with you on the mac being superior in the past. I have been a pc user for years and still currently work in IT for the day gig. I never thought of getting a mac, thinking it would hinder me. For some reason I got the bug, got an imac, and haven't turned on my pc since. I love both systems but the mac is more fun and stable (and I have built killer machines this last decade.)

Perrone - That is what I found out. Less artifacting is the best way to say it. Does mpeg2 look good? Yes it does, but the H.264 looks better. Until I can get this stupid issue resolved with encore CS4 on the mac, I am stuck to exporting from final cut's timeline to blu ray disc. it does look very good! just like the pc encore version, and luckily, it does it as H.264. I just don't know the bit rate. I'm sure it adjusts per project. That's fine with me, as long as I can create discs somehow. With mac i'm just limited to 4 basic menus and no settings for blu ray. But, the discs look really nice.

There was nothing wrong with premiere. I have used it for years and I really like it. The workflow as far as setting up capture and everything else is much easier. Once you figure out the combination in final cut, I fly through edits. There are really cool short cuts that literally have saved me an hour here and there, just the way final cut does things with its workflow. Again, they are both great but I'm having more fun on the mac...and still learning.