Looking for pointers - 1st HD wedding shoot

Troy Davis · October 5th, 2010, 08:29 AM

Thanks for all the suggestions. I initially tried WMV 9.2, but the audio was out of sync. This may not happen with WMV 11, but I don't have the codec for that and not sure how to add it in Vegas. If anyone knows feel free to share:-) I eventually ended up using the Sony AVC (.mp4) with video size set to 1280 x 720. When I uploaded to Youtube the video looks clean and the audio is in sync. Now my goal is to try to retain the HD quality as much as possible rendering to SD DVD.

Rob Harlan · October 11th, 2010, 01:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philip Howells

I happen to use Avid Liquid which has a decent and simple path from HDV timeline to DVD compliant MPEG stream - which, with small adjustments and considerable processing by TMPGEnc, produces the best quality DVDs I've ever seen even if I do say so myself.

Philip:-

Could you tell me your workflow from Liquid to DVD?

I also shoot in HDV - if you are going outside of Liquid to make DVDs, are you fusing the timeline to .M2V for importing into TMPGenc? And are you using the standard codec, or one of Smetvid's intra codecs?

I've thought about using TMPGenc, and an authoring program to make menus etc, but I'm not sure about maintaining optimum quality if first fusing from Liquid, then encoding again in TMPGenc...

Philip Howells · October 11th, 2010, 07:25 PM

Rob

1 Import HDV files from MRC1-K using supplied Sony software using firewire CF card reader.

2 Copy files to onboard mirror RAID

3 Copy files to outboard HDD

4 Edit at HDV

5 Export as DVD-compatible MPEG-2 (using modified version of supplied codec)

6 Encode to elementary streams in TPMGEnc Express, max 8000Kbps, average video 7750Kbps

7 Import to DVD-Lab for menu creation and authoring.

8 Check with DVD player software

9 Burn and verify to DVD using Nero 9

I’m experimenting with TMPGEnc Authoring Workshop 4 because as of January 1st we’re including BD in our package and I want to use a single authoring platform. The quality of the DVD is comparable to DVD-Lab but the TMPGEnc burning software doesn’t have any verification so we might simply create ISO images and burn them using Nero. I noted that TAW doesn' re-encode MPG files merely the tricksy bits.

Unfortunately nothing is as sophisticated and flexible as DVD-Lab but equally as yet nobody at DVD-Lab can be persuaded to offer a high quality BD kit.

Rob Harlan · October 11th, 2010, 09:38 PM

Thanks Philip -

Step 5: 'Export as DVD-compatible MPEG-2 (using modified version of supplied codec)'

Do you mean you are selecting EXPORT TO FILE / MPEG 2 / DVD COMPATIBLE in Liquid, or EXPORT TO FILE / FUSE to create an .M2V file (.M2V being MPG without audio)?

I'm trying to understand the reasoning for using an MPEG encoder like TMPGenc when you are creating an MPEG already from inside Liquid from your HDV material. Seems like you are encoding your timeline to MPEG-2 in Liquid, and then re-encoding again in TMPGenc? I may be understanding this wrong - could you clarify?

I was hoping to import an .M2V created in Liquid into TMPGenc for encoding to MPEG-2, but TMPGenc doesn't seem to recognise the .M2V file format.

Also, could you clarify 'using modified version of supplied codec' - if you are using EXPORT TO FILE / MPEG 2 / DVD COMPATIBLE then I can't see any encoding adjustments to be made apart from bitrate. When you say modified supplied codecs, are you referring to Smetvid's HD codecs? I've been thinking of trying these, but there are several to choose from - for HDV material, are you going with 50mbps, 160mbps or even 300mbps here?

Thanks for any further info, I'm not quite clear on a few aspects of exporting out of Liquid and achieving best quality (uncompressed HD is too space consuming).

Philip Howells · October 12th, 2010, 02:33 AM

Rob,

1 The former - the codec was modified by our computer guru so I don't know exactly what was changed - it certainly wasn't one of Smetvid's - that's not criticism, we simply haven't tried them .

2 You're raising questions that we are looking at ourselves - our computer man's away at present on a police case. I think it may be that DVD-lab requires elementary streams, but the way TAW behaved started us asking.

3 Since we're planning to move to XDCAMS next year we're not spending overlong on HDV.

I'll keep you advised via PM if anything interesting comes up - the field is very competitive and we don't want to give away a competitive advantage. I'm sure you understand. Nor, in fairness do I want to post anything that might bore those here who are beginning their careers and are happy to use their gear's native settings. It can easily sound like showing off.

Troy Davis · October 12th, 2010, 12:06 PM

I was able to get good HD video for Youtube/Vimeo using Sony Vegas 8 Pro AVC codec (1280 x 720).
Now, I need to send the same HD output that was recorded in HD 1440 x 1280 to SD DVD. I would like to do this and retain as much of the HD quality as possible. Chris I saw your response, but wasn't sure of the exact steps you used? I also tried creating a 720x480 mpegs, but the TMPGEnc program wouldn't import. It looks like it's looking for a different format (i.e. AVI).

Thanks,
Troy

October 5th, 2010, 08:29 AM	#16
Troy Davis Major Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Raleigh,NC Posts: 263	Thanks for all the suggestions. I initially tried WMV 9.2, but the audio was out of sync. This may not happen with WMV 11, but I don't have the codec for that and not sure how to add it in Vegas. If anyone knows feel free to share:-) I eventually ended up using the Sony AVC (.mp4) with video size set to 1280 x 720. When I uploaded to Youtube the video looks clean and the audio is in sync. Now my goal is to try to retain the HD quality as much as possible rendering to SD DVD.

October 11th, 2010, 07:25 PM	#18
Philip Howells Trustee Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Manchester UK Posts: 1,212	Rob 1 Import HDV files from MRC1-K using supplied Sony software using firewire CF card reader. 2 Copy files to onboard mirror RAID 3 Copy files to outboard HDD 4 Edit at HDV 5 Export as DVD-compatible MPEG-2 (using modified version of supplied codec) 6 Encode to elementary streams in TPMGEnc Express, max 8000Kbps, average video 7750Kbps 7 Import to DVD-Lab for menu creation and authoring. 8 Check with DVD player software 9 Burn and verify to DVD using Nero 9 I’m experimenting with TMPGEnc Authoring Workshop 4 because as of January 1st we’re including BD in our package and I want to use a single authoring platform. The quality of the DVD is comparable to DVD-Lab but the TMPGEnc burning software doesn’t have any verification so we might simply create ISO images and burn them using Nero. I noted that TAW doesn' re-encode MPG files merely the tricksy bits. Unfortunately nothing is as sophisticated and flexible as DVD-Lab but equally as yet nobody at DVD-Lab can be persuaded to offer a high quality BD kit.

October 11th, 2010, 09:38 PM	#19
Rob Harlan Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: UK Posts: 62	Thanks Philip - Step 5: 'Export as DVD-compatible MPEG-2 (using modified version of supplied codec)' Do you mean you are selecting EXPORT TO FILE / MPEG 2 / DVD COMPATIBLE in Liquid, or EXPORT TO FILE / FUSE to create an .M2V file (.M2V being MPG without audio)? I'm trying to understand the reasoning for using an MPEG encoder like TMPGenc when you are creating an MPEG already from inside Liquid from your HDV material. Seems like you are encoding your timeline to MPEG-2 in Liquid, and then re-encoding again in TMPGenc? I may be understanding this wrong - could you clarify? I was hoping to import an .M2V created in Liquid into TMPGenc for encoding to MPEG-2, but TMPGenc doesn't seem to recognise the .M2V file format. Also, could you clarify 'using modified version of supplied codec' - if you are using EXPORT TO FILE / MPEG 2 / DVD COMPATIBLE then I can't see any encoding adjustments to be made apart from bitrate. When you say modified supplied codecs, are you referring to Smetvid's HD codecs? I've been thinking of trying these, but there are several to choose from - for HDV material, are you going with 50mbps, 160mbps or even 300mbps here? Thanks for any further info, I'm not quite clear on a few aspects of exporting out of Liquid and achieving best quality (uncompressed HD is too space consuming).

October 12th, 2010, 02:33 AM	#20
Philip Howells Trustee Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Manchester UK Posts: 1,212	Rob, 1 The former - the codec was modified by our computer guru so I don't know exactly what was changed - it certainly wasn't one of Smetvid's - that's not criticism, we simply haven't tried them . 2 You're raising questions that we are looking at ourselves - our computer man's away at present on a police case. I think it may be that DVD-lab requires elementary streams, but the way TAW behaved started us asking. 3 Since we're planning to move to XDCAMS next year we're not spending overlong on HDV. I'll keep you advised via PM if anything interesting comes up - the field is very competitive and we don't want to give away a competitive advantage. I'm sure you understand. Nor, in fairness do I want to post anything that might bore those here who are beginning their careers and are happy to use their gear's native settings. It can easily sound like showing off.

October 12th, 2010, 12:06 PM	#21
Troy Davis Major Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Raleigh,NC Posts: 263	I was able to get good HD video for Youtube/Vimeo using Sony Vegas 8 Pro AVC codec (1280 x 720). Now, I need to send the same HD output that was recorded in HD 1440 x 1280 to SD DVD. I would like to do this and retain as much of the HD quality as possible. Chris I saw your response, but wasn't sure of the exact steps you used? I also tried creating a 720x480 mpegs, but the TMPGEnc program wouldn't import. It looks like it's looking for a different format (i.e. AVI). Thanks, Troy