DVD and Broadcast Standards at DVinfo.net

Steve Marshall · June 13th, 2010, 04:12 PM

Hello all,

I've been shooting /editing video intermittently since 2001 (not my daily bread & butter). I’ve edited all of my projects in Vegas (currently using V5 – I did the V9 upgrade but it caused a “bluescreen of death” on my PC and I’m afraid to use it again).

I’ve done a number of professional level pieces for small –medium sized businesses, cosmetic dentists, physicians and for the digital signage industry. Until this point all of my work has been designated for PC: interactive CD-ROMs, the web or digital signage displays.

I am currently working on a DVD for a fitness product I’ve developed which may go to large scale distribution. I shot the demonstration/workout video in a cyclorama studio with grid lighting on a Canon XL2 – 16:9 60i/60fps. I am also adding an info/graphical border-overlay to the video to provide a place for timers, text tips, logos, etc. – plus it ups the production value of the project verses a full 16:9 image (for this particular project).

As I’ve never had to worry about “broadcast legal” constraints in any of my previous projects, I feel a little nervous about how much latitude I have respectively. Is it absolutely critical to adhere to strict broadcast standards when producing a DVD? As an example: when I shot the footage at the studio, the “in place” lighting system was adequate to provide natural looking light for the subject, but there was some falloff on distant walls. I didn’t want to blow out my highlights on my subject and just as importantly didn’t want to up my gain - so I simply exposed the subject correctly using zebras and a production monitor.

I want a bright, “punchy” looking video and I tweaked the custom settings in the XL2 to achieve a high contrast image with rich, crushed blacks and bright colors. In post, I see the need to tweak the image by mildly increasing the contrast and brightness to both bring out the subject’s details and brighten up the cyclo walls. After these minor post adjustments are made, my waveform monitor specifies luminance levels that peak at about 105% with a few specular sprinkles as high as 108% (this is the footage itself). Am I ok at these levels or do I have no choice but to dial down the post adjustments to be below 100%?
The improvement imparted by these post adjustments looks nice and the walls no longer appear to be a stop over middle grey – they appear as a relatively pleasing ethereal grey-white and I’d really like to keep that look.

As well, the graphical overlay I’ve created seems to be over limit on the vector scope. I assume the RGB colors I selected from Photoshop are complicit. Here again, is it absolutely critical to be with broadcast standards for a DVD?

What about Digital Juice – it seems my waveform doesn’t like a number of those clips; aren’t they broadcast safe out of the box?

Any assistance would be tremendously appreciated!!

Thanks in advance!!

Steve M.

June 13th, 2010, 04:12 PM	#1
Steve Marshall New Boot Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Albrightsvilla PA Posts: 19	DVD and Broadcast Standards Hello all, I've been shooting /editing video intermittently since 2001 (not my daily bread & butter). I’ve edited all of my projects in Vegas (currently using V5 – I did the V9 upgrade but it caused a “bluescreen of death” on my PC and I’m afraid to use it again). I’ve done a number of professional level pieces for small –medium sized businesses, cosmetic dentists, physicians and for the digital signage industry. Until this point all of my work has been designated for PC: interactive CD-ROMs, the web or digital signage displays. I am currently working on a DVD for a fitness product I’ve developed which may go to large scale distribution. I shot the demonstration/workout video in a cyclorama studio with grid lighting on a Canon XL2 – 16:9 60i/60fps. I am also adding an info/graphical border-overlay to the video to provide a place for timers, text tips, logos, etc. – plus it ups the production value of the project verses a full 16:9 image (for this particular project). As I’ve never had to worry about “broadcast legal” constraints in any of my previous projects, I feel a little nervous about how much latitude I have respectively. Is it absolutely critical to adhere to strict broadcast standards when producing a DVD? As an example: when I shot the footage at the studio, the “in place” lighting system was adequate to provide natural looking light for the subject, but there was some falloff on distant walls. I didn’t want to blow out my highlights on my subject and just as importantly didn’t want to up my gain - so I simply exposed the subject correctly using zebras and a production monitor. I want a bright, “punchy” looking video and I tweaked the custom settings in the XL2 to achieve a high contrast image with rich, crushed blacks and bright colors. In post, I see the need to tweak the image by mildly increasing the contrast and brightness to both bring out the subject’s details and brighten up the cyclo walls. After these minor post adjustments are made, my waveform monitor specifies luminance levels that peak at about 105% with a few specular sprinkles as high as 108% (this is the footage itself). Am I ok at these levels or do I have no choice but to dial down the post adjustments to be below 100%? The improvement imparted by these post adjustments looks nice and the walls no longer appear to be a stop over middle grey – they appear as a relatively pleasing ethereal grey-white and I’d really like to keep that look. As well, the graphical overlay I’ve created seems to be over limit on the vector scope. I assume the RGB colors I selected from Photoshop are complicit. Here again, is it absolutely critical to be with broadcast standards for a DVD? What about Digital Juice – it seems my waveform doesn’t like a number of those clips; aren’t they broadcast safe out of the box? Any assistance would be tremendously appreciated!! Thanks in advance!! Steve M.