Please help-frustrated

[spotlightpro]

This forum is godsend...I feel as though I am missing something and can't quite figure it out. Let me explain my workflow, and tell me why I am not getting as clean an image as I have seen so many other DVX users get.
From Avid Xpress DV I export my sequence as a QT reference file. I use the Sorenson squeeze 3 lite version that came with bundled w/ Avid (therefore I can't play w/ settings). I drag my QT reference file into DVD_LARGE_NTSC to encode to MPEG-2. I take the output .mpv file that is created and drag that into Ulead DVD Workshop2. From there I author my DVD. The output looks pretty good. But nowhere near some of the beautiful video I have seen from others on DVD, and nowhere near what it looks like when I plug my camera directly into the TV. I have looked into Sorenson Squeeze 4 Compression Suite. Will this give me better quality than the 3 lite version? What is my solution? Thank you so much in advance for anyone w/ some great insight!!!!!

[bodaphoto]

Wow, that is way too many extra steps. Actually making it a QT file is a compressed file and why you may be seeing a loss of quality.

I am not familiar with Uleads software. But all the authoring programs work the same. Make sure you calculations are right for your DVD. Here is a link for a bit rate calculator http://www.videohelp.com/calc.htm

Make sure your GOP is set at 15. If you project is under 15 minutes, use the CBR, if it is over 15 minutes, use VBR.
It also depends on the length of your project.
You should have the option in Avid to render your sequence as an AVI or MPEG2. You could then pull it into any Authouring program, I would hope. I wouldn't use the QT format.

[kai]

quicktime can be uncompressed and lossless. It's all a matter of which codec you use in the QT format. I use quicktime exlusively. It's all a matter of taste/opinion.