Best exporting format

D

DougieBalls

Member
I'm curious as to what you guys think about the best export setting/file type for Avid projects. My film is saved as a reference file, which so far I think looks best on DVD, but SP4 doesn't like it and refuses to correctly encode it.

Any thoughts on what output format looks best for going to DVD?
 
I export QT Ref out of Avid for 99% of what I do, then encode that to whatever I need. If SP4 doesn't encode it directly, then use a different program. I use Squeeze.

The other 1% I export are OMFs or AAFs, but those are special circumstances, and not something you'd use to make a DVD.

Reference files are really the way to go because you avoid a generation loss with them, and that gives you better quality.

My two cents.

Chris
 
Chris:

Any clue as to why you think SP4's not honoring this one particular reference file? Is it the size?

If I cut my losses and exported to tape and then re-captured the entire sequence, would I really incur a generational loss?
 
Give me some more details on "refuses to correctly encode it." Does it give you an error message? Is there something about the image that you don't like? More detail will help me troubleshoot.

There are different schools of thought as to whether going back to tape is a generation loss or not. If we're talking just DV25 here, (or another digital video format) then its not going to be enough of a loss to worry about or even see. I've read articles contending that even digital to digital copies are still not 100%. That goes against every bit of computer knowledge that I have, but significant enough that I thought I'd bring it up here.

If going back to tape involved a digital to analog conversion, then yes, that's a generation loss. Whether or not you're willing to deal with that for an easier workflow is up to you.

Chris
 
Chris:

In SP4, my project encodes along slowly but surely for about 8 hours. Once it reaches about 60-65%, the burn fails, and the error message in the building log simply says "Error encoding *name of my reference file*"

The interesting thing is that I have tried burning other reference files from the same project, and i have had no problems. I even tried burning the same reference file in iDVD, and that was no problem, either.

I thought it might be a Tiger OS issue, so I transferred the Avid project files and the reference files to an iMac that is loaded with Panther and Studio Pro 3. Other than having to rebuild and re-render some pan/zooms in Avid, The reference file burned with no problems on the iMac with Panther.

So basically, what it comes down to is that Studio Pro 4 on my G4 laptopwith Tiger OS and Avid for Tiger doesn't like the big reference file. All other systems and software do.

At this point, I'm about to dump the project into DV and re-import it as a whole file and see what happens in SP4.


Thoughts?
 
Hm ... I'm afraid that's a little out of my area of expertise. The only thing I'd suggest would be to download the SP4 4.0.2 update from Apple. The bugfixes likes "compatability with certain types of media." Maybe that would do the trick. The fact that it's isolated to the Powerbook is strange. Did it come loaded with Tiger, or did you upgrade?
 
Well aside from the SP4 update I'm out of ideas. Maybe try posting in the SP4 forums over at Apple.

Best of luck
 
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