Compressing Pro-Res 4:2:2 for DVD...any tips?

I

ikander

Well-known member
So, I shot my movie on the HMC-150...just finished a pretty tight edit, and am currently in the process of color correcting using Apple Color.

Now, I'm about to enter the phase that usually drives me nuts...DVD compression.

Normally, my DVD compression process consists of me exporting a master HD Quicktime in the codec it was edited in. Then, I drop that baby into compressor, select the DVD presets (DVD-Best Quality 90 minutes) and let the magic happen.

However, I've never exactly been happy with that result. When played back, the footage seems to lose it's color depth and contrast.

I'm aware that quality loss is inevitable (I mean you're going from HD to SD). But, I just wanted to see what the process was for other FinalCut/HMC-150 users (i.e. what programs you use for compression, specific tips, any Compressor or adobe media encoder settings you'd suggest, etc)

I just upgraded to Final Cut Studio 3. So, are they're any new features I should take advantage of?

Any help would be appreciated...
 
you might want to unlock your setting in your compressor to increase the bit rate for the compression.
 
Out of curiosity, what type of compression software is used to compress big-budget productions like movies and Television shows? I highly doubt that they're using anything from the final cut studio...
 
vocare said:
you might want to unlock your setting in your compressor to increase the bit rate for the compression.
Click to expand...

Bit rate is a function of the size of the blank DVD, and the length of the video in total amounts.

It also takes into account whether the audio is encoded to ac3 or aiff.

Higher bit rate is not necessarily a good thing and doesn't necessarily produce better quality DVDs.
 
ikander said:
Out of curiosity, what type of compression software is used to compress big-budget productions like movies and Television shows? I highly doubt that they're using anything from the final cut studio...
Click to expand...

Remember as well that the original footage is a huge factor in producing a good looking encode.

If it originates from film mostly liked dedicated hardware encoders are being used.
 
Yeah, I figured it was probably some sort of hardware solution.

DVDs in general just frustrate me...
 
Too high of a bit rate can also make your DVD not play.
I always start with the double pass highest quality (lowest time) preset for DVD in compressor.
You can toggle on the Frame Controls tab and set all of the motion and frame rate conversions (as they apply to your conversion) to best. In otherwords, if you are going from 1080 to 480, then put the resize controls to best. If you are going from 23.98 to 29.97 set the frame rate controls to best. Otherwise leave them off or at their lowest setting. But there are those that swear by the Frame Controls tab. I woulnd't mess with the data rate because it can create problems if you over do it.
 
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