DVD encoding - What is the best way from AVID?

J

jpottenger

Member
I've been having problems getting the premium quality output from an advanced 24p project onto a DVD.

1) Can anyone post thier workflow on creating the best quality DVD possible from a 24p (advanced) project? The more details the better. (settings etc...)

2) Am I blind or did AVID Express Pro loose the ability to export as MPEG-2? Express DV had it, but I'm only seeing MPEG-4 as an option in Express Pro.

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As a bit of backhistory on my problems, I'll post what I've been doing.

Since I've been unable to find a way to export an MPEG-2 file from Express Pro, I've been creating a Quicktime movie ("same as source" for an export setting) and then attempting to use different programs to "encode" the quicktime file into MPEG-2.

I've tried Vagas 4, Adobe Premiere 6.5, and Sorenson Squeeze, and each has a different problem.

- Vagas is giving me stretched video (see me post on this here: http://www.dvxuser.com/cgi-bin/DVX2/YaBB.pl?board=Vegas;action=display;num=1088351125 )

- Adobe's video is not stretched but is jumpy (see my post on this here: http://www.dvxuser.com/cgi-bin/DVX2/YaBB.pl?board=Premier;action=display;num=1088171076 )

- Sorenson's video is low quiality no matter how high I set the bitrate, or quality settings. It just looks crappy.

Also I tried encoding using Adobe Premiere Pro's MPEG encoder, and the quality was horrible even at the highest settings. Pixelated, artifacts, distortions... you name it... however the video wasn't streched like Vagas.

Any ideas?

- John
 
Re: DVD encoding - What is the best way from AVID?

I use procoder and tmpeg.
Both are good. In my (humble or not humble) opinion
Just one thing. Tmpeg, at least the version i have, don´t accpet quick time reference with avid codec. So if you use tpmpeg uncheck the avid codec in the quick time ref settings box.
 
Re: DVD encoding - What is the best way from AVID?

I also use Procoder, it works fine and is easy to set up.
If your encoded material looks jumpy, check the framerate of the exported reference movie, if it is not proper, then the encoded material looks jumpy, like it is skipping frames.

A video mixdown in Avid will solve the problem.
 
Re: DVD encoding - What is the best way from AVID?

Thanks for the feedback guys.

I've been exporting as a full quicktime movie because when using a quicktime reference file I've seen some encoders put in white frames where black ones should be (say a 2 or 3 frame pause between scenes).  Instead of a black frame the whole picture goes white for those frames.  When I did a full quicktime movie export those frames were black again.  Maybe I'll try it again.

As to the frame rate suggestion... There's nothing in AVID to change the frame rate in the export screen that I could find.  And after opening the QT reference file it showed 24fps and played smoothly with no jutter.  

Any more direction on on how to change that in an export from AVID? Or better yet at what point in the process is the video footage converted back to 30pfs for NTSC viewing? Where does/should this conversion take palce? AVID? and Encoder?

It may help to know that the jutter I'm experiencing is NOT showing frames being dropped or skipped.  Rather it plays 4 frames perfectly and then the 5th frame is a repeat of frame 4.  It then proceeds on to the next frame with no skipped frames.  Does that make sense?  It's actually harder to see this kind of jutter than the typically complained about "24p basic" jutter.  

I read somewhere that I need my GOP to be 12 frames rather than 15, and that didn't seem to fix my problem when I tried encoding again with that setting.

I'll look into those encoders both of you mentioned too... thanks for the tip.

John

P.S. if it helps, I can try and post a few video's somewhere for you to see what I'm talking about.
 
Re: DVD encoding - What is the best way from AVID?

Also:

1) What advantage is there for doing a video mix down?  Isn't that an extra step?

2) Are you both using Procoder Express? or the full blown expensive version?

- John
 
Re: DVD encoding - What is the best way from AVID?

There should be no need to render out a QY movie. A QT reference has always woeked. White frames usually means a memory error. I don't use ProCoder, I use Sorenson Squeeze that uses the Main Concept MPEG encoder.

The QT file should remian 24fps and the encoder adds a 2:3 flag to the MPEG indicating to a NTSC DVD player that it needs to insert pulldown.
 
Re: DVD encoding - What is the best way from AVID?

I do video mixdowns because most of the time my exported movie has a wrong frame rate, I don't know how it can be, but it happens. After mixdown, the frame rate is restored, strange, but it happen to me.
 
Re: DVD encoding - What is the best way from AVID?

MichaelP - Funny enough it was sorenson that gave me the white frames when using a QT reference, while the other encoders did not.
Vagas 4 and Adobe Premiere 6.5 both shiped with the "main concept" encoder for MPEG encoding, but the version of sorenson that I have must not use it because the quality of the video is no where near the Vagas and Adobe MPEG encoder (Main concept). I'll look into Sorenson to see if I can find any hint of main concept in there or not.

JKL - What version of Procoder are you using?
I still have not been able to fix the problem by doing a video mix down. Maybe I'm not understanding correctly. I do the video mixdown which creates a new media file/clip in the bin of my choosing. I then drag down the new clip into my timeline and QT export after doing that? It seems to me that this is like copying and pasting media over the top of itself. i.e. nothing is changing. Sorry I'm not getting it. If you feel compelled to help me understand anything I'm missing ...cool ... if not, I'll understand :)
 
Re: DVD encoding - What is the best way from AVID?

I use Canopus Procoder version 1.5

I just make a video mixdown because when I export a quicktime ref I am getting a strange framerate, something like 24.67fps when it has to be 25fps. I just solve the problem with a video mixdown, don't ask me how it can be solved like that or in the first place, how the wrong frame rate can occour, but it just happens to me. ???

You may have an other problem then me maybe, I am shooting 25fps, and that will also be the final frame rate on the dvd. So I don't know about 24P dvd's... :-[
 
Re: DVD encoding - What is the best way from AVID?

For some reason when I export a QT ref. out of Avid lately and try to make a mpeg-2 in procoder it's out of sync. The Audio is about 2 seconds late. Anyone run into this problem?How can I fix this?
 
Re: DVD encoding - What is the best way from AVID?

This was a known bug that is now fixed. I believe it was part of the 1.3.4 release, but definately part of the 1.3.5 to be release this week.
 
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