from capture to output

T

trebax

Active member
I am a bit confused on the idea of output to dvd. Here are the steps that I take:

1. film something...
2. open up pro 1.5 and Capture. This brings the footage into .avi format, files which are HUGE. I'm guessing around 1gig per four minutes.
3.Edit/CC/etc
4.Export the completed video from Pro to a final .avi file. Again, this is HUGE.
5.Use Sonic DVD Architect, make a menu and burn a dvd.

Now, if I am only burning 15-30 minutes of video onto dvd, it fits, but it still says that both the video and audio is going to be compressed. Am I losing quality?

Another thought I had: A feature film on dvd usually is around 2 hours plus bonus features. How is it possible that THAT much footage of MUCH BETTER quality can fit onto a dvd, when i can't get much over an hour onto my dvds?

Any help or hints about dvd output would be greatly appreciated.
 
Why are you going through so many steps. PP has output to DVD direct from the timeline with a minimum of hassle. And, if you have Encore, you can get even more fancy b ut for a straight output to DVD, it's a matter of a couple of clicks without .avis. From your File , go to Export, choose DVD, set the parameters and hit Burn. If that doesn't work, post again and I'd be happy to walk you through the settings. You should have a simple in a little over the amount of time your timeline runs. Again, try it and post me back or PM me.
 
The DVD standard requires that the video be compressed to MPEG-2 form. Within that format there is a lot of flexibility on how much the video is compressed. Obviously the more you compress it, the more the quality suffers but how much is too much depends on the source material and the quality of the MPEG2 encoder. I'm happy to squeeze 70-80 minutes on a single layer DVD. Keep in mind that hollywood-style movies typically comes on a dual layer DVD with twice the capacity.

The steps you describe are basically sound although there are some variations on the workflow. For example, I choose to do the mpeg2 compression in PPro rather than render to an intermediate AVI file and then encode it but others do it you way. As jlames just said, you can even go direct to DVD from PPro if you're not looking for something with menus and such.

And, yes, the DV AVI files are large. Fortunately, hard disk drives are fairly cheap.

-Dan
 
Dan's understanding of the DVD process is sound and he's right; Beauty is in the eye of the beholder so like .jpgs, only you can tell when enough is enough. PPro 2 is amazing in the flexibility it gives you, especially when combined with Encore. I urge you to research the subject thoroughly and, like learning to fly a helicopter, it'll seem exceedingly daunting at first but then one day...one minute, actually it happens in one second you just get it an from then on, understanding the basics makes everything else seem easy and pretty soon you're designing your own shortcuts and fixes.
 
thanks so much for the replies. I completely forgot that most feature films are on dual layered dvds. I am going to mess with the mpeg-2 encoding settings in Encore to see what the options are. One of my friends has always used DVD architect, so I automatically tried that first.

I have been so paranoid when outputing to dvd because I know the potential of the dvx is so high and I need to of course utilize it.

Thanks again!
 
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