Required file specs to avoid re-encoding?

mltwitz · Post by **mltwitz** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 3:33 pm

I want to minimize quality loss and processing time, so I'm trying to find out, what are the required file specs (format, resolution, video bitrate, audio bitrate, frame rate, etc.) for a video asset in DVD Workshop in order for it to be used without re-encoding during the authoring process?

DVDDoug · Post by **DVDDoug** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 5:29 pm

Check out DigitalFAQ.com for the standard video-DVD specifications.

Just be aware that sometimes Workshop has a mind of it's own... You may think your file is compliant, but Workshop may think it's not... for some unknown reason.

Devil · Post by **Devil** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 7:43 am

... and some software thinks they produce compliant files when they don't! Apart from video, the worst culprits are MP3 files, which are just the audio layer 3 of MPEG-1 files separated from the other layers. These can never conform to MPEG specs and this makes them hairy to incorporate into video projects, depending what has been extracted from the headers. Downloadable MP3 is particularly bad, as the software removes all "unnecessary" data that bloats the file size, but may be necessary when taking it into a video app. Even if it appears to work OK in an editor, it can cause problems when encoding to DVD-compliant MPEG-2.

Also, some editing suites produce MPEG-2 that is not according to the official specs. It sometimes requires only a single one-bit flag to be incorrectly set to ##### things up.

mltwitz · Post by **mltwitz** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 3:33 pm

So in other words, there is no guarantee DVDW will accept a file as DVD-compliant even if it is. That's great...another flaw!

How about if you render a video file in Ulead's own encoding/editing software, i.e. VideoStudio or MediaStudio Pro. Are there render settings that produce files which DVDW will recognize as fully DVD compliant and therefore won't re-encode them?

sjj1805 · Post by **sjj1805** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 3:43 pm

mltwitz
Please read the following 2 posts

http://phpbb.ulead.com.tw/EN/viewtopic.php?t=8959
and
http://phpbb.ulead.com.tw/EN/viewtopic.php?t=27

Could you also please complete your system specifications on your profile page.
I am sure we can then offer some help.

Regards
Steve J

mltwitz · Post by **mltwitz** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 9:01 pm

OK, I understand the rules, I did complete my profile (to the best of my knowledge) and the other link you sent did not specifically address my question about whether DVDW will recognize files as 100% DVD compliant using certain render settings in Ulead MovieStudio Pro or VideoStudio and hence won't re-encode the files. If that is the case Ulead will win another happy customer for their encoding/editing software, becasue I plan to continue using DVDW if only I found out the answer to my question

sjj1805 · Post by **sjj1805** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 10:55 pm

mltwitz
Firstly, thank you for now completing your system details which were blank when I looked earlier. this will save having to ask for them in any future postings you may make.

If you follow the recommended procedure
http://phpbb.ulead.com.tw/EN/viewtopic.php?t=27
You should be creating a file which will be DVD compliant and so not require any further recoding by DVD Workshop.

DVD Workshop will indicate to you if the file you are working with is DVD compliant.
This file is compliant because the check box is empty and selectable

This file is not compliant and WILL be rendered in accordance with your current project settings. The check box is already completed and it is not selectable.

Regards
Steve J

Devil · Post by **Devil** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 10:29 am

AFAIK, WS2 will accept all compliant files from all sources, as such. Unfortunately, some encoders do not produce compliant files, even when they say they do; you cannot say that this is a flaw, just because it checks for compliance.

Unfortunately, some people get the notion that if it is MPEG-2 that it is DVD-compliant. This is definitely not so and that is why the UI of all the Ulead proggies makes the distinction between MPEG-2 encoding and DVD-PAL/NTSC encoding; with the latter, you are limited to what is valid. And yes, all Ulead editing and authoring software can produce DVD-compliant MPEG-2 files that are compatible with WS2, without re-rendering.

mltwitz · Post by **mltwitz** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 3:53 pm

Thank you all, this answers my questions. The info about the "Disc Template" checkmark was very helpful. To be safe I will be using MovieStudio Pro in the future to generate compliant files.