MPEG Compression defaults to 70% and I keep forgetting to change it to 100%. Is there a way to set the default to 100%?
Thank you ...
VS 10 - Setting Defaults
Moderator: Ken Berry
As a suggestion, I created a template Project in Video Studio. This template has all my correct settings, including MPEG compression, field order etc. When I start any new project, I pull up the template project and then I select 'Save As' in order to create a new project with the identical settings of the template. Then, by using the save 'same as project properies' option during rendering, you will always be keeping your properties the same throughout your project.
Terry
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Ken Berry
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There is also some misdunderstanding as to what that 70% means. In fact, it is not a compression setting at all: by using it at the default level, you are not going to end up with a final file which is only 70% compressed, whereas it would be 100% compressed if you set it to 100%. It does, however, relate to quality and time.
In reality, it is supposed to represent is a balance between an acceptable level of quality in your final video and the time it takes to produce it. I tend to leave it completely alone, though some people inevitably want to raise it to 100%. I have indeed experimented with this (pace, jchunter!!
) and can say that while the rendering time increased significantly using 100%, I personally could not notice any real difference in the final product from that which I received for the same project but rendered using the defaut 70%. Now I acknowledge that there are all sorts of variable at work here, and some people (lots?) will inevitably say "I get much better results using 100%". But as I say, for me, I get excellent results using the default settings, and the rendering time is also acceptable. But if you have time on your hands, and really want to think "I have set this to 100% and so will get a 100% result", then go ahead and use it. It is all a matter of personal choice.
But I can't help thinking that, sometimes, the perfect can be the enemy of the good... 
And as a final footnote, I do have to admit that when I lowered the setting to very much below 70% (and I only went down to 50% but did it in lots of 5% a time), there *was* an increasingly noticeable degradation in the quality of the final product. And for me, the rendering time it saved was just not worth this loss in quality.
In reality, it is supposed to represent is a balance between an acceptable level of quality in your final video and the time it takes to produce it. I tend to leave it completely alone, though some people inevitably want to raise it to 100%. I have indeed experimented with this (pace, jchunter!!
) and can say that while the rendering time increased significantly using 100%, I personally could not notice any real difference in the final product from that which I received for the same project but rendered using the defaut 70%. Now I acknowledge that there are all sorts of variable at work here, and some people (lots?) will inevitably say "I get much better results using 100%". But as I say, for me, I get excellent results using the default settings, and the rendering time is also acceptable. But if you have time on your hands, and really want to think "I have set this to 100% and so will get a 100% result", then go ahead and use it. It is all a matter of personal choice.But I can't help thinking that, sometimes, the perfect can be the enemy of the good...
And as a final footnote, I do have to admit that when I lowered the setting to very much below 70% (and I only went down to 50% but did it in lots of 5% a time), there *was* an increasingly noticeable degradation in the quality of the final product. And for me, the rendering time it saved was just not worth this loss in quality.
Ken Berry
I agree with Ken that you should not degrade quality in order to reduce rendering time unless you're really in a hurry for some reason. After all, if you're producing a final DVD, you're only going to render it once but may be viewing it many times.
Of course, some rendering times can be ridiculous. I heard that when rendering the recent movie "Cars", it took several hours to render each frame of the film, and that's on supercomputer-class equipment.
Of course, my productions are not exactly up to Pixar levels, either! 
Of course, some rendering times can be ridiculous. I heard that when rendering the recent movie "Cars", it took several hours to render each frame of the film, and that's on supercomputer-class equipment.
Of course, my productions are not exactly up to Pixar levels, either!