DVD burn takes 2 hours, and smart render takes length of vid

[parkerjd]

I'm importing VHS and burning DVDs via ADS DVD Xpress DX2

Procedure:
capture from VCR with Capture Wizard 3.8
edit/burn with VS 9 SE DVD

I followed this forum's recommended procedure, and the Create Video step takes the length of the video (abour 1.5 hours), burning takes 2 hours (at 4x, but the Creating Video title part takes most of the time)

I may have a clue as to why. When it asks to match project and capture properties here is the detail:

Project Properties (prior to adjusting quality to 100% etc)
MPEG files
24 Bits, 720 x 480, 29.97 fps
Lower Field First
(DVD-NTSC), 4:3
Video data rate: Variable (Max. 8000 kbps)
LPCM Audio, 48000 Hz, Stereo

Video Properties (from CaptWiz)
MPEG files
24 Bits, 720 x 480, 29.97 fps
Frame-based
(DVD-NTSC), 4:3
Video data rate: Variable (Max. 8000 kbps)
Audio data rate: 224 kbps
MPEG audio layer 2, 48 KHz, Stereo

Notice the Frame-based for CaptWiz? I want to use Upper Field first since I'm doing VHS-DVD, but I think since CaptWiz is doing Frame based, when I change project to UpperFieldFirst, this is causing the slow burning (2 hour) and rendering to MPG (1.5 hours). I am capturing to MPG anyways, but since i want to add titles, the recommended procedure says to Create Video to MPG before burning.

How much quality would suffer from using Fram- based setting in VS9, and would that speed my burning/rendering up?

Also, when I click Option before doing the burn, I don't have any settings described in the tutorial. Only a check box to "add personal files", and 2 other options. No settings for quality or lowerfield first,etc... Thought that might cause mismatched properties too.

Thanks for your help,
David

[2Dogs]

Hi David, welcome to the forum!

I'm importing VHS and burning DVDs via ADS DVD Xpress DX2

I presume that you are using the ADS DVD Xpress DX2 to capture the VHS footage - and not using it for anything else.

Procedure:
capture from VCR with Capture Wizard 3.8
edit/burn with VS 9 SE DVD

I followed this forum's recommended procedure, and the Create Video step takes the length of the video (abour 1.5 hours),

Depending on what overlays, filters, effects and transitions you are applying, and the speed of your pc, 1.5 hours might be reasonable. However, if you are not making extensive use of filters and overlays, it should probably take less - but only if you can set the project properties appropriately. This might depend on what capture file properties you can set.

burning takes 2 hours (at 4x, but the Creating Video title part takes most of the time)

This is too long - following the recommended procedure, the previously created single mpg video file of your project should "smart render" in only a few minutes. It will take a few minutes to process your menus, but aftetr that, a single layer disk will burn in about 15 minutes at 4x or half that at 8x etc.

I may have a clue as to why. When it asks to match project and capture properties here is the detail:

Project Properties (prior to adjusting quality to 100% etc)
MPEG files
24 Bits, 720 x 480, 29.97 fps
Lower Field First
(DVD-NTSC), 4:3
Video data rate: Variable (Max. 8000 kbps)
LPCM Audio, 48000 Hz, Stereo

For video from an analogue source, such as your vcr, you should be using upper field first. Otherwise, everything else is OK.

Video Properties (from CaptWiz)
MPEG files
24 Bits, 720 x 480, 29.97 fps
Frame-based
(DVD-NTSC), 4:3
Video data rate: Variable (Max. 8000 kbps)
Audio data rate: 224 kbps
MPEG audio layer 2, 48 KHz, Stereo

You should capture to upper field first, not frame based. Strictly speaking, MPEG audio is not part of the NTSC standard, but I've yet to experience any problems with it.

Notice the Frame-based for CaptWiz? I want to use Upper Field first since I'm doing VHS-DVD, but I think since CaptWiz is doing Frame based, when I change project to UpperFieldFirst, this is causing the slow burning (2 hour) and rendering to MPG (1.5 hours). I am capturing to MPG anyways, but since i want to add titles, the recommended procedure says to Create Video to MPG before burning.

Can you not set the capture wizard to give you upper field first capture?

How much quality would suffer from using Fram- based setting in VS9, and would that speed my burning/rendering up?

Frame based is used for playback on progressive scan devices - eg a pc monitor. Regular TV's always used to be interlaced, but more recent TV's are progressive scan, and most standalone DVD players are progressive scan capable too. You could use frame based video for your DVD, so long as you don't intend to play it or have others play it to a non-progessive scan TV.

Also, when I click Option before doing the burn, I don't have any settings described in the tutorial. Only a check box to "add personal files", and 2 other options. No settings for quality or lowerfield first,etc... Thought that might cause mismatched properties too.

You might be referring to the bottom left button in the "Create Disc" dialogue box. This is the Settings and options button. you need to click on the "cogwheel" button to the right of it, which is the Project settings button. This gives you access to the output video file properties.

In order to produce a DVD with the maximum possible image quality, you should aim to minimise re-encoding the video. To that end, you should try to capture at the same properties that you wish to use for oputput to the DVD. In your case, apart from messing up the field order settings, you've used a variable bitrate of 8000kbps throughout.

Most users report that there is little point in using bitrates more than 6000kbps for VHS capture, so unless you are looking to fit not much more than an hour of footage onto a single layer 4.5Gb disc, there's little point in using 8000kbps.

Your workflow should be as follows:

1) Capture from VCR using upper field first 6000/8000 kbps
2) Insert your clips into a new VS9 project file. When you do this, you should be presented with a dialogue box which says Do you want to change the project settings to match the video's properties so VideoStudio can perform SmartRender? to which you should click "yes". Do all your edits, titles etc, then use Share>>Create video file to make a single mpg2 video file from your project.
3) Insert the video file into a new blank project.
4) Go to the Share>>Create Disc step. You can check the output properties by clicking on the cogwheel button.
5) Click on the "next" button to set the menu templates, chapter points, and so on.

Good luck!

[jchunter]

And just be sure select your video file (that you created in step2) using the Share/CreateDisk/"Add Video Files" button (leaving the Edit Timeline empty).

[parkerjd]

Thank you very much, I found the Options/Setting button under the Create Video dialogue.

I am going to upgrade to a later version of CaptWiz, because as of now I don't see any option to change to UpperFieldFirst, or to 6000kbps.

I will update any findings there.

[jchunter]

On my early version of CapWiz, you could set capture properties in the last screen, using one of the menu items and drilling down until all properties were visible. Sorry, but I no longer have it installed and can't remember how the menu was labled.

[parkerjd]

Just curious, would anyone recommend capturing with VS 9? I just figured there was a reason they provided CaptWiz along side it

[Ken Berry]

CapWiz, as its name implies, is supplied specifically to capture. VS9 is provided to do the editing (not/not the capturing).

[parkerjd]

Any CapWiz users out there who have changed to Upper Field First for capturing VHS? I would think this to be a common issue, but ADS websupport has nothing..guess there are alot of people making inferior quality DVD.

Regarding the Smart Render taking a long time. I notice the preview window is playing along (I think at the actual rate of conversion from what I can tell). This would seem to be a big waste of resources, can I disable the preview during Create Video phase? I thought that Scene Splitter was slow (about 1/3 of the video length), this seems to be 1:1 ratio to the length.

[parkerjd]

Sorry to clarify, by "this seems to be 1:1" I am referring to the time it takes to SmartRender.

[parkerjd]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong:

If the goal is to minimize the number of renderings, then would this be ok?

Since I can't presently modify CapWiz from Frame-based, I should keep the project settings exactly as is until I am going to burn. In other words, don't change to UpperFieldFirst in the Create Video phase, but change it when I'm setting the Burn properties?

I'm assuming the same thing does apply to the 8000kbps being changed to 6000 kbps.

I'm assuming that doesn't apply to the quality 100% slider since you can't recover quality already lost.

The quest for quality continues

[parkerjd]

Burn options being modified decreased DVD burn time to 25 minutes

I can deal with the rendering, even though I'm considering using Frame based @ 6000 kbps since our TV has progressive scan.

The upperfield first is for capturing from VCR, but what about viewing on DVD....seems like you would want to change it back to frame based?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

[heinz-oz]

Except for progressive scan TV's the DVD will be displayed in 2 fields per frame. It may look funny if the fields do not represent the right motion progression.

[parkerjd]

so should i change it to upper field first for edit/burn (I don't have a choice for capture with CapWiz), or leave it as Frame based?