AVI to MPEG Conversion Quality

[Mattie777]

The quality of my videos (mini dv/avi) is great when I'm watching on my computer, but when I create a mpeg video file the quality is quite lower. I've tried multiple versions using different settings and scenes with motion seem blurry, lower lit scenes are horrible. How do I get the same quality of the none converted AVI's on the DVD?

[heinz-oz]

Now, I convert my DV-AVI to great looking DVD, maybe because I do it right.

Whether or not you did something wrong (I'd be surprised if you didn't, judging by your results) we don't know. Simply because we don't know what you did exctly and how.

Have a read of this http://phpbb.ulead.com.tw/EN/viewtopic.php?t=8959, it should explain to you what we need and how to get it to us.

Then have aread of this http://phpbb.ulead.com.tw/EN/viewtopic.php?t=15150 to get an idea what is involved.

If you still have questions, feel free to come back afterwards with the required info.

[Mattie777]

I've read pretty much all the tutorials except the editing phase, You just made me aware of it. I think I know what I did wrong. I would use the mark in and out buttons to set the in/out points then use the save trimmed video button. Editing that way is actually creating another version of the original clip, right? I should have used the scissor to make my in/out points which doesn't effect the original clip. Am I on the right path?

[Ken Berry]

Don't think so. Merely making cuts one way, rather than another, will not affect the final quality of your DVD, at least not the way you describe.

When in doubt, read the top sticky post containing Recommended Procedures. Essentially, though, it advises you to

1) Capture in DV/AVI format where possible;

2) Do all of your editing as far as possible in that same format;

3) Once you are finished editing, go to Share > Create Video File > DVD to produce a DVD-compatible mpeg-2.

4) During this step, make sure you select appropriate project properties including Field Order (essentially, if you captured from a digital video source, use Lower Field First; but if you captured from an analogue source, use Upper Field First; and if you are doing a slideshow of still images, use Frame Based).

5) The other important quality factor is bitrate: for highest quality DVDs, use 8000 kbps. This will allow you to burn about 1 hour of video to a single layer (4.3 GB) DVD. 6000 kbps will allow around 90 minutes of video in good quality; and 4000 kbps will allow 2 hours of reasonable quality video.

6) The final factor here is the audio codec you use. LPCM will give excellent quality but creates large files, so you will fit less video on a disc if you use this audio format. Dolby gives a very much smaller audio file, so you can fit up to 10 or 15 minutes more of video per disc if you use Dolby. Mpeg layer 2 audio gives similar small sizes to Dolby, but is not part of the NTSC DVD standard, so will not necessarily work on all NTSC DVD players.

7) Once you have produced this mpeg-2 file, and ONLY then, go to Share > Create Disc > DVD, and in the burning module, insert the mpeg-2 file(s), create your menus and burn. Make sure the burning properties are exactly the same as those in your mpeg-2. (Check in the second icon in the bottom left of screen; and/r make sure the 'Do not convert compliant MPEG files' box in that icon is checked.) Otherwise, the program will try to render the file again, as well as all the multiplexing of video and audio, creation of menus etc, all on the fly, which is a big ask for any computer. This is very likely to cause some loss in quality and also open the possibility of problems such as the whole process coming to a screaming halt.

8.) When burning, only use a low speed (we generally recommend a maximum burn speed of 4x), regardless of the rated speeds of both your burner and the discs you are using.