Bad quality DVDs

skymadkiwi · Post by **skymadkiwi** » Mon May 28, 2007 6:37 pm

I've just begun using Videostudio 10 and I can't figure out how to get a decent quality DVD out of it. When the camera pans or someone moves, the image goes all jumpy and blurry.
As far as I can see I've got everything set correctly (PAL same as my camcorder and the output is DVD) but the DVD quality is jumpy and aweful to watch. I think Videostudio is converting the project to an MPEG and burning that on the disk instead of DVD quality i.e a nice smooth picture. When I look at the files on the disc they are MPEG files which I don't think retain the best quality. I don't want MPEG, I want DVD!!
I also find that the make dics options default to NTSC even though the project is in PAL. Then when I change these options it advises that quality will be lost. This may be something to do with it also but I think it's the MPEG format mainly.
Any help you can give will be appreciated.

GeorgeW · Post by **GeorgeW** » Mon May 28, 2007 7:07 pm

skymadkiwi wrote:I've just begun using Videostudio 10 and I can't figure out how to get a decent quality DVD out of it. When the camera pans or someone moves, the image goes all jumpy and blurry.
As far as I can see I've got everything set correctly (PAL same as my camcorder and the output is DVD) but the DVD quality is jumpy and aweful to watch. I think Videostudio is converting the project to an MPEG and burning that on the disk instead of DVD quality i.e a nice smooth picture. When I look at the files on the disc they are MPEG files which I don't think retain the best quality. I don't want MPEG, I want DVD!!
I also find that the make dics options default to NTSC even though the project is in PAL. Then when I change these options it advises that quality will be lost. This may be something to do with it also but I think it's the MPEG format mainly.
Any help you can give will be appreciated.

DVD-VIDEO is MPEG (either mpeg1 or mpeg2).

What is your video source -- dv camcorder, or dvd camcorder, or other

How are you capturing the video to your computer

Pans that are jumpy might be due to changing "field order" from originals. Try to maintain the same field order from start to finish...

Regards,
George

BrianCee · Post by **BrianCee** » Mon May 28, 2007 9:06 pm

It is also interesting to note that you say you have looked at the files on the DVD and they are mpeg.

The files on the DVD should be .VOB files - it is true they are mpeg but most people referring to files on a DVD would talk about .vob - what is actually on your DVD.

Post by **Ken Berry** » Mon May 28, 2007 11:05 pm

As for your NTSC/PAL problem, I would fully uninstall VS, and in the reinstallation do the following. When, at the beginning, it asks for either your country or your TV system, first select 'New Zealand'. Then, in addition, also click on the PAL/SECAM option. Though the country option is now greyed out, you will see it is still ticked beside New Zealand. I do that with all my Ulead installations, and never had a problem.

Otherwise, if indeed you are processing what the program sees as an NTSC project, the conversion to PAL during the burning process will indeed degrade the quality. In fact, I would hazard the guess that this is the single cause, or a major part, of your problem. Converting from NTSC, which uses a speed of 29.97 frames per second and usually a frame size of 720 x 480, to PAL which uses 25 fps and 720 x 576, means that VS has to drop 4.97 frames per second and puff up the frame a bit. That alone would produce a slightly jerky and poor quality image in its own right. VS is not a good program for such conversions -- there are expensive specialised programs out there for that task which do it much better.

So get the country/TV system right first, then see if you have the same problem.

But also ensure that you follow the advice already given, and above all, keep the Field Order consistent throughout. The easiest way to do this is to go to File > Preferences > General, and make sure 'Show message when first video file is inserted in timeline' is ticked. The next time you start a project and insert a captured video, you will then be asked if your project should have the same properties as the file. Say OK to that.

Right click on the file and check to see what Field Order is shown. If your video came from a mini DV camera, is should be Lower Field First; if it came from a hard disk or mini DVD camera, is is likely to be Upper Field First; and if it is from an analogue source, it will also usually be UFF, though there is no absolute rule about this.

Then, when you go to Share > Create Video File > DVD (which produces a DVD-compliant mpeg-2), make sure the properties you choose also show the same Field Order as the project.

Once you have that mpeg-2, save your project, then go to File > New Project, which will open a new project with a clean timeline. Don't bother about giving it a name. Then select Share > Create Disc. The burning module will open. Use Add Media to insert your new mpeg-2 into the burning timeline. Then click on the Project Properties icon in the bottom left of screen (the middle one that looks like a cogwheel), and make sure 'Do not convert compliant mpeg files' is ticked. This will ensure that the burning process will simply accept the properties, including the Field Order, of the mpeg-2 file you inserted, and not try to convert it to anything else.

Build your menus and burn. This time, no conversion should take place, only the conversion of your menu into video format, and the multiplexing of the audio and video of your mpeg-2, plus the burning process itself. Depending on the size of your mpeg-2 and the burning speed you choose, this process should probably not take much more than 30 minutes, if that.

alanball · Post by **alanball** » Tue May 29, 2007 11:30 pm

Hi Ken,

It's funny but I have been using VS10 for about 9 months now capturing AVI from my camcorder and after a month of not using VS I find it has changed from PAL to NTSC and started to default to capturing in MPEG and not AVI as VS10 has always done by default before. Is there no other way to change back to the PAL system without reloading VS10?

Thanks.

Post by **Ken Berry** » Tue May 29, 2007 11:54 pm

Alan -- are you skymadkiwi?

In any case, the point really is that the system should not (could not?) have changed of its own volition. In my many years on this Board, I have not heard of that happening.

So, regarding the TV system, do you notice that the captures are set to NTSC, or is it only in the burning module?

If the latter, then in the burning module, select the first icon ('Preferences') in the bottom left of the burning screen, and see if the TV system setting there has 'somehow' been changed from PAL/SECAM to NTSC, and if so, change it back.

Not sure what to suggest if the captures are also somehow in NTSC as I can think of nothing but a complete reinstall which would correct that. The only PAL vs. NTSC setting in the editing phase, as far as I am aware, is the File > Preferences > Edit setting at the top for either the PAL or NTSC colour filter being used.

As for the defaulting capture now being mpeg, go to File > Tools and see what capture plug-in is selected. For DV/AVI, it should be the Direct Show Plug-in.

alanball · Post by **alanball** » Wed May 30, 2007 1:56 am

Hi Ken,

no not skymadkiwi, but it's funny I should have a similar problem. It's the captures that are set to NTSC with the default of MPEG. I am at work at the moment but will check DV/AVI plug-in tonight.

Thanks for advice.

alanball · Post by **alanball** » Wed May 30, 2007 11:51 pm

Hi Ken, I changed the option as you suggested and worked like a dream. It was set at "Ulead DSW MPEG Plug-in", not sure how that happened as I can't ever remember going into that setting before, but then my memory's not what it was.

Guess what, I'm now back into PAL country as well, so some settings must have changed somewhere along the line.

Thanks again for your help Ken, don't know what I would do without people like you and this user board.

PS - Do you know what the DSW means in the plug-in name? It means Dept of Social Welfare over here!!

Post by **Ken Berry** » Thu May 31, 2007 9:15 am

Glad you got that sorted out!

As for DSW, not sure exactly, though the DS certainly stands for Direct Show which is a common term for a DV codec.

skymadkiwi · Post by **skymadkiwi** » Thu May 31, 2007 8:02 pm

Thanks all for your responses. To answer some questions...
I am capturing off a DV camcorder Sony PC330 in PAL format using firewire.
If I right-click and explore the disk it shows two folders video_ts and audio_ts. The video one has six files: 2x .bup, 2x .ifo and 2x MPEG. There is no file extention on the MPEG files, for example VTS_01_1 but the properties show it as an MPEG file. No sign of a .vob anywhere.
I shall try out some of your suggestions this weekend Ken and re-install it if I still have no joy

Thanks again.

Alludo USER to USER Web Board

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