Loss in quality when i convert home movies to dvd

[SF2MJ]

I have a Canon mini dv MV960 video camera that i use for home movies.I usually use Ulead video studio 10 or 11 to transfer my home movies from Camcorder to my pc.It makes my home movie into an avi file.
That is all ok.The picture quality is fine...just like when i filmed it.

But when i convert the home movie avi files into dvd and burn it onto a disc.I notice a drop in picture quality.A slight blurriness to the picture when things are moving a little quickly in the shot.

But if i watch the avi file on my pc after i just transfered it from my video camera (without converting it into anything)...it looks nice and clear...no blurriness.
So here is what i do....

1)transfer my video footage from my mini dv to the pc with Ulead video studio 10 .It makes it into an big AVI file.

2)I then restart Ulead and go to video editor.When i add the avi file in the timeline bar...i then click on edit.I creat a menu etc.It's when i click on edit that i start losing the picture quality.
I notice it on the preview screen,just before your start burning onto dvd.

What am i doing wrong?.I want to be able to create a menu's etc for my home movies and STILL have the exact picture quality of my original footage.

Is there a setting i am missing in the options menu for Ulead?.
I know my mini dv records in mpeg format.But when i transfer it to the pc it changes into an AVI file.Could that be the problem to begin with?.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Is there a way with Ulead to capture my footage from the mini dv in a raw format?.

[sjj1805]

Please view:
Suggested work flow by SJJ1805 for Video Creation

[Ken Berry]

While Steve's suggested workflow will solve all your problems, I felt it important to correct an important misconception you have right away. You say:

I know my mini dv records in mpeg format.But when i transfer it to the pc it changes into an AVI file.Could that be the problem to begin with?

I have a camera just like yours -- identical. And a mini DV camera does NOT -- I repeat NOT -- film in mpeg format. It is called a mini DV camera because it films in (wait for it) DV format!! DV is a slightly compressed version of uncompressed AVI format. And when you capture you are capturing in the DV version of AVI format (called for shorthand purposes DV/AVI). And that is exactly as it should be. And I have to add that DV is one of the best and definitely easiest formats to capture and edit in. It is not lossy to anywhere near the same extent as mpeg, and so you can edit and re-encode it many times before you will notice any significant loss in quality. So continue doing exactly as you are doing.

One thing you don't tell us, however, is what sort of cable you use to transfer the video to your PC. Most cameras I am aware of come with a USB cable, including the MV960. However, using the USB cable will at most only allow the transfer of streaming quality video i.e. relatively low quality and mainly only suited for sending over the internet. With many cameras, indeed, and again I include the MV960, you only use the USB to transfer still images taken by the camera. Only a handful of very expensive mini DV cameras will allow you to capture high quality video via their USB 2.0 connections, and I don't think your camera falls into that category.

The only way of capturing such high quality DV is by using firewire. The only problem is that no camera manufacturer of which I am aware ever includes a firewire cable in the bundle -- only a USB cable, thus giving the user the idea that this is what is to be used. (I understand Canon does in fact include a firewire cable with the high definition HV20, but yours in not a high def camera.)

Your camera will definitely have a small, 4 pin Firewire socket -- your manual will call it either an IEEE1394 socket. If your computer does not have one, then the good news is that they are cheap and easy to install in a spare AGP slot. Make sure you get the correct cable with it -- one with a 4 pin plug for the camera end and a larger 6 pin plug for the computer end. You will be amazed at the difference in quality if in fact you have not been using Firewire to date!!

[SF2MJ]

Yes i am using a firewire card and not a usb cable.

[Ron P.]

Since you're capturing DV (Digital Video), rather transferring, from your Mini-DV to your PC, your Field Order is Lower Field First. So the field order settings for your Project Properties (press Alt+Enter) should be the same. In fact your Project Properties should exactly match that of the video properties.

Now when you create your video file, (Share>Create Video File), choosing NTSC or PAL DVD the field order should still be Lower Field First. The frame sizes, aspect ratio should also remain the same.

Next when you open the burn module, (Share>Create Disc) you should do so with an empty time-line. Then you need to set the Project Properties in the Burn Module, which should match that of your newly created DVD Compatible MPEG-2 video file(s). Clicking the Gear-looking icon in the lower left, brings up the Project Settings for the burn module. If they do not match press the Change MPEG Settings... to change them. The Field Type should say Lower field first(DV).

Now by the way you describe your workflow is not what is recommended, which is not a set in stone method. However it has been proven to work for several when others have failed. Since you're appears to be failing you, have you tried the workflow layed out in the link provided above by sjj1805?

Finally, when previewing your project in VS, these previews will be very rough. Depending on the complexity of your project, video file types, and your system set up. If you want a better representation, then you need to go into the Preferences dialog (File>Preferences or press F6 on your keyboard), and set the Playback from Instant Playback to High Quality. VS will then render a temporary file. This can take some time depending again on the aforementioned. You can reduce this time, by choosing a Preview Range.

One "nature of the beast" happenings with video, is that when there are fast camera movements (pans, tilts), you stand to suffer some blurring, unless you're using a very expensive camera, along with expensive software. So it is best while filming to keep your pans steady and slower.

[Ken Berry]

If you started out with DV/AVI, then it will be high quality as you describe. After editing it, you have to convert it to DVD-compliant mpeg-2 (Share > Create Video File > DVD), but here the final quality will depend on the settings you choose for the final mpeg-2. Most important of all in terms of final quality will be the chosen bitrate.

If your project is around an hour or less, then you can use a high quality bitrate of 8000 kbps, and it will all fit on a single layer DVD. If you use Dolby or mpeg layer 2 audio instead of standard LPCM, you could fit another 10 minutes or so of video on the disc. The end quality should be about the same as your original DV.

But if you have, say, 90 minutes of video you want to burn to a single layer DVD, then you will have to drop the bitrate to around 6000 kbps to fit the project on the disc, and a lower bitrate means a lower quality. 6000 kbps is still good quality, but not the highest quality. And if you want to burn 2 hours of video to a DVD, then the bitrate will need to be around 4000 kbps, and the final quality will be only average. Below that, quality falls off markedly.

[SF2MJ]

Well i figured out what i was doing wrong.After editing i went straight to "create disc".That's where i lost quality.I did what you said and went to create video file instead.I got perfect picture quality and sound.Which made me very happy but....

It made an avi file of the movie i edited.Only thing now is ...how do i burn an avi file as a dvd that i can play in my dvd player?.Because if i go back into ulead and drag and drop the avi file i edited into the time line then go to create disc.Again i loose quality.Back to where i started again.Only difference i have an edited film this time.

I want to keep the same quality as the orginal edited avi file and burn that onto a dvd.

[Ken Berry]

Well obvioiusly you didn't follow what I said exactly. I said Share > Create Video File > DVD. In other words, when you select Share then Create Video File, you do NOT choose 'Same as first clip' or 'Same as project settings' or DV. You choose DVD, as I suggested. That will certainly produce a DVD compliant mpeg-2.

And for the record, if you have rendered your project into DV format, you will not have lost quality in the process. DV is essentially a lossless format, and you can re-encode it any number of times without any discernible loss in quality. So you can do exactly as you describe and pop that new DV file in the timeline and this time select Share > Create Video File > DVD.

But again, take note of what I said about bitrates as the bitrate you select for your mpeg-2 will affect the end quality of your DVD.

Note also that after you produce your new mpeg-2, you go to File > New Project. Don't worry about giving your new project a name. The objective is just to clear the timeline of your current project.

Once that is done, you select Share > Create Disc > DVD. The burning module will open. Use the Add Media button at the top to insert your new mpeg-2 in the burning timeline. Then go to the middle of the three icons in the bottom left of the burning screen. There is a little box beside the words 'Do not convert compliant mpeg files'. Make sure that box is ticked (it usually is by default). That way, your already compliant mpeg file will not be re-encoded. (It is mpeg which is the lossy format, and several recodes of that *will* result in loss of quality.) Then build your menus and burn.

[SF2MJ]

Thank you for the advice.It really helped.